The US Space Force, together with the Air Force Research Laboratory, launched a weather rocket, the Terrier-Terrier-Oriole, on March 3, 2021, with experimental equipment for studying the Earth's ionosphere. This, according to SpaceNews, was stated by the head of the project for the study of the ionosphere at the US Air Force Research Laboratory, Todd Peterson.
The ionosphere is the upper layer of the Earth's atmosphere, ionized mainly by solar radiation. The military uses the ionosphere, in particular, for the operation of over-the-horizon radars, which use the effect of reflecting radio waves from the ionized layer of the atmosphere. The study of the ionosphere, among other things, will make such radars more accurate and round-the-clock (at night, over-the-horizon stations are almost "blind" due to a decrease in ionospheric ionization).
According to Peterson, studying the ionosphere will allow us to better understand its impact on the operation of radar stations and communication systems. At the time of launch, the payload was lifted by the rocket to an altitude of more than 160 kilometers. At this altitude, 27.2 kilograms of powdery material heated by the burning fuel were ejected from the rocket. Probably, this powder was used to reflect the radio emission of ground-based research stations.
The weather rocket was launched from a test facility on Wallops Island in Virginia. Other details of the launch were not disclosed.
Vasily Sychev
