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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 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2009

Balloon Exoplanet Nulling Interferometer (BENI)

We evaluate the feasibility of using a balloon-borne nulling interferometer to detect and characterize exosolar planets and debris disks. The existing instrument consists of a 3-telescope Fizeau imaging interferometer with 3 fast steering mirrors and 3 delay lines operating at 800 Hz for closed-loop control of wavefront errors and fine pointing. A compact visible nulling interferometer is under development which when coupled to the imaging interferometer would in-principle allow deep suppression of starlight. We have conducted atmospheric simulations of the environment above 100,000 feet and believe balloons are a feasible path forward towards detection and characterization of a limited set of exoplanets and their debris disks. Herein we will discuss the BENI instrument, the balloon environment and the feasibility of such as mission.

Lyon, Richard G.↗
NASA NTRS1983

An instrument employing electronic counters and an emulsion chamber for studying heavy cosmic ray interactions (JACEE-3)

A JACEE-3 instrument was flown on a balloon in June 1982 for 6.1 sq m sr hr exposure at an average atmospheric depth of 5 gm/sq cm in order to study the cosmic ray spectra, composition, and interactions above 1 TeV. The nucleus-nucleus interactions were studied above 20 GeV/amu from z = 6 to z = 26. The electronic counters contained gas Cerenkov structures with a 1.0-cm thick lead glass and a 1.27-cm thick Teflon radiator. A comparison to the instrument prototype is made. Based on the electronic counter event data, the finding efficiency of the hodoscope is noted to be near 100 percent for z greater than or equal to 22. A comparison is made between the hodoscope-predicted position and track found at P3 in an emulsion chamber.

Austin, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A Sphere-Scanning Radiometer for Rapid Directional Measurements of Sky and Ground Radiance: the PARABOLA Field Instrument

A unique field instrument, called the PARABOLA, a collapsable support boom, which is self contained and easily transportable to remote sites to enable the acquisition of radiance data for almost the complete (4 pi) sky and ground-looking hemispheres in only 11 seconds was designed. The PARABOLA samples in 15 deg instantaneous field of view sectors in three narrow bandpass spectral channels simultaneously. Field measurement on a variety of earth surface cover types using a truck boom, a specially designed pickup truck mounting system, and a hot air balloon were studied. The PARABOLA instrument has potential for climatological and other studies which require characterization of the distribution of diffuse solar radiation within the sky hemisphere.

Deering, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Balloon-borne scanning spectrometer system for atmospheric extinction studies in the 350-1100 nm spectral region

A scanning spectrometer system which is capable of being flown in high-altitude balloon studies of the earth's atmosphere is presented. The instrument is small, has a large operative wavelength range of 350-1100 nm, high data density, and real-time data telemetry to ground. A computer software package is used to provide a real-time monitor of balloon gondola and instrument performance, with the software reliability enhanced by proof of correctness techniques and exhibiting the high degree of reliability necessary for the monitoring system.

Thompson, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Nitrogen-Pressure Shifts in the v3 Band of Methane Measured at Several Temperatures between 300 and 90 K

Remote sensing of the Earth's atmosphere requires accurate knowledge of spectroscopic line parameters for the molecules investigated. Knowledge of the temperature dependence of these parameters is also essential if agreement, at the noise level, between calculated and experimental data is to be achieved. The authors recently published results of nitrogen broadening measurements in the v3 band of 12CH4 using the 5.37 m long absorption path length all-copper Herriott cell. The temperature dependent line parameters determined in the laboratory were applied to fit a portion of the atmospheric spectrum recorded with a balloon-borne remote sensing FTIR instrument, called the Limb Profile Monitor of the Atmosphere, and operating in absorption against the sun. Since the authors had a relatively complete series of data for the P(9) transition in the v3 band of 12CH4, the A2 1 as well as the F2 1, F1 1 and A1 1 lines recorded at different pressures and at four temperatures between 300 and 90 K, we reanalyzed the data to derive pressure shift information at different temperatures. The temperatures for which data were collected and analyzed are 298, 140 and 90K. The high precision pressure shift data obtained here over a large range of temperature demonstrate the ability of our experimental arrangement to address specific questions on a given spectral window like in the balloon experiment or in a satellite project, for example.

