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Infrasound from rocket launches and reentries observed at the IMS

P2.1-548
Not scheduled
20m
Zeremoniensaal

Zeremoniensaal

E-poster T2.1 Characterization of Treaty-Relevant Events P2.1 Characterization of Treaty-Relevant Events

Speaker

Mr Christoph Pilger (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR))

Description

Rocket launches and reentries are powerful atmospheric noise sources detectable at infrasound arrays in thousands of kilometers distance. Recorded signatures originate from the ignition, launch, supersonic movement, stage separation and reentry of rockets within the first about 100 kilometers of altitude of the atmosphere. We use IMS infrasound data to localize and characterize these events all over the world.

During the last 20 years, an increasing number of annual space missions was conducted from various globally distributed space ports. These missions were mainly launched to inject satellites in Earth’s orbit, but also for space station flights and the exploration of the Moon and other bodies in the solar system. In this context, an increasing number of infrasound events related to rockets was also identified in IDC bulletins.

We investigate and present infrasound detections of interest, including NASA’s Artemis 1 Moon mission using the Space Launch System in 2022, SpaceX’s orbital flight tests of Starship starting in 2023 and ESA’s first launch of the new Ariane 6 rocket in 2024. Furthermore, we highlight a systematic analysis of infrasound recorded from multiple, regularly launched vehicles like Ariane 5, Falcon 9, and various Soyuz and Long March rocket types.

E-mail [email protected]

Author

Mr Christoph Pilger (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR))

Co-authors

Dr Patrick Hupe (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR)) Mr Peter Gaebler (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR))

Presentation materials

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