Six small satellites (SmallSats) will form the largest radio telescope ever launched. SunRISE, the Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment, is an upcoming @nasa mission aimed at using the SmallSats to track hazardous and explosive space weather phenomena as shown in the animation above. These events generate particle radiation that can jeopardize astronauts, technology in space, and negatively impact communications and power grids on Earth.
The first of these six SmallSats has been completed at Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, which is contracted to build, test, and commission all six satellites for NASA.
Each toaster-size satellite will act as a single antenna to detect bursts of radio waves from the Sun’s atmosphere. Each is equipped with four telescoping antenna booms that extend about 10 feet (2.5 meters) to form an “X,” that will orbit Earth from about 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) away, swarming together to trace out the virtual radio telescope.
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