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First Observations from the Winds Cross-Track Instrument on the Dynamo 2 Mission
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  • Lance Davis,
  • James Clemmons,
  • Diana Swanson,
  • Patrick Fowler,
  • Robert Pfaff,
  • Scott England,
  • Dominic Puopolo,
  • Mark Widholm,
  • Christopher Bancroft,
  • Colin Frost
Lance Davis
University of New Hampshire Main Campus

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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James Clemmons
University of New Hampshire
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Diana Swanson
University of New Hampshire Main Campus
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Patrick Fowler
University of New Hampshire
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Robert Pfaff
NASA/GSFC
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Scott England
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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Dominic Puopolo
University of New Hampshire Main Campus
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Mark Widholm
University of New Hampshire Main Campus
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Christopher Bancroft
University of New Hampshire Main Campus
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Colin Frost
University of New Hampshire Main Campus
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Abstract

The first neutral wind measurements of the Winds Cross-Track (WCT) instrument, taken during the recent Dynamo 2 campaign, are presented and discussed. This campaign launched two sounding rockets with identical payloads, each with a WCT on board, on different days in July, 2021 into the lower ionosphere to characterize the strong, daytime meridional currents of the global dynamo system and also the daytime neutral winds in the lower thermosphere. The two rockets reached apogees of ~124 and ~131 km, and the WCT took measurements above ~80 km on both the up- and downleg of both flights. As the rocket traveled through the atmosphere, the neutral gas was rammed into the instrument, where an ionization gauge measured the gas pressure. By modulating the incoming flux with a rotating baffle, the WCT measured the components of the neutral wind vector perpendicular to the trajectory of the rocket as well as the gas temperature. These in-situ wind and temperature profiles will be compared to the wind profiles observed remotely by the ICON satellite, which was in conjunction with the launch of both Dynamo 2 rockets.