Short-haul aircraft begins research program at Ames
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The activities carried out by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the period 1 July to 31 December 1978 are described. All four SAO laser sites were in routine operation during the reporting period; they obtained a 6-month total of 182,529 range observations on 3610 passes.
The Shuttle atmospheric lidar program is discussed in relation to an understanding of the processes governing the Earth's atmosphere and in the capacity to evaluate the atmospheric susceptibility to manmade and natural perturbations. Applications of the lidar which are discussed are the determination of the global flow of water vapor and pollutants in the troposphere, improvement of chemical and transport models of the stratosphere and mesosphere, evaluation of radiative models of the atmosphere, investigation of chemistry and transport of thermospheric atomic species, and investigation of magnetospheric aspects of sun/weather relationships. The features of the lidar measurements discussed are the high spatial resolution, control of the source wavelength and intensity, and high measurement specificity.
Data from cyclotron experiments and room temperature studies of dilute iron alloys and iron crystals under strain were analyzed. The Fe(Mo) data indicate that the effect upon the contact hyperfine field in Fe due to the introduction of Mo is considerably less than that expected from pure dilution, and the muon (+) are attracted to the Mo impurity sites. There is a significant change in the interstitial magnetic field with Nb concentration. The Fe(Ti) data, for which precession could clearly be observed early only at 468K and above, show that the Ti impurities are attractive to muon (+), and the magnitude of B(hf) is reduced far beyond the amount expected from pure dilution. Changes in the intersitital magnetic field with the introduction of Cr, W, Ge, and Si are also discussed. When strained to the elastic limit, the interstitial magnetic field in Fe crystals is reduced by 33 gauss, and the relaxation rate of the precession signal increases by 47%.
The major focus for operations during this period was the preliminary MERIT Campaign and its intensive tracking of LAGEOS for polar motion and Earth rotation studies. The data acquired from LAGEOS were used for other geophysical investigations, including studies of crustal dynamics, and Earth and ocean tides, and for the general development of precision orbit determination. The network performed regular tracking of several other retroreflector satellites including GEOS-1, GEOS-3, BE-C, and Starlette for refined determinations of station coordinates and Earth's gravity field and for studies of solid Earth dynamics.
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Plans for NASA's efforts in climatology were discussed. Targets for a comprehensive observing system for the early 1990's were considered. A program to provide useful data in the near and mid-term, and a program to provide for a feasibility assessment of instruments and methods for the development of a long-term system were discussed. Climate parameters that cannot be measured from space were identified. Long-term calibration, intercomparison, standards, and ground truth were discussed.
The atmospheric electricity and lightning committee forecasts lightning and dissemination of information on the probability of occurrence. A data source with the F-106 flight program was established. The objective is to improve the detectability of lightning and severe storms and help develop operational avoidance procedures and to study the use of satellite and Doppler radar to detect thunderstorms and forecast the probability of lightning. Three recommendations are made: (1) to establish a national flying lightning laboratory; (2) strike models are considered and to gather strike data; (3) to find the best way to apply electrical field data to operations.
The activities carried out by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) are described. The SAO network continued to track LAGEOS at highest priority for polar motion and Earth rotation studies, and for other geophysical investigations, including crustal dynamics, Earth and ocean tides, and the general development of precision orbit determination. The network performed regular tracking of several other retroreflector satellites including GEOS-1, GEOS-3, BE-C, and Starlette for refined determinations of station coordinates and the Earth's gravity field and for studies of solid Earth dynamics. A major program in laser upgrading continued to improve ranging accuracy and data yield. This program includes an increase in pulse repetition rate from 8 ppm to 30 ppm, a reduction in laser pulse width from 6 nsec to 2 to 3 nsec, improvements in the photoreceiver and the electronics to improve daylight ranging, and an analog pulse detection system to improve range noise and accuracy. Data processing hardware and software are discussed.
A theoretical analysis of the vertical resolving power of the High resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) and the Advanced Meteorological Temperature Sounder (AMTS) is carried out. The infrared transmittance weighting functions and associated radiative transfer kernels are analyzed through singular value decomposition. The AMTS was found to contain several more pieces of independent information than HIRS when the transmittances were considered, but the two instruments appeared to be much more similar when the temperature sensitive radiative transfer kernels were analyzed. The HIRS and AMTS instruments were also subjected to a thorough analysis. It was found that the two instruments should have very similar vertical resolving power below 500 mb but that AMTS should have superior resolving power above 200 mb. In the layer 200 to 500 mb the AMTS showed badly degraded spread function.
Some 20 x 20 aluminum panels were studied in a frequency range from 20 Hz to 5000 Hz. The noise sources used were a swept sine wave generator and a random noise generator. The effect of noise source was found to be negligible. Increasing the pressure differential across the panel gave better noise reduction below the fundamental resonance frequency due to an increase in stiffness. The largest increase occurred in the first 1 psi pressure differential. The curved, stiffened panel exhibited similar behavior, but with a lower increase of low frequency noise reduction. Depressurization on these panels resulted in decreased noise reduction at higher frequencies. The effect of damping tapes on the overall noise reduction values of the test specimens was small away from the resonance frequency. In the mass-law region, a slight and proportional improvement in noise reduction was observed by adding damping material. Adding sound absorbtion material to a panel with damping material beneficially increased noise reduction at high frequencies.
The SAO laser site in Arequipa continued routine operations throughout the reporting period except for the months of March and April when upgrading was underway. The laser in Orroral Valley was operational through March. Together with the cooperating stations in Wettzell, Grasse, Kootwikj, San Fernando, Helwan, and Metsahove the laser stations obtained a total of 37,099 quick-look observations on 978 passes of BE-C, Starlette, and LAGEOS. The Network continued to track LAGEOS at highest priority for polar motion and Earth rotation studies, and for other geophysical investigations, including crustal dynamics, Earth and ocean tides, and the general development of precision orbit determination. The Network performed regular tracking of BE-C and Starlette for refined determinations of station coordinate and the Earth's gravity field and for studies of solid earth dynamics. Monthly statistics of the passes and points are given by station and by satellite.
(Previously announced in STAR as N82-26219)
A taxonomy of computer science is included, one state of the art of each of the major computer science categories is summarized. A functional breakdown of NASA programs under Aeronautics R and D, space R and T, and institutional support is also included. These areas were assessed against the computer science categories. Concurrent processing, highly reliable computing, and information management are identified.
Tracking of LAGEOS for polar motion and Earth rotation studies and for other geophysical investigations, including crustal dynamics, Earth and ocean tides, and the general development of precision orbit determination continues. The BE-C and Starlette satellites were tracked for refined determinations of station coordinates and the Earth's gravity field and for studies of solid Earth dynamics.
Four deflected thrust nozzle concepts, designed to operate at the low pressure ratio typical of high bypass-ratio turbofan engines for medium speed (subsonic) V/STOL aircraft, were studied. Maps of overall performance characteristics and exit velocity distributions are used to highlight similarities and differences between the four concepts. Analytically determined secondary flows at the exit of a 90 deg circular pipe bend are compared with the experimental results from the more complex three dimensional geometries. The relative impact of total-pressure losses and secondary flows on nozzle thrust coefficient is addressed by numerical integration of exit velocity measurements.
The areas covering the meteorological hazards program are: severe storms and the hazards to flight generated by severe storms; clear air turbulence; icing; warm fog dissipation; and landing systems. Remote sensing of ozone by satellites, and the use of satellites as data relays is also discussed.