DE‐2 mass spectrometer observations relevant to the shuttle glow
- 1 February 1986
- journal article
- Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Geophysical Research Letters
- Vol. 13 (2) , 109-112
- https://doi.org/10.1029/gl013i002p00109
Abstract
A comparison of satellite mass spectrometer data from Dynamics Explorer‐2 and Atmosphere Explorer‐C and ‐D provides new evidence supporting the hypothesis that NO2 is the source of the observed continuum glow near ram‐facing surfaces of the space shuttle. Surface reactions of thermospheric N and O in mass spectrometer ion sources produce NO and NO2 in amounts highly dependent on surface temperature and composition, with direct exposure of ion source surfaces to rammed gas a necessary condition for the production of large amounts of NO2. Initial orbit data indicate that a period of surface conditioning is necessary before these odd nitrogen molecules can be produced efficiently.This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit:
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