Apollo-Soyuz O/3P/ and N/4S/ density measurement by UV spectroscopy

The densities of O(3P) and N(4S) at 225 km were determined during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project by a resonance absorption-fluorescence technique in which O I and N I line radiation produced and collimated on board the Apollo was reflected from the Soyuz back to the Apollo for spectral analysis. The two spacecraft maneuvered so that a range of observation angles of plus or minus 25 deg with respect to the normal to the orbital velocity vector was scanned. The measurements described were made at night on two consecutive orbits at spacecraft separations of 150 and 500 m. The results indicate an O density of 1.15 billion per cu cm (plus or minus 30%), agreeing with mass-spectrometric measurements made under similar conditions, and an N density of 5.6 to 11.2 million per cu cm, in good agreement with recent measurements but suggesting a smaller diurnal variation than predicted by present models.