American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics. Study of Multi-Institutional Collaborations. Phase II: Space Science and Geophysics.

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AMPTE, launched in 1984, was one of the most complex space missions ever. Three scientific spacecraft (each designed and built by a different nation) were carried into orbit by a single launch vehicle, deployed into different regions of space, and then operated to perform coordinated functions with one another. The German spacecraft, which was supplemented by a British spacecraft carrying a complementary set of instruments, orbited the earth outside the magnetosphere and released tracer ions into the solar wind, while the American spacecraft, which orbited inside the magnetosphere, attempted to detect the released ions in order to determine whether and how the solar wind "blows" ions into the earth's magnetosphere. The American spacecraft also made measurements of the natural environment within the magnetosphere, and the German spacecraft also released cometary ions to study the plasma physics of the interaction of solar wind with a cometary gas.

From the description of Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Experiment (AMPTE) (Space Science): Oral history interviews, 1992-1994. (American Institute of Physics). WorldCat record id: 82863021

Relation Name
associatedWith Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers (Program) corporateBody
associatedWith Bryant, D. A. person
associatedWith Center for History of Physics (American Institute of Physics) corporateBody
associatedWith Gloeckler, G. person
associatedWith Goddard Space Flight Center. corporateBody
associatedWith Haerendel, Gerhard. person
associatedWith Imperial College of Science and Technology. corporateBody
associatedWith Johns Hopkins University. Applied Physics Laboratory. corporateBody
associatedWith Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. corporateBody
associatedWith Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie. corporateBody
associatedWith Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik. corporateBody
associatedWith Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. corporateBody
associatedWith Schmerling, Erwin. person
associatedWith TRW Inc. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. corporateBody
associatedWith Universität Bern. corporateBody
associatedWith University of California, Berkeley. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Iowa. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Maryland. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Sussex. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
Group work in research
Magnetosphere
Space sciences
Space sciences
Space vehicles
Occupation
Activity

Corporate Body

Active 1992

Active 1994

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