A group of Arizona State University engineering and business students have been working on the Sun Devil Satellite 1 project since 2009 to help advance NASA’s knowledge about solar flares and their effect on Earth’s magnetic field. Solar flares can be signs of the formation of gigantic solar storms, which can propel powerful electromagnetic bursts of charged particles from the Sun to collide with Earth’s magnetic field, possibly resulting in widespread electrical power blackouts.
The data the Sun Devil Satellite 1 project hopes to collect could aid research to predict the intensity of flares and forecast potential impacts on the Earth. The team of students is building a nine-pound satellite equipped with a Flare Initiation Doppler Imager, which will take rapid-fire photos of the Sun to capture solar flares as they emerge. The team has completed successful preliminary NASA design reviews and is planning to have a satellite built in time for a projected 2015 launch.
