Program: MMS

Magnetospheric MultiScale

United States scientific program to examine magnetic reconnection. 4 identical satellites launched at the same time and to be placed in a tetrahedral formation.

The mission will provide the first 3 dimensional views of reconnection occurring in Earth's protective magnetic space environment, the magnetosphere. Magnetic reconnection occurs when magnetic fields connect, disconnect, and reconfigure explosively, releasing bursts of energy that can reach the order of billions of megatons of TNT. These explosions can send particles surging through space near the speed of light.

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External resources

http://www.nasa.gov/mms

Technical data

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Specifications

Prime contractor	NASA GSFC
Platform	NASA SwRI
Mass at launch	1250 kg
Dry mass	900 kg
Dimension	octogonal 3.5m wide, 1.2m high
Solar array
Stabilization	spin stabilized
DC power
Design lifetime	2.5 years

8 deployable wire booms of 112m
S-band communication

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