ACE is a NASA mission to study the nature and origin of energetic particles from the sun and from beyond our solar system. The ACE mission is sponsored by the Office of Space Science Mission and Payload Development Division at NASA Headquarters.
Current schedule calls for integration of instruments and all subsystems by early fall.
As early as November 1996, the spacecraft will be shipped to GSFC for full-scale environmental testing. McDonnell Douglas Delta II 7920 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Station. The observatory will measure with a collecting power 10 to 1,000 times greater than past experiments the stream of accelerated particles constantly bombarding Earth from the sun and galactic and interstellar sources. Study of these energetic particles will advance understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system, as well as the fundamental astrophysical processes involved. Four fixed solar panels will provide greater than 440 watts of electrical power at the end of five years.