Rocket and ground-based studies of near-earth plasmas

Don Hampton

UA Fairbanks

Friday, September 13, 2024

2:00pm

NW17-218 Hybrid

PSFC Seminars

Abstract: Since the dawn of the age of rocketry, sub-orbital rockets have been used to examine fundamental questions about the space environment above our atmosphere. These sounding rockets are still used as focused and episodic platforms for understanding the highly complex interactions between solar wind, our magnetosphere and their impacts on the high altitude neutral atmosphere. These modifications have impacts on modern infrastructure including induced currents in power grids, increase in density in the upper atmosphere and disruptions in space to ground communications. While the rockets have provided key observations, the system complexity is forcing researchers to include a wide range of observations to answer more detailed questions. In this talk I'll touch on recent NASA sounding rocket projects, including technology and results that are helping improve our understanding of our ionosphere and improving our ability to model it.

 

Bio: Born in Texas, Don Hampton moved to Alaska to pursue graduate degrees in Physics in 1987, and completed a MS and PhD in looking at aurora and plasma processes in near-earth space. After a stint at Ball Aerospace in Boulder CO, he returned to the Geophysical Institute at UAF in 2006 and continued operating ground-based cameras to observe aurora in conjunction with the new Advance Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar facility at Poker Flat, and in support of suborbital sounding rocket investigations of near-Earth space plasma.