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This dataset contains high resolution interplanetary magnetic field data in six-second averages as measured by the Helios 1 tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer experiment. Magnetic field vector components in nanotelsa [nT] are given in solar-ecliptic (SE) spacecraft-centered coordinates with one file for each day. The magnetic field magnitude and standard deviations of the vector components are also included.
This dataset contains high resolution interplanetary magnetic field data in six-second averages as measured by the Helios 1 tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer experiment. Magnetic field vector components in nanotelsa [nT] are given in solar-ecliptic (SE) spacecraft-centered coordinates with one file for each day. The magnetic field magnitude and standard deviations of the vector components are also included.
General information about initial ascii files: This subdirectory contains daily files of 40.5 sec Helios magnetic field and plasma data described below. It also contains a file of software written by Aaron Roberts, readhelios40s_dat.pro, for creating alfvenicity graphs. The Helios mission consisted of two spacecraft launched into the inner heliosphere, both executing orbits from 0.3 to 1 AU with roughly a six month orbital period. Magnetic field data were recorded at high resolution, with plasma data recorded at approximately 40.5 s resolution. These datasets give the highest resolution plasma (proton and helium) moments with the corresponding average magnetic field for each plasma measurement. There are results from two plasma sensors, one of which gives the vector velocity. The coverage is best in the early years and varies considerably for the rest of the mission. The files Helios1_stats and Helios2_stats give the year, day of year, number of points, and percentage of possible points for the days included in the sets. There is no coverage for many days, with the main reason being that the spacecraft pass behind the Sun with respect to the Earth, thus cutting off communication. The overall intervals covered are: Helios 1: 1974 day 346 to 1985 day 247 Helios 2: 1976 day 017 to 1980 day 068 The present set of files were produced by R. Schwenn and obtained from J. Luhmann. They have been reformatted by Aaron Roberts to assure spaces between the variables, and in the process the HGI longitude and the RTN versions of the variables were added for convenience. Also, spacecraft positions were interpolated to make them distinct. The fill value for missing data in the original files was either -1 or 0; all these have been changed to 0. The other entries are directly from the original files. R. Schwenn should be acknowledged for plasma data and F. Neubauer for magnetic field data. GSFC/SPDF nssdcftp (or successor) should be acknowledged as the immediate source of the data. * The RTN components were calculated from the SSE XYZ components using R -> -X, T -> -Y, and N -> Z. The Cartesian coordinates for B and the angles for V are the original variables in the file, and no correction was made in the conversion to RTN for the actual spacecraft position. Since RTN and SSE are defined relative to the helioequatorial plane and to the ecliptic plane, respectively, and since these planes are inclined by 7.25 degrees relative to each other (heliocentric orbits of Earth, Helios 1 and Helios 2 are virtually co-planar), this introduces errors of up to 100% * (1 - cos 7.25) = 1% in the RTN components. However, the V and B are consistent with each other and can be compared directly. (text by Aaron Roberts, with edits by Joe King; October, 2008)
The HELIOS-1 spacecraft was one of the pair of deep space probes developed by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in a cooperative program with NASA. The purpose of the mission was to make pioneering measurements of the interplanetary medium from the vicinity of the Earth's orbit to 0.3 AU. (The planet Mercury is at 0.4 AU.) Data coverage for selected parameters for this data set is: interplanetary magnetic field (1974-12-14 - 1981-06-14), solar wind plasma (1974-12-12 - 1980-12-31), and spacecraft trajectory coordinates (1974-12-10 - 1981-06-14). Magnetic field data were provided by Prof. F. Mariani, Istituto di Fisica G. Marconi, Rome, Italy; Plasma data - by Dr. R. Schwenn, Max-Planck-Institut fur Aeronomie, Lindau, Germany. Time Coverage of merged files: December 10, 1974 - June 14, 1981. Helios-1 data have been reprocessed to ensure a uniformity of content and coordinate systems relative to data from other deep-space missions: All spacecraft trajectory data were transformed to a Heliographic Inertial (HGI) coordinate system. Magnetic field components were transformed to RTN system. Trajectory data, interplanetary magnetic field data, and plasma data were merged into individual hourly records. Data gaps were filled with dummy numbers for the missing hours or entire days to make all files of equal length. The character Ə' is used to fill all fields for missing data according to their format, e.g. ' 9999.9' for a field with the FORTRAN format F7.1. Note that format F7.1 below really means (1X,F6.1),etc.
