SCION-X / INSPIRESat-6: A Small Satellite for Atmospheric and Ionospheric Science
Abstract
Small satellites are a viable platform for scientific studies, the qualification of new scientific payloads, as well as serving as pathfinders for future large-scale missions or constellations. We present the mission concept and preliminary design for the SCintillation and IONosphere eXtended mission (SCION-X), which is currently funded and in development at National Central University (NCU) in Taiwan, in collaboration with partners through the International Satellite Program In Research and Education (INSPIRE) consortium as the sixth spacecraft in that program. SCION-X will provide vertical profiles and in-situ sampling of the ionosphere using a Compact Ionospheric Probe (CIP) and through GNSS radio occultation (GNSS RO), providing data useful to understanding ionospheric effects on satellite navigation and communications. GNSS RO will also provide temperature and water vapor profiles from the lower atmosphere, which are valuable for forecasting tropical cyclone intensity. Finally, the mission will also serve to flight qualify and calibrate a hyperspectral imager developed at NCU for use in identifying the sources and composition of PM2.5 aerosols in the lower atmosphere. SCION-X will therefore contribute to a better understanding of both ionospheric and atmospheric weather, as well as the development of a remote sensing instrument that can be applied to air quality studies.
- Publication:
-
43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 28 January - 4 February
- Pub Date:
- January 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021cosp...43E.743C