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| Titel |
Observation of the exhaust plume from the space shuttle main engines using the microwave limb sounder |
| VerfasserIn |
H. C. Pumphrey, A. Lambert, N. J. Livesey |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1867-1381
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ; 4, no. 1 ; Nr. 4, no. 1 (2011-01-24), S.89-95 |
| Datensatznummer |
250001569
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/amt-4-89-2011.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| A space shuttle launch deposits 700 tonnes of water in the
atmosphere. Some of this water is released into the upper mesosphere
and lower thermosphere where it may be directly detected by a limb
sounding satellite instrument. We report measurements of water vapour
plumes from shuttle launches made by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS)
on the Aura satellite. Approximately 50%–65% of shuttle launches are
detected by MLS. The signal appears at a similar level across the
upper 10 km of the MLS limb scan, suggesting that the bulk of the
observed water is above the top of the scan. Only a small fraction at
best of smaller launches (Ariane 5, Proton) are detected. We conclude
that the sensitivity of MLS is only just great enough to detect a
shuttle sized launch, but that a suitably designed instrument of the
same general type could detect the exhausts from a large proportion of
heavy-lift launches. |
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