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NASA NTRS1972

Radiant heat transfer between nongray directional surfaces.

Real surface property effects on local and overall heat transfer are studied for a simple system of interacting opaque surfaces. Wavelength, temperature and directional dependence of surface properties is included in the analysis for equal and unequal temperature specularly reflecting surfaces. Tungsten is employed as a representative metal and Roberts' model is used to describe the wavelength and temperature dependence of its optical parameters. The relationships of electromagnetic theory are employed to describe the directional dependence of spectral properties. Numerical results establish that gray direction independent property analysis adequately predicts the general trends of real surface analysis. The results also establish that spectral and temperature dependence of surface properties influences radiant heat transfer to a greater degree than does directional dependence of properties. Property models which adequately account for the nongray character of engineering surfaces while neglecting directional dependence of properties can provide heat transfer results of acceptable engineering accuracy.

Fischer, W. D.↗

NASA NTRS1977

A comparison of solar sail and ion drive trajectories for a Halley's comet rendezvous mission

According to the propulsion concept of solar sail spacecraft the thrust force is produced by the specular reflection of sunlight from a large, essentially flat, reflecting surface. The magnitude of this force is approximately 9 newtons for a perfectly reflecting sail with an area of 1 square kilometer oriented normal to the sunline at a distance of one astronomical unit from the sun. There exists a restriction in the types of orbit transfer trajectories which can be considered with this propulsion system. In the case of the second propulsion system being considered for the Halley's comet rendezvous mission, thrust is produced by the acceleration of ionized mercury atoms by an electric field. Power to the ion thrusters is supplied by lightweight solar arrays which can provide up to 100 kW of electrical power at a distance of 1 AU from the sun. Because of differing thrust constraints for the two propulsion systems, trajectories for a Halley's comet rendezvous mission are significantly different for the Ion Drive and Solar Sail spacecraft. Details concerning the trajectory characteristics are shown with the aid of a number of graphs.

Sauer, C. G., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Geometric model and analysis of rod-like large space structures

The application of geometrical schemes to large sphere antenna reflectors was investigated. The purpose of these studies is to determine the shape and size of flat segmented surfaces which approximate general shells of revolution and in particular spherical and paraboloidal reflective surfaces. The extensive mathematical and computational geometry analyses of the reflector resulted in the development of a general purpose computer program. This program is capable of generating the complete design parameters of the dish and can meet stringent accuracy requirements. The computer program also includes a graphical self contained subroutine which graphically displays the required design.

Nayfeh, A. H.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Geometric modeling and analysis of large latticed surfaces

The application of geometrical schemes, similar to geodesic domes, to large spherical antenna reflectors was investigated. The shape and size of flat segmented latticed surfaces which approximate general shells of revolution, and in particular spherical and paraboloidal reflective surfaces, were determined. The extensive mathematical and computational geometric analyses of the reflector resulted in the development of a general purpose computer program capable of generating the complete design parameters of the dish. The program also includes a graphical self contained subroutine for graphic display of the required design.

Nayfeh, A. H.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Vacuum-deposited optical coatings experiment (A0138-4)

The stability of various vacuum deposited optical coatings exposed to the space environment were analyzed. A wide range of optical components manufactured by vacuum deposition, such as metallic and multidielectric reflective coatings in the UV range, metal dielectric interference filtes in the UV and IR ranges, narrow-bandpass filters int he near-UV and visible ranges, selective metallic mirrors in the range from 1500 to 2500 A. antireflective and reflective IR coatings, beam splitters in the visible and IR ranges, and optical surface reflection (OSR) coatings were developed. Many of these components were incorporated into scientific and technical experiments flown on balloons and rockets as well as on Symphonie, Meteosate, OTS, D2-B, TIROS n, and others. It appears that these components operate successfully in flight.

