A Brief History of Inspire |
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by Dr. William Taylor INSPIRE had its origins in 1989 and was incorporated in 1991
as a non-profit organization whose objective is to bring the excitement of
observing natural and manmade radio waves in the audio region to high school
students and give them a new appreciation for science and technology. It is
also an innovative, unique opportunity for students to actively gather data
that might be used in a basic research project, as was done with INSPIRE data
taken during the flight of SEPAC (Space Experiments with Particle
Accelerators) on the ATLAS 1 space shuttle mission in March 1992. INSPIRE
began with a test bed project, ACTIVE/HSGS, which involved 100 high schools,
with a centerpiece of making observations of radio waves transmitted by the
Soviet ACTIVE satellite. While the ACTIVE radio wave transmissions were much
weaker that expected because of a partial antenna failure, HSGS was a huge
success, measured by the participation and enthusiasm of the teachers and
students involved. SEPAC transmitted audio frequency radio waves with a pulsed
electron accelerator that might be observed on the ground. INSPIRE/SEPAC was
an even bigger success, again, judged by the dedication, excitement and
response of the students and teachers, even though SEPAC was only able to
transmit once over the United States. In the spring of 1994, coordinated observations of natural
VLF radio waves were made during the solar eclipse of May 10, 1994. In this
effort, the effects of decreased solar UV radiation on the ionosphere and
thus on the propagation of natural and manmade signals propagating in the
Earth-ionosphere waveguide were studied. In 1995, INSPIRE signed an agreement with the Russian Space
Agency (IKI) to participate in a series of experiments based on the MIR Space
Station. Since then, in November and April, INSPIRE participants have
monitored VLF radio waves emitted by a pulsed electron gun on MIR. The signal
was not detected, possibly because of its low level. INSPIRE is actively planning to be involved with experiments
based on the International Space Station in the future. The INSPIRE Project is a long term program, rallying
opportunities for observations of special events, but with the base activity
to make U.S.-wide observations of natural and manmade phenomena. The INSPIRE Journal, issued in November and April of each
year with INSPIRE news, activities and results, is an important part of this
program. An ongoing schedule of coordinated observations has been established
to allow opportunities for students to record data and have it analyzed.
INSPIRE offers workshops at locations throughout the United States at which
INSPIRE activities are described in detail and local participation is
supported.
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