MAUI ANALYSIS OF UPPER ATMOSPHERIC INJECTIONS (MAUI)
Research Area: Spacecraft and Orbital Environments
Expedition(s): 13-16, 21-22, 25-28
Principal Investigator(s): ● Rainer A. Dressler, PhD, Hanscom Air Force Base, Lexington,
Massachusetts
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Maui Analysis of Upper Atmospheric
Injections (MAUI) observes the space
shuttle engine exhaust plumes from the
Maui Space Surveillance Site in Hawaii. A
telescope and all-sky imagers take images
and data during nighttime firings of the
space shuttle engines. The images are
analyzed to better understand the
interaction between the spacecraft plume
and the upper atmosphere of Earth.
EARTH BENEFITS
Results will help in the interpretation of
spacecraft plumes when they are observed
from Earth.
SPACE BENEFITS
Results can be used to develop a spacecraft interactions computer model for plume
contamination assessment and to better understand the interaction between the spacecraft
plume and the upper atmosphere.
This investigation is complete; however additional results are pending publication.
View of Orbital Maneuvering System engine burn to
boost the orbit of the space shuttle for rendezvous with
the Mir space station.