Preliminary Study into the Ion Wake Behind a Cylindrical Payload Flying in theUpper Mesosphere/Lower Thermosphere Region

摘要

Calculations of the flow regime for a TURBO payload flying between 80 and 90 kmhas been carried out. The flow was found to have a very low Reynolds number. Lying in a flow regime between continuous flow and free molecule flow, it is difficult to model such a flow. A plasma simulation facility was used to perform initial experiments on a cylinder representing a rocket payload flying at about 100 km. The influence on the wake by changing geometry, body potential and velocity was investigated. The cylinder was set at different angles of attack. The wake pattern was found to change considerably, even for small angles of attack.