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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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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1972

A traverse gravimeter for the lunar surface.

A semiautomatic, self-leveling lunar gravimeter has been designed for the purpose of measuring gravity at predetermined stops along the route of a Lunar Rover Vehicle to obtain a gravity profile. The Traverse Gravimeter is completely self-contained and is powered by an internal battery. The gravity sensor is a vibrating string accelerometer (VSA) which is enclosed in a precision oven. Gravity data are obtained by initiating a measurement. After the gravimeter has leveled, the VSA difference frequency is counted down and a gate is generated to enable a crystal-controlled clock to a BCD counter. The BCD counter stores the data which are a measurement of gravity. These data, displayed upon command by the astronaut, are transmitted by voice back to earth.

Mamon, G.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Improvement of a geodetic triangulation through control points established by means of satellite or precision traversing

Whether any significant increment to accuracy could be transferred from a super-control continental net (continental satellite net or super-transcontinental traverse) to the fundamental geodetic net (first-order triangulation) is discussed. This objective was accomplished by evaluating the positional accuracy improvement for a triangulation station, which is near the middle of the investigated geodetic triangulation net, by using various station constraints over its geodetic position. This investigation on a 1858 kilometer long triangulation chain shows that the super-control net can provide a useful constraint to the investigated geodetic triangulation net, and thus can improve it only when the accuracy of super-control net is at least 1 part in 500,000.

Saxena, N. K.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Traverse gravimeter experiment

A semiautomatic self-leveling lunar gravimeter has been designed for the Apollo 17 mission. This traverse gravimeter, which is completely self-contained and powered by an internal battery, was used to measure gravity at predetermined stops along the route of the Lunar Rover Vehicle. The gravity sensor is a vibrating string accelerometer (VSA) enclosed in a temperature-controlled oven and gimballed leveling assembly. This instrument is capable of resolving gravity differences as small as 0.035 milligal (1 mgal = 0.001 cm/s) on the moon and yet also is able to measure the earth's gravity field of 980,000 milligals. Twenty-two measurements were taken on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission, during which the VSA temperature never varied more than 0.005 C. The flight results indicate an instrument accuracy of better than 2 mgal.

Buck, S. W.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Flight experience with a pivoting traversing boundary-layer probe

A pivoting traversing boundary layer probe was evaluated in flight on an F-104 airplane. The evaluation was performed at free stream Mach numbers from 0.8 to 2.0. The unit is described, and operating problems and their solutions are discussed. Conventional boundary layer profiles containing variations in flow angle within the viscous layer are shown for free stream Mach numbers of 0.8, 1.6, and 2.0. Although the unit was not optimized for size and weight, it successfully measured simultaneously flow angularity, probe height, and pitot pressure through the boundary layer.

Montoya, L. C.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Unmanned surface traverses of Mars and Moon: Science objectives, payloads, operations

Science objectives and properties to be measured are outlined for long surface traverse missions on Mars and the Moon, with remotely-controlled roving vehicles. A series of candidate rover payloads is proposed for each planet, varying in weight, cost, purpose, and development needed. The smallest weighs 35 kg; the largest almost 300 kg. A high degree of internal control will be needed on the Mars rover, including the ability to carry out complex science sequences. Decision-making by humans in the Mars mission includes supervisory control of rover operations and selection of features and samples of geological and biological interest. For the lunar mission, less control on the rover and more on earth is appropriate. Science portions of the rover mission profile are outlined, with timelines and mileage breakdowns. Operational problem areas for Mars include control, communications, data storage, night operations, and the mission operations system. For the moon, science data storage on the rover would be unnecessary and control much simpler.

Jaffe, L. D.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Traverse gravimeter experiment

The primary goal of the traverse gravimeter experiment (TGE) was to make relative gravity measurements at a number of sites in the Apollo 17 landing area and to use these measurements to obtain information about the geological substructure. A secondary goal was to obtain the value of the gravity at the landing site relative to an accurately known value on earth. Both these goals were successfully achieved by the experiment. A gravity tie has been obtained between the Taurus-Littrow landing site and the earth with an estimated accuracy of approximately 5 mgal. Relative gravity measurements that can be used to infer the substructure of the area have been obtained at stations visited during each period of extravehicular activity (EVA).

