Glory
Glory [OSC] |
The Glory satellite is a earth science mission, which uses the refurbished bus of the
cancelled VCL satellite. It will feature an instrument to measure
atmoshperic aerosols and a Total Irradiance Monitor to continue the mission of SORCE. Another instrument will measure the levels of man-made
pollutants in the atmosphere.
The on-board instruments are:
- Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS) will collect global aerosol data based on measurements
of light reflected within the solar reflective spectral region of Earth’s atmosphere.
Since clouds can have a significant impact on the quality of these measurements, an
onboard cloud camera will be used to distinguish between clear and cloud filled scenes. A
three-year mission life (five-year goal) provides a minimum time period to observe
seasonal and regional trends and characterize the evolution of aerosols during different
climate events, such as El Niño, volcanic eruptions, etc.
- Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM), developed and provided by the University of
Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), will collect high
accuracy, high precision measurements of total solar irradiance (TSI), or the amount of
solar radiation in the Earth’s atmosphere over a period of time. The TIM is a
heritage-design instrument that was originally flown on the SORCE
satellite, which was launched in January 2003.
| Nation: |
USA |
| Type / Application: |
Earth Science |
| Operator: |
NASA |
| Contractors: |
Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) |
| Equipment: |
Aerosol Polarimeter, Total Irradiance Monitor Instrument |
| Configuration: |
LEOStar |
| Propulsion: |
45 kg, monopropellant blowdown, 4 x 4N thrusters´ |
| Lifetime: |
3 years (5 years goal) |
| Mass: |
545 kg |
| Orbit: |
705 km, 98.2° |
Last update: 27.09.2009
Contact: gunter.krebs@skyrocket.de
© Gunter Dirk Krebs