First-Ever Detection of a Re-Entry Capsule With Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS): Initial Results and Data Comparison With Co-Located Seismic and Infrasound Sensors
On 24 September 2023, the OSIRIS-REX sample return capsule re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, generating infrasonic and seismic signals. The re-entry provided an ideal experiment for rapid deployment of fiber-optic cables to be sensed with distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) interrogator units (IUs). We deployed 12 km of fiber at two locations in Nevada, chosen for their proximity to the portion of the trajectory with anticipated maximum infrasound generation. At each fiber location, we deployed three co-located seismometers and infrasound sensors to inform interpretation of DAS data. For nearly the entire fiber length, we placed the fiber directly on the ground without any trenching or weights to increase ground coupling. We used three different IUs to sample the fibers at the two locations: an AP Sensing IU sampled 4.5 km of fiber at the Eureka Airport and a Silixa IU and an Optodas IU sampled 7.5 km of fiber in nearby Newark Valley. While seismometers and infrasound sensors have recorded previous space capsule re-entry events, our deployment represents the first DAS recording of a re-entry.
All our instruments recorded the signal generated by the sample return capsule. All seismometers and infrasound sensors recorded high SNR signals. The Silixa DAS data recorded a move out of the signal as it propagated along the 7-km fiber that can be seen without any pre-processing. We estimate backazimuths to the infrasound-generating source using beamforming techniques for the Newark Valley data. Finally, we use arrivals recorded with the seismometers and infrasound sensors to interpret the DAS signals.
Session: The OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Re-entry: Geophysical Observations - I
Type: Oral
Room: Kahtnu 2
Date: 5/1/2024
Presentation Time: 04:30 PM (local time)
Presenting Author: Chris Carr
Student Presenter: No
Additional Authors
Chris Carr Presenting Author Corresponding Author cgcarr@lanl.gov Los Alamos National Laboratory |
Carly Donahue cmd@lanl.gov Los Alamos National Laboratory |
Loïc Viens lviens@lanl.gov Los Alamos National Laboratory |
Luke Beardslee luke.b.beardslee@gmail.com Silixa |
Elisa McGhee elisa.mcghee@colostate.edu Colorado State University |
Lisa Danielson ldanielson@lanl.gov Los Alamos National Laboratory |
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First-Ever Detection of a Re-Entry Capsule With Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS): Initial Results and Data Comparison With Co-Located Seismic and Infrasound Sensors
Category
The OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Re-entry: Geophysical Observations
Description