Exploring space plasmas—The WISP/HF experiment

WISP/HF is the high-frequency part of the collaborative U.S.- Canada investigation, Waves In Space Plasmas. Instrumentation is being developed that will be flown on NASA's Space Shuttle starting with the Space Plasma Lab missions in the 1990s. Using a high-inclination orbit at heights near the maximum density of the ionospheric F region, active experiments will be carried out on antennas, electromagnetic and electrostatic wave propagation, problems in linear and nonlinear plasma physics, large-scale ionospheric structures, ionospheric irregularities, and the interaction of charged-particle beams with the ionospheric plasma. The WISP/HF equipment will generate, receive, and process signals in the 0.1 - to 30-MHz range. The Orbiter-based transmitter will have variable pulse-power levels up to 0.5 kW and will use a dipole of variable length up to 300 m tip-to-tip. WISP/HF receivers will be located both on the Orbiter and on a subsatellite. A high level of operational flexibility in the WISP/HF instrument design has been achieved through programmable digital control. The design also permits human control of experiments, both from the Orbiter and from the ground.