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Buoyant Venus station balloon for deployment and inflation during parachute descent into Venus atmosphere tested with scale model balloons in wind tunnels
Evaluation of differential energy spectra for protons and helium covering the energy range from 100 to 260 MeV/nucleon obtained from balloon flights made each summer (1965 to 1969) at Churchill, Manitoba, with the aid of a Geiger-tube hodoscope operated in conjunction with two scintillation elements used to measure dE/dx and E. Supplementary data from balloon flights at Minneapolis, Minn., and Sioux Falls, S. Dak. and from calibration exposures to protons and electrons were used to define backgrounds and to verify the predicted detector response. The observed proton spectra are characterized over a wide range of energy (30 to 300 MeV) by a simple relationship between cosmic-ray intensity J and kinetic energy T: J = AT. The helium spectra also follow this law at solar maximum but rise less steeply near solar minimum. This characteristic behavior can be interpreted in terms of a simple model in which convection is balanced by adiabatic deceleration.-
Since the first balloon observation of the Crab Nebula balloon data have provided much information on the positions, spectra, time variability and pulsed nature of localized sources, and on the spectrum and isotropy of diffuse galactic and universal components. Measurements are limited to energies above about 20 keV by atmospheric attenuation at 2 to 3 g/sq cm depth and to below several hundred keV by detector sensitivity. Detectors usually consist of large-area Na I or Cs I scintillation counters with anticoincidence collimators for rejection of charged particles and scattered X-rays. Proportional counters are occasionally used at lower energies and solid-state detectors are used where extreme energy resolution is important. The instruments require a pointing capability on the order of 1.0 to 0.1 deg, depending on the collimator aperture. Digital data is either recorded on board or telemetered using a PCM technique.
Description of a number of plasma, particle, and field detectors used on rocket investigations in and above the earth's atmosphere. Emphasis is on magnetospheric and solar-interplanetary studies. A balloon-borne X-ray telescope system with 20-min pointing accuracy is discussed. A PCM telemetry system used on both balloons and rockets to handle scientific data is described which includes a simple Doppler ranging system that gives location to 1.5 km. A system to reduce and analyze PCM data on the ground is discussed.
Balloon Launched Decelerator Test (BLDT) flights were conducted during the summer of 1972 over the White Sands Missile Range. The purpose of these tests was to qualify the Viking disk-gap band parachute system behind a full-scale simulator of the Viking Entry Vehicle over the maximum range of entry conditions anticipated in the Viking '75 soft landing on Mars. Test concerns centered on the ability of a minimum weight parachute system to operate without structural damage in the turbulent wake of the blunt-body entry vehicle (140 deg, 11.5 diameter cone). This is the first known instance of parachute operation at supersonic speeds in the wake of such a large blunt body. The flight tests utilized the largest successful balloon-payload weight combination known to get to high altitude (120kft) where rocket engines were employed to boost the test vehicle to supersonic speeds and dynamic pressures simulating the range of conditions on Mars.
For the eighth consective year, high-altitude calibration of solar cells was accomplished with the aid of free-flight balloons. Flights were conducted to an altitude of 36,576 m which is above 99.5% of earth's atmosphere where all water vapor levels and significant ozone bands are absent. Solar cells calibrated in this manner are significant used as intensity references in solar simulators and in terrestrial sunlight. Discussed is the method employed for high altitude balloon flight solar cell calibration. Also presented are data collected on 52 standard solar cells on two flights conducted in 1970. Solar cells flown repeatedly on successive flights have shown correlation of better than + or - 1.0%.
Computer programs for calculating the stability characteristics of a balloon tethered in a steady wind are presented. Equilibrium conditions, characteristic roots, and modal ratios are calculated for a range of discrete values of velocity for a fixed tether-line length. Separate programs are used: (1) to calculate longitudinal stability characteristics, (2) to calculate lateral stability characteristics, (3) to plot the characteristic roots versus velocity, (4) to plot the characteristic roots in root-locus form, (5) to plot the longitudinal modes of motion, and (6) to plot the lateral modes for motion. The basic equations, program listings, and the input and output data for sample cases are presented, with a brief discussion of the overall operation and limitations. The programs are based on a linearized, stability-derivative type of analysis, including balloon aerodynamics, apparent mass, buoyancy effects, and static forces which result from the tether line.
Electric-field payloads were flown simultaneously on two balloons from Great Whale River, Canada, on September 21, 1971, to provide data at two points in the upper atmosphere that differed in altitude by more than one atmospheric density scale height and in horizontal position by 30-140 km. The altitude dependences in the two sets of data prove conclusively that the vertical electric field at balloon altitudes stems from fair-weather atmospheric electricity sources and that the horizontal fields are mapped down ionospheric fields, since the weather-associated horizontal fields were smaller than 2 mV/m.
