Preliminary analysis of exhaust plume radiation during Soyuz-TM retrofirings

G. F. Karabadzhak, Yu Plastinin, E. Szhenov, A. Afanasiev, B. Khmelinin, V. Teslenko, O. Volkov, V. Kukushkin, J. A. Drakes, W. K. McGregor, S. Gimelshein, D. A. Levin

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

A set of plume observations has been made using radiometric instrumentation located inside the Mir space station. This particular set of data is related to the 130 N attitude control system (ACS) thrusters. We have measured the ultraviolet radiation produced by these thrusters in both the near and far fields, and a comparison to previously acquired data from the 3100 N Progress Main Engine (PME) shows that the plumes are similar in shape and scale. In this paper, we describe the experimental design and setup for acquisition of the data and a preliminary review of the radiative characteristics of the ACS thruster, in comparison to the PME. The instrumentation used for this experiment consisted of an ultraviolet imager and an ultraviolet/visible spectrometer. The imager was used in both the wide band mode, having a bandpass from 265 to 320 nm FWHM, and in the narrow band mode, having 18 nm FWHM filters centered at 265, 287 and 317 nm. The spectrometer operated from 250 nm to 850 nm, with an 8 nm spectral resolution. Data was acquired on the ACS from 14 dedicated firings, and numerous incidental observations. In each case examined, the radiation detected from the plumes scaled with the exhaust mass flow, as found previously with the PME.

Original languageEnglish (US)
StatePublished - 2000
Externally publishedYes
Event34th Thermophysics Conference 2000 - Denver, CO, United States
Duration: Jun 19 2000Jun 22 2000

Other

Other34th Thermophysics Conference 2000
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityDenver, CO
Period6/19/006/22/00

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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