Musk's "Falcon 9" Breaks Through the Ionosphere

Source: Reference Information NetworkReported by Reference News on July 25thAccording to the website of Newsweek on July 21, a rocket launch led by Elon Musk from the Space Exploration Technology Company penetrated a temporary cavity in the ionosphere of the Earth's atmosphere.The Falcon 9 rocket, launched from the Vandenburg Space Army Base in California on the evening of July 19th, flew into space at an extremely fast speed

Source: Reference Information Network

Reported by Reference News on July 25thAccording to the website of Newsweek on July 21, a rocket launch led by Elon Musk from the Space Exploration Technology Company penetrated a temporary cavity in the ionosphere of the Earth's atmosphere.

The Falcon 9 rocket, launched from the Vandenburg Space Army Base in California on the evening of July 19th, flew into space at an extremely fast speed.

The images above Flagstaff, Arizona show that the rocket's trajectory left a faint red light in the sky after launch: this is a sign that the rocket has penetrated the ionosphere and left a hole.

Geoff Baumgadner, a space physicist at Boston University in the United States, told Space Weather website reporters, "People have done a lot of research on this phenomenon, and relevant personnel have found that this phenomenon occurs when rockets fly 200 to 300 kilometers above the Earth's surface

Baumgadner said, "I have reviewed the video launched on July 19th. The video shows that the rocket's second stage engine was burning near the high point of the F zone (ionosphere) 286 kilometers above the ground. Therefore, it is very likely that a 'hole' in the ionosphere was created

The ionosphere is located at the outermost part of the atmosphere, serving as the boundary for entering space and filled with charged particles called ions. NASA explained that the ionosphere is located approximately 80 to 640 kilometers from the Earth's surface and is the cause of auroras caused by geomagnetic storms - the sun's plasma reacts with ions, forming spectacular colors in the sky.

Rapidly moving rockets and their exhaust gases can alter the ionization state of the ionosphere. Due to the fact that rockets emit water and carbon dioxide during flight, local ionization can be reduced by up to 70%, especially in the F-layer of the ionosphere. The iconic red color of the ionospheric cavity is the result of the reaction between oxygen ions and rocket exhaust gas, which releases light of the same wavelength as the red aurora.

This phenomenon occurred after the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket, especially in 2017. The "Technology Path" website reported in 2018 that rocket trajectory was also one of the factors affecting the ionosphere: due to the rocket's vertical climb at that time, rather than flying parallel to the Earth's surface, the additional effect of this shock wave jointly led to the formation of a cavity about 900 kilometers wide in the ionosphere, which lasted for 2 to 3 hours.

The ionospheric cavity can also have an impact on the global positioning system (GPS), reducing positioning accuracy by a few feet. However, this time it's not very obvious.

In a 2018 interview with the "Technology Path" website, Professor Lin Jianhong from Taiwan Chenggong University stated: "If the rocket launch effect is not taken into account, the combined error of ionosphere, troposphere, and other factors will reach at least 20 meters

In the future, as rocket horsepower increases, the impact of rocket launch on the ionosphere may intensify, leading to a more pronounced impact on GPS.

Lin Jianhong said, "Due to the cost reduction of reusable rockets, humanity is entering an era where rocket launches are becoming increasingly common and frequent. At the same time, humanity is developing stronger rockets to transport goods to other planets. These two factors will gradually have a greater impact on the middle and upper atmosphere, which is worth people's attention

Other recent rocket launches that have left holes in the ionosphere include the launch of the Formosa Satellite V, which created an almost as large hole in the ionosphere as California, USA.

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