Tumuhimbise, Anthony T.↗
DOE OSTI2022

In-Flight Gain Monitoring of SPIDER’s Transition-Edge Sensor Arrays

We report experiments deploying large arrays of transition-edge sensors (TESs) often require a robust method to monitor gain variations with minimal loss of observing time. We propose a sensitive and non-intrusive method for monitoring variations in TES responsivity using small square waves applied to the TES bias. We construct an estimator for a TES’s small-signal power response from its electrical response that is exact in the limit of strong electrothermal feedback. We discuss the application and validation of this method using flight data from SPIDER, a balloon-borne telescope that observes the polarization of the cosmic microwave background with more than 2000 TESs. This method may prove useful for future balloon- and space-based instruments, where observing time and ground control bandwidth are limited.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1983

Ozone profile intercomparison based on simultaneous observations between 20 and 40 km

The vertical distribution of stratospheric ozone has been simultaneously measured by means of five different instruments carried on the same balloon payload. The launches were performed from Gap during the intercomparison campaign conducted in June 1981 in southern France. Data obtained between altitudes of 20 and 40 km are compared and discussed. Vertical profiles deduced from Electrochemical Concentration Cell sondes launched from the same location by small balloons and from short Umkehr measurements made at Mt Chiran (France) are also included in this comparison. Systematic differences of the order of 20 percent between ozone profiles deduced from solar u.v. absorption and in situ techniques are found.

Aimedieu, P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Volcanic aerosols: Chemistry, evolution, and effects

Stratospheric aerosols have been the subject of scientific speculation since the 1880s, when the powerful eruption of Krakatoa attracted worldwide attention to the upper atmosphere through spectacular optical displays. The presence of a permanent tenuous dust layer in the lower stratosphere was postulated in the 1920s following studies of the twilight glow. Junge collected the first samples of these 'dust' particles and demonstrated that they were actually composed of sulfates, most likely concentrated sulfuric acid (Junge and Manson, 1961; Junge, 1963). Subsequent research has been spurred by the realization that stratospheric particles can influence the surface climate of earth through their effects on atmospheric radiation. Such aerosols can also influence, through chemical and physical effects, the trace composition of the atmosphere, ozone concentrations, and atmospheric electrical properties. The properties of stratospheric aerosols (both the background particles and those enhanced by volcanic eruptions) were measured in situ by balloon ascents and high altitude aircraft sorties. The aerosols were also observed remotely from the ground and from satellites using both active (lidar) and passive (solar occultation) techniques (remote sensing instruments were carried on aircraft and balloon platforms as well). In connection with the experimental work, models were developed to test theories of particle formation and evolution, to guide measurement strategies, to provide a means of connecting laboratory and field data, and to apply the knowledge gained to answer practical questions about global changes in climate, depletion of the ozone layer, and related environmental problems.

Turco, Richard↗
NASA NTRS1993

The Mars Aerial Platform (MAP) mission

The Mars Aerial Platform (MAP) mission is a conceptual design for a low-cost, Discovery-class mission whose purpose would be to generate tens of thousands of very-high-resolution (20 cm/pixel) pictures of the martian surface, map the global circulation of the martian atmosphere, and examine the surface and subsurface with ground-penetrating radar, infrared spectroscopy, neutron spectroscopy, and other remote sensing techniques. The data would be acquired by instruments that are carried by balloons flying at a nominal altitude of about 7 km over the martian surface. Because new balloon and microspacecraft technology is now available, the balloon probes could be quite long-lived, lasting hundreds or even thousands of days, producing an immense science harvest in the process. Together with the Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) surface network science mission, MAP would revolutionize our knowledge of the Red Planet.

Zubrin, R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Our Mission to Planet Earth: A guide to teaching Earth system science

Volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, floods, and El Nino are naturally occurring events over which humans have no control. But can human activities cause additional environmental change? Can scientists predict the global impacts of increased levels of pollutants in the atmosphere? Will the planet warm because increased levels of greenhouse gases, produced by the burning of fossil fuels, trap heat and prevent it from being radiated back into space? Will the polar ice cap melt, causing massive coastal flooding? Have humans initiated wholesale climatic change? These are difficult questions, with grave implications. Predicting global change and understanding the relationships among earth's components have increased in priority for the nation. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), along with many other government agencies, has initiated long-term studies of earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land masses using observations from satellite, balloon, and aircraft-borne instruments. NASA calls its research program Mission to Planet Earth. Because NASA can place scientific instruments far above earth's surface, the program allows scientists to explore earth's components and their interactions on a global scale.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2000

Small Scale Variability and the Problem of Data Validation

Numerous measurements taken with a variety of airborne, balloon borne and ground based instruments over the past decade have revealed a complex multiscaled 3D structure in both chemical and dynamical fields in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere. The variability occurs on scales that are well below the resolution of satellite measurements, leading to problems in measurement validation. We discuss some statistical ideas that can shed some light on the contribution of the natural variability to the inevitable differences in correlative measurements that are not strictly colocated, or that have different spatial resolution.

