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NASA NTRS2004

A Two-Dimensional, Semiconducting Bolometer Array for HAWC

The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy's (SOFIA's) High resolution Airborne Wideband Camera (HAWC) will use an ion-implanted silicon bolometer array developed at NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The GSFC Pop-Up Detectors (PUDs) use a unique folding technique to enable a 12 x 32 element closepacked array of bolometers with a filling factor greater than 95%. The HAWC detector uses a resistive metal film on silicon to provide frequency independent, approx. 50% absorption over the 40 - 300 micron band. The silicon bolometers are manufactured in 32-element rows within silicon frames using Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) silicon etching techniques. The frames are then cut, "folded", and glued onto a metallized, ceramic, thermal bus "bar". Optical alignment using micrometer jigs ensures their uniformity and correct placement. The rows are then stacked side-by-side to create the final 12 x 32 element array. A kinematic Kevlar suspension system isolates the 200 mK bolometer cold stage from the rest of the 4K detector housing. GSFC - developed silicon bridge chips make electrical connection to the bolometers, while maintaining thermal isolation. The Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) preamplifiers for all the signal channels operate at 120 K, yet they are electrically connected and located in close proximity to the bolometers. The JFET module design provides sufficient thermal isolation and heat sinking for these, so that their heat is not detected by the bolometers. Preliminary engineering results from the flight detector dark test run are expected to be available in July 2004. This paper describes the array assembly and mechanical and thermal design of the HAWC detector and the JFET module.

Voellmer, George M.↗

NASA NTRS2020

Characterization and Commissioning of a Ka-Band Ground Station for Cognitive Algorithm Development

In 2018, the Cognitive Communications and Propagation projects completed installation and checkout testing of a new Ka-Band ground station at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cognitive Algorithms Demonstration Testbed (CADeT) was developed to provide a fully characterized and controllable dynamic link environment to researchers looking to demonstrate hardware and software aligned with atmospheric sensing and cognitive algorithms. CADeT integrates a host of precision control and measurement systems in addition to repurposing a 5.5 meter beam-waveguide dish platform previously used with the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS). This paper will discuss the laboratory testing of ground station components with a emphasis on elements vital to achieving link budget requirements including characterization of the new Gallium Nitride (GaN) Solid State Power Amplifier (SSPA) and far-field measurements of the new antenna feed. Finally, the paper discusses in-situ tests conducted with CADeT and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) to validate laboratory results and make necessary link budget adjustments before reviewing the lessons learned.

Cameron M Seidl↗

NASA NTRS1994

Statistical study of ULF wave occurrence in the dayside magnetosphere

Ultralow-frequency (ULF) waves are observed almost everywhere in the dayside magnetosphere. The mechanism by which these waves are generated and transformed in the dayside magnetosphere is still not understood. Here we report a statistical study of these waves based on magnetic field data from the International Sun-Earth Explorer 1 (ISEE 1) spacecraft. Data from the first traversal of the spacecraft through the entire dayside magnetosphere have been examined to determine the spatial distribution of wave occurrence. Successive 20-min segments of data were transformed to a field-aligned coordinate system. The parallel component was detrended and all three components of the field spectrally analyzed. Wave occurrence was defined by the presence of significant peaks in the power spectra. Wave events were categorized by three wave frequency bands: Pc 3 with T approximately 10-45 s; Pc 4 with T approximately 45-150 s; the short-period part of the Pc 5 wave band with T approximately 150-324 s. Properties of the spectral peaks were then entered into a data base. The data base was next sorted to determine the spatial occurrence pattern for the waves. Our results show that Pc 3 waves most frequently occur just outside synchronous orbit and are approximately centered on local noon. Pc 4 waves have a similar distribution with its peak further out. Pc 5 waves have high occurrence rate at the two flanks of the magnetosphere. Peaks in spectra obtained near the magnetopause are less clearly defined than those deeper in the magnetosphere.

