1,4,3,4,4,4,4,4,- 1Aalto University, School of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Nanoengineering, Espoo, Finland (esa.kallio@aalto.fi)
- 2Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
- 3University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- 4Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- 5UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
- 6Plasma Physics Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA
The Suomi 100 CubeSat was launched on Dec. 3, 2018 (https://www.suomi100satelliitti.fi/index_eng.html; http://www.suomi100satelliitti.fi/). The 1 Unit (10×10×10 cm) polar orbit nanosatellite performs geospace, ionosphere, and arctic region research with a white light camera and a radio wave spectrometer instrument operating in the 5-10 MHz frequency range.
The Suomi 100 satellite presents a novel technology that provides new opportunities to study Earth’s atmosphere and ionosphere. CubeSats, a type of nanosatellite, offer a cost-effective means to conduct in-situ measurements of the atmosphere and the ionosphere. Especially, combined CubeSat observations with ground-based observations provides new possibilities to investigate auroras and associated electromagnetic phenomena.
The presentation will focus on the most recent measurements made by the satellite’s HEARER radio spectrometer [1], with an emphasis on new measurement campaigns conducted in collaboration with the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) high power HF facility in 2024 and 2025. For these experiments, the HAARP HF array was used to point an 8.1 MHz beam at the satellite in the shape of either a pencil beam or a twisted beam [2]. The purpose of the experiment is to determine the impact of ionospheric distortions on transionospheric propagation. We also introduce numerical models that have been developed to investigate the propagation of radio waves in the ionosphere, especially the effects of ionospheric scintillation.
Figure 1. A composite figure displaying the Suomi 100 satellite photographed prior to launch, along with a dayside photograph of the Earth taken by the satellite from its orbit.
References
[1] E. Kallio, Kero, A., Harri, A.-M., Kestilä, A., Aikio, A., Fontell, M., et al. (2022). Radar—CubeSat transionospheric HF propagation observations: Suomi 100 satellite and EISCAT HF facility. Radio Science, 57, e2022RS007516. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022RS007516
[2] S. J. Briczinski, Bernhardt, P.A., Siefring, C.L. et al. (2015). Twisted Beam, SEE Observations of Ionospheric Heating from HAARP. Earth Moon Planets 116, 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11038-015-9460-3
How to cite: Kallio, E., Bernhardt, P., Kero, A., Harri, A.-M., Knuuttila, O., Niittyniemi, J., Aikio, A., Hirvonen, E., Jarvinen, R., Kauristie, K., Kestilä, A., Koskimaa, P., Nyman, L., Mahmood, R., Peitso, P., Alatalo, A., Rynö, J., Vanhamäki, H., Partamies, N., and Briczinski, S.: Ionosphere Research Using the Suomi 100 Satellite and HAARP HF Transmitter, EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2025, Helsinki, Finland, 7–12 Sep 2025, EPSC-DPS2025-1809, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc-dps2025-1809, 2025.
