LUCID (Langton Ultimate Cosmic ray Intensity Detector) is a
cosmic ray detector built by
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and designed at
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, in
Canterbury,
England.
Its main purpose is to monitor cosmic rays using technology developed by
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...
, and will help predict the occurrence of
solar flares (proton storms) which disrupt artificial satellites. LUCID was launched on 8 July 2014 at
Baikonur
Baikonur ( kk, Байқоңыр, ; russian: Байконур, translit=Baykonur), formerly known as Leninsk, is a city of republic significance in Kazakhstan on the northern bank of the Syr Darya river. It is currently leased and administered ...
,
Kazakhstan as an instrument of the satellite TechDemoSat-1, which was carried into space by a
Soyuz-2 rocket.
Professor Larry Pinsky, Chair of
Physics at the
University of Houston, described the project in ''
Symmetry Magazine
Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definiti ...
'' as "like playing at being
NASA or the
European Space Agency
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
, but they’re not really playing. They’re doing the real thing.”
[
]
Channel 4 News said of the LUCID project that "with this metal box, the school has outwitted NASA".
References
External links
Description of LUCID
Cosmic-ray experiments
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