Electron flux variations at altitudes of 600–800 km in the second half of 2014. preliminary results of an experiment using RELEC equipment onboard the satellite <Emphasis Type="Italic">VERNOV</Emphasis>

The results of measurements of fluxes and spectra carried out using the RELEC (relativistic electrons) equipment onboard the VERNOV satellite in the second half of 2014 are presented. The VERNOV satellite was launched on July 8, 2014 in a sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude from 640 to 830 km and an inclination of 98.4°. Scientific information from the satellite was first received on July 20, 2014. The comparative analysis of electron fluxes using data from RELEC and using experimental data on the electron detection by satellites Elektro-L (positioned at a geostationary orbit) and Meteor-M no. 2 (positioned at a circular polar orbit at an altitude of about 800 km as the VERNOV satellite) will make it possible to study the spatial distribution pattern of energetic electrons in near-Earth space in more detail.     

Solar Wind Turbulence and the Role of Ion Instabilities

Solar wind is probably the best laboratory to study turbulence in astrophysical plasmas. In addition to the presence of magnetic field, the differences with neutral fluid isotropic turbulence are: (i) weakness of collisional dissipation and (ii) presence of several characteristic space and time scales. In this paper we discuss observational properties of solar wind turbulence in a large range from the MHD to the electron scales. At MHD scales, within the inertial range, turbulence cascade of magnetic fluctuations develops mostly in the plane perpendicular to the mean field, with the Kolmogorov scaling $k_{\perp}^{-5/3}$ for the perpendicular cascade and $k_{\|}^{-2}$ for the parallel one. Solar wind turbulence is compressible in nature: density fluctuations at MHD scales have the Kolmogorov spectrum. Velocity fluctuations do not follow magnetic field ones: their spectrum is a power-law with a ?3/2 spectral index. Probability distribution functions of different plasma parameters are not Gaussian, indicating presence of intermittency. At the moment there is no global model taking into account all these observed properties of the inertial range. At ion scales, turbulent spectra have a break, compressibility increases and the density fluctuation spectrum has a local flattening. Around ion scales, magnetic spectra are variable and ion instabilities occur as a function of the local plasma parameters. Between ion and electron scales, a small scale turbulent cascade seems to be established. It is characterized by a well defined power-law spectrum in magnetic and density fluctuations with a spectral index close to ?2.8. Approaching electron scales, the fluctuations are no more self-similar: an exponential cut-off is usually observed (for time intervals without quasi-parallel whistlers) indicating an onset of dissipation. The small scale inertial range between ion and electron scales and the electron dissipation range can be together described by $\sim k_{\perp}^{-\alpha}\exp(-k_{\perp}\ell_{d})$ , with α?8/3 and the dissipation scale ? _d close to the electron Larmor radius ? _d ?ρ _e . The nature of this small scale cascade and a possible dissipation mechanism are still under debate.     

Variations in cosmic ray cutoff rigidities during the great geomagnetic storm of November 2004

A very strong interplanetary and magnetospheric disturbance observed on 7–13 November 2004 can be regarded as one of the strongest events during the entire period of space observations. In this paper we report on the studies of cosmic ray cutoff rigidity variations during 7–13 November 2004 showing how storm conditions can affect the direct cosmic ray access to the inner magnetosphere. Effective cutoff rigidities have been calculated for selected points on the ground by tracing trajectories of cosmic ray particles through the magnetospheric magnetic field of the “storm-oriented” Tsyganenko 2003 model. Cutoff rigidity variations have also been determined by the spectrographic global survey method on the basis of experimental data of the neutron monitor network. Relations between the calculated and experimental cutoff rigidities and the geomagnetic Dst-index and interplanetary parameters have been investigated. Correlation coefficients between the cutoff rigidities obtained by the trajectory tracing method and the spectrographic global survey method have been found to be in the limits 0.76–0.89 for all stations except the low-latitude station Tokyo (0.35). The most pronounced correlation has been revealed between the cutoff rigidities that exhibited a very large variation of ∼1–1.5 GV during the magnetic storm and the Dst index.     

MIDACO on MINLP space applications

A numerical study on two challenging mixed-integer non-linear programming (MINLP) space applications and their optimization with MIDACO, a recently developed general purpose optimization software, is presented. These applications are the optimal control of the ascent of a multiple-stage space launch vehicle and the space mission trajectory design from Earth to Jupiter using multiple gravity assists. Additionally, an NLP aerospace application, the optimal control of an F8 aircraft manoeuvre, is discussed and solved. In order to enhance the optimization performance of MIDACO a hybridization technique, coupling MIDACO with an SQP algorithm, is presented for two of these three applications. The numerical results show, that the applications can be solved to their best known solution (or even new best solution) in a reasonable time by the considered approach. Since using the concept of MINLP is still a novelty in the field of (aero)space engineering, the demonstrated capabilities are seen as very promising.     

