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<H1>Successful launch for SDO</H1>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>The NASA <STRONG>Solar Dynamics Observatory</STRONG> which
launched February 11 carries six Image Sensors from UK company
<STRONG>e2v</STRONG> based in Chelmsford, Essex.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Six e2v Charge Coupled Device (CCD) imaging sensors were
launched into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida on board NASA’s Solar Dynamics
Observatory (SDO), the first of NASA’s Living With a Star (LWS) programs to
launch. The programs have been designed to study and understand the causes of
solar variability and the impact these have on Earth and Near-Earth
space.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Four specially processed back illuminated e2v CCD203-82 (4k
x 4k) sensors sensitive to extreme UV wavelengths are incorporated into the four
AIA telescopes which will observe the Sun in wavelength range 9.4nm to 170nm.
The AIA instrument is under the direction of Dr. Alan Title at LMSAL, and will
use solar images taken in multiple wavelengths to study the energetics of the
solar atmosphere and it’s interaction with the surface magnetic
fields.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Two front illuminated e2v CCD203-82 (4k x 4k) sensors are
used in the HMI instrument to image the Sun in visible light at 617nm. The HMI
instrument (built by LMSAL) is under the direction of Prof. Philip Scherrer at
Stanford University, and will measure both solar surface magnetic fields and the
Sun’s surface motion as a probe of the solar interior.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Though the performance was optimised for each instrument,
all CCDs have the same electrical format and were designed to operate at lower
voltages than normal. This facilitates provision of drive electronics and also
reduces the power demand on the spacecraft. The camera electronics were built in
the UK by e2v’s project partners at the Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Watch the launch of the SDO<BR></FONT><A
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkxMAwocVqA" target=_blank><FONT
face=Tahoma>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkxMAwocVqA</FONT></A></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Watch NASA | SDO's Instruments: AIA<BR></FONT><A
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SYtIQC836s" target=_blank><FONT
face=Tahoma>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SYtIQC836s</FONT></A></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>e2v<BR></FONT><A href="http://www.e2v.com/"
target=_blank><FONT
face=Tahoma>http://www.e2v.com/</FONT></A></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>