[Satellite Today 07-25-08] ATK completed a mission demonstrating how clusters of small satellites can work together to collect data, ATK announced July 24.
A constellation of five microsatellites ATK built for NASA’s Themis (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) mission, was lined up Feb. 28 along the sun-Earth line. Using data collected by the satellites, NASA scientists were able to determine the process by which the northern lights suddenly brighten and break into spectacular formations moving towards the poles.
    “The mission highlights the effectiveness of small, affordable satellite constellations to perform a variety of scientific, military and commercial missions," Frank Koester, vice president and general manager of ATK Spacecraft Systems, said in a statement.