The findings of Russian scientists: the explosion of the Starship rocket pierced the ionospheric layer of the atmosphere
A high-altitude explosion of one of SpaceX’s large Starship rockets last year temporarily left a hole in Earth’s upper atmosphere, a new study by Russian scientists suggests. Researchers say that this is the first time that this type of atmospheric disturbance is caused by a man-made explosion.
On November 18, 2023 (November 27, 1402), SpaceX launched its superheavy Starship spacecraft, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, for the second time from the Starbase Production and Test Facility in Bocachica, South Texas.
About four minutes after liftoff, the superheavy, or first stage of the rocket (the large, lower part that houses the main engines), separated from the upper stage as planned; But shortly after, before it could land on the ground, it unexpectedly exploded. Then, four minutes later, the remains of the rocket were destroyed in a larger explosion at an altitude of approximately 150 kilometers above the ground.
In a new study published August 26 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, researchers show that the second Starship explosion temporarily created one of the largest holes ever detected in the atmosphere’s ionosphere. In this layer, which is spread between the height of 50 km and almost a thousand km from the surface of the earth, gases are ionized or by losing electrons, they become plasma.
Numerous satellites and international ground stations detected the ionospheric hole caused by the starship explosion
“Usually, such cavities are formed as a result of chemical processes in the ionosphere and as a result of interaction with engine fuel,” said Yury Yasiukovich, an ionospheric physicist at the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISTP) and lead author of the study, as quoted by the Russian state news agency Tass. He added that this is the first time that the ionospheric hole has been created by a “catastrophic phenomenon” such as a man-made explosion.
According to the authors of the study, multiple satellites and international ground stations detected the disturbance in question. However, the resulting cavity only lasted for about 30 to 40 minutes and then completely healed. The researchers could not determine the maximum size of the hole.
Ionospheric holes that are caused by human activities are not a new phenomenon. Scientists have long known that chemicals in rocket fuel, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, can react with ionized oxygen atoms, triggering them to temporarily recombine, creating a gap or hole in the ionospheric plasma sea.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets are particularly prone to creating ionospheric holes, both during the separation of the first and second stages immediately after launch and as they defuel during reentry. When the atoms inside the holes deionize and turn back into plasma, they emit a red aurora-like light, creating brilliant light effects in the night sky. Astronomers have called this phenomenon the so-called SpaceX auroras
But in the newly investigated case, the ionospheric hole was created “due to the shock wave created by the exploding starship,” according to the researchers. This explosion temporarily scattered the free electrons in the ionosphere and actually removed the normal plasma characteristic from it. Any amount of rocket fuel that did not burn immediately in the explosion may have enhanced the atmospheric turbulence and extended its duration. But this was not the main cause of the hole; As a result, after the return of the plasma, the aurora-like light effects did not occur.
Researchers say that the effects of ionospheric holes are not well understood and require more research; But they add that new ionospheric phenomena like the recent one provide a rare opportunity to learn more about the plasma-filled region in the planet’s upper atmosphere.
In the incident of last November, for the second time, one of the 120-meter rockets of SpaceX exploded during the flight test. In the first test in April of last year, the Starship spun out of control at an altitude of nearly 30 kilometers from the surface, about four minutes after liftoff, and deliberately self-destructed at the command of SpaceX.
The researchers noted that a similar ionospheric hole did not occur after the April explosion; Because that incident happened at a much lower altitude and as a result, its shock waves did not reach the ionosphere.
