In situ plume radiance measurements from the bow shock ultraviolet 2rocket flight

Abstract

The ultraviolet spectrum (200-400 nm) of the plumes generated by the second- and third-stage engines of a Strypi XI rocket and of the Mach 17 re-entry bow shock were obtained by a sounding rocket experiment launched from the Barking Sands Research Range (Kauai, Hawaii) on February 18, 1991, at 14:30 GMT. The re-entry optical data were obtained as the payload descended from 120 to 65 km with a vehicle velocity of 5.1 km/s. The intensities of the vacuum ultraviolet resonance radiation emitted by atomic oxygen and hydrogen in the bow shock at 130.4 and 121.5 nm, respectively, were also measured. Complementary Langmuir probe measurements provided data on the total plasma density and electron temperature in the boundary layer.