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Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched the first tandem of four satellites in its Cluster II program that it hopes will develop a further understanding of the weather in space.
A Soyuz rocket launched the two satellites from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:39 p.m. in what scientists hope will lead to a breakthrough in space exploration.
"This has been an excellent start and we look forward to the second launch next month," said ESA Director of Science Roger-Maurice Bonnet in a press release from the ESA website. "Cluster is one of the key cornerstone missions in our Horizons 2000 long-term scientific program and it will provide unique insights that will revolutionize our understanding of near-Earth space."
The two satellites, given the names 'Salsa' and 'Samba,' along with two other satellites that will be launched in the near future, will gather information that will be researched over a period of two years. Literally hundreds of scientists have contributed to this project and will continue to throughout the research phase of the operation.
Cluster II project manager, Dr John Ellwood, praised the efforts of all those involved in the ESA press release, saying, "Without the dedication and teamwork of these people, today's success would not have been possible. Only three years after we began the Cluster II program, we are already starting to see the fruits of all our efforts."
Each of the four satellites will gather data each day that is equivalent to two compact disks. The objective of the study is, hopefully, to give scientists new information that would enable them to detect and forecast magnetic storms more accurately in what experts have termed the magnetosphere of space.
This may seem too abstract to be concerned about, but it actually would serve a practical purpose to better understand this phenomenon. The magnetosphere is an area between Earth and space that protects the Earth from electron, proton and ion particles fired from the Sun. However, some of these particles make it into the Earth's atmosphere, causing electric storms that have the ability to knock out communications networks as well as satellites.
By having a greater understanding of the phenomenon, experts will be able to better detect when these particles may enter the atmosphere, giving them further opportunity to prepare communications networks for such an occurrence.
The original Cluster project went up in flames shortly after lift-off in 1996 when the rocket carrying the satellites into space exploded. From then until the launch of the Cluster II, there hasn't been any attempt to launch probes or satellites into space to further research the magnetosphere
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