IMAGE (spacecraft)
IMAGE (Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration, Explorer 78 or MIDEX-1) is a NASA Medium Explorer mission that studied the global response of the Earth's magnetosphere to changes in the solar wind. It was believed lost but as of August 2018 might be recoverable. It was launched 25 March 2000, at 20:34:43.929 UTC, by a Delta II launch vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a two-year mission. Almost six years later, it unexpectedly ceased operations in December 2005 during its extended mission and was declared lost. The spacecraft was part of NASA's Sun-Earth Connections Program, and its data has been used in over 400 research articles published in peer-reviewed journals. It had special cameras that provided various breakthroughs in understanding the dynamics of plasma around the Earth. The principal investigator was Jim Burch of the Southwest Research Institute.
IMAGE (Explorer 78) satellite in preparation | |||||||||||||||
| Names | Explorer 78 MIDEX-1 Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration | ||||||||||||||
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| Mission type | Magnetosphere research | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | NASA / Goddard Applied Physics Laboratory | ||||||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2000-017A | ||||||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 26113 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | pluto image | ||||||||||||||
| Mission duration | 2 years (planned) 24 years, 14 days (in orbit) | ||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft | Explorer LXXVIII | ||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft type | Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration | ||||||||||||||
| Bus | IMAGE | ||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Corporation | ||||||||||||||
| Launch mass | 494 kg (1,089 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Dimensions | 225 × 152 cm (89 × 60 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Power | 286 watts | ||||||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||||||
| Launch date | 25 March 2000, 20:34:43.929 UTC | ||||||||||||||
| Rocket | Delta II 7326-9.5 (Delta 277) | ||||||||||||||
| Launch site | Vandenberg, SLC-2W | ||||||||||||||
| Contractor | Boeing Launch Services | ||||||||||||||
| End of mission | |||||||||||||||
| Last contact | March 4, 2018 | ||||||||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||||||||
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit | ||||||||||||||
| Regime | Polar orbit | ||||||||||||||
| Perigee altitude | 1,000 km (620 mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Apogee altitude | 46,004 km (28,586 mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Inclination | 90.01° | ||||||||||||||
| Period | 856.00 minutes | ||||||||||||||
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IMAGE mission patch Explorer program | |||||||||||||||
In January 2018, an amateur satellite tracker found it to be transmitting some signals back to Earth. NASA made attempts to communicate with the spacecraft and determine its payload status, but has had to track down and adapt old hardware and software to the current systems. On 25 February 2018, contact with IMAGE was again lost only to be reestablished on 4 March 2018. The signal disappeared once again on 5 August 2018. If recovery efforts succeed, NASA may decide to fund a restarted mission.