Seen by an Earth based observer at the start of the data interval
HELIOS-A and -B spacecrafts were the pair of deep space probes developed by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in a cooperative program with NASA. The purpose of the mission was to make pioneering measurments of the interplanetary medium from the vicinity of the earth"s orbit to 0.3 AU. The objective of experiment (E6) was to study high-energy, charged, cosmic-ray particles of solar, planetary, and galactic origin in interplanetary space. Protons and alpha particles with eneries >1.3 MeV/nucleon, and electrons >0.3 MeV were measured within interplanetary space over the range from 0.3 to 1.0 AU. The instrument, a particle telescope with 55-deg field of view, consisted of five semiconductor detectors, one sapphire Cherenkov counter, and one scintillation counter, all enclosed by an anticoincidence cylinder. The telescope was calibrated prior to launch using radioactive sources, particle acceletors, and ground-level muons. It measured protons and alpha particles in six channels (1.3-3.3, 3.3-13, 13-27, 27-37, 37-45, and >45 MeV/nucleon) and electrons in five energy channels (0.3-0.8, 0.8-2, 2-3, 3-4, and >4 MeV). For more detail see pp.253-257 of Raumfahrtforschung, v.19, n. 5, 1975. The h-a-cr*.dat and h-b-cr*.dat files contains hourly averaged fluxes of electrons, protons and alpha particles in the MeV ranges. The files were written in ASCII-codes. Each record contains 10 hourly averages. The differential fluxes (particles/sq.m, s, sr, MeV) cover, in several bands, the energy range 0.3-2.0 MeV for electrons, 4.0-51 MeV for protons, and 2.0-48 MeV for alpha particles. Also provided are the integral fluxes of alphas above 48 MeV, and protons above 51 MeV. For some of the energy channels, the standard deviations of the averages are also provided. Each file is preceded by a header record, providing the start and stop times of the data in the file. The acronyms for the rate channels are composed of a letter and an indication of the energy range in MeV/nucleon for protons and alpha particles respectively. MeV for electrons. The counting rates are given as particles/m^2 sec sr MeV/N, except for the integral channels P>51 and A>48 which are given as particles/ m^2 sec sr. Note: 1. Negative rates (-0.99999E+04) indicate missing or invalid data. 2. The energy boundaries for the electron channels E 0.2-0.8 and E 0.8-2are only rough estimates.
HELIOS-A and -B spacecrafts were the pair of deep space probes developed by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in a cooperative program with NASA. The purpose of the mission was to make pioneering measurments of the interplanetary medium from the vicinity of the earth"s orbit to 0.3 AU. The objective of experiment (E6) was to study high-energy, charged, cosmic-ray particles of solar, planetary, and galactic origin in interplanetary space. Protons and alpha particles with eneries >1.3 MeV/nucleon, and electrons >0.3 MeV were measured within interplanetary space over the range from 0.3 to 1.0 AU. The instrument, a particle telescope with 55-deg field of view, consisted of five semiconductor detectors, one sapphire Cherenkov counter, and one scintillation counter, all enclosed by an anticoincidence cylinder. The telescope was calibrated prior to launch using radioactive sources, particle acceletors, and ground-level muons. It measured protons and alpha particles in six channels (1.3-3.3, 3.3-13, 13-27, 27-37, 37-45, and >45 MeV/nucleon) and electrons in five energy channels (0.3-0.8, 0.8-2, 2-3, 3-4, and >4 MeV). For more detail see pp.253-257 of Raumfahrtforschung, v.19, n. 5, 1975. The h-a-cr*.dat and h-b-cr*.dat files contains hourly averaged fluxes of electrons, protons and alpha particles in the MeV ranges. The files were written in ASCII-codes. Each record contains 10 hourly averages. The differential fluxes (particles/sq.m, s, sr, MeV) cover, in several bands, the energy range 0.3-2.0 MeV for electrons, 4.0-51 MeV for protons, and 2.0-48 MeV for alpha particles. Also provided are the integral fluxes of alphas above 48 MeV, and protons above 51 MeV. For some of the energy channels, the standard deviations of the averages are also provided. Each file is preceded by a header record, providing the start and stop times of the data in the file. The acronyms for the rate channels are composed of a letter and an indication of the energy range in MeV/nucleon for protons and alpha particles respectively. MeV for electrons. Note: 1. Negative rates (-0.99999E+04) indicate missing or invalid data. 2. The energy boundaries for the electron channels E 0.2-0.8 and E 0.8-2are only rough estimates.
