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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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An overview of the LANDSAT data utilization program of the Republic of Zaire is presented. The program emphasizes topics of economic significance to the national development program of Zaire: (1) agricultural land use capability analysis, including evaluation of the effects of large-scale burnings; (2) mineral resources evaluation; and (3) production of mapping materials for poorly covered regions.
Deep Space Network support for the four Viking spacecraft during October and November 1976 is summarized. The period covers the last portion of the prime mission which officially terminated on 15 November 1976 and the start of the Viking extended mission on that date. November also covered the Mars-Sun-Earth superior conjunction period with the rapid degradation of RF link performance resulting in the tapering off and termination of telemetry data coincident with a rapid increase in radio science experiment activity. The various radio science experiments are described in detail and the computer aided countdown program utilized by the tracking stations during the Viking mission is also described.
Full-duplex digital television providing a teleconference capability is to be evaluated in an experimental program utilizing the Communications Technology Satellite. The digitally implemented communications experiment employs a QPSK modulator-demodulator capable of operation over a wide range of bit rates. In addition to simultaneous data transmission (used for digital high-speed facsimiles and remote computer terminals), voice transmission through four-to-one compression will be studied.
The dynamics of aerospace technology transfer is discussed with reference to the agencies which facilitate the transfer to both the public and private sectors. Attention is given to NASA's Technology Utilization Program, and to specific applications of aerospace technology spinoff in the daily life of Americans.
Specific contributions of the NASA Technology Utilization Program are outlined, including: improved firefighting equipment, electrical implants for medical purposes, and improved methods of weather forecasting. Cooperation between NASA and other organizations in both the public and private sectors is stressed.
Several sets of related Adage utility programs are described. A general description of the software group, instructions on how to use the programs, and a programmers description of the theory of operation are given along with a printed example of the program in use and a listing of the program.
Thermal Energy Storage for Industrial Applications is a major thrust of the Department of Energy's Thermal Energy Storage Program. Utilizing Thermal Energy Storage (TES) with process or reject heat recovery systems is shown to be extremely beneficial for several applications. Recent system studies resulting from contracts awarded by the Department of Energy (DOE) identified four especially significant industries where TES appears attractive - food processing, paper and pulp, iron and steel, and cement. Potential annual fuel savings with large scale implementation of near term TES systems for these industries is over 9,000,000 bbl of oil. This savings is due to recuperation and storage in the food processing industry, direct fuel substitution in the paper and pulp industry and reduction in electric utility peak fuel use through inplant production of electricity from utilization of reject heat in the steel and cement industries.
Modifications made to data bases and to four programs in a series of computer programs (Sun Series) which run on the REEDA HP minicomputer system to aid NASA's solar activity predictions used in orbital life time predictions are described. These programs utilize various mathematical smoothing technique and perform statistical and graphical analysis of various solar activity data bases residing on the REEDA System.
IOALZ4 is an Assembly-language utility program for UNIVAC 1108, operational under level 33 of EXEC 8 operating system. It scans user-selected portions of system log file, whether located on tape or mass storage, searching for and processing I/O error entries.
A floppy disk utility program is described which transfers programs between files on a hard disk and floppy disk. It also copies the data on one floppy disk onto another floppy disk and compares the data. The program operates on the Data General NOVA-4X under the Real Time Disk Operating System. Sample operations are given.
The objective of the program is to develop rear stage blading designs that have lower losses in their endwall boundary layer regions. The overall technical approach in this efficiency improvement program utilized General Electric's Low Speed Research Compressor as the principal investigative tool. Tests were conducted in two ways: using four identical stages of blading so that test data would be obtained in a true multistage environment and using a single stage of blading so that comparison with the multistage test results could be made.
The Floppy Disk Utility Program transfers programs between files on the hard disk and floppy disk. It also copies the data on one floppy disk onto another floppy disk and compares the data. The program operates on the Data General NOVA-4X under the Real Time Disk Operating System (RDOS).
The SKYMAP catalogue is a compilation of astronomical data prepared primarily for purposes of attitude guidance for satellites. In addition to the SKYMAP Master Catalogue data base, a software package of data base management and utility programs is available. The tape version of the SKYMAP Catalogue, as received by the Astronomical Data Center (ADC), contains logical records consisting of a combination of binary and EBCDIC data. Certain character coded data in each record are redundant in that the same data are present in binary form. In order to facilitate wider use of all SKYMAP data by the astronomical community, a formatted (character) version was prepared by eliminating all redundant character data and converting all binary data to character form. The character version of the catalogue is described. The document is intended to fully describe the formatted tape so that users can process the data problems and guess work; it should be distributed with any character version of the catalogue.
A chemical vapor deposited tungsten with dispersed carbides was selected as the material for Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering and Reaction Control Systems check valve poppets and seats. The selection followed a NASA-sponsored prototype check valve development program utilizing the cutter-seal shell poppet concept. The poppet material is deposited as a coating approximately 0.9 mm thick and fabricated into a shell as a free standing body. The seat material is deposited as a coating 1.1 mm thick on a seat blank, and the cutter seal is machined in the coating. Module tests demonstrated that the material could be ground and lapped to very sharp edges and could cut through typical system contaminants without excessive damage to the sealing surfaces. The material was also determined to be unaffected by exposure to a strongly oxidizing storable propellant.
The os calcis mineral was measured in the nine Skylab crew members and in eight control subjects, 5 years after the Skylab Program, utilizing a photon absorptiometric technique. These measurements were compared with preflight measurements in an attempt to discover any long-term effects of space flight on the skeletal system. A statistically significant loss of bone mineral was found in the crew members who flew, but caution is urged in the interpretation of this difference. A recommendation to continue studies of this type is made.
A conservative, finite-difference, full-potential relaxation code has been developed to solve transonic flow around axisymmetric or nonlifting, planar, two-dimensional bodies. The program utilizes the artificial compressibility method to provide an upwind bias in supersonic regions. Calculated examples include a wide variety of axisymmetric and planar two-dimensional shapes with various blunt, pointed and open ends in subsonic, transonic, and low supersonic free streams. Comparisons between conservative and nonconservative full-potential calculations show perfect agreement at convergence when the flow is entirely subsonic. Noticeable differences exist, however, between the conservative and nonconservative solutions for transonic flows with shocks.
A Production Readiness Verification Testing (PRVT) program has been established to determine if structures fabricated from advanced composites can be committed on a production basis to commercial airline service. The program utilizes subcomponents which reflect the variabilities in structure that can realistically be expected from current production and quality control technology to estimate the production qualities, variation in static strength, and durability of advanced composite structures. The results of the static tests and a durability assessment after one year of continuous load/environment testing of twenty two duplicates of each of two structural components (a segment of the front spar and cover of a vertical stabilizer box structure) are discussed.
The core compressor exit stage study program develops rear stage blading designs that have lower losses in their endwall boundary layer regions. The test data and performance results for the best stage configuration consisting of Rotor-B running with Stator-B are described. The technical approach in this efficiency improvement program utilizes a low speed research compressor. Tests were conducted in two ways: (1) to use four identical stages of blading to obtain test data in a true multistage environment and (2) to use a single stage of blading to compare with the multistage test results. The effects of increased rotor tip clearances and circumferential groove casing treatment are evaluated.