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Models of orbiting satellites in the thermosphere were improved using data assimilation.
Solar radiation in the thermosphere (the layer of the Earth's atmosphere directly above the mesosphere and directly below the exosphere) significantly affects the drag experienced by objects like satellites and spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. The fact that the drag changes depending on several factors leads to uncertainty in the position of objects in orbit, which could result in the loss of a spacecraft. Here, we see animation of orbiting satellites responding to the atmosphere. The DART data assimilation reduced up to 70 percent of the bias from the Global Ionosphere-Thermosphere Model.
Credit: Alexey Morozov, University of Michigan
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