IN-SITU PLUME RADIANCE MEASUREMENTS FROM THE BOW SHOCK ULTRAVIOLET-2 ROCKET FLIGHT

The ultraviolet spectrum (200-400 nm) of the plumes generated by the s econd- and third-stage engines of a Strypi XI rocket and of the Mach 1 7 re-entry bow shock were obtained by a sounding rocket experiment lau nched from the Barking Sands Research Range (Kauai, Hawaii) on Februar y 18, 1991, at 14:30 GMT. The re-entry optical data were obtained as t he payload descended from 120 to 65 km with a vehicle velocity of 5.1 km/s. The intensities of the vacuum ultraviolet resonance radiation em itted by atomic oxygen and hydrogen in the bow shock at 130.4 and 121. 5 nm, respectively, were also measured. Complementary Langmuir probe m easurements provided data on the total plasma density and electron tem perature in the boundary layer.