Elon Musk: Elon Musk’s SpaceX recently made headlines when its Falcon 9 rocket launched on July 19 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. However, this launch was not without some interesting consequences.
According to a report by spaceweather.com, the rocket created a temporary hole in the ionosphere surrounding our planet during its ascent.
The ionosphere is a crucial layer of Earth’s atmosphere located on the edge of space and is filled with charged particles known as ions. It plays a significant role in various atmospheric phenomena, including the creation of auroras during geomagnetic storms.
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The red glow observed during the launch was an indication of the formation of an ionospheric “hole.”
Space physicist Jeff Baumgardner from Boston University carefully reviewed the footage of the launch and shed light on this phenomenon. He explained that it is a well-studied occurrence when rockets burn their engines at altitudes ranging from 200 to 300 km above Earth’s surface.
Mr. Baumgardner further elaborated that the footage from the July 19th launch showed the second stage engine burning at around 286 km near the F-region peak for that time of day, making it highly possible that an ionospheric “hole” was formed.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is renowned for its reusability and efficiency in transporting people and payloads into Earth’s orbit and beyond. With a history of 240 launches and 198 successful landings, it has made significant strides in the space exploration industry.
This is not the first time such an incident involving the Falcon 9 rocket has occurred.
According to Science Times, similar events took place during previous launches. In August 2017, Falcon 9 was launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base carrying the FORMOSAT-5 payload. Due to the rocket’s low weight, it followed a vertical path rather than a parallel trajectory to Earth’s surface.
The launch created shockwaves, which ruptured a hole in the plasma of the ionosphere, resulting in a similar impact.
Additionally, the Falcon 9 launch on June 19, 2022, also saw the creation of an ionospheric “hole,” adding to the pattern of this phenomenon.
