Abstract
The Advanced Test Range Ship Monge (ATRSM) is dedicated to in-flight measurements during the re-entry phase of ballistic missiles test flights. Atmospheric density measurements from 15 to 110 km are provided using one of the world’s largest Rayleigh lidars. This lidar is the culmination of three decades of French research experience in lidar technologies, developed within the framework of the global Network for Detection of Atmospheric and Climate Changes (NDACC), and opens opportunities for high resolution Rayleigh lidar studies above 90 km. The military objective of the ATRSM project is to provide near real time estimates of the atmospheric relative density profile, with an error budget of less than 10% at 90 km altitude, given a temporal integration of 15 min and a vertical resolution of 500 m. To achieve this aim we have developed a unique lidar system which exploits six laser transmitters and a constellation of eight receiving telescopes which maximises the lidar power-aperture product. This system includes a mix of standard commercially available optical components and electronics as well as some innovative technical solutions. We have provided a detailed assessment of some of the more unique aspects of the ATRSM lidar.
Highlights
The Advanced Test Range Ship Monge (ATRSM) seen in Figure 1 is the main French facility which enables in-flight measurements of ballistic missile tests during the re-entry phase [1]
A new Rayleigh lidar, based on the measurement principles developed at the end of the seventies [9], was designed for the French ATRSM to measure high-altitude temperature and density profiles during ballistic missile test flights
Recall that the ATRSM mission objective is to provide near real time estimates of the atmospheric relative density profile with an error budget of less than 10% at 90 km given a temporal integration of 15 min and an effective vertical resolution of 500 m
Summary
The Advanced Test Range Ship Monge (ATRSM) seen in Figure 1 is the main French facility which enables in-flight measurements of ballistic missile tests during the re-entry phase [1]. A new Rayleigh lidar, based on the measurement principles developed at the end of the seventies [9], was designed for the French ATRSM to measure high-altitude temperature and density profiles during ballistic missile test flights. To derive the absolute temperature profile, T (z), Equation (5) This technique is very efficient throughout the middle atmosphere and can be used to make high vertical resolution profiles of temperature, pressure, and density. The relative contribution of the statistical error at a given altitude can be reduced by integrating the lidar photon counts profile in both altitude and time. The resulting recommendation is to remove the top 16 km of the lidar temperature profile to avoid contamination This approach is not ideal for the objectives of the Monge project which seeks to evaluate the atmospheric conditions above 90 km at high temporal resolution.
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