Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its
Etymology
The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary to sound, which is to throw a weighted line from a ship into the water to measure the water's depth. The term itself has its etymological roots in the Romance languages word for probe, of which there are nouns sonda and sonde and verbs like sondear which means "to do a survey or a poll". Sounding in the rocket context is equivalent to "taking a measurement".[3]
Design
The basic elements of a sounding rocket are a
Advantages
Sounding rockets are advantageous for some research because of their low cost,[2] relatively short lead time (sometimes less than six months)[3] and their ability to conduct research in areas inaccessible to either balloons or satellites. They are also used as test beds for equipment that will be used in more expensive and risky orbital spaceflight missions.[2] The smaller size of a sounding rocket also makes launching from temporary sites possible, allowing field studies at remote locations, and even in the middle of the ocean, if fired from a ship.[5]
Applications
Meteorology
) may also be recorded.Common meteorological rockets are the
Research
Sounding rockets are commonly used for:
- Research in aeronomy, the study of the upper atmosphere, which requires this tool for in situ measurements in the upper atmosphere
- Ultraviolet and X-ray astronomy, which require being above the bulk of the Earth's atmosphere
- Microgravity research which benefits from a few minutes of weightlessnesson rockets launched to altitudes of a few hundred kilometers
- Remote Sensing of Earth Resources uses sounding rockets to get an essentially instant synoptic view of the geographical area under observation.[6]
Dual use
Due to the high military relevance of ballistic missile technology, there has always been a close relationship between sounding rockets and military missiles. It is a typical
Operators and programs
- Andøya Space Centerin Norway operates two sounding rocket launch sites, one at Andøya and one at Svalbard. Has launched sounding rockets since 1962.
- Poker Flat Research Range is owned by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
- The British Skylark sounding rocket programme began in 1955 and was used for 441 launches from 1957 to 2005. Skylark 12, from 1976, could lift 200 kilograms (440 lb) to 575 kilometres (357 mi) altitude.[8]
- The British also developed the Woomera Test Range, Australia.
- Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering from the Delft University of Technology operates the Stratos sounding rocket program, which reached 21.5 km in 2015.
- Evolution Space operates the Gold Chain Cowboy sounding rocket with launch to 124.5 km on April 22, 2023.[11]
- The Australian Space Research Institute (ASRI) operates a Small Sounding Rocket Program (SSRP) for launching payloads (mostly educational) to altitudes of about 7 km
- Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) launched a Sounding Rocket (Vyom) in May, 2012, which reached an altitude of 15 km. Vyom Mk-II is in its conceptual design stage with an objective to reach 70 km altitude with 20 kg payload capacity.[12]
- The University of Queensland operates Terrier-Orion sounding rockets (capable of reaching altitudes in excess of 300 km) as part of their HyShot hypersonics research
- Iranian Space Agency operated its first sounding rocket in February 2007
- UP Aerospace operates the SpaceLoft XL sounding rocket that can reach altitudes of 225 km
- ESAmicrogravity research programmes
- Astrium operates missions with sounding rockets on a commercial basis, as prime contractor to ESA or the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
- MASER, Swedish rocket programme at Esrange for ESA microgravity research programmes
- ESAmicrogravity research programmes
- Pakistan's SUPARCO launched Rehbar series of sounding rockets, based on American Nike-Cajunseries of rockets, from 1962 to 1971.
- REXUS, German-Swedish rocket programme at Esrange for DLR and ESA student experiment programmes
- The NASA Sounding Rocket Program
- The JAXA operates the sounding rockets S-Series: S-310 / S-520 / SS-520.
- United States/New Zealand company Rocket Lab developed the highly adaptable Ātea series of sounding rockets to carry 5–70 kg payloads to altitudes of 250 km or greater
- The Meteor rockets were built in Poland between 1963 and 1974.
- The LAPANon 1964, becoming the third sounding rocket in Asia, after those from Japan and Pakistan.
- The Soviet Union developed an extensive program using rockets such as the M-100, the most used ever; its successor by its successor state, Russia, is the MR-20 and later the MR-30.
- Brazil has been launching its own sounding rockets since 1965. The largest and most current family of rocket are the Sonda, which are the R&D basis for Brazil's soon-to-be-launched VLS satellite launcher. Other rockets include the VSB-30
- The Paulet I rocket was built and launched in Peru by The National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA) on 2006, becoming the first sounding rocket of the country and the third rocket in South America, after those from Brazil and Argentina.
- The Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) is a non-profit organization based in the United States which has operated the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) since 2006.[13]
- ONERA in France launched a sounding rocket named Titus, developed for observation of the total solar eclipse in Argentina on November 12, 1966. Titus was a two-stage rocket with a length of 11.5 m, a launch weight of 3.4 tons, and a diameter of 56 cm. It reached a maximum height of 270 kilometers. It was launched twice in Las Palmas, Chaco during the eclipse, in collaboration with the Argentine space agency CNIE.[14]
- German Aerospace Center's Mobile Rocket Base (MORABA) designs, builds and operates a variety of sounding rocket types and custom vehicles in support for national and international research programs.
- Interstellar Technologies is a Japanese company that is developing the experimental MOMO sounding rocket.
See also
References
- ^ nasa.gov NASA Sounding Rocket Program Handbook, June 2005, p. 1
- ^ a b c d e "NASA Sounding Rocket Program Overview". NASA Sounding Rocket Program. NASA. 24 July 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Marconi, Elaine M. (12 April 2004). "What is a Sounding Rocket?". Research Aircraft. NASA. Retrieved 10 October 2006.
- ^ NASA Sounding Rocket Handbook
- ^ "General Description of Sounding Rockets". Johns Hopkins University Sounding Rocket Program. Retrieved 10 October 2006.
- .
- ^ Campbell, D. (5 August 1983). "Germany helps Brazil to nuclear supremacy" (PDF). New Statesman.
- ^ Serra, Jean-Jacques. "Skylark sounding rockets". Rockets in Europe. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ "Sounding Rockets". www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ Messier, Doug (2023-04-25). "Evolution Space Launches Rocket on Suborbital Flight From Mojave Desert". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
- ^ PTI. "IIST students' designed rocket launched". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ "ESRA". ESRA. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
- ^ Wade, Mark. "Titus". Astronautix. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
External links
- Sounding rockets at EADS Astrium page
- 30 years of sounding rocket launches at Esrange in Kiruna, Sweden
- NASA Sounding Rocket Program
- NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract
- NASA Sounding Rockets, 1958–1968: A Historical Summary (NASA SP-4401, 1971)
- Australian Space Research Institute Small Sounding Rocket Program
- German, Swedish and EADS-ST Programmes
- MASER Programme of the Swedish Space Corporation
- Sounding rockets launched from Andøya Space Center in Norway
- Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA)