Observations of glow from shuttle surfaces during mission STS 41-G

Abstract

Two sets of observations, made during the STS 41-G mission in October, 1984, obtained measurements of the quiescent orbiter glow at high spectral resolution over limited spectral regions, and of the vernier thruster induced glow. The spectral results indicate that the brightness of the quiescent glow was considerably less than values reported on previous flights at a similar altitude, and exhibited a diffuse spectrum at 0.4 nm resolution. The thruster induced glow observations indicate both a surface component and an apparent gas phase glow standing away from the surface. The lifetimes of these two components and the temporal histories of each thruster firing are shown to be different. These results are discussed in terms of presently suggested mechanisms for the glow.