6
$\begingroup$

File footage of a sounding rocket with a dark, non-luminescent, sooty exhaust with mach-diamond-like oscillations is shown in the video 1957-1959 IBM 704 Computer - Vanguard Satellite Program "Science in Space" (Burroughs Datatron) NASA starting at 03:28 (alternate version of the video here).

These oscillations are normally seen in bright, luminescent exhaust:

I've never seen black, sooty exhaust show this oscillation behavior.

Question: Why does this sounding rocket have black sooty exhaust with mach-diamond-like oscillations? Is this unusual?

Is this something that's been seen regularly in the past and not surprising, or is this some unusual phenomenon?

Screenshots:

screenshot showing sounding rocket and dark exhaust with oscillations from "1957-1959 IBM 704 Computer - Vanguard Satellite Program 'Science in Space' (Burroughs Datatron) NASA" https://youtu.be/IFTsGvRPBFY?t=208

screenshot showing sounding rocket and dark exhaust with oscillations from "1957-1959 IBM 704 Computer - Vanguard Satellite Program 'Science in Space' (Burroughs Datatron) NASA" https://youtu.be/IFTsGvRPBFY?t=208

screenshot showing sounding rocket and dark exhaust with oscillations from "1957-1959 IBM 704 Computer - Vanguard Satellite Program 'Science in Space' (Burroughs Datatron) NASA" https://youtu.be/IFTsGvRPBFY?t=208

screenshot showing sounding rocket and dark exhaust with oscillations from "1957-1959 IBM 704 Computer - Vanguard Satellite Program 'Science in Space' (Burroughs Datatron) NASA"

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
8
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ That looks to be the Nike-Apache: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike-Apache If that's true, then the booster is using solid propellant. I can't answer why the exhaust plume looks like that, and a quick search reveals no footage of other launches. One thing that comes to mind is that the oscillations might be an artifact of the shutter and film, or it may just be footage of an early launch with a more unstable combustion. $\endgroup$
    – paulmrest
    Apr 5, 2022 at 1:31
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ Exhaust is black not red, in a color photo of a Nike Orion launch, which uses the same booster as Nike-Apache AFAIK. $\endgroup$
    – Camille Goudeseune
    Apr 5, 2022 at 18:12
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Interesting question! My guess would be that the "sooty" exhaust indeed contains soot, as a result of oxygen-deficient combustion. The exhaust temperature also has to be quite low, otherwise the soot would be glowing even before it reignites (but that might be partly due to rapid expansion in the nozzle). All this could presumably be verified if we knew the propellant composition used in the Nike booster, but that seems to be tricky to find. I assume it used to be classified, since it was developed for military use, and for all I know it might technically still be. $\endgroup$
    – Ilmari Karonen
    Apr 17, 2022 at 16:01
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ … I did manage to find this page on Ed Thelen's Nike Missile Web Site which claims the Nike booster used a "double base" type propellant, and gives a "typical recipe" for such. But the given recipe seems to have almost enough oxygen for full stoichiometric combustion (i.e. way too much to explain the sooty exhaust, AFAICT), and indeed is claimed to produce "a lovely pink flame and NO SMOKE" (capitalization original). Of course, it could even be possible that different versions of the Nike booster used different propellant mixtures. $\endgroup$
    – Ilmari Karonen
    Apr 17, 2022 at 16:03
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ The search continues: I found an environmental impact statement for the NASA Sounding Rocket Program from 1998 (not 1973 as the linked Google Books page claims) that lists the Nike propellant composition as "nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, triacetin, 2-nitrodiphenylamine, diphenyl-amino-methyl substituted phenols, lead stearate, graphite". Alas, no proportions are given, though they could perhaps be estimated from the listed exhaust emissions. (FWIW: 182kg CO, 61kg CO2, 44kg H2O, 41kg N2, 6kg H2, 6kg Pb) $\endgroup$
    – Ilmari Karonen
    Apr 23, 2022 at 22:04

0

Reset to default

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.