A typical SERTS sounding rocket flight lasts for a total of 20 minutes. Powered flight lasts for only the first 45 seconds; after which the payload is on a ballistic trajectory until the parachute is deployed. The instrument reaches a peak altitude of about 200 miles. It returns to Earth on a parachute, and is recovered approximately 50 miles down range from the launch site, usually within 1 hour of launch. The total useable observing time is approximately 7 minutes for the SERTS instrument. During this time we obtain up to 19 imaged EUV Spectra from a wide variety of Solar Features varying from sunspots and active regions to the quiet sun and coronal holes.
Last Revised: Wednesday, 29-Nov-2006 07:34:22 EST
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