NASA awards SwRI $60 million contract to develop next-generation coronagraphs

(Press-News.org) Southwest Research Institute has won a $60 million contract to build three coronagraphs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). SwRI’s novel Space Weather Solar Coronagraph (SwSCOR) is NOAA’s next-generation instrument to provide early detection and characterization of Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

CMEs are huge bursts of coronal plasma threaded with intense magnetic fields ejected from the Sun over the course of several hours. CMEs arriving at Earth can generate geomagnetic storms, which can cause anomalies in and disruptions to modern conveniences such as electronic grids and GPS systems. Coronagraphs are instruments that block out light emitted by the Sun’s surface so that its outer atmosphere, or corona, can be observed.

“We’re very excited to work with NOAA and NASA, and provide this important space weather forecasting infrastructure,” said SwRI’s Dr. Craig DeForest, who is leading the project. “Routine images of the solar corona are as important to space weather forecasting as spaceborne imagery is to terrestrial weather forecasting. SwSCOR will be an important part of our nation’s infrastructure.”

SwSCOR will track space weather creating images of the corona every 90 seconds from 2.7 to 22 solar radii, similar to the current CCOR coronagraph recently launched on GOES. The instrument suite includes both flight hardware and rapid data reduction software, which will deliver processed images to NOAA forecasters within minutes of a solar event.

“SwRI has a long history of developing cutting-edge space instruments and technology, and SwSCOR continues that tradition,” said DeForest. “We’ve simplified the design for longevity and stability, and optimized each part of the instrument, including an advanced occulter, for manufacturability and performance.”

Stray light is the largest challenge of coronagraph design. Coronal structures a few degrees away from the Sun are a billion times fainter than the Sun itself. Diffraction injects stray light into the optics as sunlight scatters around the occulter in front of the instrument. Multi-disk coronagraph occulters cut stray light by many orders of magnitude. Adding more disks yields more occultation but tightens the machining or assembly tolerance, making them very challenging to machine.

“SwSCOR has a novel occulter with specific design features that make it easier to fabricate,” DeForest said. “Modern occulters require extremely precise shapes. We’ve adopted several techniques from optical manufacturing to improve that precision while keeping the process feasible and reliable.”

By detecting Earth-directed coronal mass ejections shortly after they erupt, the instruments allow the longest possible lead time for geomagnetic storm watchers. With this forewarning, public and private organizations affected by space weather can take actions to protect their assets. The coronagraphs will also provide data continuity from the Space Weather follow-on Lagrange 1 mission.

SwRI designed SwSCOR using internal funding, incorporating heritage processes and facilities from the development of the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere mission’s Wide-Field Imager (PUNCH/WFI). SwSCOR will be developed at SwRI’s Solar System Science and Exploration Division, in newly built laboratory facilities in downtown Boulder, Colorado.

DeForest is also the principal investigator of PUNCH, a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission set to launch in 2025, which is designed to better understand how the mass and energy of the Sun’s corona become the solar wind that fills the solar system.

Southwest Research Institute has won a $60 million contract to build three coronagraphs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). SwRI’s novel Space Weather Solar Coronagraph (SwSCOR) is NOAA’s next-generation instrument to provide early detection and characterization of Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

CMEs are huge bursts of coronal plasma threaded with intense magnetic fields ejected from the Sun over the course of several hours. CMEs arriving at Earth can generate geomagnetic storms, which can cause anomalies in and disruptions to modern conveniences such as electronic grids and GPS systems. Coronagraphs are instruments that block out light emitted by the Sun’s surface so that its outer atmosphere, or corona, can be observed.

“We’re very excited to work with NOAA and NASA, and provide this important space weather forecasting infrastructure,” said SwRI’s Dr. Craig DeForest, who is leading the project. “Routine images of the solar corona are as important to space weather forecasting as spaceborne imagery is to terrestrial weather forecasting. SwSCOR will be an important part of our nation’s infrastructure.”

SwSCOR will track space weather creating images of the corona every 90 seconds from 2.7 to 22 solar radii, similar to the current CCOR coronagraph recently launched on GOES. The instrument suite includes both flight hardware and rapid data reduction software, which will deliver processed images to NOAA forecasters within minutes of a solar event.

“SwRI has a long history of developing cutting-edge space instruments and technology, and SwSCOR continues that tradition,” said DeForest. “We’ve simplified the design for longevity and stability, and optimized each part of the instrument, including an advanced occulter, for manufacturability and performance.”

Stray light is the largest challenge of coronagraph design. Coronal structures a few degrees away from the Sun are a billion times fainter than the Sun itself. Diffraction injects stray light into the optics as sunlight scatters around the occulter in front of the instrument. Multi-disk coronagraph occulters cut stray light by many orders of magnitude. Adding more disks yields more occultation but tightens the machining or assembly tolerance, making them very challenging to machine.

“SwSCOR has a novel occulter with specific design features that make it easier to fabricate,” DeForest said. “Modern occulters require extremely precise shapes. We’ve adopted several techniques from optical manufacturing to improve that precision while keeping the process feasible and reliable.”

By detecting Earth-directed coronal mass ejections shortly after they erupt, the instruments allow the longest possible lead time for geomagnetic storm watchers. With this forewarning, public and private organizations affected by space weather can take actions to protect their assets. The coronagraphs will also provide data continuity from the Space Weather follow-on Lagrange 1 mission.

SwRI designed SwSCOR using internal funding, incorporating heritage processes and facilities from the development of the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere mission’s Wide-Field Imager (PUNCH/WFI). SwSCOR will be developed at SwRI’s Solar System Science and Exploration Division, in newly built facilities in downtown Boulder, Colorado.

DeForest is also the principal investigator of PUNCH, a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission set to launch in 2025, which is designed to better understand how the mass and energy of the Sun’s corona become the solar wind that fills the solar system.

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