Orbit Altitude: 630 km
Orbit Inclination: 40 degrees
Period: 97 minutes
Perigee: 612.8 km
Apogee: 652.5 km
Orbit Type: LEO > Low Earth Orbit > Polar Non-Sun-Synchronous

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SORCE is a NASA-sponsored satellite mission that will provide state-of-the-art
measurements of incoming x-ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and total
solar radiation. SORCE represents the ... merging of the EOS Solar Stellar
Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) and the Total Solar Irradiance
Mission (TSIM). The measurements provided by SORCE specifically address
long-term climate change, natural variability and enhanced climate prediction,
and atmospheric ozone and UV-B radiation. These measurements are critical to
studies of the Sun, its effect on our Earth system, and its influence on
humankind.

Solar radiation is the dominant, direct energy input into the terrestrial
ecosystem, and it affects all physical, chemical, and biological processes. The
Sun provides a natural influence on the Earth's atmosphere and climate. In
order to understand mankind's roles in climate change, the Sun's impact must
first be understood.

SORCE measures the Sun's output with the use of state-of-the-art radiometers,
spectrometers, photodiodes, detectors, and bolometers engineered into
instruments mounted on a satellite observatory. The SORCE satellite orbits
around the Earth accumulating solar data. Spectral measurements identify the
irradiance of the Sun by characterizing the Sun's energy and emissions in the
form of color that can then be translated into quantities and elements of
matter. Data obtained by the SORCE experiment will be used to model the Sun's
output and to explain and predict the effect of the Sun's radiation on the
Earth's atmosphere and climate.

Website: http://science.hq.nasa.gov/missions/satellite_21.htm

[Summary provided by NASA.]

http://lasp.colorado.edu/sorce/