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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 163 records · Page 9

Catalog of double lunar swingby orbits for exploring the Earth's geomagnetic tail

Forty three orbits, which are periodic in geocentric reference frames rotating at lunar and at solar rates were found using a patched conic technique. The different orbits provide coverage of different parts of the distant geomagnetic tail. The parameters for 43 sun synchronous double lunar swingby orbits and plots of the sun synchronous double lunar swingby orbits are included.

Dunham, D. W.↗

Experimental investigation of vortices shed by various wing fin configurations

Forty-six different fins, which were members of twelve plan-form families, were tested. A two dimensional Boeing single element airfoil at an angle of attack of eight degrees and a sweepback angle of thirty-two was used to simulate a portion of the wing of a generator aircraft. Various free stream velocities were used to test any individual fin at its particular angle of attack. While the fin itself was mounted on the upper surface of the generator model, the angle of attack of each fin was varied until stall was reached and/or passed. The relative fin vortex strengths were measured in two ways. First, the maximum angular velocity of a four blade rotor placed in the fin vortex center was measured with the use of a stroboscope. Second, the maximum rolling moment on a following wing model placed in the fin vortex center was measured by a force balance.

Iversen, J.↗

An airport wind shear detection and warning system using Doppler radar: A feasibility study

A feasibility study was conducted to determine whether ground based Doppler radar could measure the wind along the path of an approaching aircraft with sufficient accuracy to predict aircraft performance. Forty-three PAR approaches were conducted, with 16 examined in detail. In each, Doppler derived longitudinal winds were compared to aircraft measured winds; in approximately 75 percent of the cases, the Doppler and aircraft winds were in acceptable agreement. In the remaining cases, errors may have been due to a lack of Doppler resolution, a lack of co-location of the two sampling volumes, the presence of eddy or vortex like disturbances within the pulse volume, or the presence of point targets in antenna side lobes. It was further concluded that shrouding techniques would have reduced the side lobe problem. A ground based Doppler radar operating in the optically clear air, provides the appropriate longitudinal winds along an aircraft's intended flight path.

Mccarthy, J.↗

The use of total simulator training in transitioning air-carrier pilots: A field evaluation

A field study was conducted in which the performance of air carrier transitioning pilots who had landing training in a landing maneuver approved simulator was compared with the performance of pilots who had landing training in the aircraft. Forty-eight trainees transitioning to the B-727 aircraft and eighty-seven trainees transitioning to the DC-10 were included in the study. The study results in terms of both objectively measured performance indicants and observer and check-pilot ratings did not demonstrate a clear distinction between the two training groups. The results suggest that, for these highly skilled transitioning pilots, a separate training module in the aircraft may be of dubious value.

Randle, R. J., Jr.↗

Acceptance tests and manufacturer relationships for 20 amphere-hour sealed nickel-cadmium cells using discharge parameters

One hundred and forty-six 20 ampere-hour sealed nickel cadmium cells from five manufacturers were detected using preliminary tests which do not require life testing and do not reduce the expected life of the cells. Differences between individual cells were also detected, using these tests, allowing a comparison of variability of cell construction by and between manufacturers.

Leibecki, H. F.↗

Satellite Power System (SPS) societal assessment

Construction and operation of a 60-unit (300 GW) domestic SPS over the period 2000 to 2030 would stress many segments of U.S. society. A significant commitment of resources (land, energy, materials) would be required, and a substantial proportion of them would have to be committed prior to the production of any SPS electricity. Forty-four concerns about the SPS were identified via a public outreach experiment involving 9000 individuals from three special interest organizations. The concerns focused on environmental impacts (particularly the effects of microwave radiation) and the centralizing tendency of the SPS on society.

