Title:

Statistical Study of Van Allen Radiation Belt Electron Precipitation during Satellite Conjunctions at Low Earth Orbit

Precipitating electrons from the Van Allen Radiation Belts impact the physical and chemical properties of the upper atmosphere; yet the electron flux is not well quantified. This study performs a detailed statistical analysis of energetic electron flux between the FIREBIRD-II CubeSats (FIREBIRD-3 and FIREBIRD-4) and several Polar-orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) during spacecraft conjunction times. Electron flux in the upper atmosphere is observed by the recent FIREBIRD-II CubeSat mission which provides high energy resolution for electron flux in polar low Earth orbit. The POES satellites have excellent spatial and temporal coverage and are equipped with MEPED, which has a lower energy resolution than FIREBIRD. This study analyzes 51 conjunction events (2018-2020) near L-shell 5 to quantify electron precipitation that corresponds with the peak electron flux in the outer radiation belt. The comparison between FIREBIRD and POES also considers the storm level (Dst) to determine if electron flux differs during geomagnetic storms, but most conjunctions at L-shell 5 occurred during quiet times. FIREBIRD electron count measurements follow the same trend as POES, and can also observe variability at low flux due to instrument geometry. The majority of FIREBIRD electron counts lie in between POES 0° and 90° telescope measurements, and are comparable to the POES geometric mean during later events. This comparison provides valuable information for studying the FIREBIRD-II dataset as well as insight for understanding electron precipitation that affects the upper atmosphere.

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