36.366 US KANKELBORG/MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Full-sun Ultraviolet SpecTrograph (FURST)
- Mission
- Vehicle
- Launch
- Photos
The goal of this mission is to study and better understand spectra of the "Sun as a Star". The Full-sun Ultraviolet Rocket Spectrograph (FURST) will obtain the first high resolution spectra of the Sun as a star in far ultraviolet. FURST spectra will have applications to solar and stellar physics, climate science, and the interaction of solar UV radiation with comets, moons, and planets. The immediate science goal is to understand better the processes of chromospheric and coronal heating. The solar spectrum obtained will enable understanding of the interaction of solar UV radiation with solar system bodies, the nature of magnetic energy dissipation as a Sun-like star evolves, and the dependence of magnetic activity on stellar mass and metallicity.
News article at Montana State University: https://www.montana.edu/news/23904/nasa-to-launch-instrument-developed-at-montana-state-to-study-sun
The Principal Investigator is Dr. Kankelborg/Montana State Unversity
The Black Brant 9 is a two stage sounding rocket with a Terrier first stage and Black Brant second stage. The Black Brant 9 can reach altitudes of about 600 km. Payloads weighing from 400 to 1200 pounds can be flown.
The FURST mission was launched on September 3, 2024 from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.