DMSP F18 SSIES: Satellite Thermal Plasma Measurements, 1-Second Data

The DMSP F18 Special Sensors-Ions, Electrons, and Scintillation (SSIES) Level 2 dataset provides 1-second resolution thermal plasma data from a suite of instruments built by the University of Texas at Dallas. The package includes a Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA), Ion Drift meter (IDM), scintillation meter, and Langmuir probe, and is hosted by NASA. The dataset was last updated on March 13, 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling ionospheric density and temperature based on Langmuir probe and RPA measurements.
• Analyzing ion drift velocities and composition based on Ion Drift meter (IDM) data.
• Studying scintillation effects on radio signals based on the scintillation meter readings.
• Calibrating and validating space weather prediction algorithms based on the multi-instrument thermal plasma suite.

Strengths

• Data originates from a specialized instrument suite built by a university research center (UT Dallas).
• Dataset is hosted and maintained by NASA, a leading space agency.
• Provides high-resolution 1-second time-series measurements.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total data size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected by the SSIES instrument suite on the DMSP F18 satellite.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 07:20:26.293133; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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