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General information about initial ascii files: This subdirectory contains daily files of 40.5 sec Helios magnetic field and plasma data described below. It also contains a file of software written by Aaron Roberts, readhelios40s_dat.pro, for creating alfvenicity graphs. The Helios mission consisted of two spacecraft launched into the inner heliosphere, both executing orbits from 0.3 to 1 AU with roughly a six month orbital period. Magnetic field data were recorded at high resolution, with plasma data recorded at approximately 40.5 s resolution. These datasets give the highest resolution plasma (proton and helium) moments with the corresponding average magnetic field for each plasma measurement. There are results from two plasma sensors, one of which gives the vector velocity. The coverage is best in the early years and varies considerably for the rest of the mission. The files Helios1_stats and Helios2_stats give the year, day of year, number of points, and percentage of possible points for the days included in the sets. There is no coverage for many days, with the main reason being that the spacecraft pass behind the Sun with respect to the Earth, thus cutting off communication. The overall intervals covered are: Helios 1: 1974 day 346 to 1985 day 247 Helios 2: 1976 day 017 to 1980 day 068 The present set of files were produced by R. Schwenn and obtained from J. Luhmann. They have been reformatted by Aaron Roberts to assure spaces between the variables, and in the process the HGI longitude and the RTN versions of the variables were added for convenience. Also, spacecraft positions were interpolated to make them distinct. The fill value for missing data in the original files was either -1 or 0; all these have been changed to 0. The other entries are directly from the original files. R. Schwenn should be acknowledged for plasma data and F. Neubauer for magnetic field data. GSFC/SPDF nssdcftp (or successor) should be acknowledged as the immediate source of the data. * The RTN components were calculated from the SSE XYZ components using R -> -X, T -> -Y, and N -> Z. The Cartesian coordinates for B and the angles for V are the original variables in the file, and no correction was made in the conversion to RTN for the actual spacecraft position. Since RTN and SSE are defined relative to the helioequatorial plane and to the ecliptic plane, respectively, and since these planes are inclined by 7.25 degrees relative to each other (heliocentric orbits of Earth, Helios 1 and Helios 2 are virtually co-planar), this introduces errors of up to 100% * (1 - cos 7.25) = 1% in the RTN components. However, the V and B are consistent with each other and can be compared directly. (text by Aaron Roberts, with edits by Joe King; October, 2008)
The HELIOS-1 spacecraft was one of the pair of deep space probes developed by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in a cooperative program with NASA. The purpose of the mission was to make pioneering measurements of the interplanetary medium from the vicinity of the Earth's orbit to 0.3 AU. (The planet Mercury is at 0.4 AU.) Data coverage for selected parameters for this data set is: interplanetary magnetic field (1976-01-18 - 1980-03-04), solar wind plasma (1976-01-18 - 1980-03-04), and spacecraft trajectory coordinates (1976-01-18 - 1980-03-04). Magnetic field data were provided by Prof. F. Mariani, Istituto di Fisica G. Marconi, Rome, Italy; Plasma data - by Dr. R. Schwenn, Max-Planck-Institut fur Aeronomie, Lindau, Germany. Time Coverage of merged files: January 1, 1976 - March 4, 1980. Helios-2 data have been reprocessed to ensure a uniformity of content and coordinate systems relative to data from other deep-space missions: All spacecraft trajectory data were transformed to a Heliographic Inertial (HGI) coordinate system. Magnetic field components were transformed to RTN system. Trajectory data, interplanetary magnetic field data, and plasma data were merged into individual hourly records. Data gaps were filled with dummy numbers for the missing hours or entire days to make all files of equal length. The character Ə' is used to fill all fields for missing data according to their format, e.g. ' 9999.9' for a field with the FORTRAN format F7.1. Note that format F7.1 below really means (1X,F6.1),etc.
