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A new instrument is described which is capable of simultaneously recording the position of the three controls of an airplane. The records are taken photographically on a standard N.A.C.A. film drum and the instrument can be quickly installed in any airplane.
Predetection recording system for saturn booster telemetry
Under a NASA program to produce long-term data records from instruments on multiple satellites, data from a series of nine Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV and SBUV2) instruments have been re-processed to create a coherent ozone time series. Data from the BUV instrument on Nimbus 4, SBUV on Nimbus 7, and SBUV2 instruments on NOAA 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, and 19 covering the period 1970-1972 and 1979-2011 were used to create a long-term data set. The goal is an ozone Earth Science Data Record - a consistent, calibrated ozone time series that can be used for trend analyses and other studies. In order to create this ozone data set, the radiances were adjusted and used to re-process the entire data records for each of the nine instruments. Inter-instrument comparisons during periods of overlap as well as comparisons with data from other satellite and ground-based instruments were used to evaluate the consistency of the record and make calibration adjustments as needed. Additional improvements in this version 8.6 processing included the use of the Brion, Daumont, and Malicet ozone cross sections, and a cloud-height climatology derived from Aura OMI measurements. Validation of the re-processed ozone shows that total column ozone is consistent with the Brewer Dobson network to within about 1 for the new time series. Comparisons with MLS, SAGE, sondes, and lidar show that ozone at individual levels in the stratosphere is generally consistent to within 5 percent.
A new trailing bomb-type instrument for photographically recording the flight-path angle and air speed of aircraft in unaccelerated flight is described. The instrument consists essentially of an inclinometer, air-speed meter and a film-drum case. The inclinometer carries an oil-damped pendulum which records optically the flight-path angle upon a rotating motor-driven film drum. The air-speed meter consists of a taut metal diaphragm of high natural frequency which is acted upon by the pressure difference of a Prandtl type Pitot-static tube. The inclinometer record and air-speed record are made optically on the same sensitive film. Two records taken by this instrument are shown.
The goal of NASA's Land Long Term Iiata Record (LTDR) project is to produce a consistent long term data set from the AVHRR and MODIS instruments for land climate studies. The project will create daily surface reflectance and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) products at a resolution of 0.05 deg., which is identical to the Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) used for MODIS products from EOS Terra and Aqua. Higher order products such as burned area, land surface temperature, albedo, bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) correction, leaf area index (LAI), and fraction of photosyntheticalIy active radiation absorbed by vegetation (fPAR), will be created. The LTDR project will reprocess Global Area Coverage (GAC) data from AVHRR sensors onboard NOAA satellites by applying the preprocessing improvements identified in the AVHRR Pathfinder Il project and atmospheric and BRDF corrections used in MODIS processing. The preprocessing improvements include radiometric in-flight vicarious calibration for the visible and near infrared channels and inverse navigation to relate an Earth location to each sensor instantaneous field of view (IFOV). Atmospheric corrections for Rayleigh scattering, ozone, and water vapor are undertaken, with aerosol correction being implemented. The LTDR also produces a surface reflectance product for channel 3 (3.75 micrometers). Quality assessment (QA) is an integral part of the LTDR production system, which is monitoring temporal trands in the AVHRR products using time-series approaches developed for MODIS land product quality assessment. The land surface reflectance products have been evaluated at AERONET sites. The AVHRR data record from LTDR is also being compared to products from the PAL (Pathfinder AVHRR Land) and GIMMS (Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies) systems to assess the relative merits of this reprocessing vis-a-vis these existing data products. The LTDR products and associated information can be found at http://ltdr.nascom.nasa.gov/ltdr/ltdr.html.
Computer tape recording of dynamic data characterized by time varying frequency spectrum
The paper deals with a study investigating the nature and rates of the hydrolic aging of a wide-band instrumentation magnetic recording tape which employs oxide and backcoat binders made of a polyester urethane elastomer. It was found that the primary mechanism of tape aging and degradation resulted from hydrolysis of its polyester urethane binder.
Four types of instruments for recording monochromatic astronomical images are compared: filters; slitless spectrographs; multislit spectrographs; and interferometers. Each of these instruments has been used on the sodium emission cloud of Io, with varying degrees of success. Multislit spectrographs and interferometers encode the signal, and it can be extracted with a noise level close to that for photon statistics. This is not normally the case for filters and slitless spectrographs. On balance, it is found that a Mach-Zehnder interferometer provides the best system for imaging faint monochromatic signals on a brighter continuum background.
NASA Langley Research Center in partnership with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center has collaborated on the development of a payload instrumentation package to record the physical parameters observed during parachute air drop tests. The instrumentation package records a variety of parameters including canopy shape, suspension line loads, payload 3-axis acceleration, and payload velocity. This report discusses the instrumentation design and development process, as well as the photogrammetric measurement technique used to provide shape measurements. The scaled model tests were conducted in the NASA Glenn Plum Brook Space Propulsion Facility, OH.
The MOCS is an imaging spectroradiometer with a sensitivity that matches the light upwelling from open bodies of water. Twenty contiguous spectral channels in the visible are recorded in a line scanning mode from an aircraft. The system also supports a thermal infrared radiometer and will accept input from a position location system. The sensor in the MOCS system is an image dissector tube. A spectral curvature algorithm was developed. No atmospheric correction to the data is needed for low flying aircraft gathering chlorophyll data using this algorithm. Although the MOCS is now about 15 years old, because its response has been so stable, its data recording system was upgraded to the system used by the Aircraft Oceanographic Lidar where possible. The MOCS has been a reliable instrument for recording ocean color from low flying aircraft. As NASA enters the next period of ocean color investigations from space, such a device can play an important role in calibration of the space instrument, as well as provide support for programs developing the next generation of spaceborne devices.
