{"id":15,"date":"2013-09-09T11:38:14","date_gmt":"2013-09-09T15:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csr-dyn-45\/~ralf\/wordpress\/?page_id=15"},"modified":"2024-09-30T15:09:24","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T19:09:24","slug":"flights","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/?page_id=15","title":{"rendered":"Flights"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/shuttle_launch.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-269\" src=\"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/shuttle_launch.jpg\" alt=\"shuttle_launch\" width=\"234\" height=\"346\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\">Past and Ongoing Missions<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/history.nasa.gov\/SP-466\/contents.htm\">Einstein Observatory<\/a> (<a href=\"http:\/\/heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov\/docs\/einstein\/heao2.html\">HEAO-2<\/a>) : <\/span><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> <span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\">Mission dates<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\">: November 12, 1978 &#8211; April 1981<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: First imaging x-ray telescope in space, operating in the 0.2-20 keV band.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Focal Plane Crystal Spectrometer (<a href=\"http:\/\/history.nasa.gov\/SP-466\/p56.htm\">FPCS<\/a>)<br \/>\nBragg crystal spectrometer for high resolution x-ray spectroscopy.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Wrote flight control, data processing and analysis software. Maintained three-shift data processing operations. Responsible for calibration of the FPCS using laboratory and on-orbit data from observations of the Crab Nebula. Performed observations of Crab Nebula and studied x-ray absorption of the ISM. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><b>Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (<a href=\"http:\/\/sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov\">SOHO<\/a>)<\/b> :<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: Solar observations.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission dates<\/span>: December 2, 1995 &#8211;<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Solar EUV Monitor (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usc.edu\/dept\/space_science\/instrument_pages\/instruments_SEM.html\">SEM<\/a>)<br \/>\nMonitors the solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) He II line (\u03bb=30.4 nm).<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Fabricated 200 nm-period gold mesh transmission gratings. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><b><a href=\"http:\/\/chandra.harvard.edu\">Chandra<\/a> X-ray Observatory<\/b> :<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission dates<\/span>: July 23, 1999 &#8211;<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: X-ray telescope operating in the 0.1-10 keV band.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (<a href=\"http:\/\/space.mit.edu\/HETG\/\">HETGS<\/a>)<br \/>\nTransmission grating spectrometer for high resolution x-ray spectroscopy.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Fabricated 200 and 400 nm-period gold transmission gratings.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><b>Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (<a href=\"http:\/\/image.gsfc.nasa.gov\">IMAGE<\/a>)<\/b> :<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission dates<\/span>: March 25, 2000 &#8211; Dec. 2005<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: Observations of Earth&#8217;s magnetosphere.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Medium Energy Neutral Atom imager (<a href=\"http:\/\/pluto.space.swri.edu\/IMAGE\/MENA_description.html\">MENA<\/a>).<br \/>\nImaging of magnetosphere using neutral atom emission in the 1-30 keV band.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Fabricated 200 nm-period gold nanofilters to block Solar Lyman UV radiation (\u03bb=121.6 nm).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><b>Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (<a href=\"http:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/missions\/goes-n-o-p\/\">GOES<\/a> N, O, P (13-15))<\/b> :<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission dates<\/span>: GOES N, May 24, 2006; GOES O, June 27, 2009;<br \/>\nGOES P, March 4, 2010.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: Observations of Earth and space weather.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Space Environment Monitor (SEM)<br \/>\nMonitors five solar EUV bands between \u03bb=8-130 nm.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Fabricated 200, 400, and 600 nm-period gold mesh transmission gratings.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><b>Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers (<a href=\"http:\/\/twins.swri.edu\">TWINS<\/a> A, B) <\/b>:<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission Dates<\/span>: TWINS-A, 5\/2005; TWINS-B, 7\/2006<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: Tomographic neutral atom imaging of Earth&#8217;s magnetosphere.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Neutral Atom Imager.<br \/>\nImaging of magnetosphere using neutral atom emission in the 1-30 keV band.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Fabricated 200 nm-period gold nanofilters to block Solar Lyman a UV radiation (\u03bb=121.6 nm).<br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"> <b> Solar Dynamics Observatory (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/sdo\/main\/index.html\">SDO<\/a>) <\/b>:<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission Date<\/span>: Feb. 11, 2010 &#8211;<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: Observations of the Sun as source of space weather.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Extreme ultraviolet SpectroPhotometer (<a href=\"http:\/\/lasp.colorado.edu\/eve\/instrument\/eve_esp.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EVE<\/a>\/<a href=\"http:\/\/lasp.colorado.edu\/home\/eve\/science\/instrument\/esp\/?doing_wp_cron=1532121489.6369819641113281250000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESP<\/a>).<br \/>\nMonitors four solar EUV bands between \u03bb=17-38 nm.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Fabricated 200 nm-period gold mesh transmission gratings.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"> <b> Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrograph (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldscientific.com\/doi\/10.1142\/S2251171722500106\">MaGIXS<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/marshall\/nasa-sounding-rocket-launches-studies-heating-of-suns-active-regions\/\">MaGIXS-2<\/a>) <\/b>:<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission Dates<\/span>: July 30, 2021; July 16, 2024 (sounding rockets)<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: Investigate first ionization potential (FIP) effect in sun&#8217;s corona.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Variable-period grazing-incidence reflection grating.<br \/>\nObserve the sun in \u03bb=0.6-2.4 nm soft x-ray band.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Fabricated variable-period blazed reflection grating.