AMS-02
| AMS-02 patch |
| |
| Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer |
 |
| Organization |
AMS Collaboration |
| Mission Type |
Cosmic RayCosmic rays are energetic particles originating from outer space that impinge on Earth's atmosphere. Almost 90% of all the incoming cosmic ray particles are protons, almost 10% are helium nuclei , and slightly under 1% are heavier elements and electrons...
|
| Host Satellite |
International Space StationThe International Space Station is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled to be completed by 2011, with operations continuing until at least 2015...
|
| Launch |
July 29, 2010 |
| Launch vehicle |
|
| Launch site |
Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center on Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, United States. The site is near Cape Canaveral, midway between Miami and Jacksonville, Florida. It is long and around wide, covering . A total of...
Launch Pad 39A |
| Mission duration |
3 years |
MassIn physics, mass commonly refers to any of three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent: inertial mass, active gravitational mass and passive gravitational mass...
|
14,809 lbs (6731 kg) |
| Max length |
|
| Power consumption |
2000-2500 Watts |
| Webpage |
AMS-02 homepage |
| Orbital elements (ISS) |
InclinationInclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.- Orbits :The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
|
51.6 degrees |
OrbitIn physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of one object around a point or another body, for example the gravitational orbit of a planet around a star....
|
LEO A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
|
| Min altitude |
341 km (184 nmi) |
| Max altitude |
353 km (191 nmi) |
| Period |
~91 minutes |
The
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, also designated
AMS-02, is a
particle physicsParticle physics is a branch of physics that studies the elementary constituents of matter and radiation, and the interactions between them. It is also called high energy physics, because many elementary particles do not occur under normal circumstances in nature, but can be created and detected...
experiment module that is to be mounted on the
International Space StationThe International Space Station is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled to be completed by 2011, with operations continuing until at least 2015...
. It is designed to search for various types of unusual matter by measuring
cosmic rayCosmic rays are energetic particles originating from outer space that impinge on Earth's atmosphere. Almost 90% of all the incoming cosmic ray particles are protons, almost 10% are helium nuclei , and slightly under 1% are heavier elements and electrons...
s. Its experiments will help researchers study the formation of the
universeThe Universe comprises everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy, and the physical laws and constants that govern them...
and search for evidence of
dark matterIn astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is hypothetical matter that is undetectable by its emitted radiation, but whose presence can be inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter...
and
antimatterIn particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
. The
principal investigatorA principal investigator is the lead scientist for a particular well-defined science project, such as an astronomical observing campaign, laboratory study or clinical trial....
is Nobel laureate particle physicist
Samuel TingSamuel Chao Chung Ting is an American physicist who received the Nobel Prize in 1976, with Burton Richter, for discovering the subatomic J/ψ particle...
. Final testing and assembly is being completed at
CERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , , is the world's largest particle physics laboratory, situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border, established in 1954...
in
GenevaGeneva, is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie...
and delivery to the
Kennedy Space CenterThe John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center on Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, United States. The site is near Cape Canaveral, midway between Miami and Jacksonville, Florida. It is long and around wide, covering . A total of...
in
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
is expected by the end of 2009. Launch is targeted for July 29, 2010 on flight
STS-134STS-134 is a mission of the to visit the International Space Station, targeted for launch July 29, 2010. This flight will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and the third ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station.The mission will mark the final flight of Endeavour, and...
.
History
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer was proposed in 1995, not long after the cancellation of the
Superconducting Super ColliderThe Superconducting Super Collider , planned to be built mostly in Waxahachie, Texas, would have been the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator complex. Its planned ring circumference was with an energy of 20 TeV per beam of protons, potentially enough energy to create a Higgs...
, by
MITThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological research...
particle physicist and Nobel laureate
Samuel TingSamuel Chao Chung Ting is an American physicist who received the Nobel Prize in 1976, with Burton Richter, for discovering the subatomic J/ψ particle...
. The proposal was accepted and Dr. Ting became the
principal investigatorA principal investigator is the lead scientist for a particular well-defined science project, such as an astronomical observing campaign, laboratory study or clinical trial....
