Dynamics Explorer-2 (DE 2) Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) Data

This directory gathers data for the RPA instrument that flew on the DE 2 spacecraft 
which was launched on 3 August 1981 into an elliptical orbit with an altitude range 
of 300 km to 1000 km and re-entered the atmosphere on 19 February 1983. 

The directory includes the following files:
format_description_2s: Format description of the 2-second ASCII data.
SFDU_format_binary_2s: The SFDU data format description of the original binary 
    2-second data. 
SFDU_instrument_data_2s: The SFDU instrument and data description of the original 
    2-second binary data 
format_description_16ms: Format description of the 16-millisecond ASCII data.
SFDU_format_binary_16ms: The SFDU data format description of the original binary 
    16-millisecond data. 
SFDU_instrument_data_16ms: The SFDU instrument and data description of the original 
    16-millisecond binary data 

The directory includes the following sub-directories:

/ni_Ti_vi_2s_ascii   (NSSDC ID: 81-070B-07D)
This data set includes the ion temperature, the ion drift, and the densities 
of O+, H+, He+, and molcular ions with a time resolution of 2 seconds for the 
time period Aug 3, 1981 to Feb 17, 1983. The ASCII version was generated at 
NSSDC from the originally PI-submitted binary data. The data are provided in 
daily files (yydddhhmm_RPA_DE_2S_Vnn.ASC). 

/ion2s_cdaweb
The same data in CDF format. They can be also plotted, listed and downloaded 
through CDAWeb at <http://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/> 

/Ni_16ms_ascii   (NSSDC ID: 81-070B-07E)   
This data set includes high resolution (1/64 sec) measurements of the total 
ion concentration for the time period Aug 6, 1981 to Feb 18, 1983. The ASCII 
version was generated at NSSDC from the originally PI-submitted binary data. 
The data are provided in daily files (yydddhhmm_DUCT_RPA_DE_16MS_V01.ASC). 

/rpa16ms_cdaweb
The same data in CDF format. They can be also plotted, listed and downloaded 
through CDAWeb at <http://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/> 

The RPA data are also available at 16-second time resolution in the UA directory at
<http://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/data/de/de2/combined_plasma_neutrals_ua/>
The 16-second UA data are also available on ATMOweb for plotting and analysis at 
<http://omniweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftpbrowser/atmoweb.html>
 
Please acknowledge the NASA Space Physics Data Facility and the instrument's 
Principal Investigator for data usage.

Keywords: Sun-Earth Connections, space physics, magnetosphere, ionosphere

Data contact: Dieter.Bilitza-1@nasa.gov>
NASA Official: Dr. Robert McGuire <robert.e.mcguire@nasa.gov>