Space-based Ionosonde Receiver and Visible Limb-viewing Airglow Sensor (SIRVLAS): A CubeSat instrument suite for enhanced ionospheric charge density measurements

Sujay Swain; Benjamin Cohen; Ryan He; Michael Ilie; Ishaan Shrestha; Luca Zeng-Mariotti; Rajit Mukhopadhyay; Santiago Lisa; Andrew Healey

doi:10.1117/12.2567787

22 August 2020 Space-based Ionosonde Receiver and Visible Limb-viewing Airglow Sensor (SIRVLAS): A CubeSat instrument suite for enhanced ionospheric charge density measurements

Sujay Swain, Benjamin Cohen, Ryan He, Michael Ilie, Ishaan Shrestha, Luca Zeng-Mariotti, Rajit Mukhopadhyay, Santiago Lisa, Andrew Healey

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11505, CubeSats and SmallSats for Remote Sensing IV; 115050D (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2567787
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

blair3sat is a student-run team based in Montgomery County, Maryland, developing a 3U CubeSat. The satellite will include the instrument suite SIRVLAS, which contains an optical instrument and a Radio Frequency (RF) instrument. The objective of the mission is to prove that a set of instruments like SIRVLAS in a CubeSatstyle satellite is able to generate a three-dimensional mapping of ionospheric electron density. The optical instrument will measure OI 777.4 nm emissions in the lower ionosphere in a limb view geometry. Since the 777.4 nm wavelength is emitted from the radiative recombination reaction of O⁺ and e^-, its intensity is proportional to the square of the electron density. Therefore, by measuring the intensity of the 777.4 nm emission, electron densities may be calculated. These electron densities will be used as a reference for the data processing of RF signals. Specifically, correlation between the two instruments is performed through constrained optimization of known ray-tracing PDEs. Mappings of electron density in the ionosphere will allow for a better understanding of radio applications including radar and missile tracking, while allowing for the verification of current atmospheric and climatological models.

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Sujay Swain, Benjamin Cohen, Ryan He, Michael Ilie, Ishaan Shrestha, Luca Zeng-Mariotti, Rajit Mukhopadhyay, Santiago Lisa, and Andrew Healey "Space-based Ionosonde Receiver and Visible Limb-viewing Airglow Sensor (SIRVLAS): A CubeSat instrument suite for enhanced ionospheric charge density measurements", Proc. SPIE 11505, CubeSats and SmallSats for Remote Sensing IV, 115050D (22 August 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2567787

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