.
AMS-01
An AMS prototype designated
AMS-01, a simplified version of the detector, was built by the international consortium under Ting's direction and flown into space aboard the on
STS-91STS-91 was the final Space Shuttle mission to the Mir space station. It was flown by Space Shuttle Discovery, and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 2, 1998.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:...
in June 1998. Although
AMS-01 did not detect any antihelium it did prove that this detector concept worked in space. This shuttle mission was the last shuttle flight to the
Mir Space StationMir was a Soviet space station. Mir was the world's first consistently inhabited long-term research station in space, and the first of the third generation type of space station, constructed from 1986 to 1996 with a modular design...
. The photograph was taken from Mir.
AMS-02
After the flight of the prototype Dr. Ting began the development of full research system designated
AMS-02. This development effort involved the work of 500 scientists from 56 institutions and 16 countries organized under
United States Department of EnergyThe United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
(DOE) sponsorship. The power requirements for
AMS-02 were thought to be too great for a practical independent spacecraft. So
AMS-02 was designed to be installed as an external module on the International Space Station and use power from the ISS. The post
ColumbiaThe Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, with the loss of all seven crew members, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107.The loss of Columbia...
plan was to deliver
AMS-02 to the ISS by space shuttle in 2005 on
station assemblyThe Assembly of the International Space Station is a major aerospace engineering endeavour currently being conducted in Low Earth orbit by a consortium of governmental and inter-governmental space agencies....
mission
UF4.1, but technical difficulties and shuttle scheduling issues have added more delays.
AMS-02 is undergoing final integration and testing at
CERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , , is the world's largest particle physics laboratory, situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border, established in 1954...
in Geneva, Switzerland. Final testing includes exposure to powerful nuclear particle beams generated by the
CERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , , is the world's largest particle physics laboratory, situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border, established in 1954...
particle accelerators. It is presently scheduled for delivery to the
Kennedy Space CenterThe John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center on Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, United States. The site is near Cape Canaveral, midway between Miami and Jacksonville, Florida. It is long and around wide, covering . A total of...
in
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
, U.S.A. by the end of 2009.
Originally
AMS-02 was to be returned to Earth on a shuttle flight after the primary mission. This cannot occur with the retirement of the shuttle so now the plan is to leave the unit in place on the space station exterior and continue operations as a cosmic ray detector in an extended mission.
Program management
Activities relating to payload integration, launch, and deployment of
AMS-02 are managed by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Project Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of...
, U.S.A.
Delivery and installation on the International Space Station
AMS-02 is slated to be delivered to the
International Space Station as part of
station assemblyThe Assembly of the International Space Station is a major aerospace engineering endeavour currently being conducted in Low Earth orbit by a consortium of governmental and inter-governmental space agencies....
flight
ULF6 on shuttle flight
STS-134STS-134 is a mission of the to visit the International Space Station, targeted for launch July 29, 2010. This flight will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and the third ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station.The mission will mark the final flight of Endeavour, and...
. It will be removed from the shuttle cargo bay using the shuttle's robotic arm and handed off to the station's robotic arm for installation.
AMS-02 will be mounted on top of the
Integrated Truss StructureThe Integrated Truss Structure forms the backbone of the International Space Station, with mountings for unpressurized logistics carriers, radiators, solar arrays, and other equipment....
, on USS-02, the
zenithIn general terms, the zenith is the direction pointing directly "above" a particular location; that is, it is one of two vertical directions at the location, orthogonal to a horizontal flat surface there...
side of the S3-element of the truss. At least one
EVAExtra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
will be required to complete the installation. A last minute top-off of the superfluid helium supply in the shuttle payload bay will be required before launch.
Specifications
- Mass: 14,809 lbs (6731 kg)
- Power: 2000 - 2500 watts
- Internal data rate: 10 Gbit/s
- Data rate to ground: 2 Mbit/s
- Primary mission duration: 3 years
Cost
In 1999, after the successful flight of
AMS-01, the total cost of the AMS program was estimated to be $33 million, with
AMS-02 planned for flight to the ISS in 2003. After the
Space Shuttle Columbia disasterThe Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, with the loss of all seven crew members, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107.The loss of Columbia...
in 2003, and after a number of technical difficulties with the construction of
AMS-02, the cost of the program ballooned to an estimated $1.5 billion.
