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Can this cause any other issues other than GPS errors? Lines like It is followed by ionospheric hole (plasma depletions) due to rapid chemical reactions of roc

Can this cause any other issues other than GPS errors? Lines like It is followed by ionospheric hole (plasma depletions) due to rapid chemical reactions of rocket exhaust plumes and ionospheric plasma. sound concerning but that's most likely because I only understand half the words, and have even less of an understanding when they're strung together in that manner!

lainga 9y ago
It is followed by ionospheric hole (should be It was... holes) A ~900km wide patch of the ion blanket around the earth became thinner. Probably in the density sense, not the size sense: there was less plasma there than normal. (The abstract measures this in terms of how many electrons they counted in that area.) due to rapid chemical reactions of rocket exhaust plumes and ionospheric plasma. They think the thin patch was caused because the Falcon's exhaust reacted with the ion blanket. I'm not sure how.
- wlesieutre 9y ago
  I'm curious about this too. The Falcon burns RP-1, essentially a very refined kerosene, with liquid oxygen. Exhaust should be water, carbon dioxide, and a bit of carbon monoxide. Not typically the most reactive things, but perhaps there are different interactions with plasma?
  - lainga 9y ago
    This other paper [0] seems to indicate that TEC (total electron count) fluctuations are caused by shock waves, not rapid chemical reactions, and can arise from ground explosions as well. IANA ionosphere scientist, so I don't know if the parent paper made a mistake. [0] https://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0007043.pdf https://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0007043.pdf
  - marcosdumay 9y ago
    Anything is reactive when interacting with plasma. There should be little of those gases naturally up there (mostly so for water), and even throwing a large mass of gases up there may be enough to disturb everything.
- hinkley 9y ago
  I wonder if in the future this means large rockets may have to throttle back while transitioning through the ionosphere to reduce side effects? Is the altitude stable enough to predict it accurately for a given launch?
blattimwind 9y ago
It might affect short wave propagation and things like atmospheric electricity.

lainga 9y ago

It is followed by ionospheric hole (should be It was... holes) A ~900km wide patch of the ion blanket around the earth became thinner. Probably in the density sense, not the size sense: there was less plasma there than normal. (The abstract measures this in terms of how many electrons they counted in that area.) due to rapid chemical reactions of rocket exhaust plumes and ionospheric plasma. They think the thin patch was caused because the Falcon's exhaust reacted with the ion blanket. I'm not sure how.

wlesieutre 9y ago
I'm curious about this too. The Falcon burns RP-1, essentially a very refined kerosene, with liquid oxygen. Exhaust should be water, carbon dioxide, and a bit of carbon monoxide. Not typically the most reactive things, but perhaps there are different interactions with plasma?
- lainga 9y ago
  This other paper [0] seems to indicate that TEC (total electron count) fluctuations are caused by shock waves, not rapid chemical reactions, and can arise from ground explosions as well. IANA ionosphere scientist, so I don't know if the parent paper made a mistake. [0] https://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0007043.pdf https://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0007043.pdf
- marcosdumay 9y ago
  Anything is reactive when interacting with plasma. There should be little of those gases naturally up there (mostly so for water), and even throwing a large mass of gases up there may be enough to disturb everything.
hinkley 9y ago
I wonder if in the future this means large rockets may have to throttle back while transitioning through the ionosphere to reduce side effects? Is the altitude stable enough to predict it accurately for a given launch?

blattimwind 9y ago

It might affect short wave propagation and things like atmospheric electricity.