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Rocket Launch Affected Ionosphere Propagation

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by KQ6XA, May 3, 2018.

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  1. KQ6XA

    KQ6XA Ham Member QRZ Page

    In August 2017, a SpaceX Falcon 9 high altitude rocket, launched from Vandenberg, generated a gigantic circular Shock Acoustic Wave (SAW) in the ionosphere covering an area four times greater than California. The rocket was vertically boosting a lightweight satellite payload to a mission altitude of about 450 miles (720 km) above the earth. That altitude is more than most Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, and a team of scientists tracked the rocket's effects as it poked a hole in the ionosphere about 5 minutes after launch.

    High altitude rocket launches can temporarily affect ionospheric propagation. They are called anthropogenic space weather events. Such changes in the ionosphere could affect HF propagation reflection or perturb GPS positioning accuracy.

    Scientists studying the event recorded SAWs emanating outward for 20 minutes, at about 1500 Miles Per Hour (2400 kph) . It was the largest rocketā€induced circular SAW on record, about 900 miles (1500 km) in diameter. The rocket's exhaust plume also created a large scale ionospheric plasma hole, which eventually closed back up. Read more about it on Earth & Space Science News.

    Did you experience a change in HF propagation or satellite communications in the morning after the SpaceX launch? At 2:51AM PDT on 24 August 2017, most operators in the western USA were probably asleep. Hams could have an opportunity to explore the science of these ionospheric rocket events in the future, because there will certainly be many more. Could ionospheric shock waves provide a temporary unpredictable mode of communication for hams in the upper HF or lower VHF frequency range? Let's watch the airwaves for more launches!

    spacex-falcon9-launch-800x600.jpg

    [​IMG]
     
    W6SAE, AK5B, VU3JNM and 12 others like this.
  2. N7XCZ

    N7XCZ Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    That is right out of the Twilight Zone, but really interesting and cool Bonnie.
     
    AK5B and KQ6XA like this.
  3. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    That's really cool Bonnie!

    Norway launch in 2009....

    [​IMG]
     
    SM0NTK, AK5B and KQ6XA like this.
  4. KP4SX

    KP4SX Ham Member QRZ Page

    Oh gawd, more Climate Disruption, aka "climate change' formally known as 'global warming' :)
    Back in my younger days the old sages said the weather changes never happened until we started messing with the Moon.
     
    AB8MA, K1FBI, K2NED and 3 others like this.
  5. KK5JY

    KK5JY Ham Member QRZ Page

    This time it's all SpaceX's fault, so it's all OK. ;)

    That said, if rocket launches can mess with the ionosphere, I wonder if they can supercharge the ionosphere for contests weekends? Dial-a-MUF, etc.?

    Dear SpaceX, I request a MUF of 50MHz for this weekend's events, please. :cool:
     
    N4POD, N6RRY, AK5B and 10 others like this.
  6. N5SUN

    N5SUN XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Maybe in the future you could have a QSO via ROCKET MODE.
     
    KN4LGM, W6SAE, W7XLR and 3 others like this.
  7. WQ4G

    WQ4G Ham Member QRZ Page

    For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. When a Rocket 'blasts off' it pushes against the Earth. Is the Earth moving as a result? Is the Earth's orbit being altered slightly every time one of these things is launched?
     
  8. MW1CFN

    MW1CFN Ham Member QRZ Page

    In science, and when you need international cooperation, it is convention and practice to give times in UT.
     
    K7QDX likes this.
  9. W1AET

    W1AET Ham Member QRZ Page

    Lighten up Francis
     
    KA3ZAI, N6SPP, AK5B and 6 others like this.
  10. WE8P

    WE8P XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    I just saw this post on spaceweather.com: " If all goes as planned, the InSight Mars lander will blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 4:05 am Pacific Time on Saturday, May 5th. The Atlas 5 rocket plume and subsequent clouds of icy exhaust glittering in the dawn sky could be visible across southern California and beyond."
     
    KQ6XA, KA1BSZ and (deleted member) like this.
  11. KC9YGN

    KC9YGN Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Yes, but the mass of the rocket is so infinitesimal when compared to the mass of the Earth that overall effect is unmeasurable. Same thing with "slingshot" orbits that send a satellite around one of the inner planets to give it a speed boost into the outer system.
     
    AK5B likes this.
  12. KV6O

    KV6O Ham Member QRZ Page

    Yes. Momentum is conserved. Same thing when spacecraft slingshot around another planet for a velocity boost (as has been done with Earth) - the transfer of momentum means a little is "stolen" from the body.

    Given that the mass difference is truly huge, the measured change is probably immeasurable. Earthquakes do more to alter our orbit.
     
    AK5B likes this.
  13. K3XR

    K3XR Ham Member QRZ Page

    Exactly, you can swat a mosquito on your leg without falling to the ground.
     
    AK5B, K6DS and WB1E like this.
  14. KA1BSZ

    KA1BSZ Ham Member QRZ Page

    works better on the first day of April.
     
    AK5B likes this.
  15. WB1E

    WB1E Ham Member QRZ Page

    Every time a Saturn V was launched, it pushed the earth 6 inches out of normal earth orbit.

    The Vandenburg launch was interesting with it's symmetrical plume only because of the rare occasion that it took off perfectly vertical.

    I grew up watching launches from the west coast and listening to North American - Rockwell testing the X-15, Saturn V, then the Space Shuttle engines normally late at night and through early morning.

    Doug (valley guy)
    N5DMC
     

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