Breaking Dawn: Korea and US Unveil Revolutionary ‘Solar Coronagraph’ in Historic Space Launch

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, an affiliate of the Korea Aerospace Administration, will use the solar coronagraph (CODEX, COronal Diagnostic EXperiment) jointly developed with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at around 11:29 am on the 5th (around 9 pm: 29 on the 4th, local time in the United States). The planned launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, was announced on the 1st.

CODEX successfully completed its final pre-launch functional check at the US Goddard Space Flight Center and Kennedy Space Center from July 29 to August 2, and is currently being launched on the SpaceX-developed Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

It will take a week to set up the International Space Station (ISS) after the CODEX launch.

CODEX is expected to be separated from the launch vehicle 10 minutes after launch, docked to the International Space Station 13 hours later, and then installed on the International Space Station’s external payload platform (ELC3-3) via a robotic arm.

CODEX will then conduct observations for up to 55 minutes during a 90-minute orbital period on the International Space Station.

CODEX plans to carry out research to solve the secrets of coronal heating and solar wind acceleration, which are considered difficult problems in solar research, by simultaneously measuring not only the shape of the solar corona but also the temperature and speed, which in Previously they were limited to observation and implementing them in two-dimensional images.

The results of this research are expected to contribute to more accurate predictions of space weather.

Operations and control of the CODEX mission will be performed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, while the Astronomy Research Institute plans to receive and monitor information remotely.

Kang Hyeon-woo, head of the Space Agency’s Space Exploration Mission Design Program, said: “CODEX, which has been internationally recognized since its development began with the core technology, is now ready for launch He added: “The space agency will successfully complete the CODEX mission and become a powerhouse in solar research and space weather forecasting.” stated.