Microscopic instrument aboard Air Force Academy satellite to study plasma bubbles

User rating: 4 / 5 after 2 vote(s)

A close-up view of the Flat Plasma Spectrometer (FlaPS) shown next to a dime for scale. FlaPS was designed and fabricated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for NASA and the US Air Force Academy. Credit: Johns Hopkins Universi ...
A close-up view of the Flat Plasma Spectrometer (FlaPS) shown next to a dime for scale. FlaPS was designed and fabricated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for NASA and the US Air Force Academy. Credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), in Laurel, Md., in conjunction with scientists from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the U.S. Air Force Academy, have developed a tiny analyzer to study depletions of plasma (known as plasma bubbles) in the ionosphere, a phenomenon that can disrupt satellite communications.


Full story »
All News summaries from Space & Earth science news
All News summaries for March 09, 2007

Beijing smog persists with Games just around corner

2 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Beijing was swathed in smog on Friday just two weeks ahead of the Olympics as its notorious pollution defied aggressive steps aimed at clearing the air for next month's Games.

Massive oil spill clogs Mississippi River

2 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
The Mississippi River reopened to limited traffic on Friday, two days after a barge collided with a tanker spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel oil, the US Coast Guard said.

A new era in search for 'sister Earths'?

Jul 25, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Research presented at a recent astronomical conference is being hailed as ushering in a new era in the search for Earth-like planets by showing that they are more numerous than previously thought and that ...

'Impressionist' Spacecraft to View Solar System's Invisible Frontier

Jul 25, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- At the edge of our solar system in December 2004, the Voyager 1 spacecraft encountered something never before experienced during its then 26-year cruise through the solar system — an invisible ...

NASA Successfully Tests Parachute for Ares Rocket

Jul 25, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA and industry engineers have successfully completed the first drop test of a drogue parachute for the Ares I rocket. The drogue parachute is designed to slow the rapid descent of the spent first-stage ...
Goto Archive PhysOrg Forum Goto Archive Video Goto Archive Editorials Goto Archive Free Magazines Goto Archive Newsletter

News Archive