The ALTAIR Meteor Measurements Program

Abstract

Established in late 2006, the Meteor Measurements Program is in the process of using the ALTAIR radar located on Kwajelein Atoll to obtain radar observations of sporadic and shower meteoroids. The goals are to determine meteoroid masses, orbits, ballistic coefficients and densities, which shall be provided to the Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) at Marshall Space Flight Center. These data and analyses shall then be used by the MEO to 1) Add a realistic density distribution to the new Meteoroid Engineering Model (MEM), which is the specified environment for vehicle design in the NASA Constellation (return to Moon) program. This program is the implementation of President Bush's Vision for Space Exploration (VSE). 2) Investigate the meteoroid velocity distribution at smaller masses. 3) Strive to understand the differences (biases) in meteoroid observations produced by systems like ALTAIR and those of the meteor patrol radars, such as the University of Western Ontario's CMOR system. This paper outlines the program details and its progress.