Ionospheric response to the shock and acoustic waves excited by the launch of the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft

Abstract

Abstract We used a dense GPS network in China to track the ionospheric response to waves excited by the launch of the rocket that carried Shenzhou 10 spacecraft on 11 June 2013. The long‐distance propagation of shock and acoustic waves were observed on both sides of the rocket's trajectory. On the southern side, the wave structures (characterized by a horizontal extension of ~1400 km and initial amplitudes of 0.3 total electron content unit (TECU) and 0.1 TECU for the shock and acoustic waves, respectively), traveled southwestward a distance of ~1500 km at mean velocities of 1011 m s −1 and 709 m s −1 , respectively. On the northern side, northward propagating waves were seen to travel a distance of ~600 km with much smaller amplitudes of less than 0.05 TECU. Subsequent waves with amplitudes of less than 0.02 TECU could also be seen. Clear wave structures were found at a distance of ~600–2000 km from launch site.