Development of a Miniature Electrostatic Accelerometer /MESA/ for low g applications Summary report
Design, fabrication, and testing of miniature digital electrostatic accelerometer for low gravity measurements in space
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Design, fabrication, and testing of miniature digital electrostatic accelerometer for low gravity measurements in space
Development and fabrication of sterilizable, electrostatic, wide angle image dissectors with bialkali photocathodes
Electrostatic probe results from ionospheric sounding by Explorer XVII satellite
Electrostatic spectrometers discussing deflection type, retarding-potential type and magnetic analyzers, advantages, uses, flux measurement techniques via energy selectors, etc
Development of three-directional electrostatic accelerometer with capacitive detection
Positive ion collection by highly negative spherical electrostatic probe in collision dominated plasma
Rocket measurement of secondary electron energy distribution in aurora, employing 180 degree electrostatic deflection analyzer
Theory of electrostatic probes in high pressure plasma, discussing ionization and recombination phenomena, diffusion boundary layer, spherical probe, etc
Electrostatically focused extended interaction S-band klystron amplifier using helical buncher resonators for interplanetary spaceborne communication systems
Electrostatic motor action in rotational momentum of tornado funnels, noting that driving power removal by electric discharge may cause dissipation
Miniature electrostatic accelerometer featuring suspension and force rebalance systems, discussing performance, applications and accuracy acceleration measurement
Low-cost, rugged lightweight accelerometer has been developed that converts mechanical motion into digitized optical outputs and is immune to electromagnetic and electrostatic interferences. Instrument can be placed in hostile environment, such as engine under test, and output led out through miscellany of electrical fields, high temperatures, etc., by optic fiber cables to benign environment of test panel. There, digitized optical signals can be converted to electrical signals for use in standard electrical equipment or used directly in optical devices, such as optical digital computer.
The Wind spacecraft was launched in November 1994. In the first half of 1995 it was in the interplanetary medium upstream of the Earth. The Solar Wind and Suprathermal Ion Composition Experiment (SMS) on Wind consists of three sensors, the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS), the Suprathermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS), and the high mass resolution spectrometer (MASS). All three instruments utilize electrostatic deflection combined with time-of-flight measurement. The data from these three sensors allows the determination of the ionic composition of the solar wind in a variety of solar wind conditions over a large energy/charge range (0.5 to 230 keV/e). We have examined the Wind database for time periods conducive to observing solar wind iron. With the high mass resolution of the MASS spectrometer (M/Delta-M greater than 100) iron is easily identified while the electrostatic deflection provides information concerning the mass/charge distribution. We present here the relative abundance of iron charge states in the solar wind near 1 AU.
NASA electrostatic solar plasma instruments for Orbiting Geophysical Observatory and Interplanetary Monitoring Platform measuring flux, energy spectrum, etc
OGO 5 spacecraft detector instrumentation for measuring electrostatic and electromagnetic waves electric fields with coupled antennas, describing in-flight operation
An auroral ion charge spectrometer was flown into a hydrogen aurora on a Javelin sounding rocket launched from Churchill, Manitoba. The instrument contained an electrostatic analyzer which selected particles with incident energy per unit charge up to 20 keV/charge and an 80-kV power supply which accelerated these ions onto an array of solid state detectors. Ions tentatively identified as H(+), He(+2), and O(+) were detected from 225 to 820 km in altitude. The experiment did not discriminate between H(+) and He(+), or between O(+), N(+), and C(+). Upper limits of highly charged heavy ion abundances have been set at 20% of the He(+2) and 0.15% of the H(+). It is concluded that both terrestrial and solar wind sources play significant roles in auroral ion precipitation.
The high altitude plasma instrument, i.e., five electrostatic analyzers, on board the DE 1 satellite obtained data on electron conical distributions during two nightside auroral zone passes and one polar cap pass. The southern orbit apogee was 675 km, the northern, 24,000 km. Electrons confined to the outside of the loss cone were the highest energy particles detected. The upward integrated flux was greater than the downward flux, indicating the presence of a heating process perpendicular to the geomagnetic field.
The Giotto heavy ion analyzer RPA2-PICCA was designed to identify the composition and distribution of heavy thermal positive ions in the coma of comet Halley. The instrument is an electrostatic analyzer which takes advantage of the large relative flyby velocity and the fact that the ions in the inner coma should be cold and predominantly singly charged. A method of deconvolving E/Q measurements to yield ion mass composition, temperature, and flow velocity is presented. The measurements are used to investigate the dynamic behavior of the ions and variations in mass composition as a function of cometary distance.