SwRI solar wind plasma sensor integrated into NOAA satellite

SwRI solar wind plasma sensor integrated into NOAA satellite
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 08, 2024
The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has successfully delivered and integrated its Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS) into a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite designed to track space weather. SWiPS is designed to measure ions originating from the Sun, particularly the fast-moving ions associated with coronal mass ejections, which can have significant impacts on Earth's magnetic environment.

The NOAA Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) satellite will orbit at a point known as L1, roughly a million miles from Earth. From this position, it will monitor solar wind conditions, high-energy particles, and the interplanetary magnetic field, providing critical data on space weather. Alongside SWiPS, SwRI developed the SWFO-L1 magnetometer and will also support mission operations and data analysis, enabling early warnings for space weather events that could affect technology such as GPS systems, power grids, and astronaut safety.

"The delivery and integration of SWiPS is the culmination of four years of hard work by a very dedicated and talented team. I couldn't be prouder of this group," said Dr. Robert Ebert, principal investigator for SWiPS and staff scientist in SwRI's Space Science Division. "The measurements made by SWiPS will provide advance warning in real-time of phenomena associated with space weather before they arrive in the space environment near Earth."

Now integrated into the spacecraft, SWiPS is undergoing environmental testing. The instrument will measure solar wind ion velocity, density, and temperature, data that will assist NOAA in predicting geomagnetic storm intensity in conjunction with the SWFO-L1 magnetometer.

"The SWiPS sensor design is based on the Ion and Electron Sensor flown on ESA's Rosetta comet mission," said Prachet Mokashi, project manager for SWiPS at SwRI. "The compact design, low resource requirements, and advanced data production make this instrument optimal for the SWFO-L1 and other similar missions."

SwRI's Space Science Division has a long history of designing instruments to study space plasmas, which are ionized gases that fill the space around Earth, other planets, and interplanetary regions.

The SWiPS project began amid the COVID-19 pandemic, adding complexity to its development. "Designing and developing a complex instrument such as this was especially challenging when we couldn't get the engineers in the same room, and supply chains were disrupted. But we persevered to build the flight instrument and successfully test it before delivery to NASA," said Michael Fortenberry, system engineer for SWiPS and director in SwRI's Space Systems Division.

NASA plans to launch the SWFO-L1 satellite in 2025 as part of a rideshare mission with the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) aboard a SpaceX vehicle. SwRI is also contributing to the IMAP mission by managing the payload and providing scientific instruments to analyze particles from interstellar space and study particle acceleration near Earth.