HILAT program

The HILAT satellite is scheduled to be launched June 1983 into a circular, 830-km-altitude orbit with an 82.2 deg inclination. This spacecraft is a modified U.S. Navy TRANSIT navigation satellite and will conduct a unique combination of experiments: (1) transmissions of radio signals from the spacecraft to surface stations for measurements of ionospheric scintillations and total electron content (TEC), (2) in situ measurements of plasma density, electric fields, magnetic fields, and soft electron fluxes, and (3) visible photometric measurement and UV imaging of aurora and airglow. The objective of this mission is to provide definition information on the formation, development, transport, and decay of plasma density irregularities in the high-latitude ionosphere the relationship of these plasma processes to auroral and polar cap current systems, electric fields, convective flow patterns, and low-energy electron distributions and the relationship of these plasma processes to the global distribution of auroral phenomena during quiet and substorm periods and during various interplantary conditions