Book Description

A liquid-helium-cooled, long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) spectrometer was successfully launched by the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory onboard a Black Brant VC rocket (A18.006-2) on 22 Mar 1973 from the University of Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range at Chatanika, Alaska. This flight was part of the Defense Nuclear Agency ICECAP 73 Program. The spectrometer, which employs a circular-variable filter (CVF), was developed by AFGL and Utah State University and has provided the first measurements of the altitude profile of the infrared spectrum of the upper-atmospheric emissions between 7 and 24 micrometers. During an IBC II aurora, data were obtained on the 15-micrometer carbon dioxide emission from 65 to 150 km and on the 9.6 micrometer ozone emission between 45 and 100 km. In addition, emission data on the long-wavelength wing of the 6.3 micrometer water band between 6.7 and 7.6 micrometers were also obtained between 50 and 75 km. Above 100 km, significant unidentified emission was observed at 9.3 micrometers with weaker features at 6.9, 7.3, 8.0, 11.1, and 12.3 micrometers. This report documents in detail the data obtained along with the rocket and payload performance, the auroral conditions at launch and a comparison with theoretical models.