Cao, M.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Use of Multi-Resolution Wavelet Feature Pyramids for Automatic Registration of Multi-Sensor Imagery

The problem of image registration, or alignment of two or more images representing the same scene or object, has to be addressed in various disciplines that employ digital imaging. In the area of remote sensing, just like in medical imaging or computer vision, it is necessary to design robust, fast and widely applicable algorithms that would allow automatic registration of images generated by various imaging platforms at the same or different times, and that would provide sub-pixel accuracy. One of the main issues that needs to be addressed when developing a registration algorithm is what type of information should be extracted from the images being registered, to be used in the search for the geometric transformation that best aligns them. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate several wavelet pyramids that may be used both for invariant feature extraction and for representing images at multiple spatial resolutions to accelerate registration. We find that the band-pass wavelets obtained from the Steerable Pyramid due to Simoncelli perform better than two types of low-pass pyramids when the images being registered have relatively small amount of nonlinear radiometric variations between them. Based on these findings, we propose a modification of a gradient-based registration algorithm that has recently been developed for medical data. We test the modified algorithm on several sets of real and synthetic satellite imagery.

Zavorin, Ilya↗

NASA NTRS1972

Banded whistlers observed on OGO-4

Inspection of broadband VLF records from OGO-4 shows that some whistlers exhibit a banded structure in which one or more bands of frequencies are missing from the whistler's spectrum. The phenomenon is commonly observed by satellites on midlatitude field lines at all local times and at various longitudes around the world. The dispersion of banded whistlers (BW) is of several tens of sec to the 1/2 power, indicating that they originated in the opposite hemisphere and are propagating downward at the satellite. BW are generally spread in time (tenths of seconds) rather than sharply defined and tend to occur at random. The frequency spacing of the bands may be either uniform or irregular, and may vary radically between successive events. Several possible explanations for BW are considered. In particular, an analysis of the interaction of plane electromagnetic waves traveling in an anisotropic plasma with a field aligned slab of enhanced ionization is presented with promising results.

Paymar, E. M.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Fail-Safe Operation of a High-Temperature Magnetic Bearing Investigated for Gas Turbine Engine Applications

The Structural Mechanics and Dynamics Branch at the NASA Glenn Research Center has developed a three-axis high-temperature magnetic bearing suspension rig to enhance the safety of the bearing system up to 1000 F. This test rig can accommodate thrust and radial bearings up to a 22.84 cm (9 in.) diameter with a maximum axial loading of 22.25 kN (5000 lb) and a maximum radial loading up to 4.45 kN (1000 lb). The test facility was set up to test magnetic bearings under high-temperature (1100 F) and high-speed (20,000 rpm) conditions. The magnetic bearing is located at the center of gravity of the rotor between two high-temperature grease-packed mechanical ball bearings. The drive-end duplex angular contact ball bearing, which is in full contact, acts as a moment release and provides axial stability. The outboard end ball bearing has a 0.015-in. radial clearance between the rotor to act as a backup bearing and to compensate for axial thermal expansion. There is a 0.020-in. radial air gap between the stator pole and the rotor. The stator was wrapped with three 1-kW band heaters to create a localized hot section; the mechanical ball bearings were outside this section. Eight threaded rods supported the stator. These incorporated a plunger and Bellville washers to compensate for radial thermal expansion and provide rotor-to-stator alignment. The stator was instrumented with thermocouples and a current sensor for each coil. Eight air-cooled position sensors were mounted outside the hot section to monitor the rotor. Another sensor monitored this rotation of the outboard backup bearing. Ground fault circuit interrupts were incorporated into all power amplifier loops for personnel safety. All instrumentation was monitored and recorded on a LabView-based data acquisition system. Currently, this 12-pole heteropolar magnetic bearing has 13 thermal cycles and over 26 hr of operation at 1000 F.

