NASA has awarded a sole source contract to the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder for the Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2 (TSIS-2). The new sensor provides continuity to data delivered by TSIS-1, which launched in December 2017.
This is a cost-no-fee contract in the amount of $18,044,280 with a period of performance ending with on-orbit acceptance by the government. This action definitizes a letter contract that was issued on August 6, 2019.
Under this contract, the LASP will provide two instruments – the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) and the Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM). LASP will also provide all necessary support to integrate and test these instruments with the spacecraft, including all post-launch activities leading to commissioning. LASP will also be responsible for the establishment of the TSIS-2 Science Operations Center (TSOC). These instruments are nearly identical to those currently in operation on the predecessor TSIS-1 mission.
The TIM will continue to provide a 40-year uninterrupted measurement record of the Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) which is the Earth’s predominant energy source. The SIM will continue to measure the Solar Spectral Irradiance (SSI) and identify the regions in Earth’s atmosphere and surface that are affected by solar variability.
This is a directed mission to address the 2017 Decadal Survey recommendation for sustained multidecadal global measurements of solar irradiance and will continue the collection of high-quality data for the long-term climate record. These measurements are indispensable to the scientific community for understanding solar influences on the Earth’s climate.
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