SOLAR-C

Last updated
SOLAR-C
NamesSOLAR-C
High-sensitivity Solar Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Satellite (official)
Mission type Heliophysics
Operator Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)
Website solar-c.nao.ac.jp
Mission duration2 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass500 kg (1,100 lb)
Dimensions4.8 m (16 ft) height
Start of mission
Launch date2028 (planned)
Rocket Epsilon S
Orbital parameters
Reference system Sun-synchronous orbit (>600 km (370 mi))
 

SOLAR-C (official name "High-sensitivity Solar Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Satellite" [1] ) is a planned Sun-observing satellite being developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), and international collaborators. It will be the follow-up to the Hinode (SOLAR-B) and Yohkoh (SOLAR-A) missions and will carry the EUV High-throughput Spectroscopic Telescope (EUVST  [ ja ]) and the Solar Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SoSpIM). [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] It is scheduled to launch in fiscal year 2028. [7]

Contents

Objectives

The mission aims to study the sun, its effects on Earth and the Solar System, and the mechanisms behind hot plasma formation. The satellite will also analyse the Sun's UV radiation spectrum. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">JAXA</span> Japans national air and space agency

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon. Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yohkoh</span> Japanese spacecraft

Yohkoh, known before launch as Solar-A, was a Solar observatory spacecraft of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (Japan), in collaboration with space agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was launched into Earth orbit on August 30, 1991 by the M-3SII rocket from Kagoshima Space Center. It took its first soft X-ray image on September 13, 1991, 21:53:40, and movie representations of the X-ray corona over 1991-2001 are available at the Yohkoh Legacy site.

Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, or ISAS, is a Japanese national research organization of astrophysics using rockets, astronomical satellites and interplanetary probes which played a major role in Japan's space development. Since 2003, it is a division of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzaku (satellite)</span> Satellite

Suzaku was an X-ray astronomy satellite developed jointly by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science at JAXA and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to probe high energy X-ray sources, such as supernova explosions, black holes and galactic clusters. It was launched on 10 July 2005 aboard the M-V launch vehicle on the M-V-6 mission. After its successful launch, the satellite was renamed Suzaku after the mythical Vermilion bird of the South.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinode (satellite)</span> Japanese satellite

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">FOXSI Sounding Rocket</span> Sounding rocket payload

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References

  1. Shimizu, Toshifumi (1 March 2024). "SOLAR-C Project Team launched in JAXA". SOLAR-C. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  2. Watanabe, Tetsuya (2 August 2014). "The Solar-C Mission". Proceedings of the SPIE . doi:10.1117/12.2055366.
  3. Shimizu, Toshifumi; Imada, Shinsuke; Kawate, Tomoko; Suematsu, Yoshinori; Hara, Hirohisa; Tsuzuki, Toshihiro; Katsukawa, Yukio; Kubo, Masahito; Ishikawa, Ryoko; Watanabe, Tetsuya; Toriumi, Shin; Ichimoto, Kiyoshi; Nagata, Shin'ichi; Hasegawa, Takahiro; Yokoyama, Takaaki; Watanabe, Kyoko; Tsuno, Katsuhiko; Korendyke, Clarence M.; Warren, Harry P.; De Pontieu, Bart; Boerner, Paul; Solanki, Sami K.; Teriaca, Luca; Schühle, Udo; Matthews, Sarah; Long, David; Thomas, William; Hancock, Barry; Reid, Hamish; Fludra, Andrzej; Auchere, Frederic; Andretta, Vincenzo; Naletto, Giampiero; Poletto, Luca; Harra, Louise (13 December 2020). "The Solar-C (EUVST) mission: the latest status". Proceedings of the SPIE. doi:10.1117/12.2560887.
  4. Krummheuer, Birgit; Solanki, Sami K.; Teriaca, Luca (23 June 2020). "Starting Signal for Solar-C". Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research.
  5. Hautaluoma, Grey; Frazier, Sarah (29 December 2020). "NASA Approves Heliophysics Missions to Explore Sun, Earth's Aurora". NASA.
  6. Clark, Stuart (8 January 2021). "Spacewatch: Nasa Joins Japan's Mission to Study Sun's Atmosphere". The Guardian.
  7. Shimizu, Toshifumi (1 March 2024). "SOLAR-C Project Team launched in JAXA". SOLAR-C Project. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
  8. "Exploring the Rainbow Beyond the Blue". SOLAR-C. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  9. "Instruments". SOLAR-C. Retrieved 3 March 2024.