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Live footage shows the question and answer session of the Post Launch News Conference. The Panelists address questions from NASA Centers such as Goddard Space Flight Center and Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and from various audience participants. The status of the launch of STS-35 is discussed. Also discussed are the liquid oxygen malfunctions, helium leakage, and photographic optical tracking during the daytime.
Photographic analysis of track and secondary impact craters from blocks and boulders to determine lunar surface mechanical properties
Photographic and Doppler tracking of geodetic satellites to determine tesseral harmonics of earth gravitational fields
This paper is a brief report on the computer program developed for the Extraterrestrial Physics Barium Ion Cloud (BIC) Project. The mathematical analysis developed for the program along with its programing characteristics are pointed out to show that this program is adaptable to similar sky target projects. Definite viewing constraints are specified so that the chosen ground tracking stations can photograph the behavior of the sky target after its release. Viewing factors include the illumination of the target by the sun, the relative elevation look angle to the target from each tracking station, the solar and lunar depression angles at each tracking station, and the total sky background brightness of the target relative to each tracking station. Numeric values are assigned to each factor through program input. The program output is flexible so that the results of the window calculations can be studied to the depth required.
Studying Lunar Orbiter photographs of boulder tracks left on lunar surface to determine soil cohesion and angle of internal friction
Techniques originally developed for the Skylab T025 contamination experiment were applied to S052 white-light coronagraph data in a preliminary study to investigate particulates around Skylab. Periods were selected which contained some contamination, even though there were no apparent dumps or vents during these periods. Velocity and size distributions were determined from optical data for particles within 200 meters of the spacecraft. Both photographic (61 particle tracks) and video (34 particles) observations yield an upper limit on particle radius of 100 micrometers. Selected photometric data from the S073 zodiacal light experiment during mission SL-2 were also examined for evidence of contamination.
This video has five sections. The first is a live discussion of the information that scientists hope to gain by the Galileo flyby of the Moon. This section has no introduction. There is a great deal of the discussion about the lunar craters and lunar volcanism. There is also some discussion of the composition of the far side of the moon. The second section is a short animation that shows the final step to Jupiter with particular emphasis on the gravitational assisted velocity boost, which was planned to give the spacecraft the requisite velocity to make the trip to Jupiter. The next section is an update of the status of the flyby of the Moon, and the Earth, with an explanation of the trajectory around the earth, and the moon. A photograph of the tracking station in Canberra, Australia is included. The next section is a tour of a full-scale model of the spacecraft. The last section is a discussion with the person charged with the procurement of the instrumentation aboard the spacecraft; the importance of the lunar flyby to assist in the calibration of the instruments is discussed.
In the regular operation of the Nagoya cosmic-ray muon spectrometer, about 2000 events per day will be recorded on the photographic film. To derive the track locations from such a huge number of photographs with high accuracy in a short time, an automatic film scanning device has been developed.
Physical experiments using tracking cameras resulted in hundreds of thousands of stereo photographs of events being received. To process such a large volume of information, automatic and semiautomatic measuring systems are required. At the Institute of Space Research of the Academy of Science of the USSR, a system for processing film information from the spark gamma-telescope was developed. The system is based on a BPS-75 projector in line with the minicomputer Elektronika 1001. The report describes this system. The various computer programs available to the operators are discussed.
Some early results are presented of attempts to map rock types on the basis of digital tape data from the Skylab S-192 multispectral scanner. The area selected is White Sands, New Mexico. The data has been collected on the SL-2 mission on June 20, 1973. An enlargement of a portion of an S-190A color photograph collected on Skylab Track 20 is considered. Spectral pattern recognition techniques, implemented on an IBM 7094 computer, were used to process the S-192 data. Processing procedures performed in a preparation of the data before the application of pattern recognition are briefly discussed. The analysis rock type spectra yielded 24 promising spectral channel ratio features for separating the rock types. It is concluded that the S-192 sensor data have great potential for lithologic mapping.
Mariner 9 Doppler tracking data and television photographs of Deimos and Phobos were analyzed to determine the gravity field, mass, and spin-axis direction of Mars and the natural satellite orbits. The solutions agree with previously published results. Radio data consisted of an apoapsis state vector for each of revolutions 5-195 obtained from one-revolution fits of Doppler data. Optical data consisted of TV photographs of Phobos and Deimos taken between revolutions 25 and 221. A first-order analytical theory, extended to include dominant second-order resonance effects on the Mariner 9 orbit, was used to calculate the motion of the spacecraft, Deimos, and Phobos. The feasibility of combining radio and optical data in long-arc solutions for accurate determination of orbits and physical parameters is demonstrated. The analytical theory developed for the evolution of a highly eccentric orbit in shallow resonance is accurate to plus or minus 1 km in the apoapsis state vector of Mariner 9 over a period of 200 revolutions.
