Visible light emission excited by interaction of space shuttle exhaust with the atmosphere

Murad, Edmond; Knecht, David J.; Viereck, R. A.; Pike, C. P.; Kofsky, I. L.; Trowbridge, Christian A.; Rall, David L. A.; Ashley, G. W.; Twist, L.; Elgin, James B.; Setayesh, A.; Stair, A. T.; Blaha, J.

doi:10.1029/gl017i012p02205

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“… Newman et al , 2001; Ross et al , 2000] or to altitudes near 300 km [e.g. Murad et al , 1990; Bernhardt et al , 1998]. More indirect measurements do not have the altitude resolution for quantitative analysis [ Kozlov and Smirnova , 1998].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

OH observations of space shuttle exhaust

Stevens

Englert

Gumbel

2002

Geophysical Research Letters

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[1] We report the unexpected observation of a large hydroxyl (OH) cloud north and east of the United States a day after a space shuttle launch in November, 1994. The Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) observed OH(0, 0) solar fluorescence near 309 nm while staring toward a tangent altitude of 87 km, where OH can be produced from water vapor photodissociation. The OH(0, 0) band has a rotational temperature of 252 ± 23 K corresponding to an altitude of 110 ± 3 km, where nearly half of the shuttle's main engine water vapor exhaust is released on ascent. The location of the cloud one day after injection into the atmosphere implies that its average velocity is between 26 -40 m/s northward. We also report strong evidence of water ice measured simultaneously along the same line of sight, suggesting that water vapor exhaust is redistributed by condensation and sedimentation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

OH observations of space shuttle exhaust

Stevens

Englert

Gumbel

2002

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…Since the ambient atmosphere at these altitudes consists mainly of atomic oxygen, the ejected fuel fragments are thought to degrade primarily via the O͑ 3 P͒ reaction. In order to access the importance of these fuel fragments in such phenomena as the satellite or shuttle glow, 2-4 spacecraft surface deposition or on-board instrument contamination, 5 and exhaust plume ultraviolet signatures, 6,7 an accurate knowledge of the temperature dependence of the reaction rate coefficient together with the product branching ratios for the above and subsequent reactions occurring in these environments is required for detailed kinetic modeling studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discharge flow-tube studies of O(3P)+N2H4 reaction: The rate coefficient values over the temperature range 252–423 K and the OH(X 2Π) product yield at 298 K

Vaghjiani

1996

The Journal of Chemical Physics

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Computation of electron affinities of O and F atoms, and energy profile of F-H2 reaction by density functional theory and ab initio methodsThe absolute second-order reaction rate coefficient, k 1 , for the gas phase reaction, O͑ 3 P͒ϩN 2 H 4 →products, was studied in a discharge flow-tube apparatus. The reaction was studied under pseudo-first-order conditions in O͑ 3 P͒ concentration ͑i.e., ͓N 2 H 4 ͔ӷ͓O͑ 3 P͔͒͒. The O atoms were generated by a microwave discharge of a suitable precursor gas in He in a fixed side-arm reactor upstream of the flow tube, or in the sliding inner injector of the flow tube. The hydrazine concentration was photometrically measured and introduced into the apparatus in a flow of He via the sliding injector or the fixed side-arm port, respectively. The kinetics of the O-atoms in the reaction was directly followed by 130.2-130.6 nm cw-resonance fluorescence detection of O͑ 3 P͒ at the fixed detector situated downstream of the flow tube. The Arrhenius expression, k 1 ϭ͑7.35Ϯ2.16͒ϫ10 Ϫ13 exp͓͑640Ϯ60͒/T͔ cm 3 molec Ϫ1 s Ϫ1 , in the temperature range 252-423 K, was fit to the data points. The rate coefficient at room temperature was, within experimental errors, independent of the He buffer gas pressure in the range 1.74 to 8.30 Torr, or the O-atom source reactor. The formation of OH͑X 2 ⌸͒ in the reaction, which can be vibrationally excited ͑vЉр2͒, was directly detected by pulsed laser-induced fluorescence. The total yield of OH in the reaction was determined to be ͑0.15Ϯ0.05͒ at 298 K, of which ϳ50% is thought to be produced vibrationally hot. These results suggest that the single-H-atom removal channel is a minor process, in agreement with earlier molecular beam studies in which a direct two-H-atom removal channel was proposed to be the principal reaction mechanism by which O͑ 3 P͒ reacts with N 2 H 4 .

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“…The formation of the first excited state of atomic oxygen, 0( 1 D), in a retrofiring plume exhaust has been previously investigated by Murad, et al 4 The 0( 1 D) emission was observed by ground telescopes at the US Air Force Maui Observatory (AMOS) during Shuttle vernier engine firings. The engine firings were both wake and ram, and testified to the presence of 0( 1 D) in the plume due to the interaction with atmospheric oxygen atoms.…”

Section: Oh(a) Excitation Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10" 3 IO" 4 plumes at orbital altitudes, especially in the case of the retrofiring. The most significant constraint on the reaction mechanism is that the very low density will favor two-body reactions over three-body reactions.…”

Section: Oh(a) Excitation Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimentation using the Mir station as a space laboratory

Karabadzhak

Plastini

Khmelinin

et al. 1998

36th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit

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Collaboration is now underway to perform space-based experiments on the interactions of rocket plume exhausts and the ambient environment at an altitude of roughly 350 km. The key element in this experiment is the use of the Mir space station as a platform for optical instrumentation. A description is given of the modeling and instrumentation involved in the execution of this experiment, as well as a description of the experiment strategy and some experimental data already obtained. In particular, a hypothesized model of the OH(A-X) ultraviolet radiation is presented and evaluated. * The research reported herein was performed by the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), Air Force Materiel Command. Work and analysis for this research were performed by personnel of Sverdrup Technology, Inc., AEDC Group, technical services contractor for AEDC. Further reproduction is authorized to satisfy needs of the U. S. Government.

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Visible light emission excited by interaction of space shuttle exhaust with the atmosphere

Cited by 12 publications

References 5 publications

OH observations of space shuttle exhaust

OH observations of space shuttle exhaust

Discharge flow-tube studies of O(3P)+N2H4 reaction: The rate coefficient values over the temperature range 252–423 K and the OH(X 2Π) product yield at 298 K

Experimentation using the Mir station as a space laboratory

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