26998 - TIMED

TIMED (Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics, and Dynamics) is an American (NASA) ionospheric research satellite that was launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg AFB at 15:07 UT on 2001 December 7. The 587-kg, 400-W, 1.6-m wide, and 1.2-m deep spacecraft carries four instruments: GUVI (Global UltraViolet Imager), SABER (Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry), SEE (Solar Extreme ultraviolet Experiment) and TIDI, (TImed Doppler Interferometer). The GUVI will monitor auroral and airglow lines with a spatial scanning spectrometer to assess the atomic/molecular composition and temperature profile in the upper atmosphere. The SABER is a 10-channel infrared radiometer to monitor the heat emitted by the upper atmosphere in the 1.27-17 micron wavelength band. The SEE will monitor the solar irradiance in the UV and soft X-ray bands. The TIDI will extract the Doppler shift in atomic and molecular lines at four perpendicular directions to infer the prevailing wind speed. The spacecraft has a data storage capacity of 5 Gbits and will downlink the data mainly over the APL at a rate of 4 Mbits/sec. The initial orbital parameters were period 97.3 min, apogee 628 km, perigee 627 km, and inclination 74.1 deg.

Alternate Names

Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2001-12-07
Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Launch Site: Vandenberg AFB, United States
Mass: 660.0 kg
Nominal Power: 300.0 W