Faraday rotation measurements of ionospheric electron contents using the SIRIO VHF radio beacon have provided the first complete morphological description of a large-scale ionospheric hole. The effect was caused by rapid chemical reactions between the ambient ionospheric (F-region) plasma and the molecular exhaust cloud of the Atlas/Centaur rocket used to launch NASA's HEAO-C satellite on 20 September 1979. This 'experiment of opportunity' was made possible by the fortuitous circumstance of having SIRIO far to the east of Cape Canaveral so that a rare high altitude injection burn could be monitored by a special network of temporary observatories located in the southeast United States. The depleted region was found to extent over an area exceeding one million square kilometers.
Use of the Italian satellite program (SIRIO) for ionospheric modification studies
Nutzung des italienischen Satellitenprogramms (SIRIO) zum Studium von Ionosphaerenaenderungen
Alta Frequenza, English Edition ; 49 , 5 ; 362-365
1980
4 Seiten, 5 Bilder, 17 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
Satellite Sirio. I/Sottosistema di alimentazione
Tema Archive | 1977
|Tema Archive | 1975
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