Atmospheric density, temperature and wind measurement techniques during the 1980 Energy Budget CampaignSuper Loki rocketsonde systems are described. The datasonde telemeters data to a ground station where ambient temperatures are calculated between 20 and 70 km. The sphere is a passive, radar tracked system which allows density to be calculated between 30 and 90 km. When flown simultaneously the systems give redundant data in the altitudes between 30 and 70 km. The datasonde has a balloon parachute that descends more slowly than a conventional parachute and is more stable. Because of launch constraints the datasondes reached very high apogees, leading to very fast descent velocities. Aerodynamic heating reduced thermistor sensitivity. Anomalous parachute behavior influenced wind sensing until a denser layer was reached. The spheres collapsed above 60 km altitude, but their data, combined with dropsonde data give significant results for 21 flights. These show that the stratosphere is colder than Cospar 72 model predictions and the mesosphere is warmer.
Document ID
19820017832
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Schmidlin, F. J. (NASA Wallops Flight Center Wallops Island, VA, United States)
Philbrick, C. R. (Air Force Geophysics Lab.)
Offermann, D. (Wuppertal Univ.)
Date Acquired
August 10, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 1981
Publication Information
Publication: Wuppertal Univ. Sounding Rocket Program Aeronomy Project: Energy Budget Campaign 1980. Expt. Summary