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Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
350
SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS: A SCIENCE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
ment packages that are capable of achieving this requirement, with many of them small enough to fit on
very small spacecraft.
2. Each satellite needs to pass through the auroral zone, since this is the primary science zone.
3. There must be enough satellites in a single orbital plane that the return time to a location is less
than dynamical timescales within the system.
4. Multiple planes of satellites should be utilized to provide information on the longitudinal structure
and the dynamics of the system.
HETEROGENEOUS FACILITIES
Measurements from a diverse set of platforms—space missions, suborbital, ground-based, CubeSats,
alternatives—can enhance the science of any single-point space missions. Examples of successfully demonstrated integration are THEMIS ground-based, BARREL and RBSP, and the rocket flights that were done
during the CRRES mission.
A heterogeneous facility generalizes this integration concept into a comprehensive approach that
encompasses all aspects of a mission, but it is applied to a variety of platforms that are integrated through
operational means, data analysis, and dissemination to target science objectives in an integrated fashion.
Heterogeneous facilities are particularly valuable to system science for understanding mesoscale and
global-scale processes. Heterogeneous facilities would combine and coordinate measurement platforms
that are developed through a variety of means and financial support.
Illustrative Example of Heterogeneous Facilities: A Storm-Based Campaign
The purpose of a storm-based heterogeneous facility would be to set up and operate a campaign over
a given time period focused on a variety of assets, all deployed to understand geomagnetic storms. Global
GPS networks have provided a synoptic view of ionospheric storms that emphasizes how different physical
processes and regional features work in concert to create the “global ionospheric storm.” GPS networks
operate continuously so that no special coordination is needed as part of a heterogeneous facility. However,
significant questions regarding the physical processes causing the storm-time dynamics requires unraveling coordinated observations. A storm investigation would require that the GPS data be analyzed during
an event in which coordinated observations from SuperDarn, NSF radars, and wind measurements are
obtained. Mission data would play a role also. These facilities would be operated in a mode that optimizes
their data for the particular science objectives being pursued. Mobile facilities could be located where
they are most needed to investigate particular mesoscale features that are prominent during storms, such
as storm-enhanced density or tongues of ionization. The scientific payoff is understanding the physical
drivers of the ionospheric response that is captured by the GPS sensors. This campaign may also involve
coordinated operation of some CubeSats and also balloon launches.
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
350
SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS: A SCIENCE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
ment packages that are capable of achieving this requirement, with many of them small enough to fit on
very small spacecraft.
2. Each satellite needs to pass through the auroral zone, since this is the primary science zone.
3. There must be enough satellites in a single orbital plane that the return time to a location is less
than dynamical timescales within the system.
4. Multiple planes of satellites should be utilized to provide information on the longitudinal structure
and the dynamics of the system.
HETEROGENEOUS FACILITIES
Measurements from a diverse set of platforms—space missions, suborbital, ground-based, CubeSats,
alternatives—can enhance the science of any single-point space missions. Examples of successfully demonstrated integration are THEMIS ground-based, BARREL and RBSP, and the rocket flights that were done
during the CRRES mission.
A heterogeneous facility generalizes this integration concept into a comprehensive approach that
encompasses all aspects of a mission, but it is applied to a variety of platforms that are integrated through
operational means, data analysis, and dissemination to target science objectives in an integrated fashion.
Heterogeneous facilities are particularly valuable to system science for understanding mesoscale and
global-scale processes. Heterogeneous facilities would combine and coordinate measurement platforms
that are developed through a variety of means and financial support.
Illustrative Example of Heterogeneous Facilities: A Storm-Based Campaign
The purpose of a storm-based heterogeneous facility would be to set up and operate a campaign over
a given time period focused on a variety of assets, all deployed to understand geomagnetic storms. Global
GPS networks have provided a synoptic view of ionospheric storms that emphasizes how different physical
processes and regional features work in concert to create the “global ionospheric storm.” GPS networks
operate continuously so that no special coordination is needed as part of a heterogeneous facility. However,
significant questions regarding the physical processes causing the storm-time dynamics requires unraveling coordinated observations. A storm investigation would require that the GPS data be analyzed during
an event in which coordinated observations from SuperDarn, NSF radars, and wind measurements are
obtained. Mission data would play a role also. These facilities would be operated in a mode that optimizes
their data for the particular science objectives being pursued. Mobile facilities could be located where
they are most needed to investigate particular mesoscale features that are prominent during storms, such
as storm-enhanced density or tongues of ionization. The scientific payoff is understanding the physical
drivers of the ionospheric response that is captured by the GPS sensors. This campaign may also involve
coordinated operation of some CubeSats and also balloon launches.