Launched on SpaceX Falcon 9
The ‘Solar Coronagraph (CODEX)’ developed jointly by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is leaving for space. CODEX is expected to contribute to more accurate prediction of space weather by being able to simultaneously measure not only the solar corona phenomenon but also temperature and speed, which were previously only limitedly observable.
On the 1st, the Korea Aerospace Administration and its affiliated Astronomy Research Institute announced that it would be launched aboard Space
A coronagraph is a device that artificially blocks the solar surface and observes the corona. The temperature of the corona, which forms the outer layer of the sun, is considered a difficult problem for the scientific community.
The corona is located in the outer layer of the atmosphere, about 2 to 7 million kilometers from the sun’s surface, but is much hotter than the sun’s surface temperature of 6,000 degrees. This is because the temperature of the corona is known to be between 1 million and 5 million degrees. Additionally, the solar wind, which travels at tens of kilometers per second on the sun’s surface, passes through the corona and accelerates to hundreds of kilometers per second near the Earth.
The photosphere, which is the surface of the Sun, is relatively very bright, so it is impossible to observe the corona from the ground except during a total solar eclipse. The corona can only be observed by artificially blocking the sun’s surface, and the equipment that makes this possible is a coronagraph. In particular, the advantage of CODEX is that it not only captures the shape of the solar corona, but also simultaneously observes temperature and speed, which could previously only be observed in a limited way, with a single device and produces a two-dimensional image.
CODEX is separated from the launch vehicle about 10 minutes after launch, docks with the International Space Station about 13 hours later, and is installed on the external payload platform (ELC3-3) of the International Space Station (ISS) through a robotic arm.
It is expected to take about a week from launch to installation. CODEX will then conduct observations for up to 55 minutes during a 90-minute orbital period on the International Space Station.
CODEX’s mission operations and control are performed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Astronomical research institutes receive and observe information remotely.
Kang Hyeon-woo, head of the Space Agency’s Space Science Exploration Mission Design Program, said, “CODEX, which has been internationally recognized since its development began with the basic technology, is now just about to be launched, and the Space Agency will successfully carry out the CODEX mission and become a powerhouse in the fields of solar research and space weather prediction. “I will do my best to make it happen,” he said.
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