Height of shock formation in the solar corona inferred from observations of type II radio bursts and coronal mass ejections

Employing coronagraphic and EUV observations close to the solar surface made by the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission, we determined the heliocentric distance of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) at the starting time of associated metric type II bursts. We used the wave diameter and leading edge methods and measured the CME heights for a set of 32 metric type II bursts from solar cycle 24. We minimized the projection effects by making the measurements from a view that is roughly orthogonal to the direction of the ejection. We also chose image frames close to the onset times of the type II bursts, so no extrapolation was necessary. We found that the CMEs were located in the heliocentric distance range from 1.20 to 1.93 solar radii (Rs), with mean and median values of 1.43 and 1.38 Rs, respectively. We conclusively find that the shock formation can occur at heights substantially below 1.5 Rs. In a few cases, the CME height at type II onset was close to 2 Rs. In these cases, the starting frequency of the type II bursts was very low, in the range 25–40 MHz, which confirms that the shock can also form at larger heights. The starting frequencies of metric type II bursts have a weak correlation with the measured CME/shock heights and are consistent with the rapid decline of density with height in the inner corona.     

Total electron content of the ionosphere at two stations in East Africa during the 24–25 October 2011 geomagnetic storm

The equatorial ionosphere has been known to become highly disturbed and thus rendering space-based navigation unreliable during space weather events, such as geomagnetic storms. Modern navigation systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) use radio-wave signals that reflect from or propagate through the ionosphere as a means of determining range or distance. Such systems are vulnerable to effects caused by geomagnetic storms, and their performance can be severely degraded. This paper analyses total electron content (TEC) and the corresponding GPS scintillations using two GPS SCINDA receivers located at Makerere University, Uganda (Lat: 0.3^o N; Lon: 32.5^o E) and at the University of Nairobi, Kenya (Lat: 1.3^o S; Lon: 36.8^o E), both in East Africa. The analysis shows that the scintillations actually correspond to plasma bubbles. The occurrence of plasma bubbles at one station was correlated with those at the other station by using observations from the same satellite. It was noted that some bubbles develop at one station and presumably “die off” before reaching the other station. The paper also discusses the effects of the geomagnetic storm of the 24–25 October 2011 on the ionospheric TEC at the two East African stations. Reductions in the diurnal TEC at the two stations during the period of the storm were observed and the TEC depletions observed during that period showed much deeper depletions than on the non-storm days. The effects during the storm have been attributed to the uplift of the ionospheric plasma, which was then transported away from this region by diffusion along magnetic field lines.     

Quality variation of GPS satellite clocks on-orbit using IGS clock products

Over 60% clocks on board of the GPS satellites are working longer than their designed life. Therefore realizing their stabilities in a long time scales is essential to GPS navigation and positioning plus IGS time scale maintaining. IGS clock products from 2001 to 2010 are used to analyze the GPS satellite clock qualities such as frequency stabilities and clock noise level. We find out that for the clocks of Block IIA satellites the frequency stabilities and clock noise are 10 times worse than that of the Block IIR and IIR-M satellites. Moreover, the linear relationships between frequency stabilities and clock residuals have been deduced with an accuracy of better than 0.02 ns. Specially, it is noticed that the clock of the PRN27 is instable and the relationship between the frequency stability and residuals is at least a quadratic curve. Therefore, we suggested that GPS satellite clocks should be weighted by their quality levels in application, and the observations of the Block IIA should not be used for real-time positioning which required precision better than one meter.     

VHF radio response of the near Earth space during solar activity growth in October, 2003

The analysis of observations of very high frequency radio noise intensity at the middle latitude on a frequency f = 500 MHz from 14th till 26th of October, 2003 is presented. These data are compared with the solar radio bursts in the range of frequencies 1–14 MHz registered by RAD2 receiver of the WAVES device installed on board the WIND spacecraft.     

Preparation of the Biochip experiment on the EXPOSE-R2 mission outside the International Space Station

Biochips might be suited for planetary exploration. Indeed, they present great potential for the search for biomarkers – molecules that are the sign of past or present life in space – thanks to their size (miniaturized devices) and sensitivity. Their detection principle is based on the recognition of a target molecule by affinity receptors fixed on a solid surface. Consequently, one of the main concerns when developing such a system is the behavior of the biological receptors in a space environment. In this paper, we describe the preparation of an experiment planned to be part of the EXPOSE-R2 mission, which will be conducted on the EXPOSE-R facility, outside the International Space Station (ISS), in order to study the resistance of biochip models to space constraints (especially cosmic radiation and thermal cycling). This experiment overcomes the limits of ground tests which do not reproduce exactly the space parameters. Indeed, contrary to ground experiments where constraints are applied individually and in a limited time, the biochip models on the ISS will be exposed to cumulated constraints during several months. Finally, this ISS experiment is a necessary step towards planetary exploration as it will help assessing whether a biochip can be used for future exploration missions.