Low-SWaP real-time plasma sensor for hypersonic flight

Vehicles flying at hypersonic velocities within the atmosphere become enveloped in a “plasma sheath” that prevents radio communication, telemetry, and most importantly, GPS signal reception for navigation. This radio “blackout” period has been a problem for many decades. A first step to developing appropriate mitigation methods is to detect and quantify in real time the presence of the plasma sheath, especially the electron number density, which directly relates to the shielding effectiveness of the sheath. Our solution is to utilize a DC magnet and closely spaced magnetometer, in which the magnetic field lines fringing into the plasma will create charge separation and eddy currents that in turn induce their own magnetic fields, counter-oriented to those imposed by the original magnet and detectable by the magnetometer as an apparent and measurable decrease in field strength. Optowares will leverage its previous experience with using ExB electromagnetic manipulation of plasma density and optical methods of plasma density mapping, and subcontract with the University of Colorado-Boulder to utilize its expertise in hypersonic modeling and simulations.