In-Situ Rocket Investigation of a Mid-Latitude Sporadic-E Layer

In August 2022, the Space and Atmospheric Instrumentation Laboratory at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University launched SpEED Demon, a tech demo sounding rocket from Wallops Flight Facility. The rocket payload was equipped with a suite of instruments capable of measuring both relative and absolute plasma densities. The main payload carried a Sweeping Langmuir Probe (SLP), 6 individual multi-Needle Langmuir Probes (mNLP), and a Planar Ion Probe (PIP). This instrument package provided 5kHz electron density measurements through a Sporadic-E layer. This work presents plasma density, electron
temperature, and relative spacecraft charging. These in-situ measurements were supported by ground-based data from both Wallops’ VIPIR Ionosonde and MIT Haystack Observatory’s Incoherent Scatter Radar at Millstone Hill. Anomalies during the flight are also presented. Effects due to magnetic field alignment and surface contamination are included.