NASA Coqui
Encyclopedia
The Coquí and Coquí 2 campaign involved a sequence of sounding rocket
launches in order to study the dynamics of the E- and F-region ionosphere
and increase our understanding of layering phenomena, such as sporadic E layers. The studies were supported by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and carried out in 1992 and 1998 respectively.
NASA launched sounding rockets from the Puerto Rican
coastal town of Vega Baja, about 20 miles west of San Juan
. Among the stated goals were to study how the Earth's ionosphere reacts to naturally occurring phenomena by artificially simulating these phenomena using a high-frequency (HF) radar and study the ionospheric response with both the Arecibo Observatory
ionospheric radar and with instruments and chemical tracers carried aboard the sounding rockets. The campaign was named for the Coqui frog
, which is common on Puerto Rico.
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
launches in order to study the dynamics of the E- and F-region ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
and increase our understanding of layering phenomena, such as sporadic E layers. The studies were supported by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and carried out in 1992 and 1998 respectively.
NASA launched sounding rockets from the Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
coastal town of Vega Baja, about 20 miles west of San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. Among the stated goals were to study how the Earth's ionosphere reacts to naturally occurring phenomena by artificially simulating these phenomena using a high-frequency (HF) radar and study the ionospheric response with both the Arecibo Observatory
Arecibo Observatory
The Arecibo Observatory is a radio telescope near the city of Arecibo in Puerto Rico. It is operated by SRI International under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation...
ionospheric radar and with instruments and chemical tracers carried aboard the sounding rockets. The campaign was named for the Coqui frog
Coquí
The Common Coquí or Coquí is a frog native to Puerto Rico belonging to the Eleutherodactylus genus of the Leptodactylidae family. The species is named for the loud sound the males make at night. This sound serves two purposes...
, which is common on Puerto Rico.