Malherbe, A.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The realuminizing of the 7-meter-diameter solar simulator collimating mirror

This paper describes the modification of a three-electron-beam (EB) gun system for vacuum depositing a highly reflective aluminum coating on a 7.01-m (23-ft) -diam nickel-plated aluminum collimating mirror. The mirror is part of the JPL 7.62-m space simulator that was recently modernized with a new high vacuum pumping system, solar lamp power supplies, solar optic lens system, and refurbished collimating mirror. The 7.01-m 12,700-kg (14-ton) spherical collimating mirror was removed from this facility for replating with 381 micron (0.015 in.) of electroless nickel and polished to a specular finish for realuminizing. The space chamber served as the vacuum coating vessel for the realuminizing coating process. The mirror is the primary reflector for the solar simulation system and the aluminized reflective surface is its most critical performance element. The uniformity of thickness and high reflectivity of the coating in visible and near-ultraviolet (UV) light governs the accuracy of the beam for solar testing. The uniformity of the thin-film thickness also controls the durability of the mirror over time. The mirror was polished to a 64-percent reflectivity with a uniformity of 1.5 percent. The performance goal for the aluminizing was 89 percent with +/- 0.5-percent variation over the mirror.

Noller, E. W.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Inflatable Microstrip Reflectarray Antennas At X and Ka-Band Frequencies

Introduction: Inflatable antenna technology is being developed by JPL/NASA to enable the capabilities of low mass, high packaging efficiency, and low-cost deployment for future spacecraft high-gain and large aperture antennas. One of the technologies being considered [11 is the inflatable microstrip reflectarray. A conventional inflatable parabolic reflector antenna will offer similar advantages with the added capability of wide electrical bandwidth. However, it suffers from the difficulty of maintaining its required large, thin, and curved-parabolic surface in the space environment. Since the microstrip reflectarray has the "natural" flat reflecting surface, it is much easier to maintain the required surface tolerance using an inflatable structure. This is the primary reason, despite its narrow bandwidth characteristic, that the inflatable microstrip reflectarray is being studied. This article discusses an already-developed one-meter X-band inflatable microstrip reflectarray and a three-meter Ka-band inflatable microstrip reflectarray which is currently under development. Both antennas' RF structures are designed at JPL and their mechanical inflatable structures are designed and manufactured at ILC Dover, Inc.

Huang, John↗

NASA NTRS1999

Inflatable Microstrip Reflectarray Antennas at X and Ka-band Frequencies

Inflatable antenna technology is being developed by JPL/NASA to enable the capabilities of low mass, high packaging efficiency, and low-cost deployment for future spacecraft high-gain and large aperture antennas. One of the technologies being considered is the inflatable microstrip reflectarray. A conventional inflatable parabolic reflector antenna will offer similar advantages with the added capability of wide electrical bandwidth. However, it suffers from the difficulty of maintaining its required large, thin, and curved-parabolic surface in the space environment. Since the microstrip reflectarray has the "natural" flat reflecting surface, it is much easier to maintain the required surface tolerance using an inflatable structure. This is the primary reason, despite its narrow bandwidth characteristic, that the inflatable microstrip reflectarray is being studied. This article discusses an already-developed one-meter X-band inflatable microstrip reflectarray and a three-meter Ka-band inflatable microstrip reflectarray which is currently under development. Both antennas' RF structures are designed at JPL and their mechanical inflatable structures are designed and manufactured at ILC Dover, Inc.

Huang, John↗

NASA NTRS1994

The Realuminizing of the 7-Meter Diameter Solar Simulator Collimating Mirror

solar↗

NASA NTRS1971

Mariner 7 ultraviolet spectrometer experiment - Photometric function and roughness of Mars' polar cap surface.

Review of some of the results of the Mariner 7 ultraviolet spectrometer observations of the south polar cap of Mars. The near ultraviolet polar spectrum shows the predominance of surface reflection over atmospheric scattering. The intensity of the reflected radiation decreased steeply for a change in solar elevation of only about 10 deg. Neither a haze layer nor ground inhomogeneity is considered a likely explanation for this observation. An unusual photometric function of the surface is more probable. An analysis of reflected radiation intensity as a function of incidence and emission angles was made, assuming a photometric function for the surface. The angular inversion revealed a 'smoothness factor' suggestive of an icy or glazed surface. A hypothesis is advanced to explain the observed phenomena and associated polar features.

