Status Report

Cluster News Update 15 July 200

By SpaceRef Editor
July 15, 2000
Filed under

Last night, highly energetic particles from one of the largest solar flares on record struck
the Earth’s magnetosphere and triggered an intense radiation storm in the vicinity of
Earth.

Just after the eruption, coronagraphs on board the ESA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) recorded a full halo coronal mass ejection heading toward Earth at greater than 1000 km/s. The fast-moving cloud of plasma is expected to strike the magnetosphere today.

However, after analysing the potential threat to the Cluster spacecraft, the project team agreed that the risk was probably minimal and would not adversely affect the mission.

Meanwhile, all is proceeding to plan at the launch site. Instructions have been sent to both Cluster spacecraft in ordr to place them in launch mode, so that their subsystems are in the configuration required at separation.

The project reports that the launch timeline is spot on, and everything is green for lift-off at 14.40 CEST.

SpaceRef staff editor.