Jump to content

Sounding rocket

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ABlack BrantXII being launched fromWallops Flight Facility

Asounding rocketorrocketsonde,sometimes called aresearch rocketor asuborbital rocket,is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during itssub-orbitalflight. The rockets are used to launch instruments from 48 to 145 km (30 to 90 miles)[1]above the surface of the Earth, the altitude generally betweenweather balloonsandsatellites;the maximum altitude for balloons is about 40 km (25 miles) and the minimum for satellites is approximately 121 km (75 miles).[2]Certain sounding rockets have anapogeebetween 1,000 and 1,500 km (620 and 930 miles), such as theBlack Brant X and XII,which is the maximum apogee of their class. Sounding rockets often use military surplus rocket motors.[3]NASA routinely flies the Terrier Mk 70 boostedImproved Orion,lifting 270–450-kg (600–1,000-pound) payloads into theexoatmosphericregion between 97 and 201 km (60 and 125 miles).[4]

Etymology[edit]

The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabularytosound,which is to throw a weighted line from a ship into the water to measure the water's depth. The term itself has its etymological roots in theRomance languagesword forprobe,of which there are nounssondaandsondeand verbs likesondearwhich means "to do a survey or a poll".Soundingin the rocket context is equivalent to "taking a measurement".[3]

Design[edit]

Sample payloads for sounding rockets

The basic elements of a sounding rocket are asolid-fuel rocketmotor and a sciencepayload.[3]Larger, higher altitude rockets have two to threestagesto increase efficiency and payload capability. Thefreefallpart of the flight is anelliptic trajectorywith verticalmajor axisallowing the payload to appear to hover near itsapogee.[2]The average flight time is less than 30 minutes; usually between five and 20 minutes.[2]The rocket consumes its fuel on thefirst stageof the rising part of the flight, then separates and falls away, leaving the payload to complete the arc and return to the ground under aparachute.[3]

Advantages[edit]

Sounding rockets are advantageous for some research because of their low cost,[2]relatively shortlead time(sometimes less than six months)[3]and their ability to conduct research in areas inaccessible to either balloons or satellites. They are also used as test beds for equipment that will be used in more expensive and riskyorbital spaceflightmissions.[2]The smaller size of a sounding rocket also makes launching from temporary sites possible, allowingfield studiesat remote locations, and even in the middle of the ocean, if fired from a ship.[5]

Applications[edit]

Meteorology[edit]

Further information:Atmospheric sounding
A Loki-Dart (foreground) on display at theWhite Sands Missile Rangerocket garden

Weatherobservations, up to an altitude of 75 km, are done withrocketsondes,a kind of sounding rocket foratmosphericobservations that consists of arocketandradiosonde.The sonde records data ontemperature,moisture,wind speedand direction,wind shear,atmospheric pressure,andair densityduring the flight.Positiondata (altitudeandlatitude/longitude) may also be recorded.

Common meteorological rockets are theLokiandSuper Loki,typically 3.7 m tall and powered by a 10 cm diametersolid fuel rocket motor.The rocket motor separates at an altitude of 1500 m and the rest of the rocketsonde coasts toapogee(highest point). This can be set to an altitude of 20 km to 113 km.

Research[edit]

Sounding rockets are commonly used for:

  • Research inaeronomy,the study of theupper atmosphere,which requires this tool forin situmeasurements in the upper atmosphere.
  • UltravioletandX-ray astronomy,which require being above the bulk of the Earth's atmosphere.
  • Microgravityresearch which benefits from a few minutes ofweightlessnesson rockets launched to altitudes of a few hundred kilometers.
  • Remote sensingof Earth resources uses sounding rockets to get an essentially instant synoptic view of the geographical area under observation.[6]

Dual use[edit]

Due to the high military relevance of ballistic missile technology, there has always been a close relationship between sounding rockets and military missiles. It is a typicaldual-use technology,which can be used for both civil and military purposes. During theCold War,the Federal Republic of Germany cooperated on this topic with countries that had not signed theNon-Proliferation Treatyon Nuclear Weapons at that time, such as Brazil, Argentina and India. In the course of investigations by theGerman peace movement,this cooperation was revealed by a group of physicists in 1983.[7]The international discussion that was thus set in motion led to the development of theMissile Technology Control Regime(MTCR) at the level of G7 states. Since then, lists of technological equipment whose export is subject to strict controls have been drawn up within the MTCR framework.

Operators and programs[edit]

