Study of Radiation Characteristics of Shock-Heated Gases

The paper presents the results of studies with the use of shock tubes at the Institute of Mechanics of the M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, in which measurements were made of the radiation of shock-heated gases simulating the conditions of the entry of spacecraft into the atmosphere of the Earth and other planets of the Solar system with orbital and superorbital velocities. A description of the measuring equipment is given, as well as techniques of diagnostics and processing of the obtained spectroscopic information. Numerous experimental data on the radiation of shock-heated gases in a wide range of the radiation spectrum from vacuum ultraviolet to infrared have been analyzed, which serve as the basis for the development of various gas-dynamical models.