Sparling, L. C.↗
NASA NTRS2000

BOREAS TF-2 SSA-OA Tethersonde Meteorological and Ozone Data

The BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study Tower Flux-2 (BOREAS TF-2) team collected meteorological and ozone measurements from instruments mounted below a tethered balloon. These data were collected at the Southern Study Area Old Aspen (SSA-OA) site to extend meteorological and ozone measurements made from the flux tower to heights of 300 m. The tethersonde operated during the fall of 1993 and the spring, summer, and fall of 1994. The data are available in tabular ASCII files.

Arnold, A. James↗
NASA NTRS2006

Effect of EMIC Wave Normal Angle Distribution on Relativistic Electron Scattering

The flux level of outer-zone relativistic electrons (above 1 MeV) is extremely variable during geomagnetic storms, and controlled by a competition between acceleration and loss. Precipitation of these electrons due to resonant pitch-angle scattering by electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves is considered one of the major loss mechanisms. This mechanism was suggested in early theoretical studies more than three decades ago. However, direct experimental evidence of the wave role in relativistic electrons precipitation is difficult to obtain because of lack of concurrent measurements of precipitating electrons at low altitudes and the waves in a magnetically conjugate equatorial region. Recently, the data from balloon-borne X-ray instruments provided indirect but strong evidence on an efficiency of the EMIC wave induced loss for the outer-zone relativistic electrons. These observations stimulated theoretical studies that, particularly, demonstrated that EMIC wave induced pitch-angle diffusion of MeV electrons can operate in the strong diffusion limit and this mechanism can compete with relativistic electron depletion caused by the Dst effect during the initial and main phases of storm. Although an effectiveness of relativistic electron scattering by EMIC waves depends strongly on the wave spectral properties, the most favorable assumptions regarding wave characteristics has been made in all previous theoretical studies. Particularly, only quasi field-aligned EMIC waves have been considered as a driver for relativistic electron loss. At the same time, there is growing experimental and theoretical evidence that these waves can be highly oblique; EMIC wave energy can occupy not only the region of generation, i.e. the region of small wave normal angles, but also the entire wave normal angle region, and even only the region near 90 degrees. The latter can dramatically change he effectiveness of relativistic electron scattering by EMIC waves. In the present study, we calculate the pitch-angle diffusion coefficients using the typical wave normal distributions obtained from our self-consistent ring current-EMIC wave model, and try to quantify the effect of EMIC wave normal angle characteristics on relativistic electron scattering.

Gamayunov, K. V.↗
NASA NTRS2014

A Terminal Area Icing Remote Sensing System

NASA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have developed an icing remote sensing technology that has demonstrated skill at detecting and classifying icing hazards in a vertical column above an instrumented ground station. This technology is now being extended to provide volumetric coverage surrounding an airport. With volumetric airport terminal area coverage, the resulting icing hazard information will be usable by aircrews, traffic control, and airline dispatch to make strategic and tactical decisions regarding routing when conditions are conducive to airframe icing. Building on the existing vertical pointing system, the new method for providing volumetric coverage will utilize cloud radar, microwave radiometry, and NEXRAD radar. This terminal area icing remote sensing system will use the data streams from these instruments to provide icing hazard classification along the defined approach paths into an airport. Strategies for comparison to in-situ instruments on aircraft and weather balloons for a planned NASA field test are discussed, as are possible future applications into the NextGen airspace system.

aircraft icing↗
NASA NTRS2016

Design and Performance of A High Resolution Micro-Spec: An Integrated Sub-Millimeter Spectrometer

