Lidar measurements of launch vehicle exhaust plumes

Phan D. Dao; David D. Curtis; Robert Farley; Philip Soletsky; Gilbert Davidson; Jerry A. Gelbwachs

doi:10.1117/12.279073

31 October 1997 Lidar measurements of launch vehicle exhaust plumes

Phan D. Dao, David D. Curtis, Robert Farley, Philip Soletsky, Gilbert Davidson, Jerry A. Gelbwachs

Proceedings Volume 3127, Application of Lidar to Current Atmospheric Topics II; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.279073
Event: Optical Science, Engineering and Instrumentation '97, 1997, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

The Mobile Lidar Trailer (MLT) was developed and operated to characterize launch vehicle exhaust plume and its effects on the environment. Two recent applications of this facility are discussed in this paper. In the first application, the MLT was used to characterize plumes in the stratosphere up to 45 km in support of the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Rocket Impact on Stratospheric Ozone program. Solid rocket motors used by Titan IV and other heavy launch vehicles release large quantities of gaseous hydrochloric acid in the exhaust and cause concerns about a possible depletion of the ozone layer. The MLT was deployed to Cape Canaveral Air Station since October 1995 to monitor ozone and to investigate plume dynamics and properties. Six campaigns have been conducted and more are planned to provide unique data with the objective of addressing the environmental issues. The plume was observed to disperse rapidly into horizontally extended yet surprisingly thin layer with thickness recorded in over 700 lidar profiles to be less than 250 meters. MLT operates with the laser wavelengths of 532, 355 and 308 nm and a scanning receiving telescope. Data on particle backscattering at the three wavelengths suggest a consistent growth of particle size in the 2-3 hour observation sessions following the launch. In the second type of application, the MLT was used as a remote sensor of nitrogen dioxide, a caustic gaseous by-product of common liquid propellant oxidizer. Two campaigns were conducted at the Sol Se Mete Canyon test site in New Mexico in December 1996 an January 1997 to study the dispersion of nitrogen dioxide and rocket plume.

Citation Download Citation

Phan D. Dao, David D. Curtis, Robert Farley, Philip Soletsky, Gilbert Davidson, and Jerry A. Gelbwachs "Lidar measurements of launch vehicle exhaust plumes", Proc. SPIE 3127, Application of Lidar to Current Atmospheric Topics II, (31 October 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.279073

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KEYWORDS

LIDAR

Particles

Rockets

NOx

Ozone

Backscatter

Clouds

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