General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has completed a key phase for NASA’s TSIS-2 mission by integrating its scientific payload onto a dedicated GA-150 satellite. This milestone paves the way for the mission to extend the decades-long, continuous record of solar irradiance data, which is vital for understanding the Sun’s influence on Earth’s climate and atmosphere.
The integration work, performed at GA-EMS’s facility in Centennial, Colorado, involved mounting and aligning the mission’s two primary instruments. Following successful checkouts, the project has received an Authority to Operate from NASA, confirming its operational readiness. A full spacecraft test is planned to verify all systems before the mission advances toward launch.
A significant shift from its predecessor, TSIS-2 will operate as an independent freestanding satellite, unlike TSIS-1 which resides on the International Space Station. Flying on a dedicated GA-150 platform in a sun-synchronous orbit will allow for uninterrupted solar measurements, optimizing data quality for studying atmospheric changes.
The mission’s core payload was developed by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). It consists of two advanced sensors: the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) and the Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM). These instruments are designed to provide the highly accurate, stable measurements needed to track how solar energy variations affect Earth’s ozone, clouds, and ecosystems.
“Integrating the TSIS-2 payload onto the GA-150 is a significant milestone for our team and the mission,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “The dedicated platform will help ensure NASA receives the high-quality data this mission is designed to deliver.”
Erik Richard, principal investigator for TSIS-2 at LASP, emphasized the mission’s critical role. “Building on the outstanding success of TSIS-1… the TSIS-2 mission will allow our team to continue to improve this essential continuous solar data record,” he stated. The mission aims to extend this irreplaceable climate data series with unprecedented accuracy for the global scientific community.