Talwani, M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Apollo 17 traverse gravimeter experiment /Preliminary results/

Preliminary results of the traverse gravimeter experiment successfully performed during the Apollo 17 mission are discussed. An earth-moon gravity tie was established. On the basis of several readings, a gravity value of 162,695 + or - 5 mgal was obtained at the lunar-module landing site in the Taurus-Littrow valley. Free-air and Bouguer corrections were applied to the gravity data. The resultant Bouguer anomaly, analyzed with a two-dimensional approximation, shows a relative gravity maximum of about 25 to 30 mgal over the Taurus-Littrow valley. This maximum is interpreted in terms of a 1-km-thick block of basalt flow with a positive density contrast of 0.8 g/cu cm relative to the highland material on either side.

Talwani, M.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Cosmic rays in a dynamical halo. I - Age and matter traversal distributions and anisotropy for nuclei. II - Electrons

Recent measurements of the mean lifetime of galactic cosmic rays (at least 10 million yr) have suggested a dynamical halo model of cosmic-ray confinement to the Galaxy. A one-dimensional version of the model is analyzed to determine the ranges of parameters required to give self-consistent values of the mean lifetime, matter traversed, anisotropy, and interstellar gamma-ray flux. It is found that the ranges of the parameters are: disk scale height of 4000-10,000 pc, average convection velocity of no more than 60 km/s, and diffusion coefficient of (3-10) by 10 to the 28th power sq cm/sec for particles with charges of the order of 10 GV. Some consequences for this model of a much shorter lifetime are also discussed. The energy spectrum and spatial distribution of electrons in the dynamical halo model are considered. A gradual steepening of the electron energy spectrum beginning at several GeV energy is found, as indicated by observations. The decrease of electron density with height in the halo depends on the particle energy and may be much steeper than that for nuclei. The models give a halo with a scale height of the order of 3 kpc for several-GeV electrons, which is shown to be consistent with radio observations.

Owens, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The effective penetration distance of ultrahigh-energy electrons and photons traversing a cosmic blackbody photon gas

The effective average energy loss for an energetic (at least about 10 to the 15th power eV) particle traversing the microwave background radiation is evaluated. Electron-photon transformations by Compton scattering and pair production (in photon-photon collisions) are computed, with the energy loss considered to be carried away by the least energetic of the outgoing particles. Considering the most energetic of the outgoing particles as the high-energy particle, the relative probability and mean time for the particle to be a photon or electron (or positron) is evaluated. The effects of synchrotron losses for electrons and positrons are emphasized and compared with Compton losses to determine a critical energy (for given magnetic field) above which synchrotron losses dominate. Magnetic deflections are also treated for the case where the magnetic field is disordered, having a characteristic 'cell' size.

Gould, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Modeling of growth and evaporation effects on the extinction of 1.0-micron solar radiation traversing stratospheric sulfuric acid aerosols

The effects of growth and evaporation of stratospheric sulfuric acid aerosols on the extinction of solar radiation traversing such an aerosol medium are reported for the case of 1.0-micron solar radiation. Modeling results show that aerosol extinction is not very sensitive to the change of ambient water vapor concentration, but is sensitive to ambient temperature changes, especially at low ambient temperatures and high ambient water vapor concentration. A clarification is given of the effects of initial aerosol size distribution and composition on the change of aerosol extinction due to growth and evaporation processes. It is shown that experiments designed to observe solar radiation extinction of aerosols may also be applied to the determination of observed changes in aerosol optical properties, environmental parameters, or the physical and optical characteristics of sulfate aerosols.

Yue, G. K.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A wake traverse technique for use in a 2 dimensional transonic flexible walled test section

Reported two dimensional validation data from the Transonic Self-Streamlining Wind Tunnel (TSWT) concerns model lift. The models tested provided data on their pressure distributions. This information was numerically integrated over the model surface to determine lift, pressure drag and pitching moment. However, the pressure drag is only a small component of the total drag at nominal angles of attack and cannot be used to assess the quality of flow simulation. An intrusive technique for obtaining information on the total drag of a model in TSWT is described. The technique adopted is the wake traverse method. The associated tunnel hardware and control and data reduction software are outlined and some experimental results are presented for discussion.

Wolf, S. W. D.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Advanced geologic exploration supported by a lunar base - A traverse across the Imbrium-Procellarum region of the moon

An example of extended traverse of a lunar region, the Imbrium-Procellarum, for the purpose of geological exploration is described. The necessary field support is discussed, including transportation and logistical support, analytical instrumentation, and field equipment. The various sites of special geological interest in the region are mentioned individually in the order in which they would be visited, indicating what questions are of particular scientific interest at each site.

