THE DEMONSTRATION AND SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS (DSX): A FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE RESEARCH MISSION ADVANCING TECHNOLOGIES THAT ENABLE MEO SPACEFLIGHT

The Air Force Research Laboratory has developed the Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) to research technologies needed to significantly advance the capability to operate spacecraft in the harsh radiation environment of medium-earth orbits (MEO). The ability to operate effectively in the MEO environment significantly increases the capability to field space systems that provide persistent global targeting-grade space surveillance, high-speed satellite-based communication, lower-cost GPS navigation, and protection from space weather on a responsive satellite platform. The DSX physics based research areas are: • Wave Particle Interaction Experiment: Researching the physics of very low-frequency (VLF) transmissions in the magnetosphere and characterizing the feasibility of natural and man-made VLF waves to reduce space radiation; • Space Weather Experiment: Characterizing and modeling the space radiation environment in MEO, an orbital regime attractive for future DoD and commercial missions; • Space Environmental Effects: Researching and characterizing the space weather effects on spacecraft electronics and materials