sounding rocket

sounding rocket
a rocket equipped with instruments for making meteorological observations in the upper atmosphere.
[1940-45]

* * *

also called  Probe Rocket,  

      any unmanned rocket that is designed to probe atmospheric conditions and structure at heights (80–160 km [50–100 miles]) beyond the reach of airplanes and balloons but impractical to explore by means of artificial satellites. A sounding rocket usually has a vertical trajectory as it travels through the upper atmosphere carrying a payload of scientific instruments.

      The sounding rocket program of the International Geophysical Year (1957–58) brought a number of results: the detection of X rays and auroral particles high above Earth; photographs of the solar ultraviolet spectrum from above the masking layers of the Earth's lower atmosphere; and records of atmospheric pressure, temperature, composition, and density to altitudes of nearly 320 km. Sounding rockets have also determined regions of intense turbulence below 96 km altitude. In addition, they permit the dynamic testing of prototype instruments designed to be used in satellites and space probes.

      Sounding rockets range in size, performance, and cost from simple, single-stage solid-propellant rockets that can lift a 5.4-kilogram (12-pound) meteorologic payload 60 km to two-stage solid-propellant vehicles capable of lifting a 22-kilogram payload to 3,000 km.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sounding rocket — A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, it… …   Wikipedia

  • sounding rocket — noun a research rocket used to obtain information about the atmosphere at various altitudes • Hypernyms: ↑test rocket, ↑research rocket, ↑test instrument vehicle * * * noun : a rocket used to obtain information concerning the condition of the… …   Useful english dictionary

  • sounding rocket — /ˈsaʊndɪŋ rɒkət/ (say sownding rokuht) noun 1. Meteorology a research rocket used to obtain meteorological information from the upper atmosphere. 2. Aerospace a rocket used to explore regions up to 6500 km above the surface of the earth …  

  • sounding rocket — noun Date: circa 1945 a rocket used especially to obtain information concerning atmospheric conditions at various altitudes …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Zenit sounding rocket — For other uses, see Zenit (disambiguation). Zenit is the name for a sounding rocket developed in Switzerland. The Zenit was a single step rocket with a length of 5.6 meters, a diameter of 0.42 meter and a takeoff weight of 610 kilograms.… …   Wikipedia

  • Sounding — can refer to:*Determination of the depth of water usually in the sea. Originally using a weighted line called a lead line, more recently using **Echo sounding *Whale sounding, the act of diving by whales *an atmospheric sounding *various methods… …   Wikipedia

  • Rocket — This article is about vehicles powered by rocket engines. For other uses, see Rocket (disambiguation). A Soyuz U, at Baikonur Site 1/5 A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engi …   Wikipedia

  • sounding — sounding1 [soun′diŋ] adj. 1. making or giving forth sound 2. resonant; sonorous 3. high sounding; bombastic sounding2 [soun′diŋ] n. 1. a) the act of measuring the depth or examining the bottom of a body of water, etc. with or as with …   English World dictionary

  • Rocket experiments in the area of Cuxhaven — Between 1933 and 1964 numerous rocket experiments were carried out in the area of Cuxhaven, Germany.1930s and 1940s*In April 1933 Gerhard Zucker launched a mail rocket, which was to fly from Duhnen to the island of Neuwerk, but which fell to… …   Wikipedia

  • Rocket garden — [[Image:Nasa rocketgarden.JPG|300px|right|thumb|Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Rocket Garden in 2004. From left to right: Jupiter C/Redstone, Mercury/Redstone, Thor, Mercury/Atlas, Gemini/Titan II. is a display of missiles, sounding rockets …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”