HR: 1330h
AN: SA12B-1103 [PDF]
TI: Ionospheric Research with Miniaturized Plasma Sensors Aboard FalconSAT-3
AU: * Habash Krause, L
EM: Linda.Krause@usafa.af.mil
AF: United States Air Force Academy, Department of Physics, HQ USAFA/DFP
2354 Fairchild Drive, Suite 2A43, USAF Academy, CO 80840 United States
AU: Herrero, F A
EM: Federico.A.Herrero@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Detector Systems Branch, Code 553, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Chun, F K
EM: Francis.Chun@usafa.af.mil
AF: United States Air Force Academy, Department of Physics, HQ USAFA/DFP
2354 Fairchild Drive, Suite 2A43, USAF Academy, CO 80840 United States
AU: McHarg, M G
EM: Matthew.McHarg@usafa.af.mil
AF: United States Air Force Academy, Department of Physics, HQ USAFA/DFP
2354 Fairchild Drive, Suite 2A43, USAF Academy, CO 80840 United States
AB:
Investigations into a novel technique to measure ionosphere-thermosphere parameters have culminated in the Flat Plasma
Spectrometer (FLAPS) experiment, presently under development through a collaboration between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC) and the U. S. Air Force Academy (USAFA). FLAPS is capable of providing measurements of the full neutral wind
vector, full ion-drift velocity vector, neutral and ion temperatures, and deviations from thermalization. In addition,
coarse mass spectroscopy is possible using an energy analysis technique. The suite of instruments is comprised of a set of
16 individual neutral and ion analyzers, each of which is designed to perform a specific function. Advances in
miniaturization technology have enabled a design in which the 16-sensor suite resides on a circular microchannel plate with
an effective area of 25 cm$^{2}$. The FLAPS electronics package, consisting of low voltage and high voltage power supplies,
a microprocessor, and Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) amplifiers, requires a volume of 290 cm$^{3}$, power of
1.5 W, and a mass of 500 g. The suite requires a +5V regulated power line from the spacecraft, and the telemetry interface
is a 5.0 V TTL-compatible serial connection. Data collection rates vary from 1 to 1000 (192 Byte) spectra per second.
The motivation for the FLAPS experiment is driven by objectives that fall into both basic science and technology
demonstration categories. Scientifically, there is strong interest in the effects of ionosphere-thermosphere coupling and
non-thermalized plasma on the processes associated with equatorial F-region ionospheric plasma bubbles. These bubbles have
been known to scintillate transionospheric propagation of radio waves, often resulting in disruptions of space-based
communication and navigation systems. FLAPS investigations will assist in quantifying the impact of various processes on the
instigation or suppression of plasma bubbles; certain outstanding questions include 1) What is the relevance of meridional
winds in suppression of plasma bubble growth? 2) What role does a velocity space instability driven by non-thermalized plasma
play in the generation of small scale ($<$1 km) bubbles? 3) What process is responsible for turbulence in plasma beyond the
edges of a bubble structure? Technologically, the need for small yet capable instruments arises from the desire to make
multipoint {\it in situ} measurements of "microscopic" plasma parameters to provide insight into "macroscopic" phenomena.
Examples include coherency of spatial boundaries of large-scale ($\sim$100 km) plasma bubbles, three dimensional structure of
the equatorial wind and temperature anomaly, and vertical velocity gradients in the low latitude ionosphere. This paper
provides an overview of the experiment motivation and instrument design of the FLAPS experiment.
DE: 0394 Instruments and techniques
DE: 2415 Equatorial ionosphere
DE: 2494 Instruments and techniques
DE: 7894 Instruments and techniques
SC: SPA - Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting