WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The first U.S. spacecraft to image and map the dynamic interactions taking place where the hot solar wind slams into the cold expanse of space is ready for launch on Oct. 19, NASA announced Monday.
The two-year mission will begin from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, according to NASA's report.
Called the Interstellar Boundary Explorer or IBEX, the spacecraft will conduct extremely high-altitude orbits above Earthto investigate and capture images of processes taking place at the farthest reaches of the solar system. Known as the interstellar boundary, this region marks where the solar system meets interstellar space.
"The interstellar boundary regions are critical because they shield us from the vast majority of dangerous galactic cosmic rays, which otherwise would penetrate into Earth's orbit and make human spaceflight much more dangerous," said David McComas, IBEX principal investigator.
IBEX is poised to thoroughly map this interstellar boundary region of the solar system. The images will allow scientists to understand the global interaction between our sun and the galaxy for the very first time.
IBEX will be launched aboard a Pegasus rocket dropped from under the wing of an L-1011 aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean. The Pegasus will carry the spacecraft approximately 210 kilometers above Earth and place it in orbit.
"What makes the IBEX mission unique is that it has an extra kick during launch," said Willis Jenkins, IBEX program executive. "An extra solid-state motor pushes the spacecraft further out of low-Earth orbit where the Pegasus launch vehicle leaves it."
