Atmospheric & Space Technology Research Associates LLC

The Goal of the Proposed Cubesat Mission Is to Investigate the Underlying Causes Behind the Appearance of F-region Plasma Structures and the Evolution of These Structures After Formation. Our Approach to Address This Complex Challenge Places Sensors That Measure Key Plasma Parameters in a Circular Low to Middle Inclination Orbit Near 400 KM Altitude to Study the Correlation Between Convection Electric Field Variations and Plasma Densities at Different Local Times and Longitudes. to Do This Measurements of Ion-drifts and Plasma Densities Will Be Made by a Miniature Ion Velocity Meter and a Micro Planar Langmuir Probe. These Instruments Will Fly on a 6U Cubesat With Precise 3-AXIS Attitude Control and Body Mounted Solar Panels. the Sortie Cubesat Takes Advantage of Already Matured Cubesat Technologies and Requires No Deployable Mechanisms. This Proposal Addresses Science Questions in the Nasa Heliophysics Roadmap (2009) Including (a) Understanding the Global and Local Electrodynamics of the Itm System in Response to Geomagnetic Dynamics and (B) Discovering the Connections Between Spatial and Temporal Scales in the Ionosphere-thermosphere System Through Recurrent Measurements of Ionospheric Irregularities and the Background Conditions in Which They Form. We Expect That the Proposed Mission Will Advance the Capability to Predict the Appearance of Low-latitude Ionospheric Irregularities by Observing the Pre-existing Conditions That Lead to Their Development and Examining the Relationships Between Any Pre-existing Wave Structure and the Spectral Content of the Irregularities That Appear After Sunset.