Download or read book Effects of the Reentry Plasma Sheath on Microwave Antenna Performance written by J. Leon Poirier and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Trailblazer II rocket was launched on 18 June 1967 from the NASA wallops Island (Va.) Rocket Test Facility to study the properties of the reentry plasma sheath and its effects on microwave antenna performance. The reentry payload consisted of three major subsystems: a plasma diagnostic system, an S- band transponder system, and an X-band telemetry system. The flight data yielded (1) measurements of the influence of the plasma on the radiation pattern distortion, signal attenuation, and impedance mismatch for an S-band slot antenna located at the stagnation point of the nose cone; (2) measurements of the plasma sheath effects on the interantenna coupling between two S-band antennas on the nose cone; and (3) determinations of the electron density profile and gradients in the boundary layer about the nose cone.