Cintala, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Pioneer 8 traversal of the geomagnetic tail at 1600 R(E)

The Pioneer 8 spacecraft (launched on December 13, 1967) first crossed the geomagnetic tail at a downstream distance of 500-800 R(E) as it left the earth-moon system, and during a two-week period centered on January 23, 1968, the magnetometer, plasma probe and plasma wave instrument all detected specific tail-related phenomena. In April and May of 1985, Pioneer 8 traversed the expected position of the earth's tail once again, at an average downstream distance of 1650 R(E). This report contains a summary of the 1985 Pioneer 8 measurements, and a brief discussion of the limited information available on solar wind variations and terrestrial magnetic activity indicators.

Scarf, Frederick L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Spectral broadening of VLF radio signals traversing the ionosphere

Two different source mechanisms that can cause the spectral broadening of VLF radio signals traversing the ionosphere, a phenomenon first observed by Bell et al. (1983), are proposed. The first is a nonlinear scattering of the whistler-mode VLF signals by preexisting ionospheric density fluctuations that render a mode conversion to lower hybrid waves. In the absence of ionospheric irregularities, a second mechanism, that involves a parametric instability, can excite the lower hybrid waves, as was proposed by Lee and Kuo (1984). Since both types of spectra were recorded in experiments, it is concluded that the two suggested source mechanisms contribute additively to the observed spectral broadening of injected VLF waves.

Groves, K. M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The effect on an acoustic wave as it traverses an unsteady expansion

The shift in fundamental frequency that occurs in acoustic waves is obtained for waves traversing an unsteady expansion. It is shown analytically that downstream of the unsteady expansion all frequencies approach one of an infinite number of discrete frequencies independent of the frequency upstream of the unsteady expansion. This theoretical analysis is used to accurately predict the period of noise observed in an expansion tube when operated at low enthalpies.

Paull, A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Rapid traversal of an image database using binary synthetic discriminant filters

Pattern recognition invariant to image rotations of up to 75 deg, using a single filter, has been demonstrated for binary synthetic discriminant function (BSDF) optical filters, suggesting their use in directed graph-arranged data bases which can be rapidly traversed by means of a filter-plane programmable spatial light modulator (SLM). The filter data base is arranged as a tree structure in which the root node filters are invariant to over 60 deg rotation, while the leaves are 5-deg invariant. Results are presented from experiments with BSDFs designed to recognize in-plane-rotated views of a Space Shuttle Orbiter. Using a magnetooptic SLM that is driven at 350 Hz in the filter plane, orientation identifications requiring less than 30 msec have been achieved after sequencing through only 10 BSDFs.

Reid, Max B.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Inflatable traversing probe seal

An inflatable seal acts as a pressure-tight zipper to provide traversing capability for instrumentation rakes and probes. A specially designed probe segment with a teardrop cross-section in the vicinity of the inflatable seal minimizes leakage at the interface. The probe is able to travel through a lengthwise slot in a pressure vessel or wind tunnel section, while still maintaining pressure integrity. The design uses two commercially available inflatable seals, opposing each other, to cover the probe slot in a wind tunnel wall. Proof-of-concept tests were conducted at vessel pressures up to 30 psig, with seals inflated to 50 psig, showing no measurable leakage along the seal's length or around the probe teardrop cross-section. This seal concept can replace the existing technology of sliding face plate/O-ring systems in applications where lengthwise space is limited.

Trimarchi, Paul A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Planning collision free paths for two cooperating robots using a divide-and-conquer C-space traversal heuristic

A method was developed to plan feasible and obstacle-avoiding paths for two spatial robots working cooperatively in a known static environment. Cooperating spatial robots as referred to herein are robots which work in 6D task space while simultaneously grasping and manipulating a common, rigid payload. The approach is configuration space (c-space) based and performs selective rather than exhaustive c-space mapping. No expensive precomputations are required. A novel, divide-and-conquer type of heuristic is used to guide the selective mapping process. The heuristic does not involve any robot, environment, or task specific assumptions. A technique was also developed which enables solution of the cooperating redundant robot path planning problem without requiring the use of inverse kinematics for a redundant robot. The path planning strategy involves first attempting to traverse along the configuration space vector from the start point towards the goal point. If an unsafe region is encountered, an intermediate via point is identified by conducting a systematic search in the hyperplane orthogonal to and bisecting the unsafe region of the vector. This process is repeatedly applied until a solution to the global path planning problem is obtained. The basic concept behind this strategy is that better local decisions at the beginning of the trouble region may be made if a possible way around the 'center' of the trouble region is known. Thus, rather than attempting paths which look promising locally (at the beginning of a trouble region) but which may not yield overall results, the heuristic attempts local strategies that appear promising for circumventing the unsafe region.

Weaver, Johnathan M.↗