IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination
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IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination |
| MinXSS | Updated: 08 Apr 2015 | Responsible Operator | Scott Palo WG2XDS | |
| Supporting Organisation | University of Colorado | |||
| Contact Person | scott.palo@colorado.edu.nospam | |||
| Headline Details: The primary objective of the Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) CubeSat is to better understand the energy distribution of solar flare soft X-ray (SXR) emissions and its impact on Earth’s ionosphere, thermosphere, and mesosphere (ITM). The peak solar energy in the SXR is expected to be emitted near 2 nm, yet we have limited spectral measurements near that wavelength to verify this expectation. Energy from SXR radiation is deposited mostly in the ionospheric E-region, from ~80 to ~150 km, but the precise altitude is strongly dependent on the SXR spectrum because of the steep slope and structure of the photoionization cross sections of atmospheric gases in this wavelength range. Despite many decades of solar SXR observations, almost all have been broadband low-resolution measurements with insufficient spectral resolution to fully understand the varying contributions of emission lines amongst the underlying thermal and non-thermal continua. Consequently, these broadband measurements do not constrain where in Earth’s atmosphere the solar SXR energy is deposited; this is the driving motivation for MinXSS to measure the solar SXR spectrum. Furthermore, the interpretation of broadband measurements requires the use of solar spectral models, even to obtain the correct total energy flux. Significant differences are seen between the broadband measurements, sometimes more than a factor of two, apparently due to the lack of precise knowledge of the distribution in the SXR spectrum. The importance of the MinXSS mission is (1) providing new spectral observations of the solar SXR near the maximum of solar cycle 24, (2) improving the understanding of how highly variable solar X-rays affect the ITM, and (3) advancing the knowledge of flare energetics in the SXR.** A downlink of 437.350MHz has been coordinated** **Now expecting to launch in Nov 2015** | ||||
| Application Date: | 01 Sep 2014 | Freq coordination completed on | 29 Sep 2014 | |
The IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Status pages are hosted
by AMSAT-UK as a service to the world wide Amateur Satellite Community
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