Spacecraft design considerations for an Inner Magnetosphere Imager missionImaging the Earth's magnetosphere from space will enable scientists to better understand the global shape of the inner magnetosphere, its components and processes. The proposed Inner Magnetosphere Imager (IMI) mission will obtain the first simultaneous images of the component regions of the inner magnetosphere and will enable scientists to relate these global images to internal and external influences as well as local observations. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is performing a concept definition study of the proposed mission. As currently envisioned, the baseline mission calls for an instrument complement of approximately seven imagers to be flown in an elliptical Earth orbit with an apogee of seven Earth Radii (RE). Several spacecraft concepts have been examined for the mission. The baseline concept utilizes a spinning spacecraft with a despun platform, the second uses a three-axis stabilized spacecraft with a spinning platform, while the third option splits the instruments onto two small satellites; a spinning spacecraft and a complementary three-axis stabilized spacecraft. This paper will address the mission objectives, the rationale for using proven spacecraft designs, and the preliminary concept definition study team results for all three options.
Document ID
19930045755
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Herrmann, Melody C. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Johnson, Charles L. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: In: Instrumentation for magnetospheric imagery; Proceedings of the Meeting, San Diego, CA, July 21, 22, 1992 (A93-29751 10-19)
Publisher: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers