Rocket-borne radio beacon experiment for electron density measurements in the ionosphere

Abstract

In order to investigate the E and F-regions electrodynamics, a series of radar/rocket experiments were conducted in August-September, 2004, at Roi-Namur Is., Kwajalein Atoll (9.4° N, 167.5° E), as part of the NASA EQUIS II campaign. The ultimate object of these efforts was to improve the understanding of the electrodynamics associated with nighttime plasma density gradients near the magnetic equator. The rocket experiments consisted of instrumented payloads that included Langmuir probes and other instruments to measure de absolute plasma density. Separate rockets launched in conjunction with instrumented payloads released TMA trails in the upleg and downleg between roughly 90-250 Km that allowed observation of neutral winds and their velocity shears. These non-instrumented payloads also included a radio beacon experiment that provided an independent measurement of the plasma density and its variations...