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- ItemValidation of the radiation pattern of the VHF MST radar MAARSY by scattering off a sounding rocket's payload(Göttingen : Copernicus Publications, 2015) Renkwitz, T.; Schult, C.; Latteck, R.; Stober, G.The Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System (MAARSY) is a monostatic radar with an active phased array antenna designed for studies of phenomena in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. Its design, in particular the flexible beam forming and steering capability, makes it a powerful instrument to perform observations with high angular and temporal resolution. For the configuration and analysis of experiments carried out with the radar it is essential to have knowledge of the actual radiation pattern. Therefore, during the time since the radar was put into operation various active and passive experiments have been performed to gain knowledge of the radiation pattern. With these experiments the beam pointing accuracy, the beam width and phase distribution of the antenna array were investigated. Here, the use of a sounding rocket and its payload as a radar target is described which was launched in the proximity of the radar. The analysis of these observations allows the detailed investigation of the two-way radiation pattern for different antenna array sizes and beam pointing positions.
- ItemD region observations by VHF and HF radars during a rocket campaign at Andøya dedicated to investigations of PMWE(Göttingen : Copernicus Publications, 2019) Latteck, Ralph; Renkwitz, Toralf; Strelnikov, BorisIn April 2018 the PMWE1 sounding rocket campaign was conducted at the Andøya Space Center involving coordinated measurements with rockets and ground instruments to measure parameters relevant for testing of the existing theories of polar mesospheric winter echo (PMWE) formation. The Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System (MAARSY) was operated to detect PMWE with multiple beam directions to detect favorable launch conditions. A dedicated experiment configuration with five different beam positions was used to point the radar beam along the planned trajectory of the payload. This special radar experiment allowed to obtain basic information about the spatial structure of the PMWE and its dynamical behavior around the flight of the two rockets. PMWE with signal strengths between 10-17 and 1015 m1 have been observed by MAARSY during the whole campaign period, starting with a moderate occurrence at the beginning which decreased towards the end of the campaign. Furthermore real common-volume observations by rocket instruments and radar soundings have been carried out at PMWE altitudes on up-leg and down-leg of the rocket flights. The Saura MF radar was operated during both flights probing the mesosphere with a multiple beam scan experiment to derive horizontal winds and electron density profiles. The obtained PMWE characteristics as signal strength and spectral width of the received radar signals as well as estimated horizontal winds and electron densities are presented with particular emphasis to the launch times of the sounding rockets. © Author(s) 2019.