Two photolineation maps of southwestern Guatemala and Chiapas were made from S190 photographs along a ground track from Acajutla, El Salvador to San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. The maps document a structural complexity spanning the presumed triple junction of the Cocos, Americas, and Caribbean plates. The Polochic fault zone, supposedly the Americas-Caribbean plate boundary, is a sharply delineated feature across western Guatemala. Westward of the Mexican border it splays into a large number of faults with NW to SW trends. The structural pattern is quite different to the north (Americas plate) and to the south (Caribbean plate) of the Polochic fault, though both areas are dominated by NW-trending lineations. Within the Central American volcanic chain, the lineation patterns support the segmented model of the Benioff Zone, by showing a concentration of transverse lineations in the predicted locations, most notably NE-trending elements near Quezaltenango, Guatemala. The structural pattern obtained from the maps are compared to patterns described on recently published maps of more southerly parts of Central America, to begin a synthesis of the structure of the convergent plate boundary.
In the investigation of the STS 51L accident, NASA engineers were given the task of visual analysis of photographic data extracted from the tracking cameras located at the launch pad. An analysis of the rotations associated with the right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) was also performed. The visual analysis involved pinpointing coordinates of specific areas on the photographs. The objective of the analysis on the right SRB was to duplicate the rotations provided by the SRB rate gyros and to determine the effects of the rotations on the launch configuration. To accomplish the objectives, computer aided design and engineering was employed. The solid modeler, GEOMOD, inside the Structural Dynamics Research Corp. I-DEAS package, proved invaluable. The problem areas that were encountered and the corresponding solutions that were obtained are discussed. A brief description detailing the construction of the computer generated solid model of the STS launch configuration is given. A discussion of the coordinate systems used in the analysis is provided for the purpose of positioning the model in coordinate space. The techniques and theory used in the model analysis are described.
Boulder tracks from 19 different locations on the Moon, observable in Lunar Orbiter photographs, have been examined. Measurements of the track width indicate that some of the boulders sank considerably deeper than others. It is suggested that lunar surface materials vary from place to place; the state of compaction (density of lunar soil) is probably one of the significant variables. Using bearing capacity theory, modified to be applicable to the rolling boulder problem by theoretical studies and extensive testing, the friction angle of the lunar soil was estimated. Most of the results were between 24 and 47 degrees with an arithmetic average of 37 degrees.
Aerial photographic and laser profilometer data of waves generated by tropical storm Amy are presented. The data mission consisted primarily of two legs, one in the direction of the wind waves, and the second along the direction of swell propagation, using Jennette's Pier at Nags Head, North Carolina, as a focal point. At flight time, Amy's center was 512 nmi from shore and had maximum winds of 60 knots. The storm's history is presented, along with a satellite photograph, showing the extent of the storm on the day of the flight. Flight ground tracks are presented along with sample aerial photographs of the wave conditions showing approximate wavelength and direction. Sample wave energy spectra are presented both from the laser profilometer onboard the aircraft, and from the Corps of Engineers Research Center (CERC) shore gauge at Nags Head, North Carolina.
The objective was to measure the visual contrast of landmarks with the surroundings to determine the relative visibility of terrestrial landmarks from positions outside the atmosphere. Because of a malfunction of the photometer, no photometric data were obtained. A trial sighting run was performed in which a landmark on the western African coast was sighted, tracked through the nadir, and photographed. The telemetry record of the photograph was examined. Telemetry data were inconsistent with the known conditions of the landmark.
Development and implementation of a photogrammetric system was undertaken to provide accurate selenodetic positions and topographic mapping of all areas overflown by orbital spacecraft. The system was installed in the scientific instrument module (SIM) bay of the Apollo command service module (CSM). In theory, this system provided everything a photogrammetrist could want: the position of each exposure station would be obtained from Earth-based tracking; the orientation of each photograph could be computed from the synchronized stellar exposure and the lock-angles determined by preflight calibration; and the scale of each stereomodel would be obtained directly from the altimeter data. Operationally, the data acquisition was adequate, but less than optimum. Systematic errors are believed to be the result of the primitive orbit determination procedures in use at the time of the Apollo 15 mission, inadequate models of the lunar gravity field, and spacecraft oscillations induced by uncoupled thrusting and various activities of the astronauts.
For years ophthalmic photographs have been used to track the progression of many ocular diseases such as macular degeneration and glaucoma as well as the ocular manifestations of diabetes, hypertension, and hypoxia. In 1987 a project was initiated at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) to develop a means of monitoring retinal vascular caliber and intracranial pressure during space flight. To conduct telemedicine during space flight operations, retinal images would require real-time transmissions from space. Film-based images would not be useful during in-flight operations. Video technology is beneficial in flight because the images may be acquired, recorded, and transmitted to the ground for rapid computer digital image processing and analysis. The computer analysis techniques developed for this project detected vessel caliber changes as small as 3 percent. In the field of telemedicine, the Portable Dynamic Fundus Instrument demonstrates the concept and utility of a small, self-contained video funduscope. It was used to record retinal images during the Gulf War and to transmit retinal images from the Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-50. There are plans to utilize this device to provide a mobile ophthalmic screening service in rural Texas. In the fall of 1993 a medical team in Boulder, Colorado, will transmit real-time images of the retina during remote consultation and diagnosis. The research applications of this device include the capability of operating in remote locations or small, confined test areas. There has been interest shown utilizing retinal imaging during high-G centrifuge tests, high-altitude chamber tests, and aircraft flight tests. A new design plan has been developed to incorporate the video instrumentation into face-mounted goggle. This design would eliminate head restraint devices, thus allowing full maneuverability to the subjects. Further development of software programs will broaden the application of the Portable Dynamic Fundus Instrument in telemedicine and medical research.