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A paint having low electrical resistance has been developed. Using a low outgassing polyurethane resin, specific amounts of conductive carbon particles were added to produce paint compositions having a range of electrical resistance. Methods of testing for electrical resistance are discussed. The adhesion of these paints has been tested successfully over the temperature range from liquid nitrogen temperature up to 80 C (176 F).
It is shown that the conversion of CO to methane and of N2 to ammonia in the primitive solar nebula was probably so slow relative to radial mixing rates or nebula evolutionary rates that only small amounts of NH3 and CH4 could have been present. Thus most of the nitrogen was present as N2 and most of the carbon as CO and CO2 throughout the nebula. The consequences of this kinetic effect upon the composition of cometary ices and of the Jovian planets, the melting and outgassing behavior of ice rich planetary satellites, and the abundance of carbon in the terrestrial planets are briefly discussed.
Polyurethane-modified high impact anaerobic adhesives have been chosen for a bonding application where impact cushion is critical. These adhesives meet all the requirements for high rate production and automatic assembly techniques. With aluminum adherends, one selected adhesive cured at room temperature with the recommended activator retained sixty percent of its original impact strength after twenty-six week aging at 100 C. The impact strength aging, the thermogravimetric analysis results, the outgassing data, and other observations made in this work indicate that the adhesives cured by simple heating give a more durable bond than that cured with an activator at room temperature.
Results of the Lagopedo II experiment conducted from Kauai, Hawaii to investigate the ionospheric modification that occurs when rocket combustion products are introduced into the O(+)-rich F region are presented. The experiment involved the detonation of a chemical explosion in the F2 peak accompanied by rocket-borne measurements of ion composition and electron content in the vicinity of the explosion. The experimental data is found to be in good agreement with the predictions of a model of the nighttime ion densities in the midlatitude laminar ionosphere, with the exception of N2(+) densities before the explosion. H2O(+) and H3O(+) currents produced by considerable H2O outgassing from the rocket are used to determine a H3O(+)/H2O(+) dissociative recombination rate averaging 1.6 to 1.08, depending on model assumptions. At the time of the explosion, an ionic void 1 km in radius is observed, the boundary of which is characterized by a steep gradient in ionic densities. Evidence of variations in the concentrations of ambient ion species, new reactant species and ionic depletion by sweeping is also obtained.
A series of computer codes were developed to predict solid rocket motor produced contamination to spacecraft sensitive surfaces. Subscale and flight test data have confirmed some of the analytical results. Application of the analysis tools to a typical spacecraft has provided early identification of potential spacecraft contamination problems and provided insight into their solution; e.g., flight plan modifications, plume or outgassing shields and/or contamination covers.
The replacement of water (H2O) by deuterium oxide (D2O) and the exchange between atmospheric water and adsorbed or absorbed D2O were investigated for the polymeric materials Kapton and Mylar using thermal gravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy. Replacement of H2O by D2O is easily accomplished. However, exposure of D2O samples to the ambient atmosphere or gases containing H2O results in rapid proton and deuteron exchange between H2O vapor and adsorbed D2O. Replacement of H2O by D2O would not be a practical solution to alleviate spectral interferences that would result from water outgassing in spacecraft orbital environments. Maintaining the materials of interest in a dehydrated state is a more reasonable approach.
The suitability of commercial (terrestrial) solar arrays for use in low Earth orbit is examined. It is shown that commercial solar arrays degrade under thermal cycling because of material flexure, and that certain types of silicones used in the construction of these arrays outgas severely. Based on the results, modifications were made. The modified array retains the essential features of typical commercial arrays and can be easily built by commercial fabrication techniques at low cost. The modified array uses a metal tray for containment, but eliminates the high outgassing potting materials and glass cover sheets. Cells are individually mounted with an adhesive and individually covered with glass cover slips, or clear plastic tape. The modified array is found to withstand severe thermal cycling for long intervals of time.
Nineteen asteroids with orbital elements comparable to those of short-period comets and the outer Jovian satellites J6 Himalia and J7 Elara have been observed with the 228-cm telescope and image-tube spectrograph of Steward Observatory. No activity indicating cometary outgassing was detected. If comets are being perturbed into asteroidal orbits, then this lack of activity can be explained by an apparently short transition time between active and extinct phase. In addition, spectra of the faint comets Sanguin 1977p, Chernykh 1977l, Arend-Rigaux 1950 VII, West 1978a, and van Biesbroeck 1954 IV were obtained, showing CN(0,0) and in some cases C2(1,0) and C3 emission. Comet Arend-Rigaux was active again in the fall of 1977 and Comet West showed on May 31, 1978 a weak tail at a distance from the sun of 6.0 AU.
The mission of the Starprobe Spacecraft is to do in situ exploration of the solar corona to four solar radii. A thermal shield is required to protect the spacecraft equipment from a 3000 sun incident solar energy level caused by this close approach to the sun. The thermal shield requirements discussed include configuration, material requirements, temperature level, penetrations, outgassing and mass loss, and contamination as referenced to spacecraft mission parameters. Further, the size of the spacecraft will be limited by the space transport system orbiter payload bay dimensions, thus defining the upper limit of the relative sizes and locations of the heat shield and spacecraft equipment.
