Lockheed-Martin Space Applications Laboratory
Encyclopedia
The Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL) is part of the Lockheed Martin
Advanced Technology Center (ATC) that is known primarily for its scientific work in the field of solar physics
, astronomy
and space weather
. The LMSAL team is part of Lockheed Martin Space Systems
and has close affiliations with NASA
and the solar physics group at Stanford University
.
Located in Palo Alto, California
, LMSAL is involved in many ground- and space-based missions that study the Sun
, with a sharp focus on basic research into understanding and predicting space weather and the behavior of the Sun, including its impacts on Earth and climate.
Space Weather
Enormous storms on the Sun driven by electromagnetic activity generate space weather that propagates outward across the solar system and can cause severe disturbances of Earth’s upper atmosphere and of the near-Earth space environment, with potential catastrophic impacts on ground- and space-based technological infrastructure.
In October 2011 the ATC co-sponsored a workshop entitled "Space Weather Risks and Society" that brought together a broad international spectrum of experts in solar and space weather, industry, economics, regulatory bodies, and emergency management to discuss the societal impacts of space weather, how to avoid or mitigate such impacts, and how to respond to them.
An understanding of space weather and - in particular - its impacts on society are in their infancy, but there is broad agreement that societal sensitivity to high-impact, low-frequency events is obviously substantial. Equally important is the need to thoroughly investigate how space weather impacts various components of our high-tech society, and identify the mechanisms by which it does so.
Solar Missions
LMSAL has a 49-year-long heritage of spaceborne solar instruments including:
• 1962 to 1985 - At least 20 NASA sounding rocket flights carrying LMSAL solar and astrophysics payloads were launched.
• 1975 - The Mapping X-Ray Heliometer (MXRH) on NASA’s Orbiting Solar Observatory
8 satellite.
• 1980 – The X-Ray Polarimeter (XRP) on NASA’s Solar Maximum Mission
satellite.
• 1985 – The Solar Optical Universal Polarimeter on STS-51F space shuttle mission. Dr. Loren Acton of LMSAL served as a Payload Specialist/Astronaut on the mission and operated the instrument during two weeks in space.
• 1991 - The Soft X-ray Telescope on the Japanese Yohkoh
satellite.
• 1995 - The Michelson Doppler Imager on the ESA/NASA SOHO
.
• 1998 - The solar telescope on NASA’s Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE
).
• 2006 - The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager instruments on NASA’s twin Solar Terrestrial Relations (STEREO
) spacecraft.
• 2006, 2009, 2010 - The Solar X-ray Imagers SXI
on GOES
-N, -O and –P spacecraft.
• 2006 - The Focal Plane Package on the Japanese Hinode (Solar-B) satellite.
• 2010 - The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory
(SDO).
• Two of the instruments for the next generation GOES-R satellites – the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM
) and the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI
) – are currently under construction.
• LMSAL and the ATC are currently building both the spacecraft and the science instrument for NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph
(IRIS), a Small Explorer Mission scheduled for launch in late 2012.
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
Advanced Technology Center (ATC) that is known primarily for its scientific work in the field of solar physics
Solar physics
For the physics journal, see Solar Physics Solar physics is the study of our Sun. It is a branch of astrophysics that specializes in exploiting and explaining the detailed measurements that are possible only for our closest star...
, astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
and space weather
Space weather
Space weather is the concept of changing environmental conditions in near-Earth space or thespace from the Sun's atmosphere to the Earth's atmosphere. It is distinct from the concept ofweather within the Earth's planetary atmosphere...
. The LMSAL team is part of Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It is headquartered in Denver, Colorado with additional sites in Sunnyvale, California; Newtown, Pennsylvania; Huntsville, Alabama; and elsewhere in the US and UK...
and has close affiliations with NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
and the solar physics group at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Located in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, LMSAL is involved in many ground- and space-based missions that study the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, with a sharp focus on basic research into understanding and predicting space weather and the behavior of the Sun, including its impacts on Earth and climate.
Space Weather
Enormous storms on the Sun driven by electromagnetic activity generate space weather that propagates outward across the solar system and can cause severe disturbances of Earth’s upper atmosphere and of the near-Earth space environment, with potential catastrophic impacts on ground- and space-based technological infrastructure.
