Observation of the exhaust plume from the space shuttle main engines using the microwave limb sounder
A space shuttle launch deposits 700 tonnes of water in the atmosphere. Some of this water is released into the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere where it may be directly detected by a limb sounding satellite instrument. We report measurements of water vapour plumes from shuttle launches made b...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2011-01-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| Online Access: | http://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/4/89/2011/amt-4-89-2011.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818136894754521088 |
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| author | H. C. Pumphrey A. Lambert N. J. Livesey |
| author_facet | H. C. Pumphrey A. Lambert N. J. Livesey |
| author_sort | H. C. Pumphrey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A space shuttle launch deposits 700 tonnes of water in the atmosphere. Some of this water is released into the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere where it may be directly detected by a limb sounding satellite instrument. We report measurements of water vapour plumes from shuttle launches made by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Aura satellite. Approximately 50%–65% of shuttle launches are detected by MLS. The signal appears at a similar level across the upper 10 km of the MLS limb scan, suggesting that the bulk of the observed water is above the top of the scan. Only a small fraction at best of smaller launches (Ariane 5, Proton) are detected. We conclude that the sensitivity of MLS is only just great enough to detect a shuttle sized launch, but that a suitably designed instrument of the same general type could detect the exhausts from a large proportion of heavy-lift launches. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:47:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1dca8597692943aca984c147b7d27aaa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1867-1381 1867-8548 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:47:40Z |
| publishDate | 2011-01-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| spelling | doaj.art-1dca8597692943aca984c147b7d27aaa2022-12-22T01:12:31ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Measurement Techniques1867-13811867-85482011-01-0141899510.5194/amt-4-89-2011Observation of the exhaust plume from the space shuttle main engines using the microwave limb sounderH. C. PumphreyA. LambertN. J. LiveseyA space shuttle launch deposits 700 tonnes of water in the atmosphere. Some of this water is released into the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere where it may be directly detected by a limb sounding satellite instrument. We report measurements of water vapour plumes from shuttle launches made by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Aura satellite. Approximately 50%–65% of shuttle launches are detected by MLS. The signal appears at a similar level across the upper 10 km of the MLS limb scan, suggesting that the bulk of the observed water is above the top of the scan. Only a small fraction at best of smaller launches (Ariane 5, Proton) are detected. We conclude that the sensitivity of MLS is only just great enough to detect a shuttle sized launch, but that a suitably designed instrument of the same general type could detect the exhausts from a large proportion of heavy-lift launches.http://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/4/89/2011/amt-4-89-2011.pdf |
| spellingShingle | H. C. Pumphrey A. Lambert N. J. Livesey Observation of the exhaust plume from the space shuttle main engines using the microwave limb sounder Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| title | Observation of the exhaust plume from the space shuttle main engines using the microwave limb sounder |
| title_full | Observation of the exhaust plume from the space shuttle main engines using the microwave limb sounder |
| title_fullStr | Observation of the exhaust plume from the space shuttle main engines using the microwave limb sounder |
| title_full_unstemmed | Observation of the exhaust plume from the space shuttle main engines using the microwave limb sounder |
| title_short | Observation of the exhaust plume from the space shuttle main engines using the microwave limb sounder |
| title_sort | observation of the exhaust plume from the space shuttle main engines using the microwave limb sounder |
| url | http://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/4/89/2011/amt-4-89-2011.pdf |
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