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The combustion of NH4ClO4 composite propellants has been studied between 15 and 3000 psi. The emphasis in the program has been on determining the mechanisms by which the fuel components influence the burning rate of the composites. In order to have flexibility in the choice and concentration of the fuel component all combustion experiments were performed with pressed power strands. The fuels studied included those which affected the combustion mechanism of the composite primarily through their effect on: (1) the oxidizer decomposition mechanism and (2) the composite surface temperature. The combustion of pure and doped NH4ClO4 was studied using both pressed powder strands and pressed end burning motor grains. The experimental approach has been essentially a chemical one with emphasis on perturbing those reactions which occur on or immediately adjacent to the surface (zone of influence) of the composite.
An investigation of sonic-boom overpressures in water has been conducted by gun-launching small cone-cylinder models over water. Flights were conducted at Mach numbers of 2.7 and 5.7, in air, corresponding to Mach numbers of 0.6 and 1.3, respectively, in water. Shadowgraph pictures and underwater pressure measurements indicate that for horizontal flights at Mach numbers below Mach 4.4 in air (i.e., subsonic relative to the speed of sound in water) the resulting underwater disturbance is an acoustic wave whose peak pressure attenuates rapidly with water depth. In contrast, at supersonic Mach numbers, relative to water, the incident shock wave at the surface is transmitted into the water as a propagating shock wave and the peak pressure associated with it does not attenuate with water depth.
The combustion of NHClO4 composite propellants was studied between 15 and 3000 psi. The emphasis was on determining the mechanisms by which the fuel components influence the burning rate of the composites. All combustion experiments were performed with pressed powder strands. The fuels affected the combustion mechanism of the composite through their effect on the oxidizer decomposition mechanism, the composite surface temperature, and by reacting heterogeneously with the oxidizer on the surface of the composite. The results indicate that the fuel component has a significant effect on the surface temperature in both catalyzed and uncatalyzed composites. The data suggest that the contribution, to the overall combustion reaction, of heterogeneous reactions increases with increasing pressure. There is also evidence that even in steady state combustion the ignition of individual oxidizer particles is an important parameter in determining the combustion characteristics of the composite.
Selected missions using solar electric propulsion and conventional propulsion systems were studied. The accomplishment of the tasks required extensive modification of the trajectory optimization computer program HILTOP. In addition to adding new program features, HILTOP was completely restructured to reduce execution time. The specific mission studies reported on are the direct and Venus swingby missions to the comet Encke and solar electric propulsion missions to Encke and to a distance of 0.25 AU from the sun.
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A Kalman-Schmidt filter is used to estimate atmospheric and trajectory parameters for entry into the Venusian atmosphere. A significantly improved version of the Landing Trajectory Reconstruction (LTR) computer program, used to obtain the estimates is described. Major improvements involve precision and linearity control of numerical differencing, corrected perturbation modeling, and incorporation of a refractivity model. Important results show that gyroscopic data are not usable with LTR, that atmospheric properties are generally well estimated for altitudes less than 100 km, and that the two LTR modes of operation are complementary in performance.
Two different laser-scanning methods may be utilized. In each case scanned cylindrical bullet surface is displayed ""unwrapped'' on oscilloscope screen. Bullets are compared by photographing each display and superimposing negatives of two images. With some modifications bullets can be scanned and compared by superimposing images on screen of dual-beam oscilloscope.
The thermal stability of perchlorate composite propellants was studied at 135 and 170 C. The experimental efforts were concentrated on determining the importance of heterogeneous oxidizer-fuel reactions in the thermal degradation process. The experimental approach used to elucidate the mechanisms by which the oxidizer fuel composites thermally degrade was divided into two parts: (1) keeping the fuel constant and varying the nature of the oxidizers, and (2) holding the oxidizer constant and varying the fuel components. The fuel component primarily utilized in the first phase was polyethylene. Oxidizers included KClO4, KClO3, NH4ClO4 and NH4ClO4 doped with materials such as chlorate, phosphate and arsenate. In the second phase the oxidizer used was primarily NH4ClO4 while the fuels included saturated and unsaturated polybutadiene prepolymers and a series of bonding agents. Techniques employed in the current study include thermogravimetric measurements, differential thermal analysis, infrared, mass spectrometry, electron microscopy, and appropriate wet chemical analysis.
