Spacecraft & Instruments

The Fast Auroral SnapshoT (FAST) Small Explorer satellite was designed as a single unified scientific instrument made up of particle detectors and magnetic and electric field sensors. While spinning in its elliptical orbit around the Earth, FAST periodically passes through the auroral zones located near the Earth's northern and southern poles. FAST has a mass of 191 kg, a diameter and height of approximately 1m , and carries no on-board fuel. Click on the instrument labels to find out what they do...