A sounding rocket payload developed for studies of high-temperature plasmas associated with solar active regions and flares is described. The payload instruments will record both spectra and images in the UV, EUV, and soft X-ray regions of the spectrum. The instruments, including the Dual Range Spectrograph, the Flat Field Soft X-ray Spectrograph, the Normal Incidence Soft X-ray Imager, the UV Filtergraph, and the H-alpha Imaging system, are described. Attention is also given to the new structural system of the payload, based on a large optical table suspended within the payload cavity, which will support the optical elements in their correct positions and orientations and will maintain these alignments throughout the rocket launch environment.
Seismological instrumentation, earthquake and nuclear explosion detection, and engineering construction applications
The use of a personal miniature electrophysiological tape recorder to measure the physiological reactions of space flight personnel to space flight stress and weightlessness is described. The Oxford Instruments Medilog recorder, a battery-powered, four-channel cassette tape recorder with 24 hour endurance is carried on the person and will record EKG, EOG, EEG, and timing and event markers. The data will give information about heart rate and morphology changes, and document adaptation to zero gravity on the part of subjects who, unlike highly trained astronauts, are more representative of the normal population than were the subjects of previous space flight studies.
Mars Pathfinder successfully landed in the Ares Vallis flood plain (19.3 N, 33.6 W) on July 4, 1997. The spacecraft carried a suite of instruments to record the structure of the atmosphere during the entry, descent, and landing as well as for monitoring meteorological phenomenon while on the surface. Collectively, these instruments are known as the ASI/MET experiment (Atmospheric Structure Investigation/Meteorology). In this paper we present preliminary results from the ASI/MET experiment. As of this writing, the spacecraft is healthy and continues to take daily meteorological measurements. We expect this will continue for almost one more earth year. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
A system is being developed to gather kineto-dynamic data for a study to determine the load vectors applied to bone during exercise on equipment similar to that used in space. This information will quantify bone loading for exercise countermeasures development. Decreased muscle loading and external loading of bone during weightlessness results in cancellous bone loss of 1 percent per month in the lower extremities and 2 percent per month in the calcaneous. It is hypothesized that loading bone appropriately during exercise may prevent the bone loss. The system consists of an ergometer instrumented to provide position of the pedal (foot), pedaling forces on the foot (on the sagittal plane), and force on the seat. Accelerometers attached to the limbs will provide acceleration. These data will be used as input to an analytical model of the limb to determine forces on the bones and on groups of muscles. EMG signals from activity in the muscles will also be used in conjunction with the equations of mechanics of motion to be able to discern forces exerted by specific muscles. The tasks to be carried out include: design of various mechanical components to mount transducers, specification of mechanical components, specification of position transducers, development of a scheme to control the data acquisition instruments (TEAC recorder and optical encoder board), development of a dynamic model of the limbs in motion, and development of an overall scheme for data collection analysis and presentation. At the present time, all the hardware components of the system are operational, except for a computer board to gather position data from the pedals and crank. This board, however, may be put to use by anyone with background in computer based instrumentation. The software components are not all done. Software to transfer data recorded from the EMG measurements is operational, software to drive the optical encoder card is mostly done. The equations to model the kinematics and dynamics of motion of the limbs have been developed, but they have not yet been implemented in software. Aside from the development of the hardware and software components of the system, the methodology to use accelerometers and encoders and the formulation of the appropriate equations are an important contribution to the area of biomechanics, particularly in space applications.
The paper discusses development of various NDE techniques to detect cracks in A40 steel poppets used in a valve of the fuel system of the Space Shuttle Orbiter. The valve assembly experiences a severe high cycle fatigue environment during its operation. Cracks were discovered at the radius of the poppet flange. Experience shows that very small cracks or material anomalies do not cause failure in a single operation event. While the design is being modified to eliminate the issue, NDE has been used to screen the poppets for cracks before every use. Several surface flaw detection techniques were considered and a few NDE techniques were developed to provide NDE screening for the flaw detection. The primary method used was the eddy current testing. In the eddy current technique, the X-Y channel test data from the eddy current instrument was recorded as computer files. A Matlab data review and plotting application was developed to analyze the data files. The Matlab application provides much higher resolution than the eddy current instrument that was used to acquire the data. Other techniques that were used included ultrasonic surface wave and magnetic particle testing. A probability of detection (POD) study was undertaken to determine the 90/95 size for the eddy current technique. This study used specimens with same geometry and material as the poppet. Fatigue cracks were grown in these specimens. Information on results of the NDE techniques and results of the POD study are provided.
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This grant is an extension of Grant NAG5-8929 (Drexel Project Number 230026), resulting from extensions necessary to meet changing science objectives as described in the final report for NAG5-8929, a copy of which is attached. The instrument configuration resulting from NAG54929 has remained basically intact. Cosine response measurements conducted by James Slusser s group at Fort Collins, Colorado, in support of the proposal for Aura ground validation mentioned in the final report for NAG5-8929, indicated that there was significant light leakage to the detector through the sides of the nylon housing. This was easily remedied by machining a removable opaque collar (made from the dark same grey rigid plastic plumbing tubing as the collimating tube) that fits around the detector collar. Also during this grant period, data logging procedures were established for the UV-A instrument, to record irradiance before, during, and after an Aura overflight. This is required in order to compare spatial and temporal variability as required for ground validation of data products derived from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Standalone 12-bit loggers from Onset Computer Corporation (the U12 series), which were not available at the start of these projects, makes possible relatively inexpensive logging for these instruments at a usable resolution. configuration and disposition of these instruments, including the final version of a GLOBE protocol for using the instruments, currently depend on action taken on the Aura ground validation proposal submitted in 2004. A copy of that proposal is attached.