Description of a balloon-borne radiometer designed to make direct measurements of the background radiation in the spectral range from 1 to 20 cm, and evaluation of the results of two balloon flights performed with the aid of this radiometer. Measurements in five different passbands in the spectral region below 20 per cm were made with a liquid-helium-cooled radiometer in two flights at approximately 40-km altitude. The results obtained are found to be consistent with a 2.7 K thermal radiation background. In addition, an atmospheric radiation of certain magnitude is found to dominate the region above 11 per cm.
Atmospheric corrections made to balloon observed diffuse X-ray background between 30 and 200 keV are discussed. Corrections are based on a second balloon flight that carried detectors with different geometric factors and shapes and whose backgrounds were assumed to be the same.
A novel apparatus for controlling the temperature of balloon-borne equipment is disclosed, the apparatus serving to utilize the radiant energy emitted by the earth and its atmosphere so as to control the temperature of equipment. The apparatus comprises a housing to be carried aloft by a balloon and defining an enclosure for an instrumentation package. The enclosure includes an upper shield portion as well as a bottom window portion at the base, the bottom window facing the earth below during flight. The upper shield portion is constructed of a material such as aluminized Mylar, which serves to reflect direct sunlight.
Discussion of the guidance system of a balloon-borne coronagraph designed for IR solar corona observations at an altitude of 36 km. The coronagraph has two telescopes, measures 6 m in length, weighs 73 kg, is stabilized by a three-axis system, and has a pointing precision of plus or minus 10 sec of arc. Three torque motors are used to activate the tracking servo system of the coronagraph. An integral control system is used to prevent a permanent instrumental error. The coronagraph has been tested in two balloon missions.
The Liege-balloon program is intended to make high-spectral resolution observations of the sun in the near- and intermediate infrared regions not accessible from the ground. A description of the equipment, followed by a summary of the data obtained till now is presented. Except for ozone whose maximum of concentration lies near 25 Km altitude, the residual mass distribution of the other mentioned molecules decreases with altitude. This is a self-explanatory argument for carrying out spectroscopic observations from platforms transcending the densest layers of the earth's atmosphere. The Liege balloon equipment is primarily intended for very high-resolution solar observations from about 27-30 Km altitude, in all spectral regions between 1.5 and 15.0 microns, not accessible from the ground.
The establishment and operation of the National Scientific Balloon Facility are discussed. The balloon launching capabilities are described. The ground support systems, communication facilities, and meteorological services are analyzed.
The NASA Balloon-borne Ultraviolet Stellar Spectrometer (BUSS) which is carried to an altitude of 40 km by a 15 million cubic foot balloon for night-time observations of ultraviolet stellar spectra is discussed. The BUSS optical system, comprising an 0.40 m aperture Cassegrain telescope and an Ebert-Fastie spectrometer, points at various selected stars and focuses a portion of their spectra on the photocathode of an image dissector tube. The spectral region between 2,775 Angstroms and 2,825 Angstroms is sampled by the detector at 0.25 Angstroms increments using photon counting techniques. The pointing system for the payload uses a pair of orthogonal magnetometers which sense the earth's magnetic field for an aximuth reference, and a platform potentiometer for an elevation reference. This pointing system places the target star within the 3x1 degree field of view of an outer optical star tracker. The outer star tracker is then used to point the entire instrument to within one arc minute of the target star.
The development of a balloon-borne attitude control system for infrared astronomy studies is discussed. The Balloon Infrared Astronomy Platform (BIRAP) is the result of the development effort. The BIRAP uses electronic gimballing for the offset pointing which eliminates a set of mechanical gimbals. Guide stars with visual magnitudes as low as plus 6 are used for fine tracking assuring that all areas of the sky can be covered. The BIRAP control concept uses a closed loop system in the airborne equipment with automatic update through a command link that can be operated either manually or automatically by a ground based computer.
A mathematical model for predicting the three dimensional motion of the balloon system is developed, which includes the effects of bounce, pendulation and spin of each subsystem. Boundary layer effects are also examined, along with the aerodynamic forces acting on the balloon. Various simplified forms of the system mathematical model were developed, based on an order of magnitude analysis.
A mathematical model was developed of the three-dimensional dynamics of a high-altitude scientific research balloon system perturbed from its equilibrium configuration by an arbitrary gust loading. The platform is modelled as a system of four coupled pendula, and the equations of motion were developed in the Lagrangian formalism assuming a small-angle approximation. Three-dimensional pendulation, torsion, and precessional motion due to Coriolis forces are considered. Aerodynamic and viscous damping effects on the pendulatory and torsional motions are included. A general model of the gust field incident upon the balloon system was developed. The digital computer simulation program is described, and a guide to its use is given.