Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Carter, E. A..
1976 listing of commercially available solar-radiation measuring equipment is presented in 50-page report. Sensor type, response time, cost data, and comments concerning specifications and intended usage are listed for 145 instruments from 38 manufactures.
A listing is provided of organizations taking solar radiation data, the 166 stations where observations are made, the type of equipment used, the form of the recorded data, and the period of operation of each station. Included is a listing of the data from 150 solar radiation stations collected over the past 25 years and stored by the National Climatic Center.
An attempt is made to list and provide all available information about solar radiation measuring equipment which are being manufactured and are available on the market. The list is in tabular form and includes sensor type, response time, cost data and comments for each model. A cost code is included which shows ranges only.
All space shuttle events from launch through solid rocket booster recovery and orbiter landing are considered in terms of constraints placed on those operations by the natural environment. Thunderstorm activity is discussed as an example of a possible hazard. The activities most likely to require advanced detection and monitoring techniques are identified as those from deorbit decision to Orbiter landing. The inflexible flight plan will require the transmission of real time wind profile information below 24 km and warnings of thunderstorms or turbulence in the Orbiter flight path. Extensive aerial reconnaissance and communication facilities and procedures to permit immediate transmission of aircraft reports to the mission control authority and to the Orbiter will also be required.
The present work outlines the general concept as to how natural environment guidelines will be developed for Space Shuttle activities. The following six categories that might need natural environment support are single out: development tests; preliminary operations and prelaunch; launch to orbit; orbital mission and operations; deorbit, entry, and landing; ferry flights. An example of detailed event requirements for decisions to launch is given. Some artist's conceptions of proposed launch complexes at Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg AFB are shown.
Reference atmosphere for Vandenburg AFB, California based on current annual tabulation of thermodynamic quantities
Natural environment support for space shuttle tests and operations - advanced design and operations concepts
Peak wind statistics associated with thunderstorms at Cape Kennedy, Florida
Probability of favorable weather for successful aerospace vehicle launch with known operational launch contraints, using empirical method of determination