In October 2011 the ATC co-sponsored a workshop entitled "Space Weather Risks and Society" that brought together a broad international spectrum of experts in solar and space weather, industry, economics, regulatory bodies, and emergency management to discuss the societal impacts of space weather, how to avoid or mitigate such impacts, and how to respond to them.
An understanding of space weather and - in particular - its impacts on society are in their infancy, but there is broad agreement that societal sensitivity to high-impact, low-frequency events is obviously substantial. Equally important is the need to thoroughly investigate how space weather impacts various components of our high-tech society, and identify the mechanisms by which it does so.
Solar Missions
LMSAL has a 49-year-long heritage of spaceborne solar instruments including:
• 1962 to 1985 - At least 20 NASA sounding rocket flights carrying LMSAL solar and astrophysics payloads were launched.
• 1975 - The Mapping X-Ray Heliometer (MXRH) on NASA’s Orbiting Solar Observatory
Orbiting Solar Observatory
The Orbiting Solar Observatory Program was the name of a series of nine American science satellites primarily intended to study the Sun, though they also included important non-solar experiments. Eight were launched successfully by NASA between 1962 and 1975 using Delta rockets...
8 satellite.
• 1980 – The X-Ray Polarimeter (XRP) on NASA’s Solar Maximum Mission
Solar Maximum Mission
The Solar Maximum Mission satellite was designed to investigate solar phenomenon, particularly solar flares. It was launched on February 14, 1980....
satellite.
• 1985 – The Solar Optical Universal Polarimeter on STS-51F space shuttle mission. Dr. Loren Acton of LMSAL served as a Payload Specialist/Astronaut on the mission and operated the instrument during two weeks in space.
• 1991 - The Soft X-ray Telescope on the Japanese Yohkoh
Yohkoh
Yohkoh , known before launch as Solar-A, was a Solar observatory spacecraft of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science with United States and United Kingdom collaboration...
satellite.
• 1995 - The Michelson Doppler Imager on the ESA/NASA SOHO
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory is a spacecraft built by a European industrial consortium led by Matra Marconi Space that was launched on a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS launch vehicle on December 2, 1995 to study the Sun, and has discovered over 2100 comets. It began normal operations in May...
.
• 1998 - The solar telescope on NASA’s Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE
TRACE
TRACE was a NASA space telescope designed to investigate the connections between fine-scale magnetic fields and the associated plasma structures on the Sun by providing high resolution images and observation of the solar photosphere and transition region to the corona...
).
• 2006 - The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager instruments on NASA’s twin Solar Terrestrial Relations (STEREO
STEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
) spacecraft.
• 2006, 2009, 2010 - The Solar X-ray Imagers SXI
Sxi
Sxi may refer to* St. Xavier's Institution, the boys' school in Malaysia.* The OpenOffice.org XML file format , used for presentations....
on GOES
Goes
Goes is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands in Zuid-Beveland, in the province Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents.-History of Goes:...
-N, -O and –P spacecraft.
• 2006 - The Focal Plane Package on the Japanese Hinode (Solar-B) satellite.
• 2010 - The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory
Solar Dynamics Observatory
The Solar Dynamics Observatory is a NASA mission which will observe the Sun for over five years. Launched on February 11, 2010, the observatory is part of the Living With a Star program...
(SDO).
• Two of the instruments for the next generation GOES-R satellites – the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM
GLM
The three-letter acronym GLM may refer to:*Generalized linear model*General linear model*Geostationary Lightning Mapper, an instrument being designed for the GOES-R series of satellites...
) and the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI
Suvi
Suvi, Şuvi or Shuvi may refer to:*Şuvi, Astara, Azerbaijan*Şovu, Azerbaijan*Suvi...
) – are currently under construction.
• LMSAL and the ATC are currently building both the spacecraft and the science instrument for NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph
Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph
The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph is a planned space probe to observe the Sun by NASA. It is a NASA Small Explorer program mission to investigate the physical conditions of the solar limb, particularly the chromosphere of the Sun...
(IRIS), a Small Explorer Mission scheduled for launch in late 2012.