HEAPOW: ISS-CREAM for the Space Station (2017 Aug 14)

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bystander
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HEAPOW: ISS-CREAM for the Space Station (2017 Aug 14)

Post by bystander » Mon Aug 14, 2017 2:46 pm

Image HEAPOW: ISS-CREAM for the Space Station (2017 Aug 14)

The origin of cosmic rays has been a mystery since their discovery by Victor Hess more than a century ago. Cosmic rays are broken bits of atoms (electrons, protons, atomic nuclei and other subatomic particles) accelerated to astonishing energies. Some of these tiny particles are so energetic, they pack as much punch as a Steven Strasburg fastball. Cosmic rays rain down on earth, colliding with the atoms in the earth's atmosphere and producing secondary electrons and muons, hundreds of which pass through your body each second. Some cosmic rays are produced by high-energy explosions on the Sun; others are believed to be associated with supernovae, the enormously powerful explosions of dying stars. Determining the compositions of cosmic rays is a key means to help understand how these weird interstellar travelers are produced. And when it comes to measuring cosmic rays, it helps to study them at high altitude, to detect them before they collide with the atmosphere. Today, a new facility to study cosmic rays is being launched for installation on the International Space Station. This experiment, called ISS-CREAM (commonly pronounced "ice-cream"), is actually a modified version of a balloon-borne experiment called CREAM, which stands for "Cosmic-Ray Energetics And Mass". CREAM has flown on long-duration balloon flights in the upper atmosphere around Antarctica. These balloon flights have provided important information about the composition and origin of cosmic rays, but are necessarily limited in time-of-flight. By mounting ISS-CREAM on the Space Station, observations of cosmic rays will be made nearly continuously for at least three years. These observations will extend the direct measurements of cosmic rays to the highest energy, to help determine the orgins of cosmic rays and to help scientists understand the ways in which they are accelerated and shot into space. ISS-CREAM is scheduled for launch Monday, Aug. 14 at 12:31 p.m. EDT on a SpaceX Dragon Capsule using a Falcon 9 rocket.

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neufer
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Re: HEAPOW: ISS-CREAM for the Space Station (2017 Aug 14)

Post by neufer » Mon Aug 14, 2017 3:00 pm

http://cosmicray.umd.edu/cream/ wrote: <<The Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM) experiment was designed and constructed to measure cosmic ray elemental spectra using a series of ultra long duration balloon (ULDB) flights. The goal is to extend direct measurement of cosmic-ray composition to the energies capable of generating gigantic air showers which have been mainly observed on the ground, thereby providing calibration for indirect measurements. The instrument has redundant and complementary charge identification and energy measurement systems capable of precise measurements of elemental spectra for Z = 1 - 26 nuclei over the energy range ~1011 to 1015 eV. Precise measurements of the energy dependance of elemetal spectra at the highest of these energies, where the rigidity-dependant supernova acceleration limit could be reflected in a composition change, provide a key to understanding cosmic ray acceleration and propogation. The instrument includes a Timing Charge Detector (TCD), a Cherenkov Detector (CD), a Transition Radiation Detector (TRD), a Cherenkov Camera (CherCam), a Silicon Charge Detector (SCD), scintillating fiber hodoscopes, and a tungsten-scintillating fiber calorimeter.>>
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: HEAPOW: ISS-CREAM for the Space Station (2017 Aug 14)

Post by bystander » Mon Aug 14, 2017 3:13 pm

Ah, it seems they could have given us information on how the launch went and maybe a preview of the first year of data.
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
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neufer
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Re: HEAPOW: ISS-CREAM for the Space Station (2017 Aug 14)

Post by neufer » Mon Aug 14, 2017 3:31 pm

bystander wrote:Ah, it seems they could have given us information on how the launch went and maybe a preview of the first year of data.
Art Neuendorffer

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