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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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At least 271 records · Page 15

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NASA NTRS1972

Satellite observations of whistler-mode signals in the conjugate region of a 200-kilohertz station.

Study of the signals recorded by a narrow-band (about 200 Hz) receiver at a broadcast station operating at 200 kHz and in the conjugate region of Ashkhabad. The latitude of the station is nearly low enough for propagation of a 200-kHz signal in the ducted whistler mode to the conjugate hemisphere along field lines terminating at the station. In the dawn-dusk orbital plane signals are indeed relatively often observed in the conjugate region, but the source of the signals and their path of propagation is not completely clear. The pattern of observations is consistent with propagation over the long magnetospheric path in field-aligned ducts spread in longitude near 22 deg invariant latitude, but an interpretation involving nonducted propagation is preferred, in which the occasionally high electric-field intensities encountered (greater than 10 microvolts/m) result from focusing effects or from propagation near the resonance angle.

Laaspere, T.↗

NASA NTRS1992

An assessment of lightning or in situ instabilities as a source for whistler mode waves in the night ionosphere of Venus

Low-altitude data acquired on orbits 484-526 of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter are used to assess the most probable source of whistler mode waves in the nightside ionosphere of Venus. The effect of electron temperature on whistler mode propagation is discussed, with particular emphasis on the growth rate of gyroresonant instabilities. The wave intensity as observed with the Pioneer Venus Orbiter electric field detector is compared with various plasma parameters to determine if it is likely that the waves are generated by an in situ instability. It is shown that gyroresonant whistler mode instabilities do not explain the Pioneer Venus wave data. It is demonstrated that the magnetic field strength controls the wave intensity, rather than density, and it is concluded that the electron Beta(e) is the primary factor in the occurrence of the 100-Hz waves detected in the nightside ionosphere of Venus. The present analysis supports the interpretation that these waves are due to lightning in the Venus atmosphere.

Strangeway, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Ka-band propagation studies using the ACTS propagation terminal and the CSU-CHILL multiparameter, Doppler radar

An increase in the demand for satellite communications has led to an overcrowding of the current spectrums being used - mainly at C and Ku bands. To alleviate this overcrowding, new technology is being developed to open up the Ka-band for communications use. One of the first experimental communications satellites using this technology is NASA's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS). In Sept. 1993, ACTS was deployed into a geostationary orbit near 100 deg W longitude. The ACTS system employs two Ka-band beacons for propagation experiments, one at 20.185 GHz and another at 27.505 GHz. Attenuation due to rain and tropospheric scintillations will adversely affect new technologies proposed for this spectrum. Therefore, before being used commercially, propagation effects at Ka-band must be studied. Colorado State University is one of eight sites across the United States and Canada conducting propagations studies; each site is equipped with the ACTS propagation terminal (APT). With each site located in a different climatic zone, the main objective of the propagation experiment is to obtain monthly and yearly attenuation statistics. Each site also has secondary objectives that are site dependent. At CSU, the CSU-CHILL radar facility is being used to obtain polarimetric radar data along the ACTS propagation path. During the expected two to four year period of the project, it is hoped to study several significant weather events. The S-band radar will be used to obtain Ka-band attenuation estimates and to initialize propagation models that have been developed, to help classify propagation events measured by the APT. Preliminary attenuation estimates for two attenuation events will be shown here - a bright band case that occurred on 13 May 1994 and a convective case that occurred on 20 Jun. 1994. The computations used to obtain Ka-band attenuation estimates from S-band radar data are detailed. Results from the two events are shown.

Beaver, J.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ACS3 - Flight Dynamics for A Solar Sail Technology Demonstration Mission

The NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) mission consist of a spacecraft that will deploy an 80 m 2 solar sail in a 1000 km sun-synchronous orbit. The main objective of the mission is to demonstrate that the solar wind can impulse the spacecraft to change the semimajor-axis and obtain a different orbit altitude. The sail will be composed of a combination of composite materials with distinct properties, and it will be deployed with lightweight booms from a 12U CubeSat bus, developed by Nanoavionics. The spacecraft will be launched aboard an Electron launch vehicle from Rocket LAB Launch Complex in New Zealand no earlier than July 2023. This paper covers the orbital mechanics and navigation developments to support the mission, from the solar sail trajectory model to the actual flight dynamics system to provide the orbit determination analysis prior to flight. First, we introduce a description of our high-fidelity propagation that accounts for the solar radiation pressure to produce predictive ephemeris of the solar sail performance with several spacecraft attitude modes. As part of our results, we present plots of the expected altitudes achieved by the spacecraft once the solar sail is deployed under various assumptions of the solar weather. In addition to that, we present a full description of our orbit determination process which relies in GPS state vectors to accurately estimate the position and velocity uncertainties at a frequent cadence during the mission. The outcome of this process will be critical to achieving the objective of determining effective altitude change produced by the solar sail.

