Proposed gas release experiment on the argos satellite. Interim report

Technical Report · Wed Jan 29 00:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:6788193

Lai, S T; Murad, E; Pike, C P

We propose to release xenon and carbon dioxide gases from nozzles on the Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS) satellite orbiting with a velocity of about 7.4 km/s at an altitude of about 800 km. The releases will be conducted mostly in darkness over the Maui telescope site. The vector sum of the satellite and gas velocities will exceed the velocity requirement for the critical ionization velocity (CIV) process of xenon. It is feasible that the xenon gas will achieve critical velocity ionization. Associative ionization and collisional stripping will not occur for the xenon gas and there is no photo-ionization in darkness; ionization processes competing with CIV are absent. Neutral density, ambient magnetic field, and seed ionization effects on the xenon gas CIV will be discussed. Unlike xenon, carbon dioxide will not undergo CIV because of its higher velocity requirement. However, it is feasible that carbon dioxide colliding with the atmospheric species will form excited CO and OH molecules, which will radiate subsequently. Optical, IR, and UV observations on the satellite and at Maui will provide diagnostic measurements for the experiment.

• Research Organization: Phillips Lab., Hanscom AFB, MA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6788193
• Report Number(s): AD-A-256713/9/XAB; PL-TR-92-2058
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Original contains color plates: All DTIC and NTIS reproductions will be in black and white
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CARBON DIOXIDE
IONIZATION
IONOSPHERE
XENON
CARBON MONOXIDE
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DENSITY
GAS INJECTION
HYDROXYL RADICALS
LEVELS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
NOZZLES
PLASMA INSTABILITY
SATELLITES
VELOCITY
WAVE PROPAGATION
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELEMENTS
FLUID INJECTION
FLUIDS
GASES
INSTABILITY
NONMETALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
RADICALS
RARE GASES
SIMULATION
661320* - Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena- (1992-)