HelioSwarm (MIDEX 11) [Univ. of New Hampshire]
The HelioSwarm mission is a constellation or “swarm” of nine spacecraft that will capture the first multiscale in-space measurements of fluctuations in the magnetic field and motions of the solar wind known as solar wind turbulence. The Sun’s outermost atmospheric layer, the heliosphere, encompasses an enormous region of the solar system. Solar winds spread through the heliosphere, and their interactions with planetary magnetospheres and disruptions such as coronal mass ejections affect their turbulence.
Studying solar wind turbulence across large areas requires plasma measurements taken simultaneously from different points in space. HelioSwarm consists of one hub spacecraft and eight co-orbiting small satellites that range in distance from each other and the hub spacecraft. The hub spacecraft will maintain radio contact with each small satellite. All radio contact between the swarm and Earth will be conducted through the hub spacecraft and the NASA Deep Space Network of spacecraft communication antennas.
Launching in 2028, one hub spacecraft and eight small satellites will move in coordinated orbits as a swarm using a highly elliptical, lunar resonant earth-orbit.
Nation: | USA |
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Type / Application: | Research |
Operator: | |
Contractors: | University of New Hampshire (payloads); Northrop Grumman (hub spacecraft); Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) (bus) |
Equipment: | |
Configuration: | X-SAT Venus (Nodes) |
Propulsion: | |
Power: | Solar cells, batteries |
Lifetime: | |
Mass: | |
Orbit: |
Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
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HelioSwarm Hub (MIDEX 11A) | - | 2028 | with HelioSwarm Node 1, ..., 8 | |||
HelioSwarm Node 1 (MIDEX 11B) | - | 2028 | with HelioSwarm Hub, HelioSwarm Node 1, ..., 8 | |||
HelioSwarm Node 2 (MIDEX 11C) | - | 2028 | with HelioSwarm Hub, HelioSwarm Node 1, ..., 8 | |||
HelioSwarm Node 3 (MIDEX 11D) | - | 2028 | with HelioSwarm Hub, HelioSwarm Node 1, ..., 8 | |||
HelioSwarm Node 4 (MIDEX 11E) | - | 2028 | with HelioSwarm Hub, HelioSwarm Node 1, ..., 8 | |||
HelioSwarm Node 5 (MIDEX 11F) | - | 2028 | with HelioSwarm Hub, HelioSwarm Node 1, ..., 8 | |||
HelioSwarm Node 6 (MIDEX 11G) | - | 2028 | with HelioSwarm Hub, HelioSwarm Node 1, ..., 8 | |||
HelioSwarm Node 7 (MIDEX 11H) | - | 2028 | with HelioSwarm Hub, HelioSwarm Node 1, ..., 8 | |||
HelioSwarm Node 8 (MIDEX 11I) | - | 2028 | with HelioSwarm Hub, HelioSwarm Node 1, ..., 8 |