An investigation has been made of the extent to which outgassed or emitted molecules return to a spacecraft as a result of intermolecular collisions with ambient freestream molecules. The governing parameters are discussed and heuristic arguments are used to predict the combination of parameters that is most likely to describe the return flux ratio. This is then tested by an extensive set of numerical calculations using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. Computations have been made for the flow past spheres and past circular cylinders with their axes normal in the stream. The numerical results lead to empirical expressions that can be used for engineering estimates in spacecraft contamination studies.
The Infrared Astronomical Satellite, to be launched in August 1981, will perform an all-sky survey in the 8-120 micron wavelength region. High sensitivity to thermal radiation and the low operating temperature of optics and thermal control surfaces make the IRAS telescope extremely vulnerable to contamination. Four special topics of importance are discussed in this paper: (1) deposition of atmospheric gases; (2) sighting of particles released from the satellite; (3) functions of a deployable aperture cover; and (4) degradation of a radiatively cooled sunshade from spacecraft outgassing. These topics demonstrate how mission strategy, ground cleaning and handling, and hardware design are used to avoid contamination which would degrade telescope performance.
On earth, glacial and periglacial features are common in areas of cold climate. On Mars, the temperature of the present-day surface is appropriate for permafrost, and the presence of water is suspected from data relating to the outgassing of the planet, from remote-sensing measurements over the polar caps and elsewhere on the Martian surface, and from recognition of fluvial morphological features such as channels. These observations and the possibility that ice could be in equilibrium with the high latitudes north and south of + or - 40 deg latitude suggest that glacial and periglacial features should exist on the planet. Morphological studies based mainly on Viking pictures indicate many features that can be attributed to the action of ice. Among these features are extensive talus aprons; debris avalanches; flows that resemble glaciers or rock glaciers; ridges that look like moraines; various types of patterned ground, scalloped scarps, and chaotically collapsed terrain that could be attributed to thermokarst processes; and landforms that may reflect the interaction of volcanism and ice.
The given review is concerned with a recent breakthrough in the investigation of polar-axis orientations and spin rates, and with the implications for the surface structure of cometary nuclei. The rotation data for twelve comets are summarized in a table. The progress achieved in the past few years has demonstrated that seemingly complex relations among observed physical and dynamical properties of comets can consistently be interpreted in terms of Whipple's (1950, 1951) model of a rotating icy-conglomerate nucleus. The nucleus, probably a few kilometers in diameter for an average comet, is believed to lose mass more or less continuously. Attention is given to the outgassing asymmetry, a formulation of the geometry of the directed ejection, and the role of rotation in cometary outbursts and splitting.
Variations in the composition of the regolith due to irradiation by the solar wind are examined by categorizing the exposure history recorded in each sample. The history can be defined by two parameters: the duration of solar wind exposure (maturity) and a measure of how long the exposure took place (antiquity). Three partially successful methods for determining antiquity are described: the regolith contains small amounts of unsupported, trapped radiogenic noble gases, the most common being Ar-40. Assuming relatively prompt outgassing of the lunar interior, the amount of Ar-40 implanted per unit time should be proportional to the lunar content of K-40, and thus should have decayed exponentially over the lifetime of the moon. Normalization to constant exposure duration is achieved by taking the ratio Ar-40/Ar-36 in trapped gas, Ar-36 being an efficiently trapped solar wind species. The second method involves the interaction between galactic cosmic rays and lunar material producing certain spallogenic nuclides which may be analyzed in terms of a cosmic ray exposure age. The third method deals with the fact that there is a general tendency for depth within a core to be related to time deposition; two variants of this method are presented.
The significance of the fraction of the mass outgassed by a negatively charged space vehicle which is ionized within the vehicle plasma sheath and electrostatically reattracted to the space vehicle was determined. The ML-12 retarding potential analyzer/temperature controlled quartz crystal microbalances (RPA/TQCMs) distinguishes between charged and neutral molecules and investigates contamination mass transport mechanism. Two long term, quick look flight data sets indicate that on the average a significant fraction of mass arriving at one RPA/TQCM is ionized. It is assumed that vehicle frame charging during these periods was approximately uniformly distributed in degree and frequency. It is shown that electrostatic reattraction of ionized molecules is an important contamination mechanism at and near geosynchronous altitudes.
Nominal value model parameters for the nucleus (size, mass, rotation, albedo, hydrogen production) the dust and gas for P/Halley at 0.9 AU postperihelion are derived from the light curve and spectra of Halley and by modeling the effect of the nongravitational forces, e.g., the outgassing rocket type effect of the nucleus. In those cases where Halley observations are not sufficient, the average value derived from a larger set of other comets is used, or data from comet Bennett, Halley's best analog, are taken. A flow diagram shows how the parameter values are derived and to what extent these derived values are interdependent.
The deuterium hydrogen abundance ratio in the Venus atmosphere was measured while the inlets to the Pioneer Venus large probe mass spectrometer were coated with sulfuric acid from Venus' clouds. The ratio is (1.6 + or - 0.2) x 10 to the minus two power. It was found that the 100 fold enrichment of deuterium means that Venus outgassed at least 0.3% of a terrestrial ocean and possibly more.
Pyrolytic graphite promises to have significant advantages as a material for multistage depressed collector electrodes. Among these advantages are lighter weight, improved mechanical stiffness under shock and vibration, reduced secondary electron back-streaming for higher efficiency, and reduced outgassing at higher operating temperatures. The essential properties of pyrolytic graphite and the necessary design criteria are discussed. This includes the study of suitable electrode geometries and methods of attachment to other metal and ceramic collector components consistent with typical electrical, thermal, and mechanical requirements.