A Guide to on-line data from The Dynamics Explorer Program
Dynamics Explorer (DE) -1 and -2 Satellites
The two Dynamics Explorer spacecraft were launched on 3 August 1981 into
coplanar polar orbits at different altitudes for the purpose of studying
interactive processes within the atmosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere system.
DE 2, with an altitude range of 300 km to 1000 km, re-entered the atmosphere
on 19 February 1983. DE 1 had an altitude range of 570 km to 23 000 km
(3.63 Earth radii) and its operations ceased in January 1991.
The general objective of the Dynamics Explorer program is to investigate
magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere coupling processes. Specific objectives
fall into five categories:
-
Electric field induced convection;
-
Magnetosphere-ionosphere electric currents;
-
Direct energy coupling;
-
Mass coupling; and
-
Wave, particle, and plasma interactions.
A list of publications describing the DE program is currently being
compiled.
More information
about the DE Program is available from NASA.
Sources of On Line Data
Instrument descriptions and instructions on how to obtain data from
the NDADS system at the National Space Science Data Center.
On line data for selected intervals from DE -1 and DE -2 is also available
from the Southwest Data Display and Analysis Syst
Prepared by W.K. Peterson
Last updated 09/13/2005 by Daryl Carr