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"> <b> High Resolution Coronal Imager Flare Mission (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/marshall\/hi-c-rocket-experiment-achieves-never-before-seen-look-at-solar-flares\/\">Hi-C Flare<\/a>) <\/b>:<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission Date<\/span>: April 17, 2024 (sounding rocket)<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: Observe solar flare with high angular and spectral resolution.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: COronal OverLapogram &#8211; Ancillary Imaging Diagnostics (<a href=\"https:\/\/ui.adsabs.harvard.edu\/abs\/2019AGUFMSH33A..06W\/abstract\">COOL-AID<\/a>).<br \/>\nObserve the Fe XXI 12.9 nm line in a solar flare with high velocity resolution (&lt; 10 km\/s).<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Fabricated 200 nm-period blazed reflection grating.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"> <b> Rocket Experiment Demonstration of a Soft X-ray Polarimeter (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.mit.edu\/research\/redsox\/\">REDSoX<\/a>) <\/b>:<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission Date<\/span>: 2027 (sounding rocket)<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: First measurement of the linear X-ray polarization of an astrophysical source in the 0.2-0.4 keV band.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Soft X-ray Polarimeter.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Fabricate 70 200 nm-period <a href=\"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/?page_id=308\">critical-angle transmission gratings<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\">Mission Planning<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"> Arcus &#8211; High-resolution x-ray grating spectrometer (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.arcusxray.org\/index.html\">Arcus<\/a>)<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: High-resolution soft x-ray grating spectrometer mission.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission dates<\/span>: 2028-2030 (MIDEX proposal, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press-release\/nasa-selects-proposals-to-study-galaxies-stars-planets\">selected for Phase A<\/a>)<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Critical-Angle Transmission Grating Spectrometer (<a href=\"https:\/\/iopscience.iop.org\/article\/10.3847\/1538-4357\/ac7a3a\">CATGS<\/a>)<br \/>\nHigh resolution blazed soft x-ray transmission grating spectrometer.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Developing lightweight, efficient, alignment- and temperature-insensitive, large-area, high-resolution soft x-ray transmission grating arrays. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\">Lynx X-ray Observatory (X-ray Surveyor) (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lynxobservatory.com\/\">Lynx<\/a>)<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: Surveyor concept study for 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Review<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission dates<\/span>: 2030-40s<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Critical-Angle Transmission Grating Spectrometer (<a href=\"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/pub\/papers\/2018\/Guenther_LynxXGS_SPIE2018.pdf\">CATGS<\/a>)<br \/>\nHigh resolution blazed soft x-ray transmission grating spectrometer.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Developing lightweight, alignment-insensitive, large-area, high-resolution soft x-ray transmission grating arrays.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: X-ray Telescope Mirror Assembly<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Developing sub-arcsecond figure-correction, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1117\/1.JATIS.5.2.021004\">film stress compensation<\/a>, (<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1364\/OE.27.011182\">ion-implantation<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1364\/OPTICA.445379\">thermal oxide patterning<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1117\/12.2530947\">laser microstressing<\/a>) and assembly (<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1117\/12.2314896\">ThermoYield actuators<\/a>, etc.) technologies.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\">International X-Ray Observatory (<a href=\"http:\/\/ixo.gsfc.nasa.gov\/\">IXO<\/a>)<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: High-throughput x-ray spectroscopy telescope.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission dates<\/span>: 2020 (cancelled)<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Critical-Angle Transmission Grating Spectrometer (<a href=\"http:\/\/space.mit.edu\/home\/dph\/ixo\/\">CATGS<\/a>)<br \/>\nHigh resolution blazed soft x-ray transmission grating spectrometer.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Developing lightweight, alignment- and polarization-insensitive, large-area, high-resolution soft x-ray transmission grating arrays.<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Instrument<\/span>: Flight Mirror Assembly (<a href=\"http:\/\/ixo.gsfc.nasa.gov\/technology\/fma.html\">FMA<\/a>)<br \/>\nWolter foil optic x-ray telescope<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Developing air-bearing glass slumping technology for high-accuracy thin foil mirror shaping.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><b>Micro Arcsecond X-ray Imaging Mission (<a href=\"http:\/\/bhi.gsfc.nasa.gov\/docs\/pathfinder\/pathfinder.html\">MAXIM<\/a>)<\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: x-ray interferometry<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission dates<\/span>: 2030?<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Mission study team.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><b>Generation-X (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cfa.harvard.edu\/hea\/genx\/\">Gen-X<\/a>)<\/b><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\">Mission<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\">: high-throughput, high resolution x-ray telescope<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission dates<\/span>: 2030?<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Mission study team.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><b>Laser Interferometer Space Antenna <\/b><\/span> <b>(<a href=\"http:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/missions\/lisa\/\">LISA<\/a>) <\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission<\/span>: gravity telescope<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mission dates<\/span>: 2020 (cancelled)<br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Participation<\/span>: Mission study team.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Past and Ongoing Missions &nbsp; Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2) : Mission dates: November 12, 1978 &#8211; April 1981 Mission: First imaging x-ray telescope in space, operating in the 0.2-20 keV band. Instrument: Focal Plane Crystal Spectrometer (FPCS) Bragg crystal spectrometer for high resolution x-ray spectroscopy. Participation: Wrote flight control, data processing\u2026 <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/?page_id=15\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":63,"href":"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1445,"href":"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15\/revisions\/1445"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/snl.mit.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}