STRATOSPHERIC OZONE PERTURBATION BY SUB-MICRON A1203 PARTICLES

ALUMINIZED COMPOSITE SOLID ROCKET MOTORE (SRM'S) ARE A KEY COMPONENT OF US SPACE LAUNCH AND STRATEGIC ROCKET SYSTEMS. THESE SYSTEMS, WHICH INCLUDE THE SPACE SHUTTLE'S STRAP-ON BOOSTERS, PRODUCE COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF ALUMINA (A1203) EXHAUST PARTICLES IN BOTH THE MICRON AND SUBMICRON SIZE REGIONS. A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THESE PARTICLES ARE DEPOSITED IN THE LOWER AND MID-STRATOSPHERE WHERE THERE IS SIGNIFICANT CONCERN THAT THEY MAY CATALYZE CHEMISTRY HARMFUL TO THE STRATOPSHERIC OZONE LAYER. THIS PHASE I PROPOSAL DIRECTLY ADDRESSES THE QUESTION OF WHETHER SRM ALUMINA EXHAUST P0ARTICLES CAN CATALYZE THE PHOTODISSOCIATION OF THE KEY STRATOPSHERIC CHLOROFLOURO-AND BROMOCARBON COMPOUNDS WHICH SUPPLY THE BULK OF THE HALOGEN OXIDE RADICALS CURRENTLY PRODUCING STRATOSPHERIC OZONE DEPLETION BY APPLYING ADVANCED SURFACE DHEMISTRY ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES TO MEASURE HALOCARBON STICKING COEFFICIENTS AND ULTRAVIOLET PHOTODISSOCIATION CROSS-SECTIONS ON ALUMINA EXHAUST PARTICLE SURFACES. POTENTIAL PHASE II EXPERIMENTS WHICH WOULD EXPLORE A1203 EXHAUST PARTICLE CATALYSIS OF C10X AND NO X RESERVOIR COMPOUNDS ARE ALSO DISCUSSED, ALONG WITH METHODS TO PREDICT THE IMPACT OF ALUMINA PARTICLE CATALYZED CHEMISTRY ON STRATOSPHERIC OZONE DEPLETION.