Solar Sail↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ACS3: Flight Dynamics

The NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) mission consist of a spacecraft that will deploy an 80 m2 solar sail in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The main objective of the mission is to demonstrate that the solar wind can impulse the spacecraft to change the semimajor-axis and obtain a different orbit altitude. The sail will be composed of a combination of composite materials with distinct properties, and it will be deployed with lightweight booms from a 12U CubeSat bus, developed by Nanoavionics. The spacecraft will be launched aboard an Electron launch vehicle from Rocket LAB Launch Complex in New Zealand. This paper covers the orbital mechanics and navigation developments to support the mission, from the solar sail trajectory model to the actual flight dynamics system to provide the orbit determination analysis prior to flight. First, we introduce a description of our high-fidelity propagation that accounts for the solar radiation pressure to produce predictive ephemeris of the solar sail performance with several spacecraft attitude modes. As part of our results, we present plots of the expected altitudes achieved by the spacecraft once the solar sail is deployed under various assumptions of the solar weather. In addition to that, we present a full description of our orbit determination process which relies in GPS state vectors to accurately estimate the position and velocity uncertainties at a frequent cadence during the mission. The outcome of this process will be critical to achieving the objective of determining effective altitude change produced by the solar sail.

Solar sail↗

NASA NTRS1994

Orbital velocities induced by surface waves

During the third intensive observational period of the Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment (SWADE), an aircraft-based experiment was conducted on 5 March 1991 by deploying slow-fall airborne expendable current profilers (AXCPs) and airborne expendable bathythermographs (AXBTs) during a scanning radar altimeter (SRA) flight on the NASA NP-3A research aircraft. As the Gulf Stream (GS) moved into the SWADE domain in late February, maximum upper-layer currents of 1.98 m/s were observed in the core of the baroclinic jet where the vertical current shears were O(10(exp -2)/s). The SRA concurrently measured the sea surface topography, which was transformed into two-dimensional directional wave spectra at 5-6-km intervals along the flight tracks. The wave spectra indicated a local wave field with wavelengths of 40-60 m propagating southward between 120 deg and 180 deg, and a northward-moving swell field from 300 deg to 70 deg associated with significant wave heights of 2-4 m. As the AXCP descended through the upper ocean, the profiler sensed orbital velocity amplitudes of 0.2-0.5 m/s due to low-frequency surface waves. These orbital velocities were isolated by fitting the observed current profiles to the three-layer model based on a monochromatic surface wave, including the steady and current shear terms within each layer. The depth-integrated differences between the observed and modeled velocity profiles were typically less than 3 cm/s. For 17 of the 21 AXCP drop sites, the rms orbital velocity amplitudes, estimated by integrating the wave spectra over direction and frequency, were correlated at a level of 0.61 with those derived from the current profiles. The direction of wave propagation inferred from the AXCP-derived orbital velocities was in the same direction observed by the SRA. These mean wave directions were highly correlated (0.87) and differed only by about 5 deg.

Shay, Lynn K.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Study of LEO-SAT microwave link for broad-band mobile satellite communication system

In the field of mobile satellite communications, a system based on low-earth-orbit satellites (LEO-SAT's) such as the Iridium system has been proposed. The LEO-SAT system is able to offer mobile telecommunication services in high-latitude areas. Rain degradation, fading and shadowing are also expected to be decreased when the system is operated at a high elevation angle. Furthermore, the propagation delay generated in the LEO-SAT system is less pronounced than that in the geostationary orbit satellite (GEO-SAT) system and, in voice services, the effect of the delay is almost negligible. We proposed a concept of a broad-band mobile satellite communication system with LEO-SAT's and Optical ISL. In that system, a fixed L-band (1.6/1.5 GHz) multibeam is used to offer narrow band service to the mobile terminals in the entire area covered by a LEO-SAT and steerable Ka-band (30/20 GHz) spot beams are used for the wide band service. In this paper, we present results of a study of LEO-SAT microwave link between a satellite and a mobile terminal for a broad-band mobile satellite communication system. First, the results of link budget calculations are presented and the antennas mounted on satellites are shown. For a future mobile antenna technology, we also show digital beamforming (DBF) techniques. DBF, together with modulation and/or demodulation, is becoming a key technique for mobile antennas with advanced functions such as antenna pattern calibration, correction, and radio interference suppression. In this paper, efficient DBF techniques for transmitting and receiving are presented. Furthermore, an adaptive array antenna system suitable for this LEO-SAT is presented.

