The FAST spacecraft will probe the physical processes that produce the aurora borealis and aurora australis. It is a unique plasma physics experiment that will take fundamental measurements of the magnetic and electrical field by flying through the highest altitude regions to date of the aurora where acceleration of charged particles expelled from the sun begins. This investigation will add significantly to our understanding of the near-earth space environment and its effects.
"We are very pleased with the successful deployment of the FAST spacecraft this morning," said Jim Watzin, SMEX project manager at Goddard. "Initially, we will be watching to ensure that the health of the spacecraft is stable and that the proper spacecraft attitude and power conditions are established. Then over the course of the next 45 days we will deploy and configure the instruments to begin the science investigation. We expect the scientists will start their work in about a month".
"FAST is the second of five missions in NASA's Small Explorer (SMEX) Project developed by the Goddard Space Flight Center. The SMEX satellites are small observatories that are being used to support quick response astrophysics and space physics investigation as well as to develop new low cost approaches for improving satellite productivity in space research," said Watzin.
FAST's five scientific instruments will gather high time resolution "snapshots" of the electric fields, magnetic fields, and energetic electron and ion distributions at high altitudes of 1,200 - 2,600 miles and at high latitudes near the Earth's magnetic poles.
The science data from FAST will be directly down-linked to several ground stations throughout the world. These include the transportable ground station in Poker Flat, Alaska, a ground station at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA, another NASA transportable ground station at McMurdo Station, Antarctica and a European ground station in Kiruna, Sweden.
The spacecraft is intended to operate at least for one year. The expected satellite lifetime is limited due to the anticipated high radiation environment and rapid orbit decay.
Information on the FAST mission can be obtained via the Internet World Wide Web at URL: http://sunland.gsfc.nasa.gov/smex/fast/
8/21/96