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| SORCE | |
|---|---|
| Name | Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment |
| Acronym | SORCE |
| Operator | National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Launch | February 25, 2003 |
| Launch vehicle | Delta II |
| Orbit | Low Earth orbit |
| Mission duration | 17 years (operational) |
| Instruments | Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment, Total Irradiance Monitor, Spectral Irradiance Monitor, X-Ray Photometer System |
SORCE
The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment was a NASA heliophysics satellite focused on measuring solar irradiance and its influence on Earth's climate system, atmosphere, and space weather. Launched in 2003, the mission provided continuous observations that linked solar output to phenomena studied by programs and institutions including NOAA, European Space Agency, University of Colorado Boulder, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Data from the mission informed models used by agencies such as Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and research centers like Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.
SORCE was designed to quantify variations in total and spectral solar irradiance across ultraviolet, visible, and infrared bands to improve understanding of solar forcing on Earth system science, stratospheric chemistry monitored by World Meteorological Organization, and radiative transfer in models used by Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University. The mission built on heritage instruments from missions like UARS, SOHO, TIMED, and PICARD while supporting reanalysis efforts at European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and observational programs at NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
Primary objectives included precise measurement of total solar irradiance (TSI) and spectral solar irradiance (SSI) to constrain radiative forcing used in climate model intercomparison project studies led by groups at Hadley Centre and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The mission aimed to reduce uncertainties affecting assessments by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and to provide calibration references for instruments on Aqua, Aura, Suomi NPP, and planned Sentinel missions. Cross-calibration activities engaged labs such as National Institute of Standards and Technology and observatories like Mount Wilson Observatory.
The spacecraft hosted four primary instruments: the Total Irradiance Monitor (TSI sensor), the Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SSI spectrometer), the Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE), and the X-Ray Photometer System. TSI measurements were traceable to radiometric standards maintained by National Institute of Standards and Technology and informed comparisons with data from ACRIM experiments and VIRGO on SOHO. SOLSTICE used stellar cross-calibration methods similar to those employed at Hubble Space Telescope calibrations and spectrophotometry techniques applied at Space Telescope Science Institute. Instrument teams included scientists affiliated with University of Colorado Boulder, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Maryland, and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Operations were conducted from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in coordination with mission control infrastructures at Ball Aerospace and tracking by the United States Space Force networks and Deep Space Network for high-priority contacts. Data products included time series of TSI, SSI across ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths, calibration data sets, and level-2 and level-3 processed products archived at repositories used by NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System and accessed by researchers at NOAA, European Space Agency, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, and universities such as Columbia University and University of Reading. Quality assurance and algorithm development engaged communities behind Climate Data Records and the Committee on Space Research.
SORCE produced high-precision TSI records that revised estimates of solar variability used in climate sensitivity studies and attribution assessments by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Its SSI measurements in the ultraviolet influenced stratospheric ozone chemistry models developed at National Center for Atmospheric Research and impacted coupled chemistry-climate modeling efforts at Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. Results were cited in studies involving solar cycle modulation, radiative forcing analyses used by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and investigations into solar influence on El Niño–Southern Oscillation teleconnections studied by Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Cross-mission syntheses compared SORCE output with data from SOHO, TIMED, and SORCE successor missions to refine long-term irradiance reconstructions used by paleoclimate groups at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory.
The mission fostered partnerships among academic institutions, national laboratories, and international space agencies including NOAA, European Space Agency, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and research centers such as National Center for Atmospheric Research and Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. Ground calibration and validation campaigns involved observatories like Mauna Loa Observatory, agencies such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and university groups at University of Colorado Boulder and University of Maryland. Science working groups coordinated with programs like International Space Science Institute and contributed to workshops at American Geophysical Union meetings and symposia of the American Meteorological Society.
After exceeding its design life, the spacecraft was decommissioned, with final operations coordinated by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and archival of data at NASA Distributed Active Archive Centers. Its legacy endures through long-term irradiance records used by agencies such as NOAA and research programs at Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, datasets integrated into climate reanalyses at European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and instrument designs influencing missions like TSIS and future solar observatories planned by NASA and European Space Agency. The mission enhanced calibration standards at National Institute of Standards and Technology and benefited observational networks including Global Climate Observing System.
Category:NASA satellites Category:Solar observatories