Ionospheric Oblique Incidence Soundings by Satellites

The oblique incidence sweep-frequency ionospheric sounding technique uses the same principle of operation as the vertical incidence sounder. The primary difference is that the transmitter and receiver are located at different places so that the signal is reflected at an angle. The most common use of these sounders is to operationally investigate optimum conditions for radio propagation. According to Rawer (1969), no attempts are known to have been made to compute electron density versus height profiles from oblique incidence ionograms. These oblique incidence soundings do not adequately substitute for the vertical soundings. These data are static and receipt of new data is not anticipated.