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REAL [Dartmouth]
REAL (Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss) is a scientific investigation mission conducted by Dartmouth Collegemission designed to characterize the loss of particles from Earths Van Allen radiation belts. REAL will carry an energetic particle instrument that is sensitive to both electrons and protons. From its vantage point in low-Earth orbit, REAL will point its instrument along Earths magnetic field to measure radiation belt particles as they enter the atmosphere.
REAL is built on a 3U CubeSat satellite bus. The REAL particle detector instrument will constitute the top 1/4 U of the 3U REAL spacecraft. Each of the medium- & highenergy apertures resolves a 20 range of electron pitch angles. The first Look-Direction (LD) will be centered on the magnetic field, so it has a 40 Field-of-View (FoV).
It was selected in 2020 by NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) program by the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) to be launched as part of the ELaNa program.
| Nation: | USA |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Ionospheric Research |
| Operator: | Dartmouth College |
| Contractors: | Dartmouth College |
| Equipment: | Particle detector |
| Configuration: | CubeSat (3U) |
| Propulsion: | None |
| Power: | Deployable fixed solar array, batteries |
| Lifetime: | |
| Mass: | |
| Orbit: | SSO |
| Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REAL | 2025-154G | 23.07.2025 | Va SLC-4E | Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) | with TRACERS A, B (SMEX 16), Bard, Athena EPIC, Skykraft 4A, ..., 4E, LIDE, REAL |
Launch Sites:
- Va = Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA
References:
- T. Sotirelis, R. M. Millan, J. G. Sample, L. A. Woodger, Wen Li, et al.: Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss Presentation,
- Dartmouth College: Dartmouth CubeSat project selected by NASA, 26 February 2020
