SH011-0004
The High Inclination Solar Mission (HISM)
Tuesday, 8 December 2020
Poster
Ken Kobayashi1, Les Johnson1, Herbert D Thomas1, Scott William McIntosh2, David E. McKenzie1, Jeffrey S Newmark3, Kenneth H Wright Jr4, Quincy Bean5, Leo Fabisinski1, Peter D Capizzo1, Keith R Clements1, John Carr5, Andrew Heaton5, Mike Baysinger5, Steven G Sutherlin1, Jay C Garcia1, Kamron Medina6 and Dana Turse7, (1)NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, United States, (2)High Altitude Observatory, Boulder, CO, United States, (3)NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, United States, (4)Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, AL, United States, (5)NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, United States, (6)Roccor, LLC, Longmont, United States, (7)Roccor, LLC, Longmont, CO, United States
Abstract:
The High Inclination Solar Mission (HISM) is an out-of-the-ecliptic solar sail mission concept for observing the Sun and the heliosphere. The mission profile is based on the Solar Polar Imager concept: initially spiraling in to a 0.48 AU ecliptic orbit, then increasing the orbital inclination at a rate of up to 10° degrees per year, ultimately reaching a heliographic inclination of >75°. The orbital profile is achieved using solar sails based on the sail design for the Solar Cruiser mission, currently in Phase-A study at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
An initial instrument complement was assumed for the study, consisting of a combination of remote, in-situ, and plasma wave instruments with a total mass of 66 kg. These provide a comprehensive suite of instruments to study the solar polar regions and connections to the heliosphere.
The 7,000 m2 sail used in the mission assessment is a direct extension of the 4-quadrant 1,666 m2 Solar Cruiser design and employs the same type of high strength composite boom, deployment mechanism, and membrane technology. The sail system modeled is spun (~1 rpm) to assure required boom characteristics with margin. The spacecraft bus features a fine-pointing 3-axis stabilized instrument platform that allows full science observations as soon as the spacecraft reaches a solar distance of 0.48 AU. The spacecraft provides 95W power to science instruments and 8 Gbit/day downlink capability.
