A Student Sounding Rocket Experiment to Probe Electron Density in the Lower Ionosphere
Abstract
Earth's ionosphere is primarily generated by the Sun's ionization of atoms in the upper atmosphere. This plasma environment is highly dynamic, exhibits strong spatial and temporal, variations and significantly impacts power systems, navigation, and satellite and ground communications. The University of Delaware Ionospheric Probe (UDIP) was developed as a hands-on learning experience for University of Delaware students on the ionosphere itself and on the development of space technology. Students (mostly undergraduates) have led all aspects of the experiment including mission planning, electronics development, mechanical development, software development, and scientific data analysis. The present study is intended as a guide to readers on how the development of space and near-space flight missions can be successfully incorporated into an undergraduate physics curriculum. The fourth version of the experiment (UDIP-4) flew along with student experiments from across the USA on the 2024 RockSat-C sounding rocket, which was launched from NASA Wallops Flight Facility. During the flight, UDIP-4's Langmuir probe successfully measured the ionosphere's density profile -- electron density as a function of altitude -- up to an apogee of 114 km. Though the measured density profile agrees well overall with the predictions of theoretical models, UDIP-4 identified a thin layer of enhanced electron density at an altitude of approximately 110 km that is consistent with a sporadic E layer.
Related
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BibTeX
@misc{goodwill2026student,
title = {{A Student Sounding Rocket Experiment to Probe Electron Density in the Lower Ionosphere}},
author = {Joshua Goodwill and Timothy Tomaszewski and Jarrod Bieber and Carson P. Brown and Ashton Southwick and Samuel Auerbach and Sreenidhi Banda and Alex Bruce and Marisol Catalan Olais and Markos Duey and Ranyah Khan and Connor McCleery and Jonathan Rosado and Amanda Swenson and Matthew Ward and Jarod Dagney and David Sundkvist and John W. Bonnell and William H. Matthaeus and Bennett A. Maruca},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.02482},
eprint = {2610.02482},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.02482},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A Student Sounding Rocket Experiment to Probe Electron Density in the Lower Ionosphere
AU - Joshua Goodwill
AU - Timothy Tomaszewski
AU - Jarrod Bieber
AU - Carson P. Brown
AU - Ashton Southwick
AU - Samuel Auerbach
AU - Sreenidhi Banda
AU - Alex Bruce
AU - Marisol Catalan Olais
AU - Markos Duey
AU - Ranyah Khan
AU - Connor McCleery
AU - Jonathan Rosado
AU - Amanda Swenson
AU - Matthew Ward
AU - Jarod Dagney
AU - David Sundkvist
AU - John W. Bonnell
AU - William H. Matthaeus
AU - Bennett A. Maruca
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.02482
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.02482
AB - Earth's ionosphere is primarily generated by the Sun's ionization of atoms in the upper atmosphere. This plasma environment is highly dynamic, exhibits strong spatial and temporal, variations and significantly impacts power systems, navigation, and satellite and ground communications. The University of Delaware Ionospheric Probe (UDIP) was developed as a hands-on learning experience for University of Delaware students on the ionosphere itself and on the development of space technology. Students (mostly undergraduates) have led all aspects of the experiment including mission planning, electronics development, mechanical development, software development, and scientific data analysis. The present study is intended as a guide to readers on how the development of space and near-space flight missions can be successfully incorporated into an undergraduate physics curriculum. The fourth version of the experiment (UDIP-4) flew along with student experiments from across the USA on the 2024 RockSat-C sounding rocket, which was launched from NASA Wallops Flight Facility. During the flight, UDIP-4's Langmuir probe successfully measured the ionosphere's density profile -- electron density as a function of altitude -- up to an apogee of 114 km. Though the measured density profile agrees well overall with the predictions of theoretical models, UDIP-4 identified a thin layer of enhanced electron density at an altitude of approximately 110 km that is consistent with a sporadic E layer.
ER -