The Auroral Spatial Structures Probe was a mid-sized rocket launched 30 miles into the thermosphere to study the electromagnetic energy that heats the atmosphere during the aurora borealis. The interaction of waves and particles from the solar wind, Earth’s magnetosphere, and the upper atmosphere can cause “Joule heating” This heating can expand the atmosphere upward and increase the friction, or drag, on spacecraft and satellites. The ASSP carried seven instruments to study electromagnetic energy in a process similar to that of a toaster coil.”]
Source: https://gizmodo.com/a-week-ago-while-you-were-safely-tucked-up-in-bed-a-g-1683652458