Plasma manipulation using a MHD-based device for a communication blackout in hypersonic flights

Abstract

When a vehicle flies with hypersonic velocity, a weakly ionized plasma layer is generated around the vehicle due to the shock heated air. Since the created plasma layer has a high electron number density, the vehicle has a communication difficulty known as radio blackout. In this study, we propose an innovative concept of a mitigation scheme based on MHD. The proposed mitigation scheme uses an ExB layer to manipulate the plasma density in a specific region during hypersonic flights. Due to the reduced electron number density in the plasma layer, it provides the possibility for communication during radio blackout.