Faculty Mentor
Kshitija Deshpande
Abstract
Sky plots displaying GPS satellite and rocket launch trajectories are developed to determine the spatial correlation between satellites that display ionospheric scintillations and heavy thrust-producing rockets. The trajectories of three major Falcon Heavy and Artemis 1 rocket launches are used within this paper. Python code is utilized to compute and plot Ionospheric Pierce Point (IPP) coordinates which are then used to produce satellite trajectories from the receiver's point of view. Rocket latitude, longitude, and altitude data is integrated within the code to provide extensive detail into the location of the rocket in relation to GPS satellites that displayed scintillations from prior high-rate data collected during launch time. The corresponding plots show scintillation-displaying GPS satellites to be in close latitudinal and longitudinal proximity to the rocket trajectory. The spatial proximity of such satellites indicates that major rocket launches can incur disruptions in the signals of local satellites.
Recommended Citation
Dey, Ishaan and Deshpande, Kshitija
(2025)
"Developing Sky Plots Of Rocket Launches From GPS Scintillation Data,"
Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 8
, Article 9.
Available at:
https://commons.erau.edu/beyond/vol8/iss1/9