Ionospheric Connection Explorer

Ionospheric Connection Explorer
ICON (Explorer 96) satellite
NamesExplorer 96
ICON
Mission typeIonospheric research
OperatorUC Berkeley SSL / NASA
COSPAR ID2019-068A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.44628
Websiteicon.ssl.berkeley.edu
Mission duration2 years (planned)
Final: 3 years, 1 month, 14 days
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftExplorer XCVI
Spacecraft typeIonospheric Connection Explorer
BusLEOStar-2[1]
ManufacturerUniversity of California, Berkeley / Northrop Grumman
Launch mass288 kg (635 lb)[2]
DimensionsHeight: 193 cm (76 in) and 106 cm (42 in) of diameter[3]
Solar panel: 254 × 84 cm (100 × 33 in)
Power780 watts
Start of mission
Launch date11 October 2019, 02:00 UTC[4]
RocketPegasus XL (F44)
Launch siteCape Canaveral Skid Strip, Stargazer[5]
ContractorNorthrop Grumman
Entered serviceNovember 2019
End of mission
Last contact25 November 2022
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude575 km (357 mi)
Apogee altitude603 km (375 mi)
Inclination27.00°
Period97.00 minutes
Explorer program
← TESS (Explorer 95)
IXPE (Explorer 97) →

Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON)[6] was a NASA satellite designed to investigate changes in the ionosphere of Earth, the dynamic region high in the atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above. ICON studied the interaction between Earth's weather systems and space weather driven by the Sun, and how this interaction drives turbulence in the upper atmosphere. NASA hoped that a better understanding of this dynamic would mitigate its effects on communications, GPS signals, and technology in general.[6][7] It was part of NASA's Explorer program and was operated by University of California, Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory.[8]

On 12 April 2013, NASA announced that ICON, along with Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD), had been selected for development with the cost capped at US$200 million,[9] excluding launch costs.[10] The principal investigator of ICON was Thomas Immel at the University of California, Berkeley.[9][11]

ICON was originally scheduled to launch in June 2017 and was repeatedly delayed because of problems with its Pegasus XL launch vehicle. It was next due to launch on 26 October 2018 but the launch was rescheduled to 7 November 2018, and postponed again just 28 minutes before launch.[12] ICON was successfully launched on 11 October 2019, at 02:00 UTC.[4]

On 25 November 2022, contact with ICON was unexpectedly lost for unclear reasons. In July 2024, the mission was formally ended after repeated attempts to regain contact with the satellite had failed.[13]

  1. ^ "ICON: Exploring where Earth's Weather meets Space Weather" (PDF). University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  2. ^ ICON Factsheet Archived 24 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Northrop Grumman, Accessed: 24 October 2018
  3. ^ ICON, October 2018, NASA Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ a b Thompson, Amy (11 October 2019). "NASA Launches Long-Delayed ICON Space Weather Satellite to Study Earth's Ionosphere". Space.com. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference sfn20180705 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b "Ionospheric Connection Explorer". University of California, Berkeley.
  7. ^ "ICON Mission Overview". NASA. 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 6 November 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ Sanders, Robert (16 April 2013). "UC Berkeley selected to build NASA's next space weather satellite". Berkeley News. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  9. ^ a b Harrington, J. D. (5 April 2013). "NASA Selects Explorer Investigations for Formulation". NASA. Retrieved 6 April 2013. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ^ Leone, Dan (20 October 2015). "Heliophysics Small Explorer Solicitation Set for First Half of 2016". SpaceNews. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  11. ^ "ICON Project Management". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  12. ^ Bartels, Meghan (23 October 2018). "ICON of Delay? NASA, Northrop Grumman Postpone Earth Satellite Mission Yet Again". Space.com. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  13. ^ Apodaca, Desiree (24 July 2024). "NASA's ICON Mission Ends with Several Ionospheric Breakthroughs". NASA. Retrieved 11 November 2024.