Triboelectrification

Written on 9:26 AM by Admin

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What is the triboelectrification rule anyway?

The 'triboelectrification rule' has been a headache all day here at Kennedy Space Center... so what is it?

Here's a great explaination from nasa.gov

The skies look clear except for some high clouds, there’s no rain in the immediate forecast, so why might a rocket not launch? The answer is something called triboelectrification.

While this isn’t a word you encounter every day, you might experience it if you walk across a dry carpet or brush up against a cat and then touch a metal surface: it’s static.

In the case of Ares I-X, flying through high-level clouds can generate “P-static” (P for precipitation), which can create a corona of static around the rocket that interferes with radio signals sent by or to the rocket. This would create problems when the rocket tries to transmit data down to the ground or if the Range Safety Officer at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station needed to send a signal to the flight termination system. Until the 45th Space Wing and observer aircraft indicate that the skies are clear, Ares I-X will wait them out.