NASA completes spacecraft for TRACERS mission to investigate hazardous solar storms

NASA has completed the twin satellites it will launch next year to study the solar wind and its impact on Earth.

The Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, or “TRACERS,” will help scientists to better understand space weather and how particles from the sun interact with the region around our planet dominated by its magnetic field.

Explosions of particles can result in geomagnetic storms. The storms may affect a part of the Earth’s atmosphere that reflects radio waves used for communication, leading to radio blackouts and power outages on Earth and potentially dangerous conditions for astronauts.

While the sun is in the solar maximum period of its cycle, scientists forecast an increase in solar activity over the course of the next year. Approximately every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic poles swap places, and the 4.5 billion-year-old yellow dwarf star becomes more stormy and active.

The TRACERS mission will specifically focus on magnetic reconnection when activity from the sun interacts with Earth’s protective magnetosphere: the region around the planet dominated by its magnetic field. It causes magnetic field lines to disconnect and reconnect, and particles rain down into Earth’s atmosphere.

An artist’s concept shows NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) satellites in space. The mission will study magnetic reconnection, when activity from the sun interacts with the region around the Earth dominated by its magnetic field. (Millennium Space Systems)

To do this, the satellites will fly in single file through the funnel-shaped regions where Earth’s magnetic field opens over the north and south poles. Using data from their flight, scientists will observe how quickly the magnetic reconnection changes.

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare on Nov. 6, 2024, peaking at 8:40 a.m. ET. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an image of the event, which was classified as X2.3. https://t.co/ShmsbiXgMF pic.twitter.com/Q3AZem2bIf

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) November 6, 2024

The satellites were built by Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing company. The team is completing its integration of the TRACERS instruments. NASA said the satellites would be tested before they are shipped to California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base and integrated with the launch vehicle.

The TRACERS satellites will fly through the Earth’s magnetic cusp to study magnetic interactions between Earth and the solar wind. The research will give scientists new insight into solar storms that can cause radio blackouts and power outages. (Credit: NASA)

“It’s exciting to see the TRACERS instruments and the two spacecraft come together. The team is making excellent progress toward launch,” David Miles, TRACERS principal investigator, said in a statement.

A completed satellite for the TRACERS mission sits on a support structure. The satellite will launch no sooner than April of next year. (Credit: Millennium Space Systems)

The satellites will launch no sooner than April 2025. The mission was announced in 2019.