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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.
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The objectives of this program are to apply ground-based emulsion polymerization reactor technology to improve the production of: monodisperse latex particles for calibration standards, chromatographic separation column packing, and medical research; and commercial latexes such as those used for coatings, foams, and adhesives.
The ratio of the cross sections for the direct and dissociative excitation of the OI(3s 3S0-2p 3P; 1304 A wavelength) transition, sigma A/sigma D, are accurately determined, and the sigma A/sigma D ratio is directly normalized to the ratio of the O(+) and O2(+) ionization cross sections using a high-density diffuse gas source, an electrostatically focused electron gun, a vacuum-ultraviolet monochromater, and a quadrupole mass spectrometer for simultaneous optical and composition measurements. Using revised sigma A(1304 A) values calculated with new calibration standards, the shape of the cross section for the excitation of the O(3s 3S0) state agrees well with previous results, though the absolute magnitude of sigma A(1304 A) is smaller than the results of Stone and Zipf (1974) by a factor of 2.8. The revised cross sections agree well with recent quantum calculations when cascade excitation of the 3s 3S0 state is taken into account.
Inexpensive device maintains water at 0.01 degree C for 10 weeks or longer. New device consists of four basic assemblies; small, commercial chest freezer containing insulated water tank; insulated copper cell holder; "ice switch" for cycling freezer compressor and externally-mounted air pump for circulation. Access hole in freezer lid allows triple point measurements without opening lid. Modified freezer used to calibrate standard platinum resistance thermomenters.
The design and evaluation of a novel fixturing technique for characterizing millimeter wave solid state devices is presented. The technique utilizes a cosine-tapered ridge guide fixture and a one-tier de-embedding procedure to produce accurate and repeatable device level data. Advanced features of this technique include nondestructive testing, full waveguide bandwidth operation, universality of application, and rapid, yet repeatable, chip-level characterization. In addition, only one set of calibration standards is required regardless of the device geometry.
The electrical performance of GaAs solar cells was characterized as a function of irradiation with protons and electrons with the underlying goal of producing solar cells suitable for use in space. Proton energies used varied between 50 keV and 10 MeV, and damage coefficients were derived for liquid phase epitaxy GaAs solar cells. Electron energies varied between 0.7 and 2.4 MeV. Cells from recent production runs were characterized as a function of electron and proton irradiation. These same cells were also characterized as a function of solar intensity and operating temperature, both before and after the electron irradiations. The long term stability of GaAs cells during photon exposure was examined. Some cells were found to degrade with photon exposure and some did not. Calibration standards were made for GaAs/Ge solar cells by flight on a high altitude balloon.
Procedures for measuring the air mass zero (AM0) current versus voltage characteristics and calculating the efficiency are discussed. The various factors influencing the determination of the efficiency include the I-V measurement system, reference cell calibration, standard reporting conditions, area measurement, light source characteristics, temperature measurement and control, and the measurement procedures. Each of these sources contributes to the precision index and bias limit which is combined to obtain the total uncertainty in the efficiency. These factors are discussed as well as how to minimize differences in the reported AM0 efficiency of a given PV cell between various laboratories.
Radio frequency (RF) surface resistance measurement experiments on high T(sub c) thin films were performed. The method uses a microstrip resonator comprising a top gold conductor strip, an alumina dielectric layer, and a separate superconductivity ground plane. The surface resistance of the superconducting ground plane can be determined, with reference to a gold calibration standard, from the measured quality factor of the half-wave resonator. Initial results near 7 GHz over the temperature range from 25 to 300 K are presented for YBa2Cu3O(7-x) and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8-y) thin film samples deposited by an electron beam flash evaporation process. The RF surface resistance at 25 K for both materials in these samples was found to be near 25 milliohms.
The distribution of middle tropospheric carbon monoxide measure by the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites (MAPS) instrument carried aboard the space shuttle is reported. The data represent average mixing ratios in the middle troposphere and are presented in the form of maps that show the carbon monoxide mixing ratios averaged for 6 days of the mission. Comparisons with concurrent, direct measurements taken aboard aircraft show that the inferred concentrations are systematically low by from 20 to 40 percent depending upon which direct measurement calibration standard is used. The data show that there are very large CO sources resulting from biomass burning over South America and southern Africa. Measured mixing ratios were high over northeast Asia and were highly variable over Europe.
Planning is underway for the handling of the peak return link data rates ranging from 300 to 1200 Mbps that are associated with the emerging Space Station orbital-systems era. Ground data handling services encompass the enhancement of on-board ancilliary data packets to furnish standard calibrations and transformations not available on-board; remote access to an interactive data base will allow users to select and withdraw specified parameters based on user-defined criteria.
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter UV (SSBUV) spectrometer that will be furnishing regular, on-orbit calibration checks of the ozone-monitoring instruments aboard NOAA satellites. The long-term ozone-monitoring program requires a reduction of uncharacterized drifts in the satellite instrument to a value lower than the expected ozone trend at the 95 percent confidence level; this translates into a requirement for the calibration of the SSBUV to a 1-sigma precision level of 1 percent from one flight to the next. A hierarchy of calibration standards is used to furnish redundancy and minimize biases; laboratory fixtures have been designed to minimize setup-induced systematic errors.
