The results of 13 soundings over a 15‐month period at Kwajalein, 9°24′N, 167°39′E, are presented and discussed. Inflatable spheres of mass 50 grams and diameter 66 cm were ejected from Nike‐Cajun rockets on the ascending part of the trajectory and tracked by the Tradex radar. Density and temperature profiles were derived from the tracking data from as low as 32 km to as high as 120 km. Horizontal wind profiles were also derived to 70 km. Derived temperatures were higher than those listed in the U.S. Standard Atmosphere, 1962, near 50 km and lower near 100 km. An indication of atmospheric heating was found in six of the profiles near 85 km. A day‐night pair of soundings showed a relatively large increase in the daytime density that was not accompanied by a change in the temperature profile. This series of soundings demonstrated that the falling‐sphere system is well suited to certain measurement problems in the atmosphere as high as the mesopause or lower thermosphere. The system appears to be capable of resolving atmospheric changes which span a small altitude range, of the order of 1.0 km. The payload is relatively economical, so that measurements on a larger scale may be feasible. The phenomena of warmings near the mesopause and large diurnal variations in the density profile indicate that more soundings at tropical and other latitudes are desirable.
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