U.S. Naval Research LaboratoryCode 7600

Space Science Division

NRL Teams Up To Study Meteoroid Airburst Over Chelyabinsk, Russia To Improve Statistical Assessments of Meteoroid Impact Hazards

Dr. Douglas Drob, a member of the Geospace Science & Technology Branch in NRL's Space Science Division, is part of an international consortium that is refining estimates of the yield and damage of the recent asteroid explosion of Chelyabinsk, Russia. Read full story

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NRL Scientists Study Connection Between Space Traffic and High Altitude Arctic Clouds

Scientists at NRL have determined that there has been an increase in bright polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) in the last two years, an unexpected result during conditions of high solar activity. Their research suggests that the man-made effect of water released by exhaust from space traffic during recent years has overwhelmed the effect of higher solar activity. Read full story

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Dr. Judith Lean Elected Member of the American Philosophical Society

Dr. Judith Lean, the Senior Scientist for Sun-Earth System Research in SSD, has been elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society. The oldest learned Society in the United States, the American Philosophical Society was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of "promoting useful knowledge." Read full story
NRL Scientists "See" Flux Rope Formation for the First Time

NRL scientists have observed, for the very first time, the formation of solar flux ropes, which are a type of solar magnetic field.

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NRL Researcher Looks to Gamma Rays to Uncover Origin of Cosmic Rays

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope team find a distinctive particle-decay feature in the gamma-ray spectra of supernova remnants IC443 and W44.

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NRL Researchers Hope to Shed Light on Dark Lightning Radiation

Space Science Division researchers are making precise observations of terrestrial gamma ray flashes from space and running detailed simulations to understand the nature of "dark lightning."

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NRL's MIGHTI Slated for Launch on ICON Mission

NRL instrument designed in SSD to study the Earth's thermosphere is part of a satellite mission that NASA has selected to move forward into development, with launch expected in 2017.

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The Space Science Division conducts a broad-spectrum RDT&E program in solar-terrestrial physics, astrophysics, upper/ middle atmospheric science, and astronomy. Instruments to be flown on satellites, sounding rockets and balloons, and ground-based facilities and mathematical models are conceived and developed. Researchers apply these and other capabilities to the study of the atmospheres of the Sun and Earth, including solar activity and its effects on the Earth’s ionosphere, upper atmosphere, and middle atmosphere; laboratory astrophysics; and the unique physics and properties of celestial sources. The science is important to orbital tracking, radio communications, and navigation that affect the operation of ships and aircraft, utilization of the near-space and space environment of the Earth, and the fundamental understanding of natural radiation and geophysical phenomena.

Geospace Science & Technology Branch (7630)

Objective: Conduct research to observe, understand, model, and forecast the geospace environment and its connections to its lower and upper boundaries, toward facilitating and advancing functional capabilities for the Navy/Marine Corps and other agencies.

High-Energy Space Environment Branch (7650)

Objective: Advance the understanding of the high-energy environment through the development and deployment of advanced detectors, simulation of the environments and operations concepts, and interpretation and theoretical modeling of the observed phenomena, thereby address priority S&T goals of DoD, NASA and other civilian agencies.

Solar and Heliospheric Physics Branch (7680)

Objective: Develop improved heliospace environment understanding, awareness, sensors, forecast capabilities, and monitoring tools that predict operational impacts and enable real-time threat warning; and transition these developments to support the Navy/Marine Corps and other agencies.