Small-Scale O+ Density Observations from WINCS/SWATS

The Winds-Ions-Neutral Composition Suite (WINCS) instrument, also known as the Small Wind and Temperature Spectrometer (SWATS), was designed and developed jointly by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for ionosphere-thermosphere investigations in orbit between 120 and 550 km altitude. The WINCS design provides the following measurements in a single package with a low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP): 7.6 x 7.6 x 7.1 cm outer dimensions, 0.75 kg total mass, and about 1.3 Watt total power: neutral winds, neutral temperature, neutral density, neutral composition, ion drifts, ion temperature, ion density and ion composition. The instrument has been operating on the STP-Sat3 spacecraft since November of 2013. This work will focus on a periods of fast cadence observations (0.3 s) and resulting spatial and temporal observations of the O⁺ density near 475 km.