Mission Timeline
 |
| Distance between the Cluster spacecraft during the mission |
Launch 1
| Date | Time | Description |
| 16-07-00 | 12:39Z | Launch 1 (S/C 3 + S/C 2) |
| 14:14Z | AOS Kiruna | |
| 18:12Z | Spin-up S/C 3 completed | |
| 18:32Z | Spin-up S/C 2 completed | |
| 17-07-00 | 11:21 / 11:22Z | Delta V1 (apogee raising) |
| 18-07-00 | 08:34 / 08:38Z | Delta V2 (apogee raising) |
| 19-07-00 | 05:08 / 05:15Z | Delta V3 (apogee raising) |
| 19-07-00 | 22:58 / 23:11Z | Delta V4 (apogee raising) |
| 20-07-00 | 03:40 / 06:54 | Slew to inclination attitude |
| 20-07-00 | 22:59 / 23:47Z | Delta V5 (Inclination Change) |
Launch 2
| Date | Time | Description |
| 09-08-00 | 11:13Z | Launch 2 (S/C 1 + S/C 4) |
| 12:45Z | AOS Kiruna | |
| 15:39Z | Spin-up S/C 1 completed | |
| 16:04Z | Spin-up S/C 4 completed | |
| 10-08-00 | 15:14 / 09:54Z | Delta V1 (apogee raising) |
| 11-08-00 | 04:45 / 05:49Z | Delta V2 (apogee raising) |
| 12-08-00 | 00:10 / 00:46Z | Delta V3 (apogee raising) |
| 12-08-00 | 16:33 / 16:36Z | Delta V4 (apogee raising) |
| 12-08-00 | 20:40 / 23:45Z | Slew to inclination attitude |
| 13-08-00 | 16:52 / 16.50Z | Delta V5 (Inclination Change) |
| 14-08-00 | 18:10Z | Slew to operational attitude S/C 4 |
| 15-08-00 | 05:24Z | Slew to operational attitude S/C 1 |
| 15-08-00 | Declare Main Engine not needed anymore | |
| 16-08-00 | ASPOC and CIS experiment cover release | |
| 17-08-00 to 21-08-00 | Radial Boom Deployment | |
| 17-08-00 to 27-08-00 | Trim Manoeuvres to achieve spacecraft constellation | |
| 28-08-00 | Start of Instrument Commissioning | |
| 31-01-01 | End of Commissioning |
Routine Operations
| Date | Description |
| 01-02-01 | Mission Commissioning Results Review (MCRR) |
| 01-02-01 | Start of Routine operations for minimum 24 months |
| 01-02-01 | 1st central Polar cusp crossing (600 km separation) |
| 01-08-01 | 1st central Magnetotail crossing (2000 km separation) |
| 02-02-02 | 2nd central Polar cusp crossing (100 km separation) |
| 02-08-02 | 2nd central Magnetotail crossing (4000 km separation) |
| 01-06-02 | Start of full orbit coverage |
| 01-02-03 | 3rd central Polar cusp crossing (5000 km separation) |
| 02-08-03 | 3rd central Magnetotail crossing (200 km separation) |
| 01-02-04 | 4th central Polar cusp crossing (300 km separation) |
| 02-08-04 | 4th central Magnetotail crossing (1000 km separation) |
| 01-02-05 | 5th central Polar cusp crossing (1300 km separation) |
| 02-08-05 | 5th central Magnetotail crossing (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=10 000 km; C3,C4=1000 km) |
| 01-02-06 | 6th central Polar cusp crossing (10 000 km tetrahedron) |
| 02-08-06 | 6th central Magnetotail crossing (10 000 km tetrahedron) |
| 01-02-07 | 7th central Polar cusp crossing (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=10 000 km // bow shock; C3,C4=450 km perpendicular to bow shock) |
| 02-08-07 | 7th central Magnetotail crossing (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=10 000 km; C3,C4=40 km) |
| 01-02-08 | 8th central Polar cusp crossing (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=10 000 km // magnetopause/bow shock; C3,C4=40 km perpendicular to magnetopause/bow shock) |
| 01-05-08 | C3 spacecraft tilt by 40° during one month (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=10 000 km; C3,C4=40 km) |
| 02-08-08 | 8th central Magnetotail crossing (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=10 000 km; C3,C4=3000 km) |
| 01-02-09 | 9th central Polar cusp crossing (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=10 000 km; C3,C4 first at 10 000 km for solar wind and then at 1000 km for auroral acceleration) |
