A VIEW OF A SMALL SOLAR SATELLITE

“Goldin (NASA Administrator 1992-2001) cut the time required to develop Earth and space-science spacecraft by 40 percent and reduced the cost by two-thirds, while increasing the average number of missions launched per year about four times” (NASA History Office). The Golden era fostered the idea of “better, faster, cheaper.” The 183 kg Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) was the third mission of a new generation of small science missions - Small Explores (SMEX). It was completed in less than 4 years and produced revolutionary results for nearly14 years before it was superseded by the instruments on the Solar Dynamics Observatory. At the end of its development phase the TRACE project returned 7.5 million unexpended dollars to NASA at the end of its development phase. Here I will show original movies of test, mounting to the spacecraft, launch and operations in control center as well as some of the movies that fundamentally changed our understanding of the solar atmosphere. The TRACE mission provides a glimpse of what a small team young engineers and scientists can accomplish. The TRACE launch cost $30 million. Today it could be launched for between $5 to $10. Most of the used in TRACE can now be purchased off-the-shelf. This cuts cost significantly, but much more important it means that parts can be obtained in weeks rather than months to years. Now I predict that a Trace like mission can be launched for less that $30 million