Gas Injection System for Plasma Blackout Alleviation Studies

A test article described herein enables ground-based arc jet testing to investigate RF blackout mitigation using electrophilic gas injection upstream of an antenna. The article can be scaled up to actual flight vehicles, thereby allowing reentry vehicles to be in constant, or near constant, communication during atmospheric reentry. Plasma blackout mitigation is an enabling technology that is required to advance hypersonic flight. Example articles include an integral structure that supports a nozzle, piping for gas connected to the nozzle and an RF window. An ablator can be attached to the structure. The ablator can include a graphite ablator and an insulator. A flight vehicle can include an antenna and such an article.