Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) dumps chemicals in space while a ground-based microwave antenna in Arecibo, Puerto Rico heats them to study and modify the ionosphere. The Arecibo heater was later destroyed by a hurricane then rebuilt as the Enhanced HF Ionospheric Heating Instrument. [1]
The Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite, CRRES, was a joint program of NASA and the Department of Defense launched in July of 1990. The spacecraft was placed in a highly elliptical orbit and conducted uniqely active experiments involving the release of chemicals at various locations where the complex interactions between solar radiation and the fields and particles in Earth's magnetosphere could be observed. Roger R. Anderson of The University of Iowa was the PI of the Plasma Wave Experiment on CRRES which was part of the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory's SPACERAD project. The mission ended in October of 1991. [2]
CRRES Program Experiments
Release Release
Experiment no. Chemical Location Altitude Period
____________________________________________________________________________________
SATELLITE EXPERIMENTS
Critical Velocity
Critical Velocity G-13 Strontium Am. Samoa 270-360 mi. Sept. 1990
Ionization Barium
G-14 Calcium Am. Samoa 270-360 mi. Sept. 1990
Barium
High-Altitude Magnetospheric
Diagmagnetic Cavity, G-1 Barium N. America 1.3 Re* Jan-Feb 1991
Plasma Coupling G-2 Barium N. America 1.8 Re Jan-Feb 1991
G-3 Barium N. America 3.5 Jan-Feb 1991
G-4 Barium N. America 5.5 Jan-Feb 1991
Stimulated Electron/ G-5 Lithium N. America >6.0 Re Jan-Feb 1991
Aurora Production
Stimulated Ion- G-6 Lithium N.America >6.0 Re Jan-Feb 1991
Cyclotron Waves
and Ion Precip.
Ion Tracing G-7 Lithium N. America >6.0 Re Jan-Feb 1991
and Acceleration
Velocity Distribution G-9 Barium Caribbean June-July 1991
Relaxation
Caribbean Perigee
Grav. Instability G-8 Barium Caribbean 270-480 mi. June-July 1991
Field Equipotentiality
Field Line G-10 Barium Caribbean 270-480 mi June-July 1991
Tracing and G-11 Barium Caribbean 270-480 mi June-July 1991
Equipotentiality G-11A Barium Caribbean 270-480 mi June-July 1991
G-12 Barium Caribbean 270-480 mi June-July 1991
G-12A Barium Caribbean 270-480 mi June-July 1991
*Re=Earth radii
CRRES PROGRAM EXPERIMENTS
Release Release
Experiment no. Chemical Location Altitude Period
__________________________________________________________________________________
SOUNDING ROCKET EXPERIMENTS
Kwajalein
Equatorial AA-5 SF6* Kwajalein 240 mi Jul.-Aug. 1990
Instability Seeding AA-6A SF6 Kwajalein 150 mi Jul.-Aug. 1990
AA-6B SF6 Kwajalein 150 mi Jul.-Aug. 1990
Puerto Rican Rockets
F-Region AA-1 Barium Puerto Rico 150 mi June-July 1991
Irregularity Evolution
HF Ionospheric AA-2 Barium Puerto Rico 150 mi June-July 1991
Modification of
a Barium Plasma
E-Region AA-7 Barium Puerto Rico 150 mi June-July 1991
Image Formation
HF-Induced Ion AA-3 Barium Puerto Rico 90-240 mi June-July 1991
Striation/Differential Barium Puerto Rico 90-240 mi June-July 1991
Ion Expansion Barium Puerto Rico 90-240 mi June-July 1991
SF6 Puerto Rico 90-240 mi June-July 1991
Ionospeheric AA-4 SF6 Puerto Rico 210-240 mi June-July 1991
Focused Heating
*SF6=Sulfur hexafluoride [3]
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