Benchmarking Cylindrical Blast Wave Theory Against the OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Reentry

TL;DR

This study benchmarks cylindrical blast wave theory against high-fidelity data from the OSIRIS-REx capsule reentry, evaluating existing formulations' accuracy in predicting infrasound signals for non-ablating hypersonic objects.

Contribution

It systematically assesses six blast radius models and three transition coefficients using real reentry data, identifying the best-performing formulations for non-ablating bodies.

Findings

Sakurai formulation is the best for non-ablating bodies.

Jones/Plooster performs well with appropriate transition coefficient.

Mach-diameter approximation overestimates blast radius by over 3 times.

Abstract

Weak shock theory based on cylindrical blast waves has been used to interpret meteor infrasound, but it has not been systematically benchmarked against a non-ablating hypersonic source with independently known parameters. The objective of this study is not to propose a new theoretical framework, but to evaluate the operational validity of the existing suite of blast radius formulations against a high-fidelity ground truth dataset. The OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule reentry on 24 September 2023 provides such a benchmark because the capsule geometry, trajectory, and infrasound emission points are constrained from mission data and ray tracing, reducing source-side uncertainty associated with ablation. Using observations from 39 infrasound stations, this benchmarking study evaluates six published blast radius (R_0) formulations and three weak-shock transition coefficients (C) within a stratified atmospheric propagation model to predict signal period and peak overpressure. The benchmarking identifies the Sakurai formulation as the best-performing formulation for non-ablating bodies, with the Jones/Plooster formulation performing comparably when a physically appropriate C is adopted. Sakurai and Jones/Plooster yield linear-period median absolute percentage residuals of 9% and 11%, respectively. The period predictions show only weak sensitivity to C at these propagation distances. The Mach-diameter approximation commonly used in meteor studies overestimates R_0 by more than a factor of 3 in the absence of ablation. These results establish a performance baseline for applying cylindrical blast wave theory to non-ablating hypersonic bodies and demonstrate that the signal period is a robust observable for constraining R_0.