SpaceX Launch Last Year Punched Huge, Temporary Hole In the Ionosphere (arstechnica.com)

The Falcon 9 rocket that launched last August reportedly ripped a temporary hole in the ionosphere due to its vertical launch, which Ars Technica notes as being rather unusual: Contrary to popular belief, most of the time when a rocket launches, it does not go straight up into outer space. Rather, shortly after launch, most rockets will begin to pitch over into the downrange direction, limiting gravity drag and stress on the vehicle. Often, by 80 or 100km, a rocket is traveling nearly parallel to the Earth's surface before releasing its payload into orbit. However, in August of last year, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from California did not make such a pitch over maneuver. Rather, the Formosat-5 mission launched vertically and stayed that way for most of its ascent into space. The rocket could do this because the Taiwanese payload was light for the Falcon 9 rocket, weighing only 475kg and bound for an orbit 720km above the Earth's surface. As a result of this launch profile, the rocket maintained a nearly vertical trajectory all the way through much of the Earth's ionosphere, which ranges from about 60km above the planet to 1,000km up. In doing so, the Falcon 9 booster and its second stage created unique, circular shockwaves. The rocket launch also punched a temporary, 900-km-wide hole into the plasma of the ionosphere.

Comments

To Destroy OH to Destroy

[Anonymous Coward]

First we were destroying the ozone layer with aerosol, and now we're destroying the Ionosphere with rockets. And next we'll be destroying another layer with something else.

The 20th and 21st centuries have been best described by: let's innovate without worrying about the consequences; let's claim to be supporters of science, without applying its principles.

An application of modern philosophy that destroys our world. And a rejection of classical/medieval philosophy, which is the underpinning of true science.

Re: Perpendicular vs parallel

[dgatwood]

Hmm, I would rather hear a car analogy myself.

Think of crawling out from under a pile of progressively larger cars.

Sure, you can rip your way straight up and out. But that leaves a vertical tunnel through the cars. You also push a certain number of cars up and out with you.

Instead you mostly follow the layers of cars, slowly making your way upward and outward. As you pass, gravity causes the cars that are displaced to collapse back in on the path of travel.

Happy?