Journal article
Remote sensing of electron precipitation mechanisms enabled by ELFIN mission operations and ADCS
Advances in space research, v 75(9), pp 6706-6733
01 May 2025
Abstract
•ELFIN is an example of a successful student-managed space weather mission with two 3U+ CubeSats.•ELFIN uses novel energetic electron precipitation measurements to probe magnetospheric processes.•ELFIN’s mission operations paradigm and attitude determination and control enabled unique science.
The Electron Loss and Fields INvestigation (ELFIN) mission comprising two 3U+ CubeSats was developed, built, and operated by several generations of undergraduate students at UCLA. The spin-stabilized CubeSats (spin-rate: 21 RPM) produced high-resolution measurements of precipitating, trapped, and backscattered fluxes of electrons and ions in the radiation belts. Launched in September 2018, ELFIN operated successfully until its deorbit just over four years later. Initially, however, mission operations was very challenging and only tapped the full mission potential after a thorough redesign of the operations paradigm. This mid-mission adjustment yielded the higher data downlink volume necessary to acquire a comprehensive data set, therefore enabling ensemble studies with sufficient statistical significance. The new operational framework also led to additional improvements across the mission. Most notably, the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) benefited from more reliable collections of magnetometer data for attitude determination, enabling knowledge and control to <1°. This allowed high pitch-angle resolution (especially within the loss cone) and high energy resolution spectrograms, both powerful diagnostics of radiation belt electron and ion precipitation. This paper highlights the scientific advancements made possible by ELFIN’s efficient mission operations and ADCS design, unique for CubeSats, and emphasizes the role of electron precipitation measurements for future studies in magnetospheric, ionospheric, and atmospheric physics.
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Details
- Title
- Remote sensing of electron precipitation mechanisms enabled by ELFIN mission operations and ADCS
- Creators
- Ethan Tsai - Planetary Science InstituteAkhil Palla - Planetary Science InstituteAustin Norris - Planetary Science InstituteJames King - Planetary Science InstituteCindy Russell - Planetary Science InstituteSophie Ye - Planetary Science InstituteJiashu Wu - Planetary Science InstituteJason Mao - Planetary Science InstituteSharvani Jha - Planetary Science InstituteChanel Young - Planetary Science InstituteGraham Wing - Planetary Science InstituteKevin Lian - Planetary Science InstituteAiden Szeto - Planetary Science InstituteJames Shiffer - Planetary Science InstituteRishi Sankar - Planetary Science InstituteKaivalya Tota - Planetary Science InstituteAnnie Liu - Planetary Science InstituteDerek Lee - Planetary Science InstituteUma Patil - Planetary Science InstituteIsabella He - Planetary Science InstituteJonathan Tam - University of California, Los AngelesAlex McDermott - University of California, Los AngelesKatrina Le - Planetary Science InstituteSuyash Kumar - University of California, Los AngelesKelly Nguyen - University of California, Los AngelesMichelle Nguyen - University of California, Los AngelesChen Yap - University of California, Los AngelesErica Xie - University of California, Los AngelesJames Tseng - Planetary Science InstituteLaura Iglesias - University of California, Los AngelesAlexandra Roosnovo - University of California, Los AngelesWynne Turner - University of California, Los AngelesReed Curtis - Nyheim Plasma Institute, Drexel University, Address, Camden, NJ 08103, USAColin Wilkins - University of California, Los AngelesEmmanuel Masongsong - University of California, Los AngelesRyan Caron - University of California, Los AngelesXiao-Jia Zhang - University of California, Los AngelesAnton Artemyev - University of California, Los AngelesVassilis Angelopoulos - University of California, Los Angeles
- Publication Details
- Advances in space research, v 75(9), pp 6706-6733
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Number of pages
- 28
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- C. and J. Nyheim Plasma Institute; Physics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001476553300001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105002692822
- Other Identifier
- 991022197304904721