DEBI

DAYTONA BEACH, FL, - A team of researchers from the Atmospheric Physics Research Lab (APRL) under the direction of Dr. Peter Erdman, a professor from the Physical Sciences Department, had another successful sounding rocket launch in June, 2003. The DEBI (Dual Mode Experiment Bow-shock Interaction) payload lifted off from Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, VA at about 3am.

A five year project, the instruments for the DEBI scientific payload were designed and built exclusively at Embry Riddle by a team of Engineering Physics undergraduates and graduates.

DEBI was shot through the atmosphere at mach 10 to measure the resulting hypersonic shockwave. Electrons ripped from their atoms in the shockwave create a super-heated plasma. The air just millimeters from the nose tip approached the surface temperature of the sun.

The goal of the experiment was to measure the signature of the infrared spectrum of the light being emitted from the shockwave in the wavelength region between 1 and 4.5 microns. A radiometer, scanning spectrometer, and a pair of ultraviolet photometers were used to collect the data onboard the rocket. To decrease the background noise of the detectors they were chilled down to minus 155 Celsius at launch. The combination of 40 G’s acceleration and the extreme cold of the payloads provided many obstacles for the team to overcome.

The purpose of this flight is to provide unique data for modeling the chemistry and physics of hypersonic shockwaves. Our understanding of hypersonic shocks is limited. A better understanding of this phenomenon has a variety of applications including heat shield design used for vehicles entering planetary atmospheres.

The DEBI payload was accelerated to mach 10 by a pair of NASA high performance booster rockets. The payload achieved top speed and sampled all its data within a minute of liftoff. The payload then continued to a peak altitude of about 800km and disintegrated when it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. The payload transmitted back all of its collected data during the flight. The Space Dynamics Laboratory in North Logan, Utah, provided systems integration – power system, telemetry, and mechanical support systems. Funding for this project came from the Army Research Office.