HELIOS-A and -B spacecrafts were the pair of deep space probes developed by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in a cooperative program with NASA. The purpose of the mission was to make pioneering measurments of the interplanetary medium from the vicinity of the earth"s orbit to 0.3 AU. The objective of experiment (E6) was to study high-energy, charged, cosmic-ray particles of solar, planetary, and galactic origin in interplanetary space. Protons and alpha particles with eneries >1.3 MeV/nucleon, and electrons >0.3 MeV were measured within interplanetary space over the range from 0.3 to 1.0 AU. The instrument, a particle telescope with 55-deg field of view, consisted of five semiconductor detectors, one sapphire Cherenkov counter, and one scintillation counter, all enclosed by an anticoincidence cylinder. The telescope was calibrated prior to launch using radioactive sources, particle acceletors, and ground-level muons. It measured protons and alpha particles in six channels (1.3-3.3, 3.3-13, 13-27, 27-37, 37-45, and >45 MeV/nucleon) and electrons in five energy channels (0.3-0.8, 0.8-2, 2-3, 3-4, and >4 MeV). For more detail see pp.253-257 of Raumfahrtforschung, v.19, n. 5, 1975. The h-a-cr*.dat and h-b-cr*.dat files contains hourly averaged fluxes of electrons, protons and alpha particles in the MeV ranges. The files were written in ASCII-codes. Each record contains 10 hourly averages. The differential fluxes (particles/sq.m, s, sr, MeV) cover, in several bands, the energy range 0.3-2.0 MeV for electrons, 4.0-51 MeV for protons, and 2.0-48 MeV for alpha particles. Also provided are the integral fluxes of alphas above 48 MeV, and protons above 51 MeV. For some of the energy channels, the standard deviations of the averages are also provided. Each file is preceded by a header record, providing the start and stop times of the data in the file. The acronyms for the rate channels are composed of a letter and an indication of the energy range in MeV/nucleon for protons and alpha particles respectively. MeV for electrons. The counting rates are given as particles/m^2 sec sr MeV/N, except for the integral channels P>51 and A>48 which are given as particles/ m^2 sec sr. Note: 1. Negative rates (-0.99999E+04) indicate missing or invalid data. 2. The energy boundaries for the electron channels E 0.2-0.8 and E 0.8-2are only rough estimates.
HELIOS-A and -B spacecrafts were the pair of deep space probes developed by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in a cooperative program with NASA. The purpose of the mission was to make pioneering measurments of the interplanetary medium from the vicinity of the earth"s orbit to 0.3 AU. The objective of experiment (E6) was to study high-energy, charged, cosmic-ray particles of solar, planetary, and galactic origin in interplanetary space. Protons and alpha particles with eneries >1.3 MeV/nucleon, and electrons >0.3 MeV were measured within interplanetary space over the range from 0.3 to 1.0 AU. The instrument, a particle telescope with 55-deg field of view, consisted of five semiconductor detectors, one sapphire Cherenkov counter, and one scintillation counter, all enclosed by an anticoincidence cylinder. The telescope was calibrated prior to launch using radioactive sources, particle acceletors, and ground-level muons. It measured protons and alpha particles in six channels (1.3-3.3, 3.3-13, 13-27, 27-37, 37-45, and >45 MeV/nucleon) and electrons in five energy channels (0.3-0.8, 0.8-2, 2-3, 3-4, and >4 MeV). For more detail see pp.253-257 of Raumfahrtforschung, v.19, n. 5, 1975. The h-a-cr*.dat and h-b-cr*.dat files contains hourly averaged fluxes of electrons, protons and alpha particles in the MeV ranges. The files were written in ASCII-codes. Each record contains 10 hourly averages. The differential fluxes (particles/sq.m, s, sr, MeV) cover, in several bands, the energy range 0.3-2.0 MeV for electrons, 4.0-51 MeV for protons, and 2.0-48 MeV for alpha particles. Also provided are the integral fluxes of alphas above 48 MeV, and protons above 51 MeV. For some of the energy channels, the standard deviations of the averages are also provided. Each file is preceded by a header record, providing the start and stop times of the data in the file. The acronyms for the rate channels are composed of a letter and an indication of the energy range in MeV/nucleon for protons and alpha particles respectively. MeV for electrons. Note: 1. Negative rates (-0.99999E+04) indicate missing or invalid data. 2. The energy boundaries for the electron channels E 0.2-0.8 and E 0.8-2are only rough estimates.
