EL
SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov. 12,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Millennium Space Systems, a
Boeing (NYSE: BA) company, completed two spacecraft for NASA's
Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance
Satellites, or TRACERS, mission, which will measure the connection
between solar wind and the magnetic field surrounding Earth.
"TRACERS will ultimately inform how we understand space
weather," said Dave Machuga, CEO,
Millennium Space Systems. "From a national security space
perspective, this is incredibly important to understanding the
environment our satellites – or any satellites – operate in."
The team is now integrating the instruments that will study
changes in the magnetic and electric field, plasma particles and
waves once in orbit. Following integration, the next phase is
environmental testing prior to delivering the spacecraft to
Vandenberg Space Force Base.
"TRACERS will determine fundamental properties of the process
that connects the solar wind to near-Earth space and ultimately
drives space weather," said David
Miles, Principal Investigator of the TRACERS mission and F
Wendell Miller Associate Professor at the University of Iowa. "Understanding this magnetic
reconnection process addresses a priority science target in NASA's
Decadal Strategy for Solar and Space Physics and improves our
understanding of the space weather environment around our
planet."
Once launched and in a sun-synchronous orbit, Millennium will
begin on-orbit mission operations as the TRACERS spacecraft travels
along Earth's polar cusp region, the funnel shaped regions of the
Earth's magnetic field that open over the north and south magnetic
poles.
"The TRACERS Instrument Suite incorporates five different
instruments from four different institutions, each presenting
unique accommodation," said Richard
Prasad, TRACERS program manager, Millennium Space Systems.
"Millennium adapted a standard ALTAIR bus to a spin-stabilized platform, with
strict magnetic and electrostatic cleanliness requirements."
The data collected will focus on magnetic reconnection and cusp
electrodynamics – two crucial mechanisms driving space weather. By
examining the interactions between solar wind and the magnetosphere
in the cusp region, TRACERS aims to enhance the understanding of
how Earth's magnetosphere functions and how it reacts to variations
in solar wind. This research will improve the ability to forecast
space weather events, which can significantly affect technology and
infrastructure on Earth.
TRACERS is led by the University of
Iowa and managed by Southwest Research Institute in
San Antonio, Texas. NASA's
Heliophysics Explorers Program Office at NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Maryland, provides mission oversight to the project for the
agency's Heliophysics Division.
About Millennium Space Systems
Millennium Space
Systems, a Boeing Company, is a small satellite prime, delivering
high-performance constellation solutions for National Security
Space. Founded in 2001, the company's active production lines and
80% vertical integration enable the rapid delivery of small
satellites across missions and orbits – LEO, MEO and GEO. For more
information, visit www.millennium-space.com.
Contact:
Dana Carroll
VP Marketing
dana.carroll@millennium-space.com
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SOURCE Millennium Space Systems