Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) have announced plans to install an electromagnetic field measurement instrument aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo as part of the first NASA-funded science mission on a suborbital space plane.
The instrument will analyze the electromagnetic fields inside the spacecraft during the 90-minute mission in order to provide scientists with information on the potential effects of externally- and internally-generated fields on the spacecraft and its cargo.
“This data will enable future payloads designed to make scientific observations of Earth’s magnetic field to cancel out interference from the spacecraft,” Todd Smith, APL’s electromagnetic field measurements principal investigator, said. “Ultimately, our payload will serve as an integration platform for future scientific research and instrument development activities.”
Commercial spacecraft like the Virgin Galactic flights are expected to initially travel 50 miles (80 km) in altitude to a portion of the atmosphere known as the ignorosphere. This region has traditionally been difficult to study directly, so scientists hope these tourism spacecraft will provide low-cost access to space for education, research and technology development.
“It’s [the igornosphere] too high for balloons and aircraft to reach, yet too low for satellites,” Smith said. “Yet, this is a critical transition region for our atmosphere—approaching the gateway between Earth and outer space—so these new vehicles may afford an unprecedented research opportunity.”
APL is also set to launch three more instruments at a later date under NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, which uses commercially available vehicles and platforms to enable technology discoveries.
“We are at the beginning of a revolutionary new age in which the average person can have access to space,” Smith said. “The sky is literally the limit for the scientific possibilities.”