Fujise, Masayuki↗

NASA NTRS2012

Orbital Operations for Phobos and Deimos Exploration

One of the deep-space human exploration activities proposed for the post-Shuttle era is a mission to one of the moons of Mars, Phobos or Deimos. There are several options available to the mission architect for operations around these bodies. These options include distant retrograde orbits (DROs), Lagrange-point orbits such as halos and Lyapunov orbits, and fixed-point stationkeeping or "hovering." These three orbit options are discussed in the context of the idealized circular restricted three body problem, full-dynamics propagations, and a concept of operations. The discussion is focused on Phobos, but all results hold for Deimos

distant retrograde orbits (DROs)↗

NASA NTRS1975

Four methods of attitude determination for spin-stabilized spacecraft with applications and comparative results

The attitude of a spacecraft is determined by specifying independent parameters which relate the spacecraft axes to an inertial coordinate system. Sensors which measure angles between spin axis and other vectors directed to objects or fields external to the spacecraft are discussed. For the spin-stabilized spacecraft considered, the spin axis is constant over at least an orbit, but separate solutions based on sensor angle measurements are different due to propagation of errors. Sensor-angle solution methods are described which minimize the propagated errors by making use of least squares techniques over many sensor angle measurements and by solving explicitly (in closed form) for the spin axis coordinates. These methods are compared with star observation solutions to determine if satisfactory accuracy is obtained by each method.

Smith, G. A.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Lidar simulation

The feasibility of measuring atmospheric water vapor via orbital lidar is estimated. The calculation starts with laser radar equations representing backscatter with and without molecular line absorption; the magnitudes of off-line backscatter are demonstrated. Extensive prior data on water line strengths are summarized to indicate the available sensitivity to water vapor concentration. Several lidar situations are considered starting with uniform and perturbed atmospheres at 0, 3, 10 and 20 kM (stratosphere) altitudes. These simulations are indicative of results to be obtained in ground truth measurements (ground-based and airborne). An approximate treatment of polar observations is also given. Vertical atmospheric soundings from orbit and from ground stations are calculated. Errors are discussed as regards their propagation through the lidar equation to render the measured water vapor concentration imprecise; conclusions are given as to required laser energy and feasible altitude resolution.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1989

Adaptive structures

The fundamental principles of the adaptive structures concept and its applications to current and planned space missions are reviewed and illustrated with diagrams, drawings, graphs, and photographs. An adaptive structure is defined as one which can be modified to meet mission requirements, either by remote commands or automatically in response to external stimuli. Topics addressed include the need for adaptive structures, analytical models, ground testing, sensor/actuator-structure interactions, structural concepts, active damping, wave propagation in large structures, the selection of active member locations, and on-orbit system identification. Particular attention is given to adaptive structures being developed for the NASA Large Deployable Reflector and Optical Interferometer projects.

Wada, Ben K.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Resolution of Orbit Determination Prediction Instabilities at Titan During Cassini's Solstice Mission

The Cassini spacecraft has been in orbit about Saturn since 2004. Exploration of the Saturn system is driven by gravitational flybys of the moon Titan which alter the spacecraft trajectory. The Cassini Navigation Team receives regular updates to the Saturn satellites ephemeris from JPL's Solar System Dynamics group. The difference between subsequent ephemeris deliveries can be hundreds of meters in the position of Titan at the time of a flyby. Errors in Titan's position propagate downstream to the next flyby through the estimated spacecraft trajectory. Prior to 2013, the Cassini Orbit Determination Team estimated the Saturn satellite ephemeris parameters and used the a posteriori states and covariance of an operations arc as a priori inputs to subsequent estimation arcs. Since 2013, the OD Team has only been considering errors in the ephemeris and not estimating a correction to the satellite positions. The T119 Titan flyby exhibited a 3D miss distance of 2.44 km and the following T120 flyby yielded a smaller miss of 1.06 km at the 2.9s error level. These discrepancies between pre-flyby prediction and post-flyby trajectory reconstruction were due to errors in the Titan ephemeris. In order to improve the targeting of Titan in future flybys, the team restarted the satellite ephemeris estimation process for orbit determination solutions. Subsequent flybys had target misses of less than 1 km at the sub-3 error level. This paper describes the method of scaling the a priori satellite ephemeris covariance in the orbit determination process to allow larger corrections to the satellite system and improve the prediction of the spacecraft’s Titan-relative position at the time of encounters.

