High Resolution Spectra of Stratospheric Emission in the Spectral Range of 35 to 130 cm-1

High resolution measurements of the far infrared emission spectrum of the stratosphere were first obtained in 1978 following the Italian development of a balloon-borne Fourier transform spectrometer which used new HeNe laser technology to achieve an FTI mirror stroke of 75 cm. In four flights between 1978 and 1983, this instrument provided the highest resolution measurements for validating spectral database models of the far infrared atmospheric emission1, and for retrieving a number of important stratospheric trace species2. In 1988, an International Cooperative Program was instituted by NASA and the Italian Space Agency for the purpose of upgrading the performance of this instrument for use in the Correlative Measurement Program of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.