Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The detection of Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs) from space is mostly made by astrophysics satellites, which only provide single‐point measurements. Future TGF missions could consist in performing simultaneous detection by a detector array in space. In order to prepare such a scientific objective, we simulate the detection of TGFs by a nanosatellite, or small satellite, constellation. The objective is to quantify the impact of six parameters defining such a constellation, in order to maximize the scientific return of the mission. The parameters characterized in this work are the number of satellites, their relative distance, their altitude, their orbital configuration, the effective detection surface, and their orbital inclination. We use a Monte Carlo simulation code to propagate photons in the atmosphere and simulate the satellite positions and photons hits on satellites. Finally, we quantify the number of TGFs detected by the fleet, multi‐detected, the number of photons received, and draw conclusions about the impact of each parameter.
DOI: 10.1029/2024jd042528
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris Cité, Centre National d'Études Spatiales, Laboratoire AstroParticule et Cosmologie, Université d'Orléans, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l’Environnement et de l’Espace, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,070
OpenAlex ID: W4409841204