Pang, K.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Development of microchannel plate x-ray optics

The goal of this research program was to develop a novel technique for focusing x-rays based on the optical system of a lobster's eye. A lobster eye employs many closely packed reflecting surfaces arranged within a spherical or cylindrical shell. These optics have two unique properties: they have unlimited fields of view and can be manufactured via replication of identical structures. Because the angular resolution is given by the ratio of the size of the individual optical elements to the focal length, optical elements with sizes on the order of one hundred microns are required to achieve good angular resolution with a compact telescope. We employed anisotropic etching of single crystal silicon wafers for the fabrication of micron-scale optical elements. This technique, commonly referred to as silicon micromachining, is based on silicon fabrication techniques developed by the microelectronics industry. An anisotropic etchant is a chemical which etches certain silicon crystal planes much more rapidly than others. Using wafers in which the slowly etched crystal planes are aligned perpendicularly to the wafer surface, it is possible to etch a pattern completely through a wafer with very little distortion. Our optics consist of rectangular pores etched completely through group of zone axes (110) oriented silicon wafers. The larger surfaces of the pores (the mirror elements) were aligned with the group of zone axes (111) planes of the crystal perpendicular to the wafer surface. We have succeeded in producing silicon lenses with a geometry suitable for 1-d focusing x-ray optics. These lenses have an aspect ratio (40:1) suitable for x-ray reflection and have very good optical surface alignment. We have developed a number of process refinements which improved the quality of the lens geometry and the repeatability of the etch process. A significant progress was made in obtaining good optical surface quality. The RMS roughness was decreased from 110 A for our initial lenses to 30 A in the final lenses. A further factor of three improvement in surface quality is required for the production of efficient x-ray optics. In addition to the silicon fabrication, an x-ray beam line was constructed at Columbia for testing the optics.

Kaaret, Philip↗

NASA NTRS1975

The effect of atmospheric haze on images of the earth's surface

The adding method to solve the equation of radiative transfer has been applied to a sunlit haze above a reflecting surface. The method was modified to include the effect of inhomogeneities on the underlying surface whose dimensions are less than the mean free path of the photons in the haze. Numerical examples of surface-feature contrast degradation due to haze are presented. This analysis renders it feasible to determine the optical thickness of hazes from haze-degraded images of the ground and also provides a technique to restore ground-image contrast, which has been obscured by haze, in photoelectrically scanned images.

Odell, A. P.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Delayed Shutters For Dual-Beam Molecular Epitaxy

System of shutters for dual-molecular-beam epitaxy apparatus delays start of one beam with respect to another. Used in pulsed-beam equipment for deposition of low-dislocation layers of InAs on GaAs substrates, system delays application of arsenic beam with respect to indium beam to assure proper stoichiometric proportions on newly forming InAs surface. Reflectance high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) instrument used to monitor condition of evolving surface of deposit. RHEED signal used to time pulsing of molecular beams in way that minimizes density of defects and holds lattice constant of InAs to that of GaAs substrate.

Grunthaner, Frank J.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Explosive component acceptance tester using laser interferometer technology

Acceptance testing of explosive components requires a reliable and simple to use testing method that can discern less than optimal performance. For hot-wire detonators, traditional techniques use dent blocks or photographic diagnostic methods. More complicated approaches are avoided because of their inherent problems with setup and maintenance. A recently developed tester is based on using a laser interferometer to measure the velocity of flying plates accelerated by explosively actuated detonators. Unlike ordinary interferometers that monitor displacement of the test article, this device measures velocity directly and is commonly used with non-spectral surfaces. Most often referred to as the VISAR technique (Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflecting Surface), it has become the most widely-accepted choice for accurate measurement of velocity in the range greater than 1 mm/micro-s. Traditional VISAR devices require extensive setup and adjustment and therefore are unacceptable in a production-testing environment. This paper describes a new VISAR approach which requires virtually no adjustments, yet provides data with accuracy comparable to the more complicated systems. The device, termed the Fixed-Cavity VISAR, is currently being developed to serve as a product verification tool for hot-wire detonators and slappers. An extensive data acquisition and analysis computer code was also created to automate the manipulation of raw data into final results.

Wickstrom, Richard D.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Synergism of active and passive microwave data for estimating bare surface soil moisture

Active and passive microwave sensors were applied effectively to the problem of estimating the surface soil moisture in a variety of environmental conditions. Research to date has shown that both types of sensors are also sensitive to the surface roughness and the vegetation cover. In estimating the soil moisture, the effect of the vegetation and roughness are often corrected either by acquiring multi-configuration (frequency and polarization) data or by adjusting the surface parameters in order to match the model predictions to the measured data. Due to the limitations on multi-configuration spaceborne data and the lack of a priori knowledge of the surface characteristics for parameter adjustments, it was suggested that the synergistic use of the sensors may improve the estimation of the soil moisture over the extreme range of naturally occurring soil and vegetation conditions. To investigate this problem, the backscattering and emission from a bare soil surface using the classical rough surface scattering theory were modeled. The model combines the small perturbation and the Kirchhoff approximations in conjunction with the Peak formulation to cover a wide range of surface roughness parameters with respect to frequency for both active and passive measurements. In this approach, the same analytical method was used to calculate the backscattering and emissivity. Therefore, the active and passive simulations can be combined at various polarizations and frequencies in order to estimate the soil moisture more actively. As a result, it is shown that (1) the emissivity is less dependent on the surface correlation length, (2) the ratio of the backscattering coefficient (HH) over the surface reflectivity (H) is almost independent of the soil moisture for a wide range of surface roughness, and (3) this ratio can be approximated as a linear function of the surface rms height. The results were compared with the data obtained by a multi-frequency radiometer-scatterometer system working at frequencies between 3.0 GHz to 11.0 GHz. The data were acquired over bare soil surfaces with moisture variations due to freezing and thawing and roughness changes due to rain and erosion. The model predictions are shown to be in reasonable agreement with the data. In addition, it was shown that the same ratio when calculated from the data shows almost no dependence on the soil moisture. Finally, a simple technique which combines the backscattering coefficient at HH polarization (active sensing) with the emissivity at H polarization (passive sensing) is suggested for retrieving the soil moisture from bare soil surfaces.

Saatchi, Sasan S.↗

NASA NTRS1993

The importance of environmental conditions in reflectance spectroscopy of laboratory analogs for Mars surface materials

Reflectance spectra are presented here for a variety of particulate, ferric-containing analogs to Martian soil (Fe(3+)-doped smectites and palagonites) to facilitate interpretation of remotely acquired spectra. The analog spectra were measured under differing environmental conditions to evaluate the influence of exposure history on water content and absorption features due to H2O in these samples. Each of these materials contains structural OH bonded to metal cations, adsorbed H2O, and bound H2O (either in a glass, structural site, or bound to a cation). Previous experiments involving a variety of Mars analogs have shown that the 3 micron H2O band in spectra of palagonites is more resistant to drying than the 3 micron H2O band in spectra of montmorillonites. Other experiments have shown that spectra of ferrihydrite and montmorillonites doped with ferric sulfate also contain sufficient bound H2O to retain a strong 3 micron band under dry conditions. Once the effects of the environment on bound water in clays, oxides, and salts are better understood, the hydration bands measured via reflectance spectroscopy can be used to gain information about the chemical composition and moisture content of real soil systems. Such information would be especially useful in interpreting observations of Mars where subtle spatial variations in the strengths of metal-OH and H2O absorptions have been observed in telescopic and ISM spectra. We measured bidirectional reflectance spectra of several Mars soil analogs under controlled environmental conditions to assess the effects of moisture content on the metal-OH and H2O absorptions. The samples analyzed include chemically altered montmorillonites, ferrihydrite. and palagonites from Hawaii and Iceland. Procedures for preparation of the cation-exchanged montmorillonites, ferric-salt doped montmorillonites, and ferric oxyhydroxides are described in detail elsewhere.

