MONITORING OF THE DYNAMICS THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE`S DENSITY BY SMALL SPACECRAFT GROUPINGS
The features of changes in the density of the upper layers of the atmosphere (the effect of "compaction" of the atmosphere) under the influence of factors of the heliogeophysical situation and possible influence on space activities are considered. The necessity of identifying the causes and nature of these changes is substantiated and the practical need for creating a digital assimilation model of the density of the upper atmosphere and forecasting the state and dynamics of this environment is shown. A design image of a small spacecraft (MC) in the "satellite-instrument" format has been developed for continuous measurements of local parameters of the density of the upper atmosphere (VA) during the orbital motion of the MC until the end of the flight. A variant of a low-orbit space monitoring system based on small spacecraft groupings is proposed to obtain quantitative data on the characteristic features of density changes and to develop a dynamic model of the upper atmosphere.