Physical and chemical characteristics of a plasma flow around descent vehicles upon entry in the Earth's atmosphere at orbital velocity

The characteristics of a plasma flow around the descent vehicle of a Soyuz spacecraft when passing through the Earth’s atmosphere are studied. For the first time, the chemical composition of the compressed layer and the plasma flow in the downstream area, accessible for instrumental examinations through the descent vehicle porthole, are estimated. The characteristics of the equipment developed for conducting the space experiment to study the emission spectrum of the plasma layer around the descent vehicle are described.