Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Geostationary”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1972

VHF/UHF technique for the determination of the columnar electron contents of the plasmasphere and of the protonosphere using geostationary satellite transmission: Observations during magnetic storms

Measurements of the total electron content of the plasmasphere up to geostationary heights were made using the beacon transmitters aboard the satellite ATS-3. The technique employed is a combination of the phase-path length difference and the Faraday rotation angle methods. Such a combination permits very accurate determination of the integration constant necessary to convert phase-path length difference data into information about the absolute value of the columnar content.

Almeida, O. G.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Measurement of total electron content with a geostationary satellite during the solar eclipse of March 7, 1970.

This note deals with the measurement of the total electron content of the ionosphere at the Goddard Space Flight Center, looking towards the geostationary satellite ATS 3 during the solar eclipse of Mar. 7, 1970. Obscuration at this site was nearly total. Faraday rotation was measured with a stationary circularly polarized antenna and a dual-channel phase-lock receiver tuned to 137.350 MHz. By comparing the electrical phase of the two opposite circularly polarized components, a continuous chart recording was made of Faraday rotation vs local time. A depletion of about 25% in electron content was observed from first contact to the time of minimum electron content. The time variations of the electron content during the eclipse are briefly examined in the light of current theories of ionospheric processes.

Rangaswamy, S.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Determination of ionospheric electron content from the Faraday rotation of geostationary satellite signals.

Observation that calculations of the integrated electron content up to the height of the satellite, using a wide range of model ionospheres (with a peak at 300 km) could be up to four times the value deduced from Faraday rotation measurements. However, using a fixed mean field height of 400 km, the observed Faraday rotation gives the electron content up to a height h sub F of 2000 km with an accuracy of plus or minus 3%. For observations at different magnetic and geographic latitudes, and geostationary satellites at different longitudes, the optimum value of h sub F varies by only plus or minus 200 km. Nighttime increases in the height of the ionosphere have little effect on h sub F, but increase the mean field height to about 470 km. Using a fixed value of 420 km, with h sub F = 2000 km, gives an accuracy of plus or minus 5% under most conditions.

Titheridge, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Quantifying parameters influencing the spacing of geostationary satellites.

Parameters affecting satellite spacing must be investigated to fully exploit the limited capacity of the geostationary orbit. The usefulness of laboratory experiments, analytic methods, and space environment experiments in quantifying these factors is discussed. It is concluded that space environment experiments are required to evaluate the effects of operationally related parameters including antenna gain patterns, polarization, and antenna instabilities. A unique method of measuring the time-variant effects of the earth station antenna characteristics on satellite spacing is described as a possible space environment experiment. The proposed experiment uses a single satellite to obtain the required data.

Henry, V. F.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Studies of soundings and imaging measurements from geostationary satellites

Soundings and imaging measurements obtained from geostationary satellites for the period 1 Nov. 1972 to 31 Jan. 1973 are reported. The subjects discussed are: (1) investigation of meteorological data processing techniques, (2) sun glitter, (3) cloud growth rate, and (4) comparative studies in satellite stability.

Suomi, V. E.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Studies of soundings and imagings measurements from geostationary satellites

Soundings and imaging measurements from geostationary satellites are presented. The subjects discussed are: (1) meteorological data processing techniques, (2) sun glitter, (3) cloud growth rate study, satellite stability characteristics, and (4) high resolution optics. The use of perturbation technique to obtain the motion of sensors aboard a satellite is described. The most conditions, and measurement errors. Several performance evaluation parameters are proposed.

Suomi, V. E.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Very long baseline interferometry observations of radio emissions from geostationary satellites.

Review of the results of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of L-band emissions of the ATS-5 geostationary satellite, performed over a transcontinental baseline in 1970, as part of a more comprehensive program using radio stars as sources. Although the data were not sufficient to demonstrate fully the capability of the method for determining the orbital elements of a satellite and its inertial position, the analysis of the ATS observations show the presence of interference fringes related to the modulation waveform emitted by the satellite and to the various motions of the satellite. The measured VLBI time delays are in agreement with the geometry of the observations and with the instrumental delay, both determined independently.

Michelini, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Accurate integration of geostationary orbits with Burdet's focal elements

The theory of Burdet's focal elements (1969) is outlined. The differential equations are presented, and the initial value problem is described together with the transformation to rectangular coordinates and classical elements. The focal elements are well defined for zero eccentricity and inclination and can be adopted for the computation of elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic motion. For the numerical integration of near-geostationary orbits, a comparison of the efficiency is made between focal elements, Kustaanheimo-Stiefel (1971) theory, and rectangular coordinates. For this class of orbits, a higher accuracy has been obtained by integrating elements than integrating rectangular coordinates.

