Solar Mesosphere Explorer

Solar Mesosphere Explorer
Solar Mesosphere Explorer (Explorer 64) satellite
NamesExplorer 64
Solar Mesosphere Explorer
Mission typeEarth observation
OperatorNASA / LASP
COSPAR ID1981-100A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.12887
Mission duration7.5 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftExplorer LXIV
Spacecraft typeSolar Mesosphere Explorer
BusSME
ManufacturerBall Space Systems
Launch mass437 kg (963 lb)
DimensionsCylinder: 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) diameter by 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) high
PowerSolar panels and nickel-cadmiumd batteries
Start of mission
Launch date6 October 1981, 11:27 UTC
RocketThor-Delta 2310
(Thor 639 / Delta 157)
Launch siteVandenberg, SLC-2W
ContractorDouglas Aircraft Company
Entered service6 October 1981
End of mission
Deactivated31 December 1988
Last contact4 April 1989
Decay date5 March 1991
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude535 km (332 mi)
Apogee altitude551 km (342 mi)
Inclination97.56°
Period95.50 minutes
Instruments
Ultraviolet ozone spectrometer
Micrometer spectrometer
Nitrogen dioxide spectrometer
Four-channel infrared radiometer
Solar ultraviolet monitor
Solar proton alarm detector
Explorer Program
← Dynamics Explorer 2 (Explorer 63)

The Solar Mesosphere Explorer (also known as Explorer 64) was a 1980s NASA spacecraft to investigate the processes that create and destroy ozone in Earth's upper atmosphere. The mesosphere is a layer of the atmosphere extending from the top of the stratosphere to an altitude of about 80 km (50 mi). The spacecraft carried five instruments to measure ozone, water vapor, and incoming solar radiation.[1][2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference JPL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Solar Mesosphere Explorer NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive