INSTRUMENTED ROCKET WIND PROFILER

AN INNOVATIVE INSTRUMENTED ROCKET FOR MEASURING WIND PROFILES IN SUPPORT OF AEROSPACE VEHICLE OPERATIONS IS PROPOSED. IMMEDIATE APPLICATION IS TO NASA'S STS OPERATIONSALTHOUGH MANY OTHER APPLICATIONS CAN BE IDENTIFIED. TECHNIQUES FOR MEASURING STS LAUNCH WINDS CLOSE TO THE SCHEDULED LAUNCH TIME AND LAUNCH PATH WOULD REDUCE THE UNCERTAINITY MARGIN OF CALCULATED WIND LOADS, INCREASE LAUNCH PROBABILITY (7-8%), AND DECREASE THE RISK OF LAUNCHING UNDER ADVERSE WIND CONDITIONS. SHUTTLE PRELAUNCH WINDS ARE TYPICALLY MEASURED WITH SLOW RISING JIMSPHERE BALLOONS RELEASED SOME 3.5 HOURS BEFORE LAUNCH, WHICH CAN DRIFT 10 MILES ON A DAY OF STRONG WINDS. RECENTLY, NASA HAS SHOWN THAT WINDS OF EQUAL ACCURACY AND RESOLUTION AS THOSE OBTAINED BY A JIMSPHERE CAN BE OBTAINED WITH AN INSTRUMENTED AIRCRAFT IN APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES. HOWEVER, THE INITIAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT FOR A DEDICATED AIRCRAFT AND ITS OPERATION COSTS ARE LARGE. ALSO, IT IS CURRENTLY NECESSARY TO MEASURE THE AIRCRAFT GROUND SPEED WITH A RADAR BECAUSE THE INS ACCURACY IS INSUFFICIENT. A SMALL INSTRUMENTED ROCKET CAN BE DIRECTED SPECIFICALLY ALONG THE SHUTTLE LAUNCH PATH AND TELEMETRY WINDSPEEDS WELL WITHIN THE 10 MINUTE TIME FRAME. ITS SHORT FLIGHT DURATION AND STRAIGHT-LINE TRAJECTORY ALLOWS GROUND SPEEDS TO BE MEASURED ACCURATELY WITH AN INS. TODAY'S ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY WILL BE APPLIED TO DEVELOP AN INEXPENSIVE INSTRUMENTED ROCKET FOR WIND MEASUREMENT.