The cost of the program was criticized heavily during the period when it appeared that it would not be flown.
Module design
The detector module consists of a series of detectors that are used to determine various characteristics of the radiation and particles as they pass through. Characteristics are determined only for particles that pass through from top to bottom. Particles that enter the detector at any other angles are rejected. From top to bottom the subsystems are identified as:
- Transition radiation detector measures the velocities of the highest energy particles;
- Upper time of flight counter, along with the lower time of flight counter, measures the velocities of lower energy particles;
- Star tracker determines the orientation of the module in space;
- Silicon tracker measures the coordinates of charged particles in the magnetic field;
- Superconducting magnet bends the path of charged particles so they can be identified;
- Anti-coincidence counter rejects stray particles that enter through the sides;
- Lower time of flight counter, along with the upper time of flight counter, measures the velocities of lower energy particles;
- Ring-imaging Cerenkov detector measures velocity of fast particles with extreme accuracy;
- Electromagnetic calorimeter identifies particles by the heat produced in collisions with the detector.
Scientific goals
The
AMS-02 will use the unique environment of space to advance knowledge of the
universeThe Universe comprises everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy, and the physical laws and constants that govern them...
and lead to the understanding of the universe's origin by searching for
antimatterIn particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
,
dark matterIn astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is hypothetical matter that is undetectable by its emitted radiation, but whose presence can be inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter...
and measuring cosmic rays.
Antimatter
Experimental evidence indicates that
our galaxyThe Milky Way, or simply the Galaxy, is the galaxy in which the Solar System is located. It is a barred spiral galaxy that is part of the Local Group of galaxies...
is made of
matterThe term matter traditionally refers to the substance that all objects are made of. One common way to identify this "substance" is through its physical properties; a common definition of matter is anything that has mass and occupies a volume...
; however, there are more than 100 hundred million galaxies in the universe and the Big Bang theory of the origin of the
universeThe Universe comprises everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy, and the physical laws and constants that govern them...
requires equal amounts of matter and
antimatterIn particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
. Theories that explain this apparent asymmetry violate other measurements. Whether or not there is significant antimatter is one of the fundamental questions of the origin and nature of the universe. Any observations of an antihelium nucleus would provide evidence for the existence of antimatter. In 1999,
AMS-01 established a new upper limit of 10
-6 for the antihelium/helium flux ratio in the universe.
AMS-02 will search with a sensitivity of 10
-9, an improvement of three orders of magnitude over
AMS-01, sufficient to reach the edge of the expanding universe and resolve the issue definitively.
Dark matter
The visible matter in the universe, such as stars, adds up to less than 5 percent of the total mass that is known to exist from many other observations. The other 95 percent is dark, either
dark matterIn astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is hypothetical matter that is undetectable by its emitted radiation, but whose presence can be inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter...
, which is estimated at 20 percent of the universe by weight, or
dark energyIn physical cosmology, astronomy and celestial mechanics, dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to increase the rate of expansion of the universe. Dark energy is the most popular way to explain recent observations that the universe appears to be...
, which makes up the balance. The exact nature of both still is unknown. One of the leading candidates for dark matter is the
neutralinoIn particle physics, the neutralino is a hypothetical particle, part of the doubling of the menagerie of particles predicted by supersymmetric theories...
. If neutralinos exist, they should be colliding with each other and giving off an excess of charged particles that can be detected by
AMS-02. Any peaks in the background
positronThe positron or antielectron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron. The positron has an electric charge of +1, a spin of , and the same mass as an electron. When a low-energy positron collides with a low-energy electron, annihilation occurs, resulting in the production...