Boone, Dylan↗

NASA NTRS1973

Space shuttle orbiter fracture control plan

The criteria are presented for preventing space shuttle structural failure associated with crack initiation or propagation during fabrication, test, handling, and the operational life of the vehicle. The criteria discussed include: engineering responsibilities, assurance management, production, operation and test, procurement, critical parts selection, design, and structural analysis.

Space Division↗

NASA NTRS1974

Space Shuttle Orbiter Fracture Control Plan

Fracture control↗

NASA NTRS1973

Propagation pattern of interplanetary shock waves associated with solar proton flares

The two dimensional pattern of interplanetary shock waves is deduced by taking into account the solar longitude dependence of the time intervals between SSC geomagnetic storms and responsible flares. This pattern near the earth's orbit is not symmetric with respect to the meridian plane which crosses the position of the flare, and the highest speed of this wave propagation is observed in the direction about 30 degrees east of this meridian plane. The magnitude of the Forbush decreases of galactic cosmic rays also varies with the longitude positions of those flares. This is used to estimate the distribution of magnetic fields behind the shock waves.

Sakurai, K.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Radio detection of solar wind discontinuities

Geomagnetic field sudden increases or storm sudden commencements are compared with measurements of electron content of the solar wind. The latter data are obtained by a radio propagation experiment, which measures the electron content along a radio path between transmitters on the ground and several spacecraft in solar orbit. Measurements were examined during time periods that included 40 of the geomagnetic disturbances (gmd) reported between January 1, 1966, and June 30, 1969. These studies indicate that some widely reported solar wind discontinuities have been detected by the radio propagation experiment. Eleven of the 40 gmd were classified as storm sudden commencements (ssc), which usually result when a shock in the solar wind strikes the magnetosphere. The relative timings of these 11 events are consistent with conclusions drawn from comparisons of experiment geometry to prevailing shock models. Compared to the nature of these 11 events, the characteristics of the solar-wind disturbances corresponding to the remaining 29 gmd were generally found to have been less favorable for detection by the radio propagation experiment, but sharp changes in the content were clearly evident at the time of several minor gmd.

Landt, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS2004

The coverage of elliptical orbits using Ergodic theory

One of the key performance metrics for satellite constellations is the statistics of the visibility periods between the satellites and poins on the ground. Associated with this are other desirable communications statistis such as data through-put, link qualities, etc. Typically, the computation of coverage statistics requires the propagation of the trajectories. In this paper a new algorithm using differential geometry enables us to extend the Ergodic theory to eliptical orbits.

Lo, Martin W.↗

NASA NTRS1988

GOES dynamic propagation of attitude

The spacecraft in the next series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-Next) are Earth pointing and have 5-year mission lifetimes. Because gyros can be depended on only for a few years of continuous use, they will be turned off during routine operations. This means attitude must, at times, be determined without benefit of gyros and, often, using only Earth sensor data. To minimize the interruption caused by dumping angular momentum, these spacecraft have been designed to reduce the environmental torque acting on them and incorporate an adjustable solar trim tab for fine adjustment. A new support requirement for GOES-Next is that of setting the solar trim tab. Optimizing its setting requires an estimate of the unbalanced torque on the spacecraft. These two requirements, determining attitude without gyros and estimating the external torque, are addressed by replacing or supplementing the gyro propagation with a dynamic one, that is, one that integrates the rigid body equations of motion. By processing quarter-orbit or longer batches, this approach takes advantage of roll-yaw coupling to observe attitude completely without Sun sensor data. Telemetered momentum wheel speeds are used as observations of the unbalanced external torques. GOES-Next provides a unique opportunity to study dynamic attitude propagation. The geosynchronous altitude and adjustable trim tab minimize the external torque and its uncertainty, making long-term dynamic propagation feasible. This paper presents the equations for dynamic propagation, an analysis of the environmental torques, and an estimate of the accuracies obtainable with the proposed method.

Markley, F. Landis↗