Space Physics - Department of Physics and Astronomy

University of Iowa's current areas of space physics research.

Poster - University of Iowa Instruments in Space (pdf)
(shows spacecraft carrying currently operating U. of Iowa instruments and a list of space missions and rockets that carried U. of Iowa instrumentation)

List - U. of Iowa spaceflight instruments and rockets.
By early 2022, U. of Iowa had developed scientific instruments flown on 70 successfully launched spacecraft and also had developed entire rocket payloads and/or rocket payload components for scientific missions.

Iowa spacecraft
9 complete spacecraft (including two lost during launch failures) were designed and built at the U. of Iowa in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy

Iowa spacecraft tracked by Iowa receiving stations
Space-to-ground tracking and communications with spacecraft - for data acquisition and transmission of commands to spacecraft.

Major accomplishments In Space Physics Research
Select major accomplishments using data from U. of Iowa spaceflight instruments

James A. Van Allen

Descriptions of early University of Iowa space physics research efforts are included in Annals of a University of Iowa Department: From Natural Philosophy to Physics and Astronomy (from early 1850s to 1979) by James P. Wells, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, June 1980. (file size: 60 MB)

University of Iowa's involvement in the Explorer 1 launch:

Explorer's Legacy - provided by the Univeristy of Iowa Libraries

Poster: NASA marked the 60th anniversary of the successful launch of Explorer 1

60th Anniversary of Explorer 1, the First U.S. Satellite - celebration held at the National Academy of Sciences building, Washington, DC, January 31, 2018. Speakers included: Lou Lanzerotti (New Jersey Inst. of Technology), Lev Zelenyi (Russian Academy of Sciences), Dan Baker (Univ. of Colorado/Boulder and Univ. of Iowa alumnus), Mike Freilich (NASA Headquarters), Thomas Zurbuchen (NASA Headquarters), Robyn Millian (Dartmouth College), Allison Jaynes (Univ. of Iowa), and Wen Li (Boston College)

NASA's collection of Explorer 1 images and interviews

Articles and lectures commemorating the Explorer 1 launch and University of Iowa's role in space research:

Explorer 1: NASA Marks 60 Years in Space, Sky and Telescope article by David Dickinson, January 31, 2018

Explorer 1: The Start of the American Space Age, Astronomy article by Jake Parks,Jan. 31, 2018

Public talk: Sixty Years of Space Research at Iowa: The Legacy of James A. Van Allen, presented by Donald A. Gurnett, hosted by the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council (YouTube video of presentation), Iowa City, Iowa, February 1, 2018

Public talk: Van Allen, Explorer 1, and the Early Space Efforts at the University of Iowa, presented by George Hospodarsky, at the Rotary Club of Iowa City meeting, Iowa City, Iowa, February 19, 2018

University of Iowa Dept. of Physics and Astronomy historical information
University of Iowa Department of Physics and Astronomy .