Image Credit: NASA NASA and SpaceX successfully captured thermal images of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on its descent after it launched t...
 |
| Image Credit: NASA |
NASA and SpaceX successfully captured thermal images of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on its descent after it launched the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, on September 21, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The data from these thermal images will be used for future missions to the surface of Mars, NASA says. The first high-fidelity data set of a rocket system firing into its direction of travel while traveling at supersonic speeds in Mars-relevant conditions will enable system engineers to extract important lessons for the application and infusion of supersonic retro-propulsion into future NASA missions.
NASA equipped two aircraft with advanced instrumentation to document re-entry of the rocket's first stage. The first stage is the part of the rocket that is ignited at launch and burns through the rocket's ascent until it runs out of propellant, at which point it is discarded from the second stage and returns to Earth. During its return, or descent, NASA captured quality infrared and high definition images and monitored changes in the smoke plume as the engines were turned on and off.
NASA's Scientifically Calibrated In-Flight Imagery (SCIFLI) project team at NASA's Langley Research Center inHampton, Virginia, had their eyes, cameras and telescopes trained on the Falcon with the help of two long-range aircraft provided by NASA and the U.S. Navy.
A NASA WB-57, a twin jet engine high-altitude research aircraft from Johnson, was equipped with a long-range infrared optical system to capture the images. It is a unique full-motion video camera system that is gimbal-mounted on the nose of the WB-57. It collects full-color high definition and infrared video.
A US Navy NP-3D Orion aircraft from the Naval Air Systems Command Weapons Division's Air Test and Evaluation Squadron-30 at Point Mugu,California, was equipped with a long-range infrared optical system and also took thermal images of the launch.
On launch day, the WB-57 and NP-3D Orion reached their observation locations about 50 miles from the projected rocket trajectory.
After launch, the rocket emitted enough thermal energy for the plane's infrared cameras to catch a glimpse. Both flight crews then worked to obtain data as the first stage descended at supersonic speeds off the coast of Georgia.
