The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) is a research organization at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

. LASP is a research institute with over one hundred research scientists ranging in fields from solar influences, to Earth's and other planetary atmospherics processes, space weather, space plasma and dusty plasma physics. LASP has advanced technical capabilities specializing in designing, building, and operating spacecraft and spacecraft instruments.

History

Founded after World War II, the first scientific instruments built at LASP were launched into space using captured German V-2 rockets. To this day LASP continues a suborbital rocket program through periodic calibration instrument flights from White Sands Missile Range. It was originally called the Upper Air Laboratory, but changed to its current name in 1965. LASP has historical ties to Ball Aerospace Corporation and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA).

Facilities

Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

LASP has two main facilities located in the University of Colorado Boulder Research Park: the LASP Space Technology Research Center (LSTR) and Space Science (SPSC). Two additional facilities - Astrophysical Research Lab (ARL) and Space Learning Lab (SLL/NPL) - are also part of LASP. LASP's new facilities allow it to handle almost every aspect of

space mission Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in o ...

s, itself. Hardware facilities allow for the construction of single instruments or entire

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...

. A Mission Operations Center allows for the control of spacecraft data collection, and a large research staff analyzes the data. Being part of the University, LASP has heavy student involvement in every aspect of its operations, including science, hardware design / construction and mission operations.

Satellites and instruments

LASP supports the following spacecraft and instruments: * Galileo ultraviolet spectrometer * Cassini-Huygens Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) *

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was a NASA-operated orbital observatory whose mission was to study the Earth's atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer. The satellite was deployed from Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' duri ...

(UARS) Solar/Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) * Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE) *

Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) was a NASA-sponsored satellite mission that measured incoming X-ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and total solar radiation. These measurements specifically addressed long-term climat ...

(SORCE) * Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) * Quick Scatterometer Mission (QuikSCAT) * TIMED (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics) Solar EUV Experiment (SEE) * MESSENGER (Mercury: Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, Ranging) Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) * New Horizons Student Dust Counter (SDC) *

Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM or Explorer 90) is a NASA satellite originally launched to conduct a 26-month study of noctilucent clouds (NLCs). Its mission was extended, and as of 2022 is still operational. It is the ninetieth Exp ...

(AIM) *

Kepler Space Observatory The Kepler space telescope is a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit ...

Solar Dynamics Observatory The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is a NASA mission which has been observing the Sun since 2010. Launched on 11 February 2010, the observatory is part of the Living With a Star (LWS) program. The goal of the LWS program is to develop the ...

(SDO) EUV Variability Experiment (EVE) * Glory Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) * Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) * Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment (CSSWE) CubeSat with REPT integrated little experiment (REPTile) *

Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE; ) was a NASA lunar exploration and technology demonstration mission. It was launched on a Minotaur V rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on September 7, 2013. During its se ...

(LADEE) Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX) *

MAVEN MAVEN is an American spacecraft orbiting Mars to study the loss of its atmospheric gases to space, providing insight into the history of the planet's climate and water. The spacecraft name is an acronym for "Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolu ...

- Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN Mission *

Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission is a NASA robotic space mission to study the Earth's magnetosphere, using four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation. The spacecraft were launched on 13 March 2015 at 02:44 UTC. T ...

- MMS * Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) CubeSat * Total Solar Irradiance Calibration Transfer Experiment (TCTE) *

GOES-R GOES-16, formerly known as GOES-R before reaching geostationary orbit, is the first of the GOES-R series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&n ...

Extreme Ultra Violet and X-Ray Irradiance Sensors * Global-scale Observations of Limb and Disk (GOLD), a hosted payload on the

SES-14 SES-14 is a geostationary communications satellite operated by SES S.A. at 47.5° West, replaces NSS-806, and designed and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. The satellite launched on 25 January 2018 at 22:20 UTC along with the Global ...

TV satellite. * Mars Hope, Martian orbiter sponsored by the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

References

External links

LASP official website

Colorado Center for Lunar Dust and Atmosphere Studies
{{Authority control University of Colorado Boulder

History

Facilities

Satellites and instruments

See also

References

External links