"IBEX" redirects here. For other uses, see Ibex (disambiguation).
Interstellar Boundary Explorer
IBEX satellite
Names
Explorer 91 IBEX SMEX-10
Mission type
Astronomy
Operator
NASA
COSPAR ID
2008-051A
SATCAT no.
33401
Website
ibex.swri.edu
Mission duration
2 years (planned) 15 years, 7 months, 1 day (in progress)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft
Explorer XCI
Spacecraft type
Interstellar Boundary Explorer
Bus
MicroStar-1
Manufacturer
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Launch mass
107 kg (236 lb) [1]
Dry mass
80 kg (180 lb)
Payload mass
26 kg (57 lb)
Dimensions
58 × 95 cm (23 × 37 in)
Power
116 watts
Start of mission
Launch date
19 October 2008, 17:47:23 UTC
Rocket
Pegasus XL (F40)
Launch site
Bucholz Airfield, Stargazer
Contractor
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Entered service
January 2009
Orbital parameters
Reference system
Geocentric orbit[2]
Regime
High Earth orbit
Perigee altitude
7,000 km (4,300 mi)
Apogee altitude
220,886 km (137,252 mi)
Inclination
10.99°
Period
6604.00 minutes
Instruments
IBEX-Lo IBEX-Hi
IBEX mission logo
Explorer program
← AIM (Explorer 90)
WISE (Explorer 92) →
Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX or Explorer 91 or SMEX-10) is a NASA satellite in Earth orbit that uses energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) to image the interaction region between the Solar System and interstellar space. The mission is part of NASA's Small Explorer program and was launched with a Pegasus-XL launch vehicle on 19 October 2008.[3]
The mission is led by Dr. David J. McComas (IBEX principal investigator), formerly of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and now with Princeton University. The Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center built the IBEX-Hi and IBEX-Lo sensors respectively. The Orbital Sciences Corporation manufactured the satellite bus and was the location for spacecraft environmental testing. The nominal mission baseline duration was two years after commissioning, and the prime ended in early 2011. The spacecraft and sensors are still healthy and the mission is continuing in its extended mission.[4]
IBEX is in a Sun-oriented spin-stabilized orbit around the Earth.[5] In June 2011, IBEX was shifted to a new, more efficient, much more stable orbit.[6] It does not come as close to the Moon in the new orbit, and expends less fuel to maintain its position.[6]
The spacecraft is equipped with two large aperture imagers which detect ENAs with energies from 10 eV to 2 keV (IBEX-Lo) and 300 eV to 6 keV (IBEX-Hi). The mission was originally planned for a 24 month operations period. The mission has since been extended, with the spacecraft still in operation as of March 2023.
^"IBEX". ESA. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
^"Trajectory: IBEX (Explorer 91) 2008-051A". NASA. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^Ray, Justin (19 October 2008). "Mission Status Center: Pegasus/IBEX". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
^"Archived Updates". Southwest Research Institute.
^"Fact Sheet: IBEX" (PDF). Orbital ATK. FS001_06_3695. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
^ abCite error: The named reference ibexnews201111 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
and 25 Related for: Interstellar Boundary Explorer information
InterstellarBoundaryExplorer (IBEX or Explorer 91 or SMEX-10) is a NASA satellite in Earth orbit that uses energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) to image the...
was a bow shock, but data from InterstellarBoundaryExplorer suggested the velocity of the Sun through the interstellar medium is too low for it to form...
encoded pictures InterstellarBoundaryExplorer (IBEX), space observatory that measured energetic neutral atoms from interstellarboundary. List of artificial...
update] Spaceflight portal InterstellarBoundaryExplorer - The IBEX spacecraft, launched in October 2008 Advanced Composition Explorer - The ACE spacecraft...
collide with the interstellar medium. For decades it was assumed that the Sun had a bow shock. In 2012, data from InterstellarBoundaryExplorer (IBEX) and...
under study by the InterstellarBoundaryExplorer (IBEX), a NASA satellite mapping the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. Gould Belt...
the InterstellarBoundaryExplorer satellite and Voyager 1 and 2 indicated that the Sun isn't moving fast enough through its current interstellar environment...
IRIS mission launched June 27, 2013. The InterstellarBoundaryExplorer, or IBEX, images the outer boundaries of the heliosphere, focusing on how the solar...
Voyager spacecraft. However, data obtained in 2012 from NASA's InterstellarBoundaryExplorer (IBEX) indicates the lack of any solar bow shock. Along with...
and back on, and the launch proceeded normally. In 2023 the InterstellarBoundaryExplorer spacecraft stopped responding to commands after an anomaly....
and InterstellarBoundaryExplorer spacecraft has suggested that it is forced into a bubble shape by the constraining action of the interstellar magnetic...
August 1996, completed Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), launched April 2003, completed InterstellarBoundaryExplorer (IBEX), launched October 2008, operational...
WIND (spacecraft), (1994), Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), Ulysses, the InterstellarBoundaryExplorer (IBEX) in 2008, and Parker Solar Probe. Other...
perspective on the heliopause from data acquired through the InterstellarBoundaryExplorer (IBEX) mission, launched in October 2008. The end of the heliosphere...
loss of gamma-burst identifying satellite HETE (High Energy Transient Explorer). The Pegasus XL, introduced in 1994 has lengthened stages to increase...
Orbital's heritage Heliophysics satellites are as listed below: InterstellarBoundaryExplorer (IBEX) for NASA/SwRI- launched in 2008 Solar Radiation and Climate...
and boundaries of the outer heliosphere and to begin exploring the interstellar medium. Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause and entered interstellar space...
the Voyagers are still in operation beyond the outer boundary of the heliosphere in interstellar space. They collect and transmit useful data to Earth...
In astronomy, the interstellar medium (ISM) is the matter and radiation that exists in the space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes...
called P/2, an orbit that has never been used before (although InterstellarBoundaryExplorer (IBEX) uses a similar P/3 orbit). The highly elliptical orbit...
January 2017). "A Metal Ball the Size of Massachusetts That NASA Wants to Explore". The New York Times. "Voyager is sending 'impossible data' back to Nasa...
(November 4, 2019). "Voyager 2's Discoveries From Interstellar Space – In its journey beyond the boundary of the solar wind's bubble, the probe observed...
Cassini-Huygens spacecraft IBEX-Hi and IBEX-Lo instruments on the InterstellarBoundaryExplorer spacecraft Mariner 10 The SWAP (Solar Wind Analyser around Pluto)...
Interstellar Space is a studio album by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, featuring drummer Rashied Ali. It was recorded in 1967, the year of his...
Global Information
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