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Gurnett, D. A., and L. A. Frank, A region of intense plasma wave turbulences on auroral field lines, JGR, 82, 1031, 1977 Farrell, W. M., and J. A. Van Allen, Observations of the Earth"s polar cleft at large radial distances with Hawkeye 1 magnetometer, JGR, 95, 20945, 1990
Created by S. Chen on 2-5-97 Modified by R. Kessel on 13 June 2000
0 - not despun; 1 - optical aspect system; 2 - lepedea method; 3 - magnetometer method; 4/5 - solar array method - interpolated
may be pessimistic estimate
BUILD_DATE: 1974-01-01 INSTRUMENT_MASS: 0.23 (LESS BOOMS) kg INSTRUMENT_HEIGHT: 0.058 mt INSTRUMENT_LENGTH: 0.140 mt INSTRUMENT_WIDTH: 0.140 mt INSTRUMENT_MANUFACTURER_NAME: UNIV IOWA INSTRUMENT_SERIAL_NUMBER: VLF-05 Electric Antenna The electric antenna on HAWKEYE consisted of two extendible beryllium copper elements 0.025 inch in diameter which could be extended to a maximum tip-to-tip length of 42.7 m. Except for the outermost 6.1 m of each element, which had a conducting surface, the antenna was coated with Pyre-ML to electrically insulate the antenna from the surrounding plasma. The insulating coating was required to insulate the antenna from the perturbing effects of the plasma sheath surrounding the spacecraft body. At high altitudes, the thickness of the plasma sheath surrounding the spacecraft body was quit large, on the order of 9 m. Since the conducting portion of the antenna must extend beyond the plasma sheath, it was necessary that the antenna be rather long, at least 30 m. tip-to-tip. The antenna mechanism used on HAWKEYE was the Dual-Tee extendible antenna manufactured by Fairchild Industries. The antenna length was 42.49 meters after final deployment until the last orbit, when an attempt was made to retract the antenna to reduce the spacecraft drag. Magnetic Antenna The magnetic antenna for this experiment consisted of a search coil with a high permeability core mounted on a boom approximately 1.5 m. from the centerline of the spacecraft body. The boom was a three element telescoping device developed at the University of Iowa. The boom supporting the flux gate magnetometer on the opposite side of the spacecraft was the same type. Both booms were extended simultaneously by an electric motor. The search coil core was .305 m. long and was wound with approximately 20,000 turns of copper wire. The axis of the search coil was parallel to the spin axis of the spacecraft. A preamplifier was located with the sensor to provide low-impedance signals to the main electronics package in the spacecraft body. The frequency range of the search coil antenna was from 1.0 Hz to 10.0 kHz. Electronics The potential difference between the electric antenna elements was amplified by a high input impedance differential amplifier to provide a 0 to 5 volt analog voltage, V-Diff, to the spacecraft encoder. As the spacecraft rotated the potential difference between the antenna elements varied sinusoidally at the spacecraft rotation rate, with an amplitude proportional to the electric field strength and a phase determined by the direction of the electric field. The frequency response of the differential amplifier was 0.05 Hz to 10 Hz and included the entire range of spin rates expected as the antenna was deployed. The V-Diff signal was sampled 6 times each frame by the encoder. The gain of the differential amplifier could be controlled by command to provide dynamic ranges of +/-0.5 and +/-8.0 volts for the antenna potential difference measurements. Signals from the electric antenna in the frequency range from 10 kHz to 200 kHz were analyzed by the narrow band step frequency receiver. The primary purpose of this receiver was to provide very good frequency resolution in the neighborhood of the electron plasma frequency and upper hybrid resonance frequency. The step frequency receiver consisted of 8 narrow band filters (+/-5% band-width) which were sequentially switched into a log compressor. The log compressor provided a 0 to 5 volt analog voltage, SFR, to the spacecraft encoder. The switch (S4) position was controlled by clock lines from the spacecraft encoder and was stepped through 8 frequencies, 13.3, 17.8, 23.7, 31.1, 42.2, 56.2, 100, and 178 kHz, at a rate of four frequencies per telemetry frame (5.76 seconds). The log compressor provided a 0 to 5 volt analog voltage, SFR, to the spacecraft encoder which was proportional to the logarithm of the signal strength over a dynamic range of 100 db. The 8-channel spectrum analyzer provided relatively coarse frequency spectrum measurements of both electric and magnetic fields over a broad frequency range of 1.0 Hz to 10.0 kHz. The primary purpose of the 8-channel spectrum analyzer was to provide field strength measurements to complement the high-resolution frequency-time spectra from the wide-band receiver. Switches S1 and S2 were controlled by clock lines from the spacecraft encoder and commutate the filter outputs to two log compressors which provided field strength measurements SA-1 and SA-2 (0 to 5 volts) to the spacecraft encoder. These outputs were sampled twice per telemetry frame. Switch S3, which was controlled by a clock