5 Satellites To Launch On One Rocket
The first camp holds that the substorms are triggered about 50,000 miles above Earth’s equator, about a sixth of the way to the moon, when electromagnetic turbulence disrupts the flow of intense space currents.
The other theory is that the substorms start about 100,000 miles above the equator with the spontaneous conversion of magnetic energy into heat. Particle acceleration then triggers the substorm energy.
To test each theory, two satellites will be lined up a sixth of the way to the moon, and two others will placed respectively about a third and halfway to the moon. The fifth satellite will be on hand “to replace a brother or sister if they get into trouble,” said Angelopoulos.