DICE

Dynamic Ionosphere Cubesat Experiment

Launched in October 2011, the two identical DICE spacecraft formed a mini-constellation, with one spacecraft trailing within 200 km of the other. Each 1.5 unit (U) CubeSat carried an electric field probe, two Langmuir probes, and a science-grade magnetometer. These instruments performed co-located measurements of plasma density and the electric field to trace the formation and evolutions of SEDS. Variations in these phenomena can affect the performance of communications, surveillance, and navigation systems on Earth and in space.

SDL staff mentored the students who worked on the NSF-sponsored program, and provided facilities for manufacturing, assembling, integrating, and testing the DICE CubeSat components and instrumentation.