BackForwardInstrument:  SESS/SSULI 

Instrument details
Acronym SESS/SSULI
Full name SESS / Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager
Purpose Observation of the Extreme and Far UV radiation (vertical profiles) from the Earth's limb
Short description Spectrograph for observation of Far UV and Extreme UV in the spectral range 80-170 nm inclusive of the H Lyman-alpha line at 121.6 nm, with 1.5 nm resolution, stemming from atomic oxygen and nitrogen, and molecular nitrogen, resulting in direct measurements of the electron density vertical profile as well as ion and neutral densities
Background Part of the SESS (Space Environment Sensor Suite) package
Scanning Technique Limb scanning across the height range 50-750 km
Resolution Vertical: 4 km: horizontal 300 km (limb view)
Coverage / Cycle Global in 5 days for cells of 300 km side. Sampling at 90 s intervals
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency NRL
Instrument Maturity Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period: 2004 to 2025
Last update: 2021-12-16
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
  • Space radiometer or spectrometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 2
  • Magnetospheric energetic particles and magnetometers
  • Ionospheric electron density sensor [in LEO and cross magnetosphere]
  • Ionospheric plasma density
  • Subcomponent 3
  • UV spectral imagery (e.g. GEO, HEO, MEO, LEO)
  • EUV spectrometer [from GEO, HEO, MEO, LEO]
  • UV spectral imager [from GEO, HEO, MEO, LEO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Aurora
Evaluation of Measurements