Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “inclination”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 487 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Prediction of forces and moments for flight vehicle control effectors: Workplan

Two research activities directed at hypersonic vehicle configurations are currently underway. The first involves the validation of a number of classical local surface inclination methods commonly employed in preliminary design studies of hypersonic flight vehicles. Unlike studies aimed at validating such methods for predicting overall vehicle aerodynamics, this effort emphasizes validating the prediction of forces and moments for flight control studies. Specifically, several vehicle configurations for which experimental or flight-test data are available are being examined. By comparing the theoretical predictions with these data, the strengths and weaknesses of the local surface inclination methods can be ascertained and possible improvements suggested. The second research effort, of significance to control during take-off and landing of most proposed hypersonic vehicle configurations, is aimed at determining the change due to ground effect in control effectiveness of highly swept delta planforms. Central to this research is the development of a vortex-lattice computer program which incorporates an unforced trailing vortex sheet and an image ground plane. With this program, the change in pitching moment of the basic vehicle due to ground proximity, and whether or not there is sufficient control power available to trim, can be determined. In addition to the current work, two different research directions are suggested for future study. The first is aimed at developing an interactive computer program to assist the flight controls engineer in determining the forces and moments generated by different types of control effectors that might be used on hypersonic vehicles. The first phase of this work would deal in the subsonic portion of the flight envelope, while later efforts would explore the supersonic/hypersonic flight regimes. The second proposed research direction would explore methods for determining the aerodynamic trim drag of a generic hypersonic flight vehicle and ways in which it can be minimized through vehicle design and trajectory optimization.

Maughmer, Mark D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

User and technical documentation

The program LIBRATE calculates velocities for trajectories from low earth orbit (LEO) to four of the five libration points (L2, L3, L4, and L5), and from low lunar orbit (LLO) to libration points L1 and L2. The flight to be analyzed departs from a circular orbit of any altitude and inclination about the Earth or Moon and finishes in a circular orbit about the Earth at the desired libration point within a specified flight time. This program produces a matrix of the delta V's needed to complete the desired flight. The user specifies the departure orbit, and the maximum flight time. A matrix is then developed with 10 inclinations, ranging from 0 to 90 degrees, forming the columns, and 19 possible flight times, ranging from the flight time (input) to 36 hours less than the input value, in decrements of 2 hours, forming the rows. This matrix is presented in three different reports including the total delta V's, and both of the delta V components discussed. The input required from the user to define the flight is discussed. The contents of the three reports that are produced as outputs are also described. The instructions are also included which are needed to execute the program.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1988

Optical propagation through a homogeneous turbulent shear flow

Effects of organized turbulent structures on the propagation of an optical beam in a homogeneous shear flow were studied. A passive-scalar field in a computed turbulent shear flow is used to represent index-of-refraction fluctuations, and phase errors induced in a coherent optical beam by turbulent fluctuations are computed. The organized vortical structures produce a scalar distribution with elongated regions of intense fluctuations which have an inclination with respect to the mean flow similar to that of the characteristic hairpin eddies. It is found that r.m.s. phase error is minimized by propagating approximately normal to the inclined vortical structures. Two-point correlations of vorticity and scalar fluctuation suggest that the regions of intense scalar fluctuation are produced primarily by the hairpin eddies.

Truman, C. Randall↗
NASA NTRS1988

Advanced transportation concept for round-trip space travel

A departure from the conventional concept of round-trip space travel is introduced. It is shown that a substantial reduction in the initial load required of the Shuttle or other launch vehicle can be achieved by staging the ascent orbit and leaving fuel for the return trip at each stage of the orbit. Examples of round trips from a low-inclination LEO to a high-inclination LEO and from an LEO to a GEO are used to show the merits of the new concept. Potential problem areas and research needed for the development of an efficient space transportation network are discussed.

Yen, Chen-Wan L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Dynamics of the Uranian and Saturnian satellite systems - A chaotic route to melting Miranda?

Miranda's anomalously large inclination, in conjunction with the postaccretional resurfacing of both Miranda and Ariel and anomalously large eccentricities characterizing the inner Uranian satellites, are presently held to suggest the disruption of resonant configurations that once existed in this satellite system. Classical analytical methods for the dynamics of resonance are here used to demonstrate how temporary capture into a second- or higher-order resonance can generate large increases in eccentricity and inclination on comparatively short time-scales. Such capture into resonance may result in chaotic motion.

Dermott, Stanley F.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Optical propagation through a homogeneous turbulent shear flow

Effects of organized turbulent structures on the propagation of an optical beam in a homogeneous shear flow have been studied. A passive-scalar field in a computed turbulent shear flow is used to represent index-of-refraction fluctuations, and phase errors induced in a coherent optical beam by turbulent fluctuations are computed. The organized vortical structures produce a scalar distribution with elongated regions of intense fluctuations which have an inclination with respect to the mean flow similar to that of the characteristic hairpin eddies. It is found that rms phase error is minimized by propagating approximately normal to the inclined vortical structures. Two-point correlations of vorticity and scalar fluctuation suggest that the regions of intense scalar fluctuation are produced primarily by the hairpin eddies.

Truman, C. Randall↗
NASA NTRS1989

Comparative flight strategies for ascent from Martian surface to orbiter rendezvous

Flight maneuvers and strategies to transport a vehicle from the Martian surface to orbiter rendezvous are analyzed to determine the most fuel-efficient method. Both endo- and exo-atmospheric flight strategies are considered for orbiter rendezvous into parking orbits of arbitrary inclination. It is found that optimal mass efficiency is achieved where the orbiter inclination is equal to or exceeds the latitude of the launch site. It is shown that high aerodynamic lifting capability improves performance for low circular orbit (LCO) rendezvous. It is suggested that the synergetic ballistic-projecting technique is best for optimal LCO rendezvous and that the all-thrust technique with plane change at apoapsis is best for optimal high elliptical orbit rendezvous.

Menees, Gene P.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Neptune's story

It is conjectured that Triton was captured from a heliocentric orbit as the result of a collision with what was then one of Neptune's regular satellites. The immediate post-capture orbit was highly eccentric. Dissipation due to tides raised by Neptune in Triton caused Triton's orbit to evolve to its present state in less than one billion years. For much of this time Triton was almost entirely molten. While its orbit was evolving, Triton cannibalized most of the regular satellites of Neptune and also perturbed Nereid, thus accounting for that satellite's highly eccentric and inclined orbit. The only regular satellites of Neptune that survived were those that formed well within 5 Neptune radii, and they move on inclined orbits as the result of chaotic perturbations forced by Triton.

Goldreich, P.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Tidal evolution in the Neptune-Triton system

Triton, which is currently spiralling toward Neptune due to tides raised on both bodies, possesses an obliquity which may lie close to either a zero-deg 'state 1' or a 100-deg 'state 2' which correspond to the two stable Cassini extrema of its rotational Hamiltonian. The Kaula (1966) tidal formalism is presently used to model the past and future evolution of the system in both states. For nominal parameters in state 1, Triton will reach Neptune's Roche limit in about 3.6 Gyr with a decrease in orbital inclination to 145 deg from the current 159 deg; in the case of state 2, Triton's inclination will increase to 180 deg in 10-100 million years and then transition to state 1, subsequently reaching the Neptune Roche limit in about 1.4 Gyr.

Chyba, C. F.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Orbit and attitude determination results during launch support operations for SBS-5

Presented are orbit and attitude determination results from the launch of Satellite Business Systems (SBS)-5 satellite on September 8, 1988 by Arianespace. SBS-5 is a (HS-376) spin stabilized spacecraft. The launch vehicle injected the spacecraft into a low inclination transfer orbit. Apogee motor firing (AMF) attitude was achieved with trim maneuvers. An apogee kick motor placed the spacecraft into drift orbit. Postburn, reorientation and spindown maneuvers were performed during the next 25 hours. The spacecraft was on-station 19 days later. The orbit and attitude were determined by both an extended Kalman filter and a weighted least squares batch processor. Although the orbit inclination was low and the launch was near equinox, post-AMF analysis indicated an attitude declination error of 0.034 deg., resulting in a saving of 8.5 pounds of fuel. The AMF velocity error was 0.4 percent below nominal. The post-AMF drift rate was determined with the filter only 2.5 hours after motor firing. The filter was used to monitor and retarget the reorientation to orbit normal in real time.

Hartman, K. R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Icarus lander

Icarus is one of the earth-crossing asteroids. It has a semi-major axis of 1.078 AU, giving it a period of 1.12 years, and an eccentricity of 0.827. The perihelion distance is thus 0.187 AU. The inclination of Icarus's orbit is 23 deg. Although it is a small body, it is still massive enough to be essentially immune to non-gravitational forces. These orbital and physical qualities make it an attractive target for testing General Relativity. The close passage to the sun means that it will be subject to a large relativistic perihelion precession; the high eccentricity makes the precession easy to measure; the high inclination allows the solar quadrupole moment (J sub 2) to be simultaneously determined via the nodal precession it predicts. The degeneracy between the relativistic effect and the effect of J sub 2 in the perihelion precession may thus be broken. Results are presented from a preliminary study of a possible trajectory design for an Icarus lander and from a covariance study of the scientific return to be expected from such a mission.

Hellings, Ronald W.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Spectral analyses of satellite geopotential missions

A new, geometrical, first order, nonresonant, frozen orbit theory was developed based on Orlov's uniformly rotating plane of constant inclination. Perturbation spectra generated from a 90th order subset of OSU86F are shown for the ill-fated 1984 JHU/APL SAGE proposal for a pair of TRANSIT satellites at 400 km altitude with a 93.5 deg inclination.

