Abstract
One ion trap (IT) and one retarding potential analyzer (RPA) onboard the Taiwan Sounding Rocket V (SR-V) were launched to measure ionospheric plasma irregularities on 18 January 2006. After the fairing separated, voltage readings (V(subscript G1)) of the first grid (G1) in the IT indicated abnormally high negative voltages appeared at the upleg between 83.7 and 120.1 km altitude for 19.7 seconds. It is postulated G1 had temporarily shorted out with the other two grids. Such the anomaly in the V(subscript G1) brought out the expansion of a plasma sheath around opening of the IT. More ions were attracted into the collector. Remarkable ion currents detected by the IT led to malfunctions of the RPA simultaneously. In this article, laboratory simulations and the International Reference Ionosphere model are performed to evaluate scale factors for the IT to the anomaly. The calibrated total ion concentration profile at the upleg indicates a peak density of the E(subscript s) layer at 93.0 km altitude of about 6.9 × 10^3 # cm^(-3) with a thickness of 3.4 km. It is very similar to that at the downleg. It implies that the SR-V might encounter the same E(subscript s) layer twice in a distance of 150 km away.
Highlights
Taiwan began a sounding rocket program in 1997
It was directed at an elevation angle of 80° and at an azimuthal angle (~21°) between Green and Orchid Island
The first stage of the rocket was separated at T + 5.7 s (~2.0 km altitude), where T is the launch time
Summary
Taiwan began a sounding rocket program in 1997. The National Space Organization (NSPO) is responsible for supporting the development of sounding rocket technologies. Two planar-type ion probes were installed inside the fairing section of the Taiwan’s Sounding Rocket V (SR-V) to measure ionospheric E-region plasma irregularities over Taiwan. Each probe has an 88 mm diameter opening, three stainless steel T316 woven grids (50 meshes per inch and 0.05 mm diameter wires), and a collector connected to a current meter (see Fig. 1). In the RPA, a feedback circuit provides a 10-Hz square wave, where VG2, is called a retarding voltage, on the G2 to regulate collector currents of the RPA to levels between 1/5 and 1/10 of the IT (Minami et al 1982). The collector currents (IIT) of the IT are recorded and their noise levels are below 0.2 nA.
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