POPACS 1

Spacecraft Nº:

US spacecraft Nº:

Launch data: Designation  39268 / 13055D Launch date  29 Sept 2013 - 16:00 UT Launch site  Va, SLC-4E Launch vehicle  Falcon-9 v1.1 Mission  Research (Atmospheric density) Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  324 x 1480 km Eccentricity   Inclination   81.0° Period  102.9 min

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• POPACS (Polar Orbiting Passive Atmospheric Calibration Sphere) is a mission by a collaboration between Utah State University, Gil Moore, Planetary Systems Corporation, Drexel University, American Aerospace Advisors, Inc., SpaceX, Analytical Graphics, Inc, et al. to assess changes in the density of the upper atmosphere in response to heightened solar activity.
• POPACS mission is to measure the effects of solar flares and coronal mass ejections on the density of Earth's upper atmosphere during solar cycles 24 and 25. POPACS is a mission by collaboration between Utah State University, Gil Moore, Planetary Systems Corporation and Drexel University.
• The spacecraft in this case are three 10-centimeter spheres filled with sand to masses of 1, 1.5, and 2 kilograms. The spheres, separated by spacers, will fly within CubeSat (3U) form factor as secondary payloads on the first Falcon-9 v1.1 launch from Vandenberg in 2013, and released once in polar orbit. Air Force radars as well as ground observers, including college students, will track the orbits of these objects as they decay over 10 to 15 years to measure atmospheric density.
• The lightweight, high-drag spacers will reenter, due to atmospheric drag at perigee within a few months, while the much more dense POPACS spheres will remain in orbit for approximately 10, 12.5 and 15 years.

Satellite tracking: