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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.

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NASA NTRS1972

A program of high resolution X-ray astronomy using sounding rockets

Two Aerobee 170 sounding rocket payloads were flown at the White Sands Missile Range: (1) a focusing X-ray collector on 31 March 1972; and (2) a high resolution telescope on 4 August 1972. Data has been reduced from each of these flights. In the first flight both the rocket and the experiment instrumentation performed adequately, and it is clear that at least the minimum scientific objectives were attained. In the second flight the attitude control system failed to point the telescope at the target for a sufficient length of time. However examination of final preflight checkout data and some flight data indicate that the instrumentation for this rocket payload was functioning according to expectations.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1972

Balloon launched decelerator test program: Post-test test report

Balloon Launched Decelerator Test (BLDT) flights were conducted during the summer of 1972 over the White Sands Missile Range. The purpose of these tests was to qualify the Viking disk-gap band parachute system behind a full-scale simulator of the Viking Entry Vehicle over the maximum range of entry conditions anticipated in the Viking '75 soft landing on Mars. Test concerns centered on the ability of a minimum weight parachute system to operate without structural damage in the turbulent wake of the blunt-body entry vehicle (140 deg, 11.5 diameter cone). This is the first known instance of parachute operation at supersonic speeds in the wake of such a large blunt body. The flight tests utilized the largest successful balloon-payload weight combination known to get to high altitude (120kft) where rocket engines were employed to boost the test vehicle to supersonic speeds and dynamic pressures simulating the range of conditions on Mars.

Dickinson, D.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Relations among low ionosphere parameters and high frequency radio wave absorption

Charged particle conductivities measured in the very low ionosphere at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and Wallops Island, Virginia, are compared with atmospheric parameters and high frequency radio wave absorption measurements. Charged particle densities are derived from the conductivity data. Between 33 and 58 km, positive conductivity correlated well with neutral atmospheric temperature, with temperature coefficients as large as 4.6%/deg K. Good correlations were also found between HF radio wave absorption and negative conductivity at altitudes as low as 53 km, indicating that the day-to-day absorption variations were principally due to variations in electron loss rate.

Cipriano, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1973

An experimental investigation of mesospheric ionization

Mesospheric ionization and its variability are examined. Data were obtained primarily by the parachute-borne blunt probe technique conducted in coordinated rocket experiments at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico and Wallops Island, Virginia. Electrical conductivity measurements and deduced charge density values from ten rocket launches are presented and discussed. Positive ion conductivity and electron density were found to be relatively invariant with height between 45 and 60 km. Variations in positive conductivity of a factor of two and enhancements in negative conductivity by as much as a factor of four were measured by the blunt probe. A simple lumped parameter ion chemistry model is shown to satisfactorily explain the charge density values for the undisturbed lower D-region. Implications of the data in terms of this model are considered. The principal loss mechanism for positive ions in the 45 to 60 km. region is concluded to be dissociative recombination. Electron densities deduced from the conductivity data are explained by detachment involving a minor neutral constituent which is mixed between 65 and 45 km. and then cuts off sharply below 45 km. A correlation study involving blunt probe measurements shows relatively good agreement between variations in positive conductivity and temperature.

Mitchell, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Ultraviolet background radiation.

The results are reported of observations in narrow bands centered on 1115, 1425, and 1446 A of the flux from an empty high-galactic-latitude region and from several stars. The observations had been obtained with the aid of three ultraviolet-sensitive Geiger counters which were carried on an Aerobee-150 rocket launched from the White Sands missile range on Mar. 13, 1969. The results obtained provide a basis for setting an upper limit to the flux from the Coma cluster of galaxies.

Henry, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1973

The Viking parachute qualification test technique.

The parachute system for NASA's Viking '75 Mars lander was flight qualified in four high-altitude flight tests at the White Sands Missile range (WSMR). A balloon system lifted a full-scale simulated Viking spacecraft to an altitude where a varying number of rocket motors were used to propel the high drag, lifting test vehicle to test conditions which would simulate the range of entry conditions expected at Mars. A ground-commanded cold gas pointing system located on the balloon system provided powered vehicle azimuth control to insure that the flight trajectory remained within the WSMR boundaries. A unique ground-based computer-radar system was employed to monitor inflight performance of the powered vehicle and insure that command ignition of the parachute mortar occurred at the required test conditions of Mach number and dynamic pressure. Performance data were obtained from cameras, telemetry, and radar.

Raper, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Qualification flight tests of the Viking decelerator system.

The Balloon Launched Decelerator Test (BLDT) series conducted at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) during July and August of 1972 flight qualified the NASA Viking '75 decelerator system at conditions bracketing those expected for Mars. This paper discusses the decelerator system design requiremnts, compares the test results with prior work, and discusses significant considerations leading to successful qualification in earth's atmosphere. The Viking decelerator system consists of a single-stage mortar-deployed 53-foot nominal diameter disk-gap-band parachute. Full-scale parachutes were deployed behind a full-scale simulated Viking vehicle at Mach numbers from 0.47 to 2.18 and dynamic pressures from 6.9 to 14.6 psf. Analyses show that the system is qualified with sufficient margin to perform successfully for the Viking mission.

Moog, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1974

On the distribution of He+ in the plasmasphere from observations of resonantly scattered He II 304-A radiation

The intensity of the He II 304-A radiation in the night sky was measured from a sounding rocket launched from White Sands Missile Range on June 9, 1972. The data obtained on this flight are compared with predictions of theoretical models of the He(+) altitude distribution within the plasmasphere. The observations are not consistent with an isothermal equilibrium model of the helium ion in the plasmasphere, confirming earlier results. The data are best fit by a diffussive equilibrium model of exospheric He(+) having a plasma temperature gradient of 0.5 K per km and a number density at 1600 km of 200,000 He(+) ions per cu cm. In this model the ion densities are calculated without allowance for thermal diffusion. A similar model that allows for thermal diffusion and that has a He(+) number density at 1600 km of 1500 per cu cm and a temperature gradient of 1.2 K per km yields a less satisfactory fit to the observations but is more consistent with in situ satellite observations.

Paresce, F.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Observations of the extreme ultraviolet nightglow

An extreme ultraviolet telescope system was flown on an Aerobee 170 rocket from the White Sands Missile Range on Oct. 22, 1971. Measurements of extreme ultraviolet radiation from the night sky were made with a set of Parylene, aluminum, and tin filters behind a grazing incidence concentrator. If the aluminum and tin filter data are interpreted as being due to only the He I 584-A and He II 304-A lines, the nightglow flux at 25 deg zenith angle and 270 deg azimuth angle at 180-km altitude was I(584) = 4.4 plus or minus 1.9 R and I(304) = 1.3 plus or minus 0.5 R.

Riegler, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1974

An observation of O/+/ 834 A nightglow emission

A 40-A resolution spectrometer was employed to measure the extreme ultraviolet nightglow emissions. The spectrometer was flown on a Black Brant V-C rocket, which was launched at 21:08 MST on Feb. 9, 1973, from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The O(+) 834-A emission can be identified in the spectrum and has a brightness of 15 plus or minus 5 R. This emission is probably excited by the conjugate electrons. The data also indicate the presence of some nightglow emission in the 950- to 1050-A region that is still unidentified.

Kumar, S.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Skylab Apollo Telescope Mount Calibration Rocket Project

The Calibration Rocket (CALROC) Project was established to provide calibration data for the Harvard College Observatory (S055) and the Naval Research Laboratory (S082) ultraviolet solar experiments on Skylab to provide compensation for any change in performance during the long mission in the space environment after the preflight calibration. The calibration instruments were smaller-scale, lighter-weight, but similar in performance to the S055 and S082 experiments. They were launched on Black Brant VC sounding rockets from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The CALROC instruments were calibrated before launch and verified after flight. Each flight obtained approximately four minutes of data on an area of the sun which was then observed by the Skylab astronauts with the ATM experiments on three successive orbits.

Frank, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Conjugate excitation of atomic oxygen emissions in the far ultraviolet

Rocket observations of far-ultraviolet terrestrial airglow emissions in the 1230- to 1450-A band at night have been carried out from White Sands Missile Range. Three rockets carried 15.4-cm-diam far-ultraviolet telescopes to about 220 km altitude at various times during the night from postsunset to predawn. Postsunset and predawn observations were made when the solar zenith angle at the conjugate ionosphere was about 95 deg, and in both cases positive identification of strong O I 1304-A emissions was made. Evidence that in these cases the 1356/1304 intensity ratio was less than 0.2 is presented. Observations made well into the night yielded only an upper limit to the combined O I 1304- and 1356-A emissions of 20 Rayleighs, consistent with previous observations and theoretical calculations. These results show that meaningful rocket observations of the cosmic far ultraviolet background can be made only when the solar zenith angle at the conjugate ionosphere of the launch site is larger than 105 deg or if atomic oxygen emission lines are excluded from the detectors' bandpass.

Holberg, J.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Accelerations experienced during low-G flight of Black Brant VC (NAS 21.015) on 4 October 1974

This investigation was to determine whether a Black Brant VC (BBVC) sounding rocket equipped with the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) rate control system (RCS) would produce g-levels which are satisfactory for space processing. Accelerations measured by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) low-g accelerometer system (LGAS) were compared with accelerations calculated from measured payload RCS gyro data during a low-g flight of BBVC NAS 21.015 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., on October 4, 1974. Accelerations of up to 0.0002 g existed at the LGAS accelerometers from 70 through 420 sec (5.8 min), with the exception of a spike at 101 sec of 0.0004 g which occurred when the RCS was activated the second time. Accelerations of 0.0001 g existed from 140 through 400 sec (4.3 min). Accelerations of 0.0002 g along the roll axis up to 150 sec and of 0.0015 g in the lateral plane at about 135 sec are being investigated by GSFC. They may be associated with leaking thruster valves or a leak in one of the heat pipe experiments. The vehicle rate buildup each time after the RCS nulls out are also being investigated by GSFC. This rate caused most of the 0.0001 g acceleration experienced after 150 sec into the flight. Aerodynamic drag produced no significant accelerations after about 80 sec. The principal conclusion was that the BBVC with the GSFC RCS produces g-levels satisfactory for space processing.

Kissel, R.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Design of a simple Gerdien condenser for ionospheric D-region charged particle density and mobility measurements

The theory of a Gerdien condenser operating in a collision controlled medium is reviewed. Design and electronics of a Gerdien condenser probe suitable for flying on the Arcas rocket is presented. Aerodynamics properties of the instrument in continuous flow are discussed. The method of data reduction and experimental results of one successful flight at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico, on 11 January 1974 are reported. This investigation shows positive ions in two relatively distinct mobility groups between 47 and 65 km and a more continuous distribution of mobilities between 38 and 47 km.

Farrokh, H.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Analysis of aperture averaging measurements

Laser scintillation data obtained by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center balloon flight no. 5 from White Sands Missile Range on 19 October 1973 are analyzed. The measurement data, taken with various size receiver apertures, were related to predictions of aperture averaging theory, and it is concluded that the data are in reasonable agreement with theory. The following parameters are assigned to the vertical distribution of the strength of turbulence during the period of the measurements (daytime), for lambda = 0.633 microns, and the source at the zenith; the aperture averaging length is d sub o = 0.125 m, and the log-amplitude variance is (beta sub l)2 = 0.084 square nepers. This corresponds to a normalized point intensity variance of 0.40.

Fried, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1974

The Skylab concentrated atmospheric radiation project - An overview

An overview is presented of the Skylab Concentrated Atmospheric Radiation Project (SCARP), which was conducted to determine the accuracy and applicability of different models of radiation transfer through air masses of differing characteristics including varying amounts of wet and dry aerosols. Sites surveyed included onshore and offshore areas in the vicinity of Houston, Texas, the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, and Phoenix, Arizona, which provided a variety of warm, hot, dry, wet, clean, and dirty atmospheres. A typical exercise is described, and problems encountered during the experiment are discussed. It is noted that ten models of atmospheric scattering were utilized and that available data is being compared with the models.

Whitehead, V. S.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Concentrations of CH4, CO, CO2, H2, H2O and N2O in the upper stratosphere

On 23 May 1973 a cryogenic air sampler was flown on an Aerobee rocket from White Sands Missile Range. A large air sample was collected between 40 and 50 km altitude and successfully recovered for water vapor and trace gas analysis. The results were as follows: water vapor, 4.0 (+1.3 or - 0.9) ppmV; methane, 0.37 + or - 0.01 ppmV; molecular hydrogen, 0.47 + or - 0.02 ppmV; carbon monoxide, 0.05 + or - 0.01 ppmV; carbon dioxide, 316.2 + or - 2.8 ppmV; and nitrous oxide, 3 + or - 7 ppb.

Ehhalt, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Analysis of Aerobee 17.012 data

The results are summarized of reduction and analysis of data acquired during the flight of NASA-Aerobee 17.012CG. This rocket was launched from White Sands Missile Range on 6 April 1974 at 0410 U.T. The primary instrument in the experiment payload was a singly focussing x-ray reflector system sensitive in the range from 0.18 to 3 keV. X-ray detectors for this system consisted of two gas flow proportional counters with fields of view defined by apertures of 0.1 deg and 0.3 deg at the reflector focus. A Bragg spectrometer utilizing KAP crystals was included in the payload with the objective of detecting the Lyman alpha line of 0 VIII at 18.97A in the Puppis supernova remanant. A 35 mm camera photographed the star field every 1.6 sec throughout the flight to provide aspect information.

Catura, R. C.↗