  • Andøya Space Centerin Norway operates two sounding rocket launch sites, one at Andøya and one at Svalbard. Has launched sounding rockets since 1962.
  • Poker Flat Research Rangeis owned by theUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks.
  • The BritishSkylark sounding rocketprogramme began in 1955 and was used for 441 launches from 1957 to 2005. Skylark 12, from 1976, could lift 200 kilograms (440 lb) to 575 kilometres (357 mi) altitude.[8]
  • The British also developed theFalstaff sounding rocketas a part of theChevalineprogram. There were eight launches between 1969 and 1979 from theWoomera Test Range,Australia.
  • ISRO'sVSSCdeveloped theRohinisounding rockets series starting in 1967 that reached altitudes of 500 km[9][10]
  • Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineeringfrom theDelft University of Technologyoperates the Stratos sounding rocket program, which reached 21.5 km in 2015.
  • Evolution Spaceoperates the Gold Chain Cowboy sounding rocket with launch to 124.5 km on April 22, 2023.[11]
  • The Australian Space Research Institute (ASRI) operates a Small Sounding Rocket Program (SSRP) for launching payloads (mostly educational) to altitudes of about 7 km.
  • Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST)launched a Sounding Rocket (Vyom) in May, 2012, which reached an altitude of 15 km. Vyom Mk-II is in its conceptual design stage with an objective to reach 70 km altitude with 20 kg payload capacity.[12]
  • TheUniversity of Queenslandoperates Terrier-Orion sounding rockets (capable of reaching altitudes in excess of 300 km) as part of theirHyShothypersonics research.
  • Iranian Space Agencyoperated its first sounding rocket in February 2007.
  • UP Aerospaceoperates theSpaceLoft XLsounding rocket that can reach altitudes of 225 km.
  • TEXUSand MiniTEXUS, German rocket programmes atEsrangeforDLRandESAmicrogravity research programmes.
  • Astrium operates missions with sounding rockets on a commercial basis, as prime contractor to ESA or the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
  • MASER,Swedish rocket programme at Esrange for ESA microgravity research programmes.
  • MAXUS,German-Swedish rocket programme atEsrangeforESAmicrogravity research programmes.
  • Pakistan'sSUPARCOlaunchedRehbar seriesof sounding rockets, based on AmericanNike-Cajunseries of rockets, from 1962 to 1971.
  • REXUS, German-Swedish rocket programme at Esrange forDLRand ESA student experiment programmes.
  • TheNASA Sounding Rocket Program.
  • TheJAXAoperates the sounding rocketsS-Series:S-310 / S-520 / SS-520.
  • United States/New Zealand companyRocket Labdeveloped the highly adaptable Ātea series of sounding rockets to carry 5–70 kg payloads to altitudes of 250 km or greater, launched once on 30 November 2009.
  • TheMeteorrockets were built in Poland between 1963 and 1974.
  • TheKartika Irocket was built and launched in Indonesia byLAPANon 1964, becoming the fourth sounding rocket in Asia, after those from Japan, China and Pakistan.
  • TheSoviet Uniondeveloped an extensive program using rockets such as theM-100,the most used ever; its successor by its successor state, Russia, is theMR-20and later the MR-30.
  • Brazil has been launching its own sounding rockets since 1965. The largest and most current family of rocket are theSonda,which are the R&D basis for Brazil's soon-to-be-launched VLS satellite launcher. Other rockets include theVSB-30
  • ThePaulet Irocket was built and launched in Peru by TheNational Commission for Aerospace Research and Development(CONIDA) on 2006, becoming the first sounding rocket of the country and the third rocket in South America, after those from Brazil and Argentina.
  • TheExperimental Sounding Rocket Association(ESRA) is a non-profit organization based in the United States which has operated the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) since 2006.[13]
  • ONERAin France launched a sounding rocket namedTitus,developed for observation of the totalsolar eclipsein Argentina on November 12, 1966. Titus was a two-stage rocket with a length of 11.5 m, a launch weight of 3.4 tons, and a diameter of 56 cm. It reached a maximum height of 270 kilometers. It was launched twice inLas Palmas, Chacoduring the eclipse, in collaboration with the Argentine space agency CNIE.[14]
  • German Aerospace Center's Mobile Rocket Base (DLRMORABA) designs, builds and operates a variety of sounding rocket types and custom vehicles in support for national and international research programs.
  • Interstellar Technologiesis a Japanese company that is developing the experimentalMOMOsounding rocket.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^nasa.govNASA Sounding Rocket Program Handbook, June 2005, p. 1
  2. ^abcde"NASA Sounding Rocket Program Overview".NASA Sounding Rocket Program.NASA. 24 July 2006.Retrieved10 October2006.
  3. ^abcdeMarconi, Elaine M. (12 April 2004)."What is a Sounding Rocket?".Research Aircraft.NASA.Retrieved10 October2006.
  4. ^NASA Sounding Rocket Handbook
  5. ^"General Description of Sounding Rockets".Johns Hopkins University Sounding Rocket Program.Retrieved10 October2006.
  6. ^Payne, B.R.; Baird, J.L. (1976). "Remote Sensing of Earth Resources Sounding Rocket Capabilities".Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing.2:12–17.Bibcode:1976CaJRS...2...12P.doi:10.1080/07038992.1976.10854945.
  7. ^Campbell, D.(5 August 1983)."Germany helps Brazil to nuclear supremacy"(PDF).New Statesman.
  8. ^Serra, Jean-Jacques."Skylark sounding rockets".Rockets in Europe.Retrieved2021-05-20.
  9. ^Bureau, The Hindu (2022-11-23)."ISRO's RH-200 sounding rocket records 200th consecutive successful flight".The Hindu.ISSN0971-751X.Retrieved2024-01-09.
  10. ^"Sounding Rockets".isro.gov.in.Retrieved2024-01-09.
  11. ^Messier, Doug (2023-04-25)."Evolution Space Launches Rocket on Suborbital Flight From Mojave Desert".Parabolic Arc.Archived fromthe originalon 2023-07-26.Retrieved2023-07-26.
  12. ^PTI."IIST students' designed rocket launched".Deccan Herald.Retrieved2024-01-09.
  13. ^"ESRA".ESRA.Retrieved2021-03-29.
  14. ^Wade, Mark."Titus".Astronautix.Archived fromthe originalon December 28, 2016.Retrieved17 May2020.

External links[edit]

Look upsounding rocketin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sounding_rocket&oldid=1232073515"