Micro-Spec is a compact sub-millimeter (approximately 100 GHz--1:1 THz) spectrometer which uses low loss superconducting microstrip transmission lines and a single-crystal silicon dielectric to integrate all of the components of a diffraction grating spectrometer onto a single chip. We have already successfully evaluated the performance of a prototype Micro-Spec, with spectral resolving power, R=64. Here we present our progress towards developing a higher resolution Micro-Spec, which would enable the first science returns in a balloon flight version of this instrument. We describe modifications to the design in scaling from a R=64 to a R=256 instrument, as well as the ultimate performance limits and design concerns when scaling this instrument to higher resolutions.

spectrometer↗
NASA NTRS1998

Results from the 1995 Stratospheric Ozone Profile Intercomparison at Mauna Loa (MLO3)

In August 1995 multiple instruments that measure the stratospheric ozone vertical distribution were intercompared at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, under the auspices of the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change. The instruments included two UV lidar systems, one from JPL and the other from Goddard Space Flight Center, ECC balloon-sondes, a ground-based microwave instrument, Umkehr measurements, and a new ground-based FTIR instrument. The MLS instrument on the UARS satellite provided correlative profiles of ozone, and there was one close overpass of the SAGE II instrument. The results show that much better consistency among instruments is being achieved than even a few years ago, usually to within the instrument uncertainties. The different measurement techniques in this comparison agree to within +/-10% at almost all altitudes, and in the 20 km to 45 km region most agreed within +/-5%. The results show that the current generation of lidars are capable of accurate measurement of the ozone profile to a maximum altitude of 50 km. SAGE agreed well with both lidar and balloon-sonde down to at least 17 km. The ground-based microwave measurement agreed with other measurements from 22 km to above 50 km. One minor source of disagreement continues to be the pressure-altitude conversion needed to compare a measurement of ozone density versus altitude with a measurement of ozone mixing ratio versus pressure.

McPeters, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Middle Atmosphere Program. Handbook for MAP. Volume 15: Balloon techniques

Some techniques employed by investigators using balloons to obtain data on the properties of the middle atmosphere are discussed. Much effort has gone into developing instruments which could be used on small balloons to measure temperature and variable species. These efforts are discussed. Remote sensing techniques used to obtain data on atmospheric composition are described. Measurement of stratospheric ions and stratospheric aerosols are also discussed.

Murcray, D. G.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluation of the EarthSHAB Stratospheric Solar Hot Air Balloon Flight Prediction Model Using Balloon Trajectory Data

Abstract The heliotrope is a solar balloon design which is constructed out of painter’s plastic, and the exterior is coated in charcoal powder. Darkening the plastic gives the balloon a high solar absorptance, which allows it to ascend into the lower stratosphere and float for hours at a time. The balloons have previously been used to lift scientific instruments into the stratosphere to study chemical explosions, earthquakes, and stratospheric aerosols. They have also been proposed as a platform for planetary exploration. Flight predictions are crucial to preflight planning to reduce safety risks and meet flight objectives. However, there exists a wide range of possible flight paths due to varying environmental conditions and solar balloon configurations. EarthSHAB is one such software that was designed to support flight planning using the weather forecasts and balloon properties to predict the flight path of a solar balloon. We compare EarthSHAB-simulated flight paths to a set of observed flight paths for the 3.5-m diameter heliotrope design called the “Cloudskimmer.” Using the criteria that the modeled paths must fall within 5% of the observations to be considered successful, we found that EarthSHAB successfully predicted the Cloudskimmer ascent rate and average float altitude 10% and 90% of the time, respectively. We also found that the average difference in the observed and predicted landing locations was 97 km and landing times were 54 ± 38 min. Significant deviations between the observed and predicted ascent rates and excursions at float were found to be associated with heavy payloads and convective cloud development, respectively. Significance Statement Solar balloons are used to lift scientific instruments into the lower stratosphere for hours at a time to study chemical explosions, earthquakes, stratospheric aerosols, and more. The flight paths of solar balloons can be difficult to predict due to variability in their design and surrounding environment. We evaluate the accuracy of EarthSHAB, a software that predicts the altitude profile and horizontal trajectory of a solar balloon using inputs such as the weather, balloon size, and balloon mass. Our results suggest that for the balloon design used in this study, EarthSHAB is best suited for modeling the behavior of balloons with lightweight payloads that do not fly within or directly above clouds.

Lien, Jessica M. [Sandia National Laboratories, Al↗