2001 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID |
Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| TIMED SPACECRAFT WILL USE A LOFTY PERCH TO STUDY
LITTLE-KNOWN REGION OF EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE | G01-022A | 03/25/01 |
00:15:15 | NASA's TIMED
(Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Energetics and Dynamics)
satellite will study the least explored and understood region of our
atmosphere called the MLTI (the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere/
Ionosphere) - the region that acts as a gateway between Earth's
environment and space. TIMED will be the first mission to obtain a
global picture the MLTI region. Why the concern and interest? For
centuries, scientists realized that Earth's natural environment is
greatly impacted by solar energy striking the Earth from a constantly
changing sun. Human activities are now playing a role too.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): TIMED Beauty
Pass Animation
- In a society increasingly dependent upon satellite
technology and communications, it is vital to understand the least
explored and understood portion of the Earth's atmosphere. This is a
critical region, because what happens there can affect satellite
tracking, spacecraft lifetimes, degradation of spacecraft materials,
and the re-entry of piloted vehicles. The TIMED satellite will
study how energy is transferred into and out of the MLTI and will
analyze its structure. This atmospheric region is located
approximately 40-110 miles (60-180 kilometers) above the surface of
the planet. Courtesy: NASA/APL
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| ITEM (2): TIMED's Connection
to The Sun Animation - Our atmosphere acts like a blanket
insulating the ground from space, thereby warming the Earth. It also
shields out cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation from the sun. The
TIMED spacecraft completes the initial objective in NASA's Solar
Terrestrial Probes Program. The goal is to explore one of the last
frontiers, where the sun's energy is first deposited and absorbed
into Earth's atmosphere.
Courtesy: NASA/APL
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| ITEM (3): Where is The
MLTI? - A comprehensive global study of the MLTI region has
never before been accomplished because ground-based instruments can
only observe a small portion of the upper atmosphere, the region is
too high for balloons to reach, and sounding rockets can only provide
a brief snapshot. This active region is where energetic solar
radiation is absorbed and where intense electrical currents flow
producing beautiful auroras. With all of these volatile processes
taking place within the MLTI region, some scientists believe this
area of the atmosphere can also be an early indicator of global
change.Courtesy: NASA/APL
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| ITEM (4): TIMED Intruments
Animation - The TIMED spacecraft will observe this
relatively unexplored frontier called the MLTI, from its 388-mile
(625-kilometer) circular orbit around the Earth. With the newest
remote-sensing technology, the spacecraft's instrument suite will
work with a worldwide network of ground-based observation sites to
obtain an unprecedented set of comprehensive global measurements of
the region's temperature, pressure, winds and chemical composition,
along with its energy inputs and outputs. Courtesy: NASA/APL
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| ITEM (5): TIMED Deployment Animation
- The TIMED spacecraft will be boosted into its
625-kilometer circular orbit around the Earth (inclined 74.1 degrees
from the equator) aboard a Delta II launch vehicle from the Western
Range at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. The Delta II 7920-10 is a
medium-lift, two-stage, liquid-propellant rocket built by The Boeing
Company. The 1,320 lb. (600 kilogram) TIMED spacecraft will also
have solar arrays that extend beyond the body of the spacecraft to
capture and convert energy from the sun into electricity. Courtesy: NASA/APL
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| ITEM (6): Data Download to
Mission Operations - TIMED's distributed data management
system, the Mission Data Center (part of the Mission Operations
Center) will be responsible for downlinking raw data from the
satellite and then sending it, via direct links, to processors at
each of the remote Payload Operations Centers. Data collected during
each 90-minute orbit will be downloaded once a day and rapidly
distributed, via the Internet. The centers will process their
instrument's raw data and turn it into data products that can be used
by the public, the scientific and educational communities, and the
general public.
Courtesy: NASA/APL
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| ITEM (7): Layers of Earth's
Atmosphere Science Animation - Particles and energy
emitted from the sun alter Earth's upper atmosphere when deposited
into the MLTI region. These components change this region's energy
input and balance, affecting its chemistry and temperature. Since
Earth's upper atmospheric regions are connected to the lower portion
of the atmosphere where we live, scientists need TIMED to help them
understand the connections between these various atmospheric
regions.Courtesy: NASA/APL
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| ITEM (8): Old Sun/New Sun
Activity - The sun is believed just beyond the peak of its
11-year cycle of activity. Solar maximum is the two-to-three year
period around that peak when the sun's activity is most complex and
turbulent, and the space around Earth is most disturbed. Notice the
dramatic changes in the sun's atmosphere from solar minimum in 1996
to solar maximum in 2000. These cycles dramatically change the
energy input and balance in the MLTI. The Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory's (SOHO) Extreme Ultraviolet Telescope (EIT) camera
captured these beautiful images.
Courtesy: NASA/ESA
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| ITEM (9): TIMED Satellite
"B" Roll - Goddard's Solar Terrestrial Probes Program Office
manages the TIMED mission for NASA's Office of Space Science in
Washington, DC. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory in Laurel, MD designed, built, integrated, and tested the
spacecraft, and will operate it for NASA..Courtesy: NASA/APL
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| ITEM (10): TIMED
Launch - TIMED launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. on Dec.
7, 2001.
Courtesy: NASA/APL
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| ITEM (11): Interview With Dr.
Mary Mellott, Program Manager, NASA Headquaraters, Washington,
D.C.
Courtesy: NASA/APL
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| ITEM (12): Interview With Dr.
Richard A. Goldberg, Project Scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center,
Maryland
Courtesy: NASA/ESA
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| ITEM (13): Interview With
Dr. Tim Killeen, Principle Investigator, TIDI, Director of National
Center for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, Colorado Courtesy: NASA/APL
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