Swales Aerospace has been notified by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that its work on the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions (THEMIS) program, which consists of building five identical, small satellites, has been confirmed for an October 2006 launch.
The notification was made at the successful completion of the program’s Confirmation Review to proceed to its implementation phase. The review confirmed the program is on schedule and on budget with outstanding science. THEMIS received authority to proceed to implementation with an October 2006 launch schedule.
The THEMIS satellites will fly as a constellation, carrying the same suites of electric, magnetic and particle detectors on all five probes, to determine the cause of global reconfigurations of the Earth’s magnetosphere — a region of the upper atmosphere that extends for hundreds of thousands of miles.
Every four days, the five satellites will line up along the Earth’s magnetic trail to track energy flows and wave motions. This data will be combined with ground observations to answer questions about space weather.
Swales is the prime contractor for the satellites and satellite dispensers. The company will also perform mission integration, lead satellite launch operations and satellite checkout. Swales was awarded the contract in 2003 from the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Vassilis Angelopoulos of the University of California, Berkeley, will lead THEMIS. THEMIS is a MIDEX class mission, a part of the NASA Explorer mission line, designed to accomplish frequent, high-quality space science investigations utilizing innovative, streamlined, and efficient management approaches.
“Confirmation of our approach is a significant milestone for the THEMIS program and for NASA’s larger goal of lowering the cost of physics and astronomy missions,” said Tom Wilson, Chief Executive Officer. “We are extremely proud to be a key partner in this very significant science mission.”
Michael J. Cully, Director of Civil and Commercial Programs for Swales, and Swales’ Program Manager for THEMIS, said, “THEMIS validates the constellation concept, and we’ve shown it can be accomplished on schedule and on budget. This mission addresses science goals of the NASA strategic plan and is a win for NASA’s Explorers program.”
