Title :
Airborne radar measurements of the reentry of the Ariane 5 EPC
Author :
Rubin, Gary ; Carney, Tom ; Floyd, Jeff ; Henderson, H. Jeff ; Mitchell, Jason ; Siegel, Alan ; Vila, Jerome
Author_Institution :
Systems Planning Corp., Arlington, VA, USA
Abstract :
System Planning Corporation (SPC) fielded an airborne measurement system to observe the reentry of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle´s main cryogenic stage (EPC). On March 2, 2004, the system acquired both optical images and 50-MHz radar data as the EPC reentered the atmosphere. This paper describes SPC´s radar system, provides an overview of the radar data, and discusses some of the more interesting ionization-related phenomena observed as the EPC passed through the upper atmosphere.
Keywords :
airborne radar; atmospheric ionisation; rockets; 50 MHz; Ariane 5 EPC; airborne measurement system; airborne radar measurement; atmospheric reentry; cryogenic stage; ionization-related phenomena; optical image; Airborne radar; Aircraft; Antenna measurements; Atmosphere; Atmospheric measurements; Delay; Ionization; Radar imaging; Radio frequency; Sea measurements;
Conference_Titel :
Radar Conference, 2005 IEEE International
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8881-X
DOI :
10.1109/RADAR.2005.1435871