Bishop, J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Arctic ocean radiative fluxes and cloud forcing estimated from the ISCCP C2 cloud dataset, 1983-1990

Radiative fluxes and cloud forcings for the ocean areas of the Arctic are computed from the monthly cloud product of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) for 1983-90. Spatially averaged short-wave fluxes are compared well with climatological values, while downwelling longwave fluxes are significantly lower. This is probably due to the fact that the ISCCP cloud amounts are underestimates. Top-of-the-atmosphere radiative fluxes are in excellent agreement with measurements from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). Computed cloud forcings indicate that clouds have a warming effect at the surface and at the top of the atmosphere during winter and a cooling effect during summer. The net radiative effect of clouds is larger at the surface during winter but greater at the top of the atmosphere during summer. Overall the net radiative effect of clouds at the top of the atmosphere is one of cooling. This is in contrast to a previous result from ERBE data showing arctic cloud forcings have a net warming effect. Sensitivities to errors in input parameters are generally greater during winter with cloud amount being the most important paarameter. During summer the surface radiation balance is most sensitive to errors in the measurements of surface reflectance. The results are encouraging, but the estimated error of 20 W/sq m in surface net radiative fluxes is too large, given that estimates of the net radiative warming effect due to a doubling of CO2 are on the order of 4 W/sq m. Because it is difficult to determine the accuracy of results with existing in situ observations, it is recommended that the development of improved algorithms for the retrieval of surface radiative properties be accompanied by the simultaneous assembly of validation datasets.

Schweiger, Axel J.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Evaluation of Satellite Remote Sensing Albedo Retrievals over the Ablation Area of the Southwestern Greenland Ice Sheet

MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) albedo products have been validated over spatially uniform, snow-covered areas of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) using the so-called single 'point-to-pixel' method. This study expands on this methodology by applying a 'multiple-point-to-pixel' method and examination of spatial autocorrelation (here using semivariogram analysis) by using in situ observations, high-resolution World- View-2 (WV-2) surface reflectances, and MODIS Collection V006 daily blue-sky albedo over a spatially heterogeneous surfaces in the lower ablation zone in southwest Greenland. Our results using 232 ground-based samples within two MODIS pixels, one being more spatial heterogeneous than the other, show little difference in accuracy among narrow and broad band albedos (except for Band 2). Within the more homogenous pixel area, in situ and MODIS albedos were very close (error varied from −4% to +7%) and within the range of ASD standard errors. The semivariogram analysis revealed that the minimum observational footprint needed for a spatially representative sample is 30 m. In contrast, over the more spatially heterogeneous surface pixel, a minimum footprint size was not quantifiable due to spatial autocorrelation, and far exceeds the effective resolution of the MODIS retrievals. Over the high spatial heterogeneity surface pixel, MODIS is lower than ground measurements by 4-7%, partly due to a known in situ undersampling of darker surfaces that often are impassable by foot (e.g., meltwater features and shadowing effects over crevasses). Despite the sampling issue, our analysis errors are very close to the stated general accuracy of the MODIS product of 5%. Thus, our study suggests that the MODIS albedo product performs well in a very heterogeneous, low-albedo, area of the ice sheet ablation zone. Furthermore, we demonstrate that single 'point-to-pixel' methods alone are insufficient in characterizing and validating the variation of surface albedo displayed in the lower ablation area. This is true because the distribution of in situ data deviations from MODIS albedo show a substantial range, with the average values for the 10th and 90th percentiles being −0.30 and 0.43 across all bands. Thus, if only single point is taken for ground validation, and is randomly selected from either distribution tails, the error would appear to be considerable. Given the need for multiple in-situ points, concurrent albedo measurements derived from existing AWSs, (low-flying vehicles (airborne or unmanned) and high-resolution imagery (WV-2)) are needed to resolve high sub-pixel variability in the ablation zone, and thus, further improve our characterization of Greenland's surface albedo.

Ablation zone↗