 Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (Explorer 94) satellite | |
| Names | Explorer 94 IRIS SMEX-12 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Heliophysics |
| Operator | NASA / Lockheed Martin |
| COSPAR ID | 2013-033A |
| SATCAT no. | 39197 |
| Mission duration | 2 years (planned) 11 years, 4 months, 23 days (in progress) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Explorer XCIV |
| Spacecraft type | Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph |
| Bus | IRIS |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| Launch mass | 200 kg (440 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 28 June 2013, 02:27:46 UTC |
| Rocket | Pegasus-XL (F42) |
| Launch site | Vandenberg, Stargazer |
| Contractor | Orbital Sciences Corporation |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 623 km (387 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 665 km (413 mi) |
| Inclination | 97.90° |
| Period | 97.47 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) | |
Explorer program | |
Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS),[1] also called Explorer 94 and SMEX-12,[2] is a NASA solar observation satellite. The mission was funded through the Small Explorer program to investigate the physical conditions of the solar limb, particularly the interface region made up of the chromosphere and transition region. The spacecraft consists of a satellite bus and spectrometer built by the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), and a telescope provided by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). IRIS is operated by LMSAL and NASA's Ames Research Center.
The satellite's instrument is a high-frame-rate ultraviolet imaging spectrometer, providing one image per second at 0.3 arcsecond angular resolution and sub-ångström spectral resolution.
NASA announced, on 19 June 2009, that IRIS was selected from six Small Explorer mission candidates for further study,[3] along with the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism (GEMS) space observatory.[4]
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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