This image shows an artist's rendition of the HESSI spacecraft with the Earth in the background. The lower left image shows a picture of the Sun taken by the Yohkoh satellite. The lower right image or inset shows an enlargement of a solar flare taken in the x-ray segment of light.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA
HESSI is Go for Launch!
News story originally written on January 9, 2002
HESSI finally has a launch date of January 24, 2002. HESSI has had a hard time getting off the ground! First the spacecraft was damaged in ground vibration testing and had to be fixed. Then there were
problems with HESSI's launch vehicle. Despite setbacks, scientists are looking forward to the information HESSI will tell us about
how the Sun affects the Earth.
HESSI (the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager) is NASA's newest mission built to study the Sun. Specifically, HESSI will study solar flares. Solar activity like flares can have a huge effect on Earth. Particles released during a solar flare can reach Earth causing strong geomagnetic storms, auroras and electrical power blackouts. So, it's important for us to understand solar flares. HESSI will help us do just that!
The total cost of the HESSI mission is $85 million.
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