line, commutates the electric and magnetic field signals to the 8-channel spectrum analyzer. Approximately every 5 minutes the impedance of the electric antenna was determined at a frequency of 17 Hz by driving a small AC current into the antennas and measuring the resultant voltage on the antennas with the 8-channel spectrum analyzer. The 17 Hz oscillator was gated on for 1 frame out of every 64 frames by a clock line. Immediately following the impedance measurement the pulser circuit produced a 10 volt pulse with a duration of 20 micro- seconds. This pulse was to stimulate local plasma resonances, such as plasma oscillation, from which the electron density could be determined. A pulse of +10 volts was applied to one antenna element and a -10 volt pulse was applied to the opposite antenna element. The pulser was switched on by command. The pulser was on when the experiment was in VLF45 mode and off when the experiment was in the VLF10 mode. The pulser voltage was coupled to the antenna through a 220 pf capacitor which would have allowed some meaningful data to be obtained from the experiment even if the pulser output were to short to ground. The pulse was applied at the end of the impedance measurement frame. The potential difference between the electric antenna elements was amplified by a high input impedance differential amplifier to provide a 0 to 5 volt analog voltage, V-Diff, to the spacecraft encoder. As the spacecraft rotated the potential difference between the antenna elements varied sinusoidally at the spacecraft rotation rate, with an amplitude proportional to the electric field strength and a phase determined by the direction of the electric field. The frequency response of the differential amplifier was 0.05 Hz to 10 Hz and included the entire range of spin rates expected as the antenna was deployed. The V-Diff signal was sampled 6 times each frame by the encoder. The gain of the differential amplifier could be controlled by command to provide dynamic ranges of +/-0.5 and +/-8.0 volts for the antenna potential difference measurements. Signals from the electric antenna in the frequency range from 10 kHz to 200 kHz were analyzed by the narrow band step frequency receiver. The primary purpose of this receiver was to provide very good frequency resolution in the neighborhood of the electron plasma frequency and upper hybrid resonance frequency. The step frequency receiver consisted of 8 narrow band filters (+/-5% band-width) which were sequentially switched into a log compressor. The log compressor provided a 0 to 5 volt analog voltage, SFR, to the spacecraft encoder. The switch (S4) position was controlled by clock lines from the spacecraft encoder and was stepped through 8 frequencies, 13.3, 17.8, 23.7, 31.1, 42.2, 56.2, 100, and 178 kHz, at a rate of four frequencies per telemetry frame (5.76 seconds). The log compressor provided a 0 to 5 volt analog voltage, SFR, to the spacecraft encoder which was proportional to the logarithm of the signal strength over a dynamic range of 100 db. The 8-channel spectrum analyzer provided relatively coarse frequency spectrum measurements of both electric and magnetic fields over a broad frequency range of 1.0 Hz to 10.0 kHz. The primary purpose of the 8-channel spectrum analyzer was to provide field strength measurements to complement the high-resolution frequency-time spectra from the wide-band receiver. Switches S1 and S2 were controlled by clock lines from the spacecraft encoder and commutate the filter outputs to two log compressors which provided field strength measurements SA-1 and SA-2 (0 to 5 volts) to the spacecraft encoder. These outputs were sampled twice per telemetry frame. Switch S3, which was controlled by a clock line, commutates the electric and magnetic field signals to the 8-channel spectrum analyzer. Approximately every 5 minutes the impedance of the electric antenna was determined at a frequency of 17 Hz by driving a small AC current into the antennas and measuring the resultant voltage on the antennas with the 8-channel spectrum analyzer. The 17 Hz oscillator was gated on for 1 frame out of every 64 frames by a clock line. Immediately following the impedance measurement the pulser circuit produced a 10 volt pulse with a duration of 20 micro- seconds. This pulse was to stimulate local plasma resonances, such as plasma oscillation, from which the electron density could be determined. A pulse of +10 volts was applied to one antenna element and a -10 volt pulse was applied to the opposite antenna element. The pulser was switched on by command. The pulser was on when the experiment was in VLF45 mode and off when the experiment was in the VLF10 mode. The pulser voltage was coupled to the antenna through a 220 pf capacitor which would have allowed some meaningful data to be obtained from the experiment even if the pulser output were to short to ground. The pulse was applied at the end of the impedance measurement frame.
CDF created Jan 1999 by Mona Kessel modified Aug 1999 by Mona Kessel, Carolyn Ng modified Oct 1999 by Mona Kessel modified Nov 1999 by Mona Kessel, final for archiving
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