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| The SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket |
DARPA inadvertently invents a new rocket "radar" thanks to SpaceX.A routine test turned into an unexpected discovery when DARPA's atmospheric sensors detected something unexpected. — the result of the fall of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Listening to the atmosphere, a group of researchers from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) discovered unexpected disturbances caused by a SpaceX rocket plummeting through the atmosphere toward the landing site.DARPA's AtmoSense program aims to use the Earth's atmosphere as a global sensor, measuring acoustic and electromagnetic waves propagating through the atmosphere and trying to track them to a specific disturbance event that occurred on Earth. Thus, DARPA hopes to be able to track underground explosions or other threats to national security using signals detected in the atmosphere.
During the last round of atmospheric listening, the team used AtmoSense to study the sound waves created by controlled explosions in New Mexico. While carrying out this work, the team behind the program made an unplanned discovery after noticing something unusual in the sensor data.
"When the team studied the data, they saw a huge drop in the so—called total electron content, which puzzled them," he said in a statement. Michael Nayak, AtmoSense Program Manager. "Imagine that you have water flowing through a hose. It's a stream of electrons, and if you put your fist in front of the hose, you'll notice a significant drop in the volume of water coming out of the hose.
"After analyzing the data, the team was able to track the disturbance to the return of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which occurred on the same day as the test. "Then they decided to extract other data on SpaceX's return, from dozens of launches, to see if they could detect a similar drop in electrons," Nayak added. "This phenomenon is very repeatable."By using AtmoSense, the team inadvertently discovered a new method for identifying objects returning through the Earth's atmosphere, according to Nayak. The researchers behind the program will share the latest AtmoSense results during the upcoming virtual workshop, which will be held from April 15th to 17th.
The Falcon 9 is the hardest—working rocket in the game, with over 450 missions to its credit. SpaceX's Falcon 9 is a partially reusable two—stage rocket that launches payloads into orbit and then returns to Earth for a controlled landing, allowing its first stage to be restored and reused.
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