Interplanetary trajectory characteristics are presented, for Venus swingbys to Mercury, where multiple revolutions about the Sun are permitted. Additional consideration is given to the use of multiple Venus swingbys and/or to midcourse, near perilhelion, propulsive maneuvers to improve the performance of the mission as measured in terms of payload in Mercury orbit. Missions in 1980, 1983, 1985 and 1988 were analyzed with navigation results also developed. An exploratory investigation established the availability of low energy mission opportunities in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999.
The parameter identification scheme being used is a differential correction least squares procedure (Gauss-Newton method). The position, orientation, and derivatives of these quantities with respect to the parameters of interest (i.e., sensitivity coefficients) are determined by digital integration of the equations of motion and the parametric differential equations. The application of this technique to three vastly different sets of data is used to illustrate the versatility of the method and to indicate some of the problems that still remain.
An analysis was conducted of the space mission to intercept the comet Encke. The two basic types of flight geometry considered for the mission are described. The primary interactions between time-of-flight and performance characteristics are displayed. The representative spacecraft characteristics for the Titan 3/Centaur launch vehicle are tabulated. The navigation analyses for the two missions are developed to show: (1) assessment of the navigation feasibility of the missions, (2) determination of the total velocity budget for the trim maneuvers, and (3) evaluation of dispersions at comet encounter.
Imaging for navigation and science has been studied for a 1980 Encke flyby at 0.4 to 0.8 AU from the sun with spinning and three-axis spacecraft. Trajectory errors, maneuvers, encounter geometry, imaging performance, and data transmission were considered. Onboard comet sightings are needed for navigation. Recommended for a three-axis spacecraft are two vidicon cameras and a nucleus sensor for closed-loop pointing control. The cameras are essentially the Mariner 9 and Mariner 10 instruments; the nucleus sensor is an updated version of a sensor flown on Mariners 6 and 7. For a spinning spacecraft, a framing camera using a charge-coupled device and a spin-scan photometer are proposed. The framing camera would be a new design; it would not be despun, but the spin axis should point along the comet-centered velocity vector. The photometer is essentially that flown on Pioneer 10 and 11.-
This mission will provide a broad-based fast reconnaissance of comet Encke, building a data base for subsequent more detailed comet investigations, including rendezvous. After a 3 month flight, the spacecraft will encounter the comet at a nominal range of about 500 km. Flyby velocity will be 7 to 28 km/sec depending on choice of arrival data (0 to 35 days before Encke perihelion) and launch vehicle. The spacecraft will be similar to the MVM 73 spacecraft, with scan platform and 117 kbps encounter data rate, and designed to survive the thermal environment of 0.34 to 0.8 AU.
The first phase of a research project directed toward development of a high speed automatic process to be used to match gun barrel signatures imparted to fired bullets was documented. An optical projection technique has been devised to produce and photograph a planar image of the entire signature, and the phototransparency produced is subjected to analysis using digital Fourier transform techniques. The success of this approach appears to be limited primarily by the accuracy of the photographic step since no significant processing limitations have been encountered.
The considered approach, which has been previously studied by Hollenbeck et al. (1973) makes use of a Venus gravity assist. The search for ideal trajectories for Mercury Orbiter missions involves a determination of trajectories with the lowest possible Mercury approach speed. Ideal Venus-to-Mercury transfers and opportunities are discussed. The second part of the reported investigation is concerned with the determination of suitable trajectories for the trip from earth to Venus. On the basis of the obtained data it appears that the best ten trajectories can deliver spacecraft from a low of 720 kg to a high of 1230 kg to orbits with 500 km periapse and 24 hr periods. The corresponding flight times are 790 days and 1243 days.
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