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MAGNETOSPHERIC
CONSTELLATION (MagCON) MISSION
Due to recent budget cuts impacting the Solar Terrestrial
Probes Program, the Magnetospheric Constellation (MagCON)
mission is moved ouside the near-term (5-year) the budget
planning window. Status updates associated with recent Roadmap
activities currently underway will be depicted on this website.
However, beyond roadmap activity updates, minimal updates
are planned for MagCON.
1 January 2005: Magnetospheric Constellation Mission STDT
Report Update Released
An updated synopsis of the report on the Magnetospheric Constellation (MagCON)
Mission has been in preparation for the past year and a half, and is now complete
and available online. At this time an electronic version is available in Adobe
PDF format that can readily be printed on a local printer. In the future, as
permitted by available funding, we are prepared to release a final printed
version with a CD-ROM containing a number of graphics and movie products related
to the mission. Other materials including the original 2001 STDT report may
be found and downloaded from the Documents link
on this page. MagCON has been studied and defined by a NASA-appointed Science and
Technology Definition Team appointed by the former Sun-Earth Connections Theme.
Comments or questions should be directed to the project study scientist Tom
Moore (thomas.e.moore@nasa.gov),
or to the Chair of the STDT, Harlan Spence (spence@bu.edu).
+ Download | PDF
| 14 Pages | 3.4MB
As of March 2004, the Magnetospheric Constellation (MagCON)
is in the pre-formulation phase, during which technologies
for its implementation are being studied and bottom-up cost
estimating is being done.
15 November 2002: Integrated Mission Design Center (IMDC)
study of the MagCON dispenser ship
In this second part of the MagCON design study, an innovative concept emerged for
the so-called dispenser ship used to deploy MCM satellites. A modular approach
yields one dispenser ship for each set of 10 MCM satellites, forming a unit
that is roughly comparable to the size of one Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission
spacecraft. The dispenser ship is little more than a propulsion unti that is
controlled by any one of the MCM satellites mounted and deployed from it, thus
providing the ultimate measure of redundancy. Separate dispenser ships can
be sent to different orbits for purposes of dropping off MCM satellites, providing
increased energy efficiency for the constellation deployment. Approximately
30 MCM spacecraft can be deployed in this manner within the current resources
of the mission, in a Delta II shroud.
20 September 2002: Integrated Mission Design Center (IMDC
study of the MagCON spacecraft
The Magnetospheric Constellation Mission (MagCON) spacecraft has undergone an intensive
engineering study by Goddard Space Flight Center during September of 2002.
The ST-5 Mission, also known as the Nanosatellite Constellation Trailblazer,
was used as the technology and design prototype for the IMDC study.
MISSION
OVERVIEW
MagCON will answer the fundamental question: "How does
the dynamic magnetotail store, transport, and release matter
and energy?"
MagCON Mission Description
- A constellation of 50 small satellites distributed in
3x7 Re to 3x40 Re, low inclination, nested orbits.
- "Nearest neighbor" average spacing 1.0-2.0
RE between satellites, in the domain of the
near-Earth plasma sheet.
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