Choi, Benjamin B.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Differential Radiometers Using Fabry-Perot Interferometric Technique for Remote Sensing Determination of Various Atmospheric Trace Gases

New type of remote sensing instrument based upon the Fabry-Perot inte rferometric technique has been developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Fabry-Perot interferometry (FPI) is a well known, powerful spectroscopic technique and one of its many applications is to be use d to measure greenhouse gases and also some harmful species in the at mosphere. With this technique, absorption of particular species is me asured and related to its concentration. A solid Fabry-Perot etalon is used as a frequency filter to restrict the measurement to particular absorption bands of the gas of interest. With adjusting the thicknes s of the etalon that separation (in frequency) of the transmitted fri nges can be made equal to the almost constant separation of the gas a bsorption lines. By adjusting the temperature of the etalon, which changes the index of refi-action of its material, the transmission fring es can be brought into nearly exact correspondence with absorption li nes of the particular species. With this alignment between absorption lines and fringes, changes in the amount of a species in the atmosph ere strongly affect the amount of light transmitted by the etalon and can be related to gas concentration. The instrument that we have dev eloped detects the absorption of various atmospheric trace gases in d irect or reflected sunlight. Our instrument employing Fabry-Perot interferometer makes use of two features to achieve high sensitivity. The first is high spectral resolution enabling one to match the width of an atmospheric absorption feature by the instrumental band pass. The second is high optical throughput enabled by using multiple spectral lines simultaneously. For any species that one wishes to measure, thi s first feature is available while the use of multiple spectral features can be employed only for species with suitable spectra and freedom from interfering species in the same wavelength region. We have deve loped an instrument for use as ground based, airborne and satellite s ensor for gases such as carbon dioxide (1570 nm), oxygen (762 nm and 768 nm lines sensitive to changes in oxygen pressure and oxygen temper ature) and water vapor (940 nm). Our current goal is to develop an ul tra precise, inexpensive, ground based device suitable for wide deplo yment as a validation instrument for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite. We show sensitivity measurements for CO2, 02, and H2 O, compare our measurements to those obtained using other types of sensors and discuss some of the peculiarities that must be addressed in order to provide the very high quality column detection required for solving problems about global distribution of greenhouse gases and cl imatological models. In another area of research we are interested in developing a small-size channel for CO2 capable of doing simultaneous measurements with the AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) at NASA, God dard to study the hypothesis that atmospheric aerosols affect the reg ional terrestrial carbon cycle. We present recent data from our groun d based measurements of O2, CO2, H2O and (13)CO2 and discuss extensio n of the technique to new species and applications.

Georgieva, E. M.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Measurements of the magnetic field orientation in the Jovian ionosphere deduced from Pioneer 10 and 11 scintillation observations

In this paper the S band scintillations observed during the Pioneer 10 and 11 occultation measurements of Jupiter are analyzed. It is found that while the electron density irregularities are isotropic in the collision-dominated lower ionosphere, they are anisotropic in the upper ionosphere because of alignment along the magnetic field. By using Rytov's approximation the frequency spectrum of the log-amplitude scintillations is derived for a wave propagating in an anisotropic turbulent medium. It is shown that the spectrum depends to a large extent on the direction of anisotropy and is therefore useful for measuring the orientation of the magnetic field in regions that have not yet been probed by direct measurements. This new technique is applied to the Pioneer 10 and 11 observations, and is used to deduce the first measurements of magnetic field orientation in the ionosphere of Jupiter.

Woo, R.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Ionospheric dynamo theory for production of far ultraviolet emissions on Uranus

A model is presented to explain diffuse FUV emissions from the outer planets, specifically Uranus, in excess of those diffuse emissions that are currently explainable by scattering of sunlight and/or excitation by photoelectrons. These electroglow emissions in H Ly-alpha and H2 bands, which occur in the sunlit hemisphere slightly above the homopause, appear to require particle excitation in the 10- to 50-eV range. An in situ mechanism for accelerating photoelectrons (and ions is proposed, involving neutral wind dynamo generation of field-aligned currents analogous to what occurs in the earth's equatorial E and F regions. Sufficiently strong field-aligned currents are found in the model calculation for Uranus to produce a potential drop of about 100 eV or greater between the F peak and homopause, concentrated at lower altitudes, and capable in principle of accelerating photoelectrons (and ions) to the 10- to 50-eV energies required to explain the observed emissions. The fact that the excitation and ionization cross sections are larger than elastic scattering cross sections in an H2 atmosphere at these energies makes in situ acceleration feasible for the production of UV on the outer planets.