Flury, W.↗
NASA NTRS1975

The geostationary operational environmental satellite /GOES/ imaging communication system

The SMS/GOES Satellite obtains day and night weather information from synchronous geostationary orbit by means of (1) earth imaging, (2) collection of environmental data from ground based sensors, platforms, and (3) monitoring of the space environment. SMS-1 and SMS-2 have been in orbit for 17 months and 8 months, respectively, and are presently taking full earth disk images in the visible and infrared every 30 minutes. SMS-1 is positioned to cover the eastern portion of the U.S. while SMS-2 is positioned to cover the western portion. This paper provides a general overview of the imaging communication portions of the SMS/GOES, related to the image data encoding and transmission as well as the method of the data time multiplexing and the manner in which the scan line to line synchronization is achieved.

Baker, W. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Substorm generated fluxes of heavy ions at the geostationary orbit

Measurements of heavy energetic heavy ions present in the vicinity of the geostationary orbit of the ATS-6 satellite, taken with the aid of a solid-state detector telescope, are reported and analyzed. Data extracted from a single fairly isolated injection event (June 18, 1974) are examined: ions of Z not below 6 and energy above 4.0 MeV; energization of these heavy ions in the magnetosphere during substorm events; comparison of the heavy ion intensity and proton intensity; ratio of intensity of carbon ions and oxygen ions. The heavy ions are identified with oxygen for the most part. The heavy-ion spectrometer is described.

Fritz, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Three-axis attitude control for a geostationary satellite

The Applications Technology Satellite-6 was successfully launched into a geostationary orbit in May, 1974. Since that time, its attitude control subsystem has routinely demonstrated its ability to perform precision pointing and precision closed loop maneuvers. This paper describes the ATS-6 attitude control subsystem. The requirements imposed by the spacecraft mission objectives are outlined, and functional descriptions of the principal attitude control subsystem components and control laws are presented. The paper concludes with a summary comparison of in-orbit performance relative to its specified performance requirements.

Freeman, H. R.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Potential applications of digital, visible, and infrared data from geostationary environmental satellites

An hourly, digital data base from the Visible/Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer (VISSR) instrument on the GOES-1 and SMS-2 geostationary satellites is described. Several examples of developmental applications of these quantitative digital data are presented. These include a review of recent attempts to develop products that are of use to meteorologists who provide services to aviation, agriculture, forestry, hydrology, oceanography, and climatology. The sample products include high resolution thermal gradients of land and ocean surfaces, thermal change analyses, fruit frost/freeze application, cloud-top altitude analysis, analysis of hurricane characteristics, and analyses of solar insolation.

Miller, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Geomagnetic pulsations observed simultaneously on three geostationary satellites

Simultaneous observations of magnetic pulsations have been made by three geostationary satellites carrying similar magnetometers and acting as an azimuthal array. Autospectral and cross-spectral analysis yields coherence and phase differences between the pulsations at the satellite positions. The majority of the data fit the Kelvin-Helmholtz generation mechanism. The azimuthal wave number changes sign near noon and corresponds to propagation away from noon. Usually, the wave number is less than 10 deg per degree of longitude. Later in the afternoon, however, strong pulsations are observed with low coherence, implying large wave numbers. This suggests an instability driven by a gradient in the intensity of energetic protons, which may be expected at this local time. The data also suggest that some of the observed phase difference between the azimuthal components is due to small separations in magnetic shell, whereas this is not the case for the radial components. This implies a localized field-line resonance.

Hughes, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1977

A geostationary longitude acquisition planning algorithm

The paper is concerned with the phase of the geosynchronous mission termed station acquisition, which involves the maneuvering of a spacecraft to its geostationary longitude by means of the spacecraft propulsion system. An algorithm which assists in maneuver planning is described, and examples of its use are presented. The algorithm can be applied when sequences of more than three maneuvers are to be expected. While, in general, three maneuvers are sufficient to achieve the desired end conditions when orbital mechanics are the only consideration, operational considerations may add constraints resulting in an increased number of maneuvers required.

Petruzzo, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Communications payloads for geostationary platforms

Trends in communication satellites show increasing reuse of the frequency spectrum through multiple spot beams and orthogonal polarization, as well as consortia operation. Current reliance on orbital arc separation for frequency reuse may be inadequate for the projected traffic growth and the orbital slotting proposals before the ITU. This paper notes that cost advantages can accrue through common use of spacecraft subsystems and multiple users' platforms aboard a common geostationary platform. The rationale for such platforms is described and potential payloads are suggested.

Fordyce, S. W.↗
NASA NTRS1978

MSFC presentation charts on geostationary platform

A concept is presented of a geostationary platform. The concept takes the form of antennas and other payloads mounted on a strongback structure. The utilization and benefits of the platform are discussed.

Carey, W. T., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Geostationary platform structural system

A discussion is presented on the following engineering considerations for a geostationary platform: (1) structural configuration and design, (2) thermal characteristics, (3) flight load considerations and (4) assembly approaches.

Denton, S. J.↗