Melvin, Peter J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Satellite-to-satellite tracking experiment for global gravity field mapping

The satellite-to-satellite (STS) tracking concept for estimating gravitational parameters offers an attractive means to improve on regional and global gravity models in areas where data availability is limited. The extent to which the STS tracking measurements can be effectively utilized in global field models depends primarily on the satellite's altitude, number of satellites, and their orbit constellation. The estimation accuracy of the gravity field recovery also depends on the measurement accuracy of the sensors employed in the STS tracking concept. A comparison of the obtainable accuracies in the gravity field recovery using various STS tracking concepts was presented by Jekeli. The results of a feasibility study for a specific realization of the STS high-low tracking concept are summarized. In this realization, the high altitude satellites are the GPS satellites, and the low orbit satellite is the space shuttle. The GPS satellite constellation consists of 18 satellites in 6 orbital planes inclined at 55 deg. The shuttle orbit is at approximately 300 km, with an inclination of 30 deg. This specific configuration of high-low satellites for measuring perturbation in the gravity field is named the Air Foce STAGE (Shuttle GPS Tracking for Anomalous Gravitation Estimation) mission. The STAGE mission objective is to estimate the perturbations in gravity vector at the shuttle altitude to an accuracy of 1 mgal or better. Recent simulation studies have confirmed that the 1 mgal accuracy objective is near optimum for the STAGE mission.

Upadhyay, Triveni N.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Rings of Earth detected by orbital debris radar

Small particles moving at an orbital velocity of 7.6 kilometers per second can present a considerable hazard to human activity in space. For astronauts outside of the protective shielding of their space vehicles, such particles can be lethal. The powerful radar at NASA's Goldstone Deep Communications Complex was used to monitor such orbital debris. This radar can detect metallic objects as small as 1.8 mm in diameter at 600 km altitude. The results of the preliminary survey show a flux (at 600 km altitude) of 6.4 objects per square kilometer per day of equivalent size of 1.8 mm or larger. Forty percent of the observed particles appear to be concentrated into two orbits. An orbital ring with the same inclination as the radar (35.1 degrees) is suggested. However, an orbital band with a much higher inclination (66 degrees) is also a possibility.

Goldstein, R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Secondary instabilities in compressible boundary layers

Secondary instabilities are examined in compressible boundary layers at Mach numbers M(sub infinity) = 0, 0.8, 1.6, and 4.5. It is found that there is a broad-band of highly unstable 3-d secondary disturbances whose growth rates increase with increasing primary wave amplitude. At M(sub infinity) is less than or equal to 1.6, fundamental resonance dominates at relatively high (2-d) primary disturbance amplitude, while subharmonic resonance is characterized by a low (2-d) primary amplitude. At M(sub infinity) = 4.5, the subharmonic instability which arises from the second mode disturbance is the strongest type of secondary instability. The influence of the inclination, theta, of the primary wave with respect to the mean flow direction on secondary instability is investigated at M(sub infinity) = 1.6 for small to moderate values of theta. It is found that the strongest fundamental instability occurs when the primary wave is inclined at 10 deg to the mean flow direction, although a 2-d primary mode yields the most amplified subharmonic. The subharmonic instability at a high value of theta (namely, theta = 45 deg) is also discussed. Finally, a subset of the secondary instability results are compared against direct numerical simulations.

Ng, Lian↗
NASA NTRS1989

Cosmic-ray neutron albedo dose in low-earth orbits

An earth albedo neutron environmental model is proposed which provides a way to estimate neutron exposure in low-earth orbit. It is shown that, in the predominantly low inclination orbits (i=28.5 deg) used in the U.S. space program, the neutron exposures are relatively low (0.7 cSv/y). The neutron exposures are more significant for polar orbital missions and even high inclination missions, such as Skylab (i=57 deg).

Wilson, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Radiation hazards in low earth orbit, polar orbit, geosynchronous orbit, and deep space

The predicted doses to the blood forming organs and skin of spacecraft crews in low inclination at high inclination and polar orbits, in LEO and in free space are reviewed. Doses from trapped solar radiation and galactic cosmic radiation are covered, and also those to be expected from anomalous, large solar particle events. They are compared with the maximum annual and career doses laid down by the National Council on Radiation protection (1987). The effect of spacecraft and space suit shielding is also considered. Space Shuttle flights have allowed extensive comparison of predicted doses with those measured experimentally. This has revealed some defects in the radiation and magnetic fields models used and has led to extensive reexamination of these models.

Mccormack, Percival D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A search for eclipses of HD 114762 by a low-mass companion

HD 114762 has an unseen companion with a dynamical mass that satisfies the constraint mass sin i = 2.5 x 10 to the 31st gm. The companion is a good candidate for a planetary-mass object, but the inclination of its orbit is unknown and its mass is indeterminate. Tests were conducted for the specific case of a nearly edge-on orbit by looking for eclipses of HD 114762 by the companion. Although the a priori probability of an eclipse is low, this is a crucial case because the companion has its minimum mass if the orbit is edge on. No eclipses were found with a depth greater than 0.01 mag and, therefore, the inclination of the orbit of HD 114762 is less than 89 deg.

Robinson, Edward L.↗