![]() AIM (Explorer 90) spacecraft | |
Names | Explorer 90 AIM SMEX |
---|---|
Mission type | Atmospheric research |
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 2007-015A |
SATCAT no. | 31304 |
Website | aim |
Mission duration | 26 months (planned) 17 years, 4 months and 7 days (in progress) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Explorer XC |
Spacecraft type | Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere |
Bus | LEOStar-2 |
Manufacturer | Orbital Sciences Corporation |
Launch mass | 197 kg (434 lb) [1] |
Dimensions | 1.4 × 1.1 m (4 ft 7 in × 3 ft 7 in) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 25 April 2007, 20:26:03 UTC |
Rocket | Pegasus-XL (F38) |
Launch site | Vandenberg, Stargazer Runway 12/30 |
Contractor | Orbital Sciences Corporation |
Entered service | 2007 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit |
Perigee altitude | 552 km (343 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 559 km (347 mi) |
Inclination | 97.90° |
Period | 95.63 minutes |
Instruments | |
Cosmic Dust Experiment (CDE) Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) Solar Occultation for Ice Experiment (SOFIE) | |
Explorer program |
The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM or Explorer 90) is a NASA satellite launched in 2007 to conduct a planned 26-month study of noctilucent clouds (NLCs).[2] It is the ninetieth Explorer program mission and is part of the NASA-funded Small Explorer program (SMEX).
In March 2023, NASA announced that battery power on the spacecraft had declined below the level needed to sustain operation.[3]
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