UVPI Imaging from the LACE Satellite: The Low Cost Launch Vehicle (LCLV) Rocket Plume

Abstract

The Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPI) is a small, plume-tracking instrument flown on the Naval Research Laboratory's Low-power Atmospheric Compensation Experiment (LACE) satellite. The plume camera has a relatively narrow field of view, 0.184 deg by 0.137 deg, and observes sources through any of four filters with passbands of 195 to 295 nm, 200 to 320 nm, 235 to 350 nm, and 300 to 320 nm. The LCLV (Low Cost Launch Vehicle) was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia, before sunrise on 6 February 1991. The third stage, powered by an Aries solid-fuel rocket motor, reached a 117-km altitude and was successfully detected and tracked by the UVPI from a range of 450 to 550 km. The spectral radiance and spectral radiant intensities of the missile plumes were extracted from these images for the four passbands. Ultraviolet plume instrument, Plume tracking, Low cost launch vehicle, UVPI, Spectral radiance, Aries motor, UV, Spectral radiant intensities, Missile plumes, LACE Satellite, LCLV, Plume imaging.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 24, 1993
Accession Number
ADA278785

Entities

People

  • D. M. Horan
  • E. R. Malaret
  • H. W. Smathers
  • J. G. Cardon
  • L. Perez

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aluminum Oxides
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Cameras
  • Detectors
  • Digital Images
  • Equations
  • Heat Of Fusion
  • High Altitude
  • Line Of Sight
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Radiant Intensity
  • Radiation
  • Space Systems
  • Spacecraft
  • Standards
  • Warning Systems

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Aerospace Propulsion Engineering.
  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Spectroscopy.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster
  • Space - Satellites
  • Space - Space Objects