Hudson, M. K.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Observation of an antenna-plasma instability

This paper investigates the conditions leading to, and the causes of, the phenomenon observed during a rocket flight (to 585-km altitude) of an occasionally occurring narrow-band signal on an electric antenna whose frequency was found to vary as the rocket turned. The amplitude also varied by a factor larger than can be explained by variable coupling to the plasma; maximum oscillation amplitude occurred when the antenna was aligned with the earth's magnetic field. A tentative explanation of this phenomenon is given, suggesting that the signals on the antenna were caused by an interacton of the flowing plasma with sheath waves around the antenna.

Kellogg, P. J.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Toroidal Variable-Line-Space Gratings: The Good, the Bad and The Ugly

Toroidal variable-line-space (VLS) gratings are an important factor in the design of an efficient VUV solar telescope that will measure the CIV (155nm) and MgII (280nm) emissions lines in the Sun's transition region. In 1983 Kita and Harada described spherical VLS gratings but the technology to commercially fabricate these devices is a recent development, especially for toroidal surfaces. This paper will describe why this technology is important in the development of the Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation (SUMI) sounding rocket program (the good), the delays due to the conversion between the TVLS grating design and the optical fabrication (the bad), and finally the optical testing, alignment and tolerancing of the gratings (the ugly). The Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation, SUMI, has been reported in several papers since this program began in 2000. The emphasis of this paper is to describe SUMI's Toroidal Variable-Line-Space (TVLS) gratings. These gratings help SUMI meet its scientific goals which require both high spectral resolution and high optical efficiency for magnetic field measurements in the vacuum ultraviolet wavelength band of the solar spectrum (the good). Unfortunately, the technology readiness level of these gratings has made their implementation difficult, especially for a sounding rocket payload (the bad). Therefore, this paper emphasizes the problems and solutions that were developed to use these gratings in SUMI (the ugly). Section 2 contains a short review of the scientific goals of SUMI and why this mission is important in the understanding of the 3D structure of the magnetic field on the Sun. The flight hardware that makes up the SUMI payload is described in Section 3 with emphasis on those components that affect the TVLS gratings. Section 4 emphasizes the alignment, testing and optical modeling that were developed to optimize the performance of these gratings.

West, Edward A.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Flat-band assembly for toroidal transformer cores

Toroidal transformer cores are often banded together by means of strap. Spot welds secure strap. Proper tension is obtained by use of special fixture in conjunction with winding of wire which is placed temporarily on core; winding is excited by dc current to hold core halves together magnetically during alignment.

Mclyman, W. T.↗

NASA NTRS1986

The effects of gravity level during directional solidification on the microstructure of hypermonotectic Al-In-Sn alloys

Five hypermonotectic Al-In-Sn compositions were directionally solidified in a Bridgman-type furnace at normal gravity and during aircraft low-gravity maneuvers. The tendency of the Al-30In alloy to form an indium-rich band at the start of unidirectional growth (SUG) made it difficult to study the integration of L sub 2 into the solidification interface. Hypermonotectic compositions closer to monotectic slightly hypermonotectic caused only a partial band on L sub 2 to form at SUG and allowed the study of such variables as gravity, composition, and monotectic dome height on integration of excess L sub 2 into the solid plus L sub 2 interface. It was found that formation of aligned composite structures for the Al-In-Sn system is not only a function of G and R but also of the degree to which the composition varies from monotectic. Most of the aligned fibrous structures formed from hypermonotectic Al-In-Sn had spacings that were of the order of irregular fibrous structures reported for on monotectic Al-In-Sn. The spacings for the large fibers and aligned globules found for ground and low-gravity processed Al-In-18-Sn-22, respectively, were significantly larger than the others measured and were of the order expected for cell spacings under the growth conditions utilized. It was found that the integration into the solidification front of excess L sub 2 in low gravity was a function of the Sn composition of the alloy.

