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Sciences and Exploration Directorate
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Balloon-borne Investigation of Temperature and Speed of Electrons in the corona (BITSE)

A collaboration between NASA and KASI, BITSE demonstrates a new way to study the solar wind. While standard coronagraphs capture the corona’s density, BITSE also measures the temperature and speed of electrons in the solar wind to help understand the powerful forces that accelerate them to speeds of 1 million miles per hour. BITSE’s balloon flight is a key step in the testing and development of this instrument, and will help the team of scientists and engineers fine-tune their technology for future spaceflight.

Launch Date

September 2019

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Key Staff

A collaboration between NASA and KASI, BITSE demonstrates a new way to study the solar wind. While standard coronagraphs capture the corona’s density, BITSE also measures the temperature and speed of electrons in the solar wind to help understand the powerful forces that accelerate them to speeds of 1 million miles per hour. BITSE’s balloon flight is a key step in the testing and development of this instrument, and will help the team of scientists and engineers fine-tune their technology for future spaceflight.