RH300 sounding rocket launched for atmospheric studies

The RH-300 MKII sounding rocket developed by IRSO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) was successfully launched from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Key Facts

The rocket was launched by VSSC under Sounding Rocket Experiment (SOUREX) programme for atmospheric studies. It utilises this rocket to study Equatorial E and lower ionosphere regions of atmosphere. The study will enrich available atmospheric data and refine models used for tropical weather prediction.
The objective of experiment is to measure neutral wind in dynamo region (80-120 km) of equatorial ionosphere using indigenously developed Electron Density and Neutral Wind Probe (ENWi). It will also perform cross-validation using an independent Tri Methyl Aluminium (TMA) release technique.

Comment

It was overall 21st launch of RH300 sounding rocket. Atmospheric studies with TMA were done in 1960’s utilizing sounding rockets of foreign countries and first it was launched on May 2, 1965 using Centaure rocket. After a long gap, TMA experiment is being conducted now with indigenously made payload and rocket.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2018