Analysis and modeling of infrasound from a four-stage rocket launch

Year
2016
Type(s)
Author(s)
Blom, Philip and Marcillo, Omar and Arrowsmith, Stephen
Source
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 139(6): 3134-3138, 2016
Url(s)
https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4953817
BibTeX
BibTeX

Infrasound from a four-stage sounding rocket was recorded by several arrays within 100 km of the launch pad. Propagation modeling methods have been applied to the known trajectory to predict infrasonic signals at the ground in order to identify what information might be obtained from such observations. There is good agreement between modeled and observed back azimuths, and predicted arrival times for motor ignition signals match those observed. The signal due to the high-altitude stage ignition is found to be low amplitude, despite predictions of weak attenuation. This lack of signal is possibly due to inefficient aeroacoustic coupling in the rarefied upper atmosphere.