STEREO: new mission to observe Sun

[CalliArcale]

I just learned about this mission for the first time, and it sounds very very cool. Two identical spacecraft in heliocentric orbits, one leading Earth and one trailing, will observe the Sun, producing 3D data of all sorts of things but especially of CMEs.<br /><br />Does anybody know much more about this mission? How long is it supposed to last? Can it serve a similar predictive function to SOHO? And the question I'm most curious about, are these spacecraft going to the Sun-Earth L4 and L5 points? I couldn't find a straight answer to the question of exactly where they're going to orbit. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[telfrow]

I found these links concerning the mission:<br /><br />http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0511/14stereo/<br /><br />http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051115090942.htm<br /><br />http://www.jhu.edu/~gazette/2005/14nov05/14threed.html <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[nacnud]

That is so cool, plus I love the Luna flybys to get the spacecraft into the Trojan orbits.

 

[tfrederick9]

Its a very very cool mission. My wife is on the Flight Ops Team for pre-launch for it, from what she tells me it should greatly increase our knowledge of the sun. Personally I just think the lunar swing by is a neat way to get the satellites to their soloar orbit.

 

[CalliArcale]

Oh cool! Well, tell her I wish her the very best of luck! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>