Barium Cloud Test in Peru.

Abstract

In an effort to investigate the mechanism causing ionospheric irregularities to form in the equatorial region an experiment was designed by the Max Planck Institute involving the release of two barium clouds in the F region just after sunset. The electric field resulting from the two barium clouds was expected to trigger an ionospheric irregularity which would propagate up through the ionosphere as a depletion bubble. This report describes an attempt to observe the ionospheric irregularity as it passed through the line-of-sight between an aircraft and a communication satellite. The aircraft was equipped with a UHF receiver which measured phase and amplitude of the downlink Satellite Signal. Due to the release of the barium 50 km below the planned altitude no significant ionospheric irregularities were formed. The aircraft measured minor amplitude variation (1dB) and no significant phase variations resulting from ionospheric irregularities triggered by the barium release. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA110051

Entities

People

  • Allen L. Johnson
  • Roger L. Swanson

Organizations

  • Wright Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aeronautical Laboratories
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Altitude
  • Amplitude
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Avionics
  • Communication Satellites
  • Communication Systems
  • Communication Terminals
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Ionospheric Scintillation
  • Line Of Sight
  • Payload
  • Satellite Communications
  • Terminals

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.

Technology Areas

  • Space