A Mass Spectrometer for the Simultaneous Measurement of the Neutral and the Ion Composition of the Upper Atmosphere

Abstract

A mass spectrometer is described which measures the neutral and the ionized components of the upper atmosphere simultaneously (delay ∼20 msec). Its 1% mass resolution is 60 and its sensitivity is sufficient to measure small ion concentrations in the presence of high neutral gas densities. During rocket flights the shift in the mass scale between the ion peak and the corresponding neutral peak is a measure for the rocket skin potential.