BackForwardInstrument:  HILT 

Instrument details
Acronym HILT
Full name Heavy Ion Large Telescope
Purpose Observation of charge, energy and mass of heavy ions in cosmic rays
Short description Mass spectrometer for the energy ranges 3.9-90 MeV/nucleon (He), 7.2-160 MeV/nucleon (C), 8.3-310 MeV/nucleon (O), 9.1-250 MeV/nucleon (Ne), and 11-90 Mev/nucleon (Fe)
Background New development
Scanning Technique Interplanetary space observation from a high-inclination drifting LEO
Resolution N/A
Coverage / Cycle Nearly full interplanetary space, daily
Mass 22.8 kg Power 5.7 W Data Rate 0.9 kbps

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1992 to 2012
Last update: 2022-07-26
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Solar and space environment monitors
  • Energetic particle spectrometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • In-situ plasma probes, and energetic particle spectrometers and magnetometers at GEO and LEO, and magnetic field at GEO
  • Heavy ion sensor at LEO
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Alpha particles differential directional flux
  • Heavy ion flux energy and mass spectrum
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Alpha particles differential directional flux*2 - very highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space. Low-medium energy range (<10 up to 100 MeV/n)
Heavy ion flux energy and mass spectrum*4 - fairNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space. Extended energy range (<10 to >100 MeV/n)