Curreri, P. A.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Deep WFPC2 and Ground-Based Imaging of a Complete Sample of 3C Quasars and Galaxies

We present the results of an HST and ground-based imaging study of a complete 3C sample of zeta approx. equal to 1 sources, comprising 5 quasars and 5 radio galaxies. We have observed all of the sample in essentially line-free bands at rest-frame 0.33 micrometers with WFPC2 and in rest-frame 1 micrometer images from the ground; we have also observed most of the sample in narrow-band filters centered on [O II]. We resolve continuum structure around all of our quasars in the high-resolution WFPC2 images, and in four of the five ground-based K' images. All of the quasars have some optical continuum structure that is aligned with the radio axis. In at least 3 of these cases, some of this optical structure is directly coincident with a portion of the radio structure, including optical counterparts to radio jets in 3C212 and 3C245 and an optical counterpart to a radio lobe in 3C2. These are most likely due to optical synchrotron radiation, and the radio and optical spectral indices in the northern lobe of 3C2 are consistent with this interpretation. The fact that we see a beamed optical synchotron component in the quasars but not in the radio galaxies complicates both the magnitude and the alignment comparisons. Nonetheless, the total optical and K' flux densities of the quasar hosts are consistent with those of the radio galaxies within the observed dispersion in our sample. The distributions of K' flux densities of both radio galaxies and quasar hosts exhibit similar mean and dispersion to that found for other radio galaxies at this redshift, and the average host galaxy luminosity is equivalent to, or a little fainter than, L*. The formal determination of the alignment in the optical and infrared in the two subsamples yields no significant difference between the radio galaxy and quasar subsamples, and the quasars 3C 196 and 3C 336 have aligned continuum and emission-line structure that is probably not due to beamed optical synchrotron emission. Very blue and/or edge-brightened structures are present in some objects within the probable quasar opening angle; these are possibly the result of illumination effects from the active nucleus, i.e., scattered quasar light or photoionization. In 3C 212, we see an optical object that lies 3 min. beyond the radio lobe, but which looks morphologically quite similar to the radio lobe itself. This object is bright in the infrared and has a steep spectral gradient along its length. A striking, semi-circular arc seen associated with 3C 280 may possibly be a tidal tail from a companion, enhanced in brightness by scattering or photoionization. In the near-infrared, most of the radio galaxies have elliptical morphologies with profiles that are well-fit by de Vaucouleurs r(exp 1/4)-laws and colors that are consistent with an old stellar population. All components around the quasars have optical-infrared colors that are redder than or similar to the colors of their respective nuclei; this is more consistent with a stellar origin for the emission than with a dominant scattering contribution. From the correspondence between the total magnitudes in the galaxies and quasars and the detection of aligned components in the quasars, we conclude that this study provides general support for the unification of FR II radio galaxies and quasars. Some of the objects in the sample (e.g, 3C 212) have properties that may be difficult to explain with our current understanding of the nature of FR II radio sources and the alignment effect.

Ridgway, Susan E.↗

NASA NTRS2022

S-band Network Analysis and Strategies for LEO Multi-CubeSat Science Missions

This paper presents the network architecture utilized at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to support a mission set of five 6U CubeSats. These five CubeSats employ a multi-waveform Software Defined Radio (SDR) platform developed by Vulcan Wireless for use with NASA’s Space Relay (SR) and Direct to Earth (DTE) networks. The performance testing of the SDR is discussed via a comprehensive S-band and communication link analysis. The tested capabilities of the SDR and antenna components are reviewed in terms of the mission requirements for each CubeSat. Size Weight and Power (SWaP), required availability, and access times are discussed. The measured data from experimental compatibility testing is incorporated into detailed simulations of the CubeSat mission set to verify desired performance over the mission lifetime. The model is also used to investigate the impact of potential adverse effects on the communication links such as interference and weather conditions. This paper also reviews potential improvements from future technological advances and commercial partnerships. A collaborative investigation between GSFC and Oklahoma State University is presented in which a qualitative analysis of Hybrid RF/Optical communication strategies is performed. The data rate improvements of optical communication techniques are weighed against attitude control and science mission requirements for CubeSats, and network architectures/switching strategies are discussed. A separate analysis reviews the potential benefits of ground station partnerships, which aligns with NASA’s future goal to include commercial partners in its Earth and space network architectures, e.g. LunaNet.

