Mass Spectrometer, Electronics, NRL

This is a flight spare electronics base for an ion mass spectrometer tube of the type flown on Aerobee sounding rockets by the Aeronomy group at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). During the early 1950s the NRL carried out studies of the upper atmosphere by sending specialized instruments to extreme altitudes on Aerobee sounding rockets. Maximum altitude for these rockets was close to 230 kilometers. Radiofrequency mass spectrometers, which were designed by Willard H. Bennett when he was at the National Bureau of Standards, were used to determine the identity of the gases present in the near vacuum at extreme altitudes. The compact size and light weight of these mass spectrometers makes them suitable for use in sounding rockets. This base is a part for an instrument similar to those that NRL sent aloft in the late 1950s in connection with the International Geophysical Year.

This artifact was transferred to NASM by NRL in March 1986.