Spacetrack Directory Name | TBEX-A |
Alternative name | 2019-036T |
Orbit launches | 2019-06-25 |
Deorbitation date | 2021-03-09 |
Days in orbit | 623 |
Country/organisation of origin | USA (US) |
Starting point | AFETR (Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral, USA) |
WWW | Here |
Categories | |
Perigee | 278 km |
Apogee | 489 km |
Height TBEX-A | 439.45 km |
Tandem pair of CubeSats, each carrying tri-frequency radio beacons, in near identical, low inclination orbits and a cluster of diagnostic sensors on five islands in the Central Pacific sector. The science objectives and goals of TBEx are to study how the dynamics and processes in the troposphere can act to cause variability in the behavior of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. Improve the understanding of the role of atmospheric gravity waves on the formation of equatorial plasma bubbles. Plasma bubbles are when unstable regions of the ionosphere produce anomalous regions of higher-than-normal electron density that can be tens of kilometers across. The bubbles rise up to 1,000 meters altitude, and can disrupt communication.