| 01-05-09 | 1st Auroral acceleration crossing (1000 km separation) |
| 02-08-09 | 9th central Magnetotail crossing (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=10 000 km; C3,C4=500 km) |
| 01-12-09 | 2nd Auroral acceleration crossing (1000 km separation) |
| 01-08-10 | 10th Magnetotail crossing (5000 km separation) |
| 01-02-11 | Solar wind crossing (5000 km separation) |
| 02-04-11 | GI - High latitude energetic electrons |
| 01-06-11 | Solar wind crossing (5000 km tetrahedron) |
| 01-10-11 | Auroral acceleration region |
| 01-02-12 | GI - Solar wind turbulence |
| 01-05-12 | GI - Magnetopause multi-scale |
| 01-07-12 | GI - Tail flow braking multi-scale |
| 01-11-12 | GI - Large scale flank waves configuration |
| 01-01-13 | GI - Flux transfer events |
| 01-05-13 | Auroral acceleration region |
| 01-08-13 | Inner magnetosphere (small scale triangle C1,C3,C4 ~10-100 km) |
| 01-11-13 | GI - Cusp |
| 01-03-14 | Ring current with Swarm (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=3000 km; C3,C4=800 km) |
| 01-08-14 | Near plasmasheet (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=7000 km; C3,C4=300 km) |
| 01-12-14 | GI - Cusp repeat (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=2000 km; C3,C4=1000 km) |
| 01-01-15 | Bow shock small scales (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=4000 km; C3,C4=6 km) |
| 01-02-15 | GI - Turbulence (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=4000 km; C3,C4=6 km) |
| 01-03-15 | GI - Thrusters (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=4000 km; C3,C4=1000 km) |
| 01-06-15 | GI - Ring current with Swarm (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=4000 km; C3,C4=1500 km) |
| 01-08-15 | Tail (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=4000 km; C3,C4=500 km) |
| 01-12-15 | GI - Cusp different local time (multi-scales: C1,C2,C3=30 000 km; C3,C4=1000 km) |
| 01-01-16 | GI bow shock 3 km (multi-scales: largest=22 000 km, smallest=3 km) |
| 01-02-16 | GI solar wind reconnection (multi-scales: largest=20 000 km, smallest=100 km) |
| 01-04-16 | GI bow shock structures (multi-scales: largest=23 000 km, smallest=4000 km) |
| 01-06-16 | GI KH waves on dawn flank (multi-scales: largest=27 000 km, smallest=5000 km) |
| 01-08-16 | Tail (multi-scales: largest=7000 km, smallest=200 km) |
| 01-12-16 | Magnetopause (tetrahedron: 3700 km) |
| 01-04-17 | Magnetopause (tetrahedron: 3700 km) |
| 01-08-17 | Tail (multi-scales: largest=7000 km, smallest=1000 km) |
| 01-12-17 | Exterior cusp different local time (multi-scales: largest=22 000 km, smallest=6000 km) |
| 01-02-18 | Jet breaking region at perigee (multi-scales: largest=12 500 km, smallest=2500 km) |
| 01-10-18 | High and low latitude chorus (multi-scales: largest=67 000 km, smallest=3 km) |
| 01-02-19 | Solar wind local monitor and magnetopause (multi-scales: largest=54 000 km, smallest=9000 km) |
| 01-08-19 | Magnetotail lobes and plasmasheet (multi-scales: largest=40 000 km, smallest=120 km) |
| 01-12-19 | Exterior cusp sampled in altitude and local time (multi-scales: largest=32000 km, smallest=4300 km) |
| 01-01-20 | ECS Northern polar cusp gradients (multi-scales: largest=13500 km, smallest=3000 km) |
| 01-05-20 | ECS Southern polar cusp gradients (multi-scales: largest=11000 km, smallest=2600 km) |
| 01-08-20 | ECS Plasmasheet magnetic holes (multi-scales: largest=13500 km, smallest=3000 km) |
| 01-12-20 | ECS Cluster-MMS magnetopause conjunctions (multi-scales: largest=14500 km, smallest=70 km) |
Last Update: 22 July 2020
