GOES-16 Continues to Come to Life
Posted by
Chris in Tampa on 12/12/2016, 10:25 pm
"Over the last week, GOES-16 has deployed its magnetometer boom; powered on its ABI, GLM, SUVI, and EXIS instruments; and its ground stations are now receiving space weather data from the spacecraft! The satellite's instruments will continue to progress through their planned testing and calibration phases over the next several weeks.
Earth's geomagnetic field acts as a shield, protecting us from hazardous incoming solar radiation. Geomagnetic storms, caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun, can interfere with communications and navigation systems, cause damage to satellites, cause health risks to astronauts, and threaten power utilities. When a solar flare occurs, GOES-16 will tell space weather forecasters where it happened on the sun and how strong it was. Using that information, forecasters can determine if the explosion of energy is coming toward Earth or not.
Once a geomagnetic storm reaches Earth, GOES-16 will measure the invisible magnetic field and particle radiation environment that surrounds the planet. These measurements will tell forecasters exactly what is happening, providing minute by minute updates as the geomagnetic storm progresses.
This video shows GOES-16's magnetometer being deployed during testing here on Earth."
Pretty amazing how that deploys. |
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GOES-16 Continues to Come to Life - Chris in Tampa, 12/12/2016, 10:25 pm
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