TSIS TIM: Total Solar Irradiance 6-Hour Averages from ISS

Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) measurements averaged over 6-hour periods from the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) instrument on the TSIS-1 mission aboard the International Space Station. The data product, Version 04, is maintained by NASA and includes daily appended data in a tabular ASCII text format. TSIS-1 launched in December 2017, and the TIM instrument reports irradiances at 1 AU with long-term repeatability and specified uncertainties.

Use Cases

• Modeling long-term solar variability and its climate impact based on 6-hour averaged irradiance values.
• Analyzing instrument performance and data quality trends based on the reported uncertainty and quality columns.
• Studying solar energy output consistency using the high-precision, long-term repeatability measurements mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Instrument has long-term repeatability with estimated uncertainties less than 0.014 W/m^2/yr as stated in the description.
• Accuracy is reported as 0.48 W/m^2 with expectation to decrease as calibrations are refined.
• Data is appended daily and arranged in a single tabular ASCII file for ease of access.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) instrument on the TSIS-1 mission aboard the International Space Station.

Time Range

Mission began after launch on December 15, 2017; data is appended daily.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 20:47:48.082412; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Measurements taken from the International Space Station orbit.