Six tiny satellites will study space weather

US space agency NASA plans to study hazardous weather conditions in space, especially the sun's radiation, by launching six small satellites that will work as a 6-mile-wide telescope. 

The project is called SunRISE.

The first of the six satellites, to be used for project SunRISE, has been completed, while the project is intended to launch in 2024.

The project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jim Lux, said "It’s really exciting to see the space vehicles coming together. In a couple of years, these satellites will form a vast space telescope observing the Sun in a way that is impossible from Earth’s surface”.

SunRISE principal investigator at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Justin Kasper, said "The ultimate goal of the mission is to help scientists better understand the mechanisms driving these explosive space weather events. These high-energy solar particles can jeopardize unprotected astronauts and technology. By tracking the radio bursts associated with these events, we can be better prepared and informed”.

The six satellites will orbit in formation to create a virtual telescope with a distance of 22,000 miles. They will detect bursts of radio waves from the sun's corona so the information can be used to make detailed 3D maps of the sun's emissions.