INFRARED ROCKET GLOW - A MECHANISTIC ANALYSIS

A two channel infra-red radiometer observed a contaminating glow at 1. 53 mu m on the up and down legs of a rocket flight between 90 and 105 km. No contamination was detectable at 1.27 mu m nor by broadband uv/v isible photodiode photometers. The structures in the glow showed a rem arkable similarity with the structures on the simultaneously measured atomic oxygen profile. We have been able to show that the glow can be successfully modelled by I proportional to [O](2) v(2), where v is the rocket speed. This implies that two oxygen atoms arriving on the surf ace are involved in the production of the emitting species. It is sugg ested that the oxygen atoms form a molecule which is either radiativel y stabilized or undergoes an association/dissociation with a surface a dsorbed oxygen molecule.