The rocket’s burnt fuel created a hole in the ionosphere – Photo: Live Science
According to the site, the launch of the Victus Knox satellite into Earth’s atmosphere was not widely announced or broadcast live and was announced only 27 hours in advance, taking the space exploration community by complete surprise. Went. Life Sciences.
Firefly Aerospace, a company contracted by the US Space Force, launched its Alpha rocket on September 14 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The rocket carries the US Space Force’s Victus Knox satellite. This satellite will carry out a space surveillance mission, helping the Space Force monitor what is happening in the orbital environment.
The rocket suddenly attracted everyone’s attention after creating a huge plume of smoke that could be seen from a distance of more than 1,600 km.
But after the smoke cleared, a faint red halo remained in the sky, indicating that the missile had created a hole in the ionosphere in the upper atmosphere surrounding the Earth.
The ionosphere is the upper layer of the atmosphere, the final boundary of the Earth. It is a group of layers of the Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of 60 – 1,500 km and is an important part of the Earth’s atmospheric composition. It holds information about the Earth’s activities in the solar system in particular and the universe in general.
This is not the first “ionosphere violation” observed this year.
In July, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch also created a giant blood-red patch over Arizona, visible from hundreds of kilometers away.
Firefly Aerospace has been awarded the contract to launch the Victus Knox satellite in October 2022. According to Lt. Col. McKenzie Birchenough, officer of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command, the space surveillance mission is intended to demonstrate the United States’ ability to quickly place satellites into orbit without notice when and where they are needed.