, anti-proton, or
gamma rayGamma rays are electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . They are produced by sub-atomic particle interactions, such as electron-positron annihilation, neutral pion decay, radioactive decay, fusion, fission or inverse Compton scattering in astrophysical processes...
flux could signal the presence of neutralinos or other dark matter candidates.
Strangelets
Six types of
quarkA quark is an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. Due to a phenomenon known as color confinement, quarks are never found in...
(
up,
down,
strange,
charmed,
bottom and
top) have been found experimentally, however all matter on Earth is made up of only two types of quarks (
up and
down). It is a fundamental question whether there is matter made up of three quarks (
up,
down and
strange). This matter is known as strangelets. Strangelets can have extremely large mass and very small charge-to-mass ratios. It would be a totally new form of matter.
AMS-02 may provide a definitive answer on the existence of this extraordinary matter.
Space radiation environment
Cosmic radiation is a significant obstacle to a
manned space flight to MarsA manned mission to Mars has not taken place but is the subject of science fiction, engineering, and scientific proposals and plans throughout the 20th Century and into the 21st Century...
. Accurate measurements of the cosmic ray environment are needed to plan appropriate countermeasures. Most cosmic ray studies are done by balloon-borne instruments with flight times that are measured in days; these studies have shown significant variations.
AMS-02 will be operative on the
ISSThe International Space Station is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled to be completed by 2011, with operations continuing until at least 2015...
for a nominal mission of 3 years, gathering an immense amount of accurate data and allowing measurements of the long term variation of the cosmic ray flux over a wide energy range, for nuclei from protons to
ironIron is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 element and is therefore classified as a transition metal. Iron and iron alloys are by far the most common metals and the most common ferromagnetic materials in everyday use...
.
After the nominal mission,
AMS-02 can continue to provide
cosmic rayCosmic rays are energetic particles originating from outer space that impinge on Earth's atmosphere. Almost 90% of all the incoming cosmic ray particles are protons, almost 10% are helium nuclei , and slightly under 1% are heavier elements and electrons...
measurements. In addition to the understanding the radiation protection required for
manned interplanetary flightHuman spaceflight is spaceflight with a human crew and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike robotic space probes or remotely-controlled satellites...
, this data will allow the interstellar propagation and origins of cosmic rays to be pinned down.
Launch cancellation and restoration
For several years it was uncertain if
AMS-02 would ever be launched because it was not manifested to fly on any of the remaining
Space ShuttleThe Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
flights.
After the 2003
Columbia disasterThe Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, with the loss of all seven crew members, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107.The loss of Columbia...
NASA decided to reduce shuttle flights and retire the remaining shuttles by 2010. A number of flights were removed from the remaining manifest including the flight for
AMS-02.
In 2006 NASA studied alternative ways of delivering
AMS-02 to the space station, but they proved to be too expensive.
In May 2008 a
bill was proposed to launch
AMS-02 to ISS on an additional shuttle flight, designated
STS-134STS-134 is a mission of the to visit the International Space Station, targeted for launch July 29, 2010. This flight will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and the third ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station.The mission will mark the final flight of Endeavour, and...
, in 2010 or 2011. The bill was passed by the full
House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
on June 11 2008. The bill then went before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee where it also passed. It was then amended and passed by the full
SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
on September 25 2008, and was passed again by the House on September 27 2008. It was signed by President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
on October 15, 2008. The bill authorizes
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
to add another Shuttle flight to the schedule before the
Space ShuttleThe Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
program is discontinued.
In January 2009 NASA restored
AMS-02 to the shuttle manifest and it is now scheduled to be launched on the newly authorized shuttle mission,
STS-134STS-134 is a mission of the to visit the International Space Station, targeted for launch July 29, 2010. This flight will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and the third ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station.The mission will mark the final flight of Endeavour, and...
, in July of 2010. This mission will the second to last shuttle flight of the space shuttle program.
See also
- PAMELA is an Italian-international cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are energetic particles originating from outer space that impinge on Earth's atmosphere. Almost 90% of all the incoming cosmic ray particles are protons, almost 10% are helium nuclei , and slightly under 1% are heavier elements and electrons...
mission launched in 2006 with similar goals.
External links