Space networks↗

NASA NTRS1990

Calibration of polarimetric radar systems with good polarization isolation

A practical technique is proposed for calibrating single-antenna polarimetric radar systems using a metal sphere plus any second target with a strong cross-polarized radar cross section. This technique assumes perfect isolation between antenna ports. It is shown that all magnitudes and phases (relative to one of the like-polarized linear polarization configurations) of the radar transfer function can be calibrated without knowledge of the scattering matrix of the second target. Comparison of the values measured (using this calibration technique) for a tilted cylinder at X-band with theoretical values shows agreement within + or - 0.3 dB in magnitude and + or - 5 degrees in phase. The radar overall cross-polarization isolation was 25 dB. The technique is particularly useful for calibrating a radar under field conditions, because it does not require the careful alignment of calibration targets.

Sarabandi, Kamal↗

NASA NTRS2016

Scheduling Observations of Celestial Objects for Earth Observing Sensor Calibration

Radiometric calibration of Earth-observing satellite sensors is critical for tracking on-orbit gain changes through- out the satellite's mission. The Moon, being a stable, well-characterized radiometric target, has been used effectively for tracking the relative gain changes of the reflective solar bands for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board EOS AM-1 (Terra) and PM-1 (Aqua). The Moon is viewed through the MODIS space-view port, and the relative phase of the Moon is restricted to within 0.5 degrees of a chosen target phase to increase the accuracy of the calibration. These geometric restrictions require spacecraft maneuvers in order to bring space-view port into proper alignment with the position of the Moon when the phase requirement is met. In this paper, we describe a versatile tool for scheduling such maneuvers based on the required geometry and lunar phase restrictions for a general spacecraft bound instrument. The results of the scheduling tool have been verified using lunar images from Aqua and Terra MODIS after a scheduled roll maneuver was performed. This tool has also been tested for the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder on-board the Suomi-NPP spacecraft. As an extension of this work, we have also developed a tool for scheduling views of bright stars. These stars provide another well-characterized radiometric source that can be used for sensor calibration. This tool has been implemented to determine the times in which a chosen star can be viewed by the high gain stages of the day/night band for the VIIRS instrument.

Wilson, Truman↗

NASA NTRS2019

The Inter-Calibration of the DSCOVR EPIC Imager 2 with Aqua-MODIS and NPP-VIIRS

The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) continuously observes the illuminated disk from the Lagrange-1 point. The EPIC sensor was designed to monitor the diurnal variation of ozone, clouds, aerosols, and vegetation, especially those features that benefit from observation near-backscatter conditions. The EPIC sensor does not contain any onboard calibration systems. This study describes the inter-calibration of EPIC channels 5 (0.44 μm), 6 (0.55 μm), 7 (0.68 μm), and 10 (0.78 μm) with respect to Aqua-MODIS and NPP-VIIRS. The calibration is transferred using coincident ray-matched reflectance pairs over all-sky tropical ocean (ATO) and deep convective cloud (DCC) targets. A robust and automated image-alignment technique based on feature matching was formulated to improve the navigation quality of the EPIC images. The EPIC V02 dataset exhibits improved navigation over V01. Because the visible channels display similar spatial features, a single visible channel can be used to co-register the remaining visible bands. The VIIRS-referenced EPIC ATO and DCC ray-matched calibration coefficients are within 0.3%. The EPIC four-year calibration trends based on VIIRS are within 0.15%/year. The MODIS-based EPIC calibration coefficients were compared against the Geogdzhayev and Marshak 2018 published calibration coefficients and are found to be within 1.6%.

DSCOVR↗