The emission and chemistry of reactive nitrogen species in the plume of an Athena II solid‐fuel rocket motor

In situ measurements of NO, NOy, HNO3, ClO, CO2, H2O and particles were made in the plume of an Athena II solid‐fuel rocket motor (SRM) with instruments onboard the NASA WB‐57F high‐altitude aircraft. By normalization to CO2, the NOy emission index was calculated to be 2.7±0.6 g NO2 (kg fuel)−1. HNO3 is a significant and evolving component plume NOy. The principal source of HNO3 is thought to be the heterogeneous reaction between ClONO2 and HCl on emitted alumina particles. These measurements provide the first experimental evidence for the production of HNO3 and the activation of chlorine on SRM‐emitted alumina particles in the lower stratosphere.

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