The measurement of Air Pollution from Satellite experiment measured the distribution of middle-tropospheric CO from the Space Shuttle during October 1984. The data represent average mixing ratios between 57 deg N and 57 deg S. Approximately 75,000 individual CO measurements were obtained during the 9-day mission. The data are presented in maps that show the CO mixing ratios averaged over 5 x 5-deg areas for 6 days of the mission. Comparisons with concurrent direct measurements taken aboard aircraft show that the inferred concentrations are systematically low by 20-40 percent, depending upon which direct measurement calibration standard is used. The data show that there are very large CO sources resulting from biomass burning over South America and southern Africa. Measured mixing ratios were high over northeast Asia and were highly variable over Europe.
Accurate characterizations of some cloud parameters are dependent upon the absolute accuracy of satellite radiance measurements. Visible wavelength measurements from both the AVHRR and VISSR instruments are often used to study cloud characteristics. Both of these instruments were radiometrically calibrated prior to launch, but neither has an onboard device to monitor degradation after launch. During the FIRE/SRB cirrus Intensive Field Operation (IFO), a special effort was made to monitor calibration of these two instruments onboard the NOAA-9 and GOES-6 spacecraft. In addition, several research groups have combined their efforts to assess the long-term performance of both instruments. These results are presented, and a limited comparison is made with the ERBE calibration standard.
Monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) test includes a bias module having spring-loaded contacts which electrically engage pads on a chip carrier disposed in a recess of a base member. RF energy is applied to and passed from the chip carrier by chamfered edges of ridges in the waveguide passages of housings which are removably attached to the base member. Thru, Delay, and Short calibration standards having dimensions identical to those of the chip carrier assure accuracy and reliability of the test. The MMIC chip fits in an opening in the chip carrier with the boundaries of the MMIC lying on movable reference planes thereby establishing accuracy and flexibility.
Among the interesting questions concerning meteor streams associated with Comet Halley is the question of whether or not the activity of a meteor stream was connected with the approach of the comet to the terrestrial orbit in 1985 to 1986. Meteoric aerosols getting to the upper atmosphere can be detected by twilight sounding, as has been done previously. It turns out that not only parameters describing some properties of aerosol can be obtained by twilight sounding, but also characteristics concerning the structure of the stream can be derived. Among the yearly active streams, the Orionides have always attracted the attention of scientists. The period of activity of the Orionides is October 18 to 26, and the maximum stream activity is October 21. In detecting aerosol layers in the terrestrial atmosphere, a notion of the logarithmic intensity gradient of scattered twilight light is used, d log I/dH, where I is intensity and H is the real twilight beam height, which is a function of the wavelength observed. A photoelectric photometer with an interference filter at the wavelength of 610 nm is used. The observation were carried out in two points of the solar vertical; the zenith angle of the observation points was + or - 60 degrees. The recording was carried on continuously in each direction during a minute, then the system was switched to the other direction. A calibration standard was recorded before each observation. The observation dates in the Orionid periods of 1984, 1986, and 1987 are given.
The 1990 Johnson Space Center (JSC) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program was conducted by the University of Houston-University Park and Johnson Space Centers (JSC). A compilation of the final reports on the research projects is presented. The following topics are covered: the Space Shuttle; the Space Station; lunar exploration; mars exploration; spacecraft power supplies; mars rover vehicle; mission planning for the Space Exploration Initiative; instrument calibration standards; a lunar oxygen production plant; optical filters for a hybrid vision system; dynamic structural analysis; lunar bases; pharmacodynamics of scopolamine; planetary spacecraft cost modeling; and others.
Magnetoacoustic (MAC) and magnetoacoustic emission (MAE) techniques combined to provide complete characterization of residual stresses in ferromagnetic structural materials. Combination of MAC and MAE techniques makes it possible to characterize residual tension and compression without being limited by surface conditions and unavailability of calibration standards. Significant in field of characterization of materials as well as detection of fatigue failure.
The uncertainty in the geopotential model is currently one of the major error sources in the orbit determination of low-altitude Earth-orbiting spacecraft. The results of an investigation of different geopotential error models and modeling approaches currently used for operational orbit error analysis support at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) are presented, with emphasis placed on sequential orbit error analysis using a Kalman filtering algorithm. Several geopotential models, known as the Goddard Earth Models (GEMs), were developed and used at GSFC for orbit determination. The errors in the geopotential models arise from the truncation errors that result from the omission of higher order terms (omission errors) and the errors in the spherical harmonic coefficients themselves (commission errors). At GSFC, two error modeling approaches were operationally used to analyze the effects of geopotential uncertainties on the accuracy of spacecraft orbit determination - the lumped error modeling and uncorrelated error modeling. The lumped error modeling approach computes the orbit determination errors on the basis of either the calibrated standard deviations of a geopotential model's coefficients or the weighted difference between two independently derived geopotential models. The uncorrelated error modeling approach treats the errors in the individual spherical harmonic components as uncorrelated error sources and computes the aggregate effect using a combination of individual coefficient effects. This study assesses the reasonableness of the two error modeling approaches in terms of global error distribution characteristics and orbit error analysis results. Specifically, this study presents the global distribution of geopotential acceleration errors for several gravity error models and assesses the orbit determination errors resulting from these error models for three types of spacecraft - the Gamma Ray Observatory, the Ocean Topography Experiment, and the Cosmic Background Explorer.
An overview is presented of the development and construction of the Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WF/PC). The WF/PC is a duel two dimensional spectrophotometer with rudimentary polarimetric and transmission grating capabilities. The instrument operates from 1150 to 11000 A with a resolution of 0.1 arcsec per pixel or 0.043 arcsec per pixel. Data products and standard calibration methods are briefly summarized.