Source record↗

Fabrication and Testing of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Capacitors

High energy density capacitors made from metallized polyvinylidene fluoride film were built and tested. Terminations of aluminum-babbitt, tin-babbitt, and all-babbitt were evaluated. All-babbit terminations appeared to be better. The 0.1 microfarad and 2 microfarad capacitors were made of 6 micrometer material. Capacitance, dissipation factor, and insulation resistance measurements were made over the ranges -55 C to 125 C and 10 Hz to 100 kHz. Twelve of forty-one 0.1 microfarad capacitors survived a 5000 hour dc plus ac life test. Under the same conditions, the 2 microfarad capacitors exhibited overheating because of excessive power loss. Some failures occurred after low temperature exposures for 48 hours. No failures were caused by vibration or temperature cycling.

Buritz, R. S.↗

Interplanetary magnetic clouds at 1 AU

Magnetic clouds are defined as regions with a radial dimension approximately 0.25 AU (at 1 AU) in which the magnetic field strength is high and the magnetic field direction changes appreciably by means of rotation of one component of B nearly parallel to a plane. The magnetic field geometry in such a magnetic cloud is consistent with that of a magnetic loop, but it cannot be determined uniquely. Forty-five clouds were identified in interplanetary data obtained near Earth between 1967 and 1978; at least one cloud passed the Earth every three months. Three classes of clouds were identified, corresponding to the association of a cloud with a shock, a stream interface, or a CME. There are approximately equal numbers of clouds in each class, and the three types of clouds might be different manifestations of a coronal transient. The magnetic pressure inside the clouds is higher than the ion pressure and the sum is higher than the pressure of the material outside of the cloud.

Klein, L. W.↗

NASA selects scientific investigations for Earth dynamics studies

Forty two domestic investigators affiliated with U.S. universities, governmental agencies, or private concerns and 14 investigators from France, West Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Venezuela, and Canada were selected to use precise geodetic data obtained by laser ranging and very long base interferometry in a study of the Earth's tectonic plate movement, crustal deformation, and rotational dynamics. The studies to be made and the principal investigators for each are listed.

Source record↗

A survey of machine readable data bases

Forty-two of the machine readable data bases available to the technologist and researcher in the natural sciences and engineering are described and compared with the data bases and date base services offered by NASA.

Matlock, P.↗

Radio survey of Markarian galaxies at 6 and 11 cm

One hundred and fifty-one objects from Markarian's lists 6 and 7 were observed at 6 cm with a 3 sigma detection limit of about 30 mJy. Eight Markarian objects were detected, six of which were also observed at 11 cm. Forty-five others were negative at this wavelength. Two of the detections, numbers 533 and 668, are Seyfert galaxies; additionally, UB1 was detected at 6 cm and NGC 7715 and III Zw 2 were found at 11 cm.

Kojoian, G.↗

The effects of geography on spectrum-orbit utilization

With over forty satellites in geostationary orbit, and many more planned, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find suitable orbit positions for new systems operating at 4 and 6 GHz. Efficient spectrum-orbit utilization can be achieved with frequency-reuse techniques - orthogonal polarization, earth-station antenna discrimination, and satellite antenna discrimination - provided that service-area geography is considered. Service arc - that portion of the orbit which affords useful service to all points in a given area - is a function of the area's climate, terrain, and location as well as its size and shape. Of the three techniques, satellite antenna discrimination is the most sensitive to these factors. According to the BSS (broadcasting-satellite service) antenna reference pattern, the maximum discrimination possible is the on-axis gain, which can be as high as 49 dB for a beamwidth of 0.6 degrees, or as low as 32 dB for a 3.5-degree beamwidth. Unlike the Fixed-Satellite Service (FSS), the BSS will normally have beams that cover no more than one or two time zones.

Sawitz, P. H.↗

The gravity field in the central Pacific from satellite-to-satellite tracking

Satellite-to-satellite Doppler tracking between the ATS 6 and the GEOS 3 spacecraft was used to measure the high-degree and high-order gravity field over an 80-deg region in the central Pacific Ocean. Forty passes of GEOS 3/ATS 6 Doppler data have been analyzed. The precision of these range rate data is about 0.3 mm/s, and the line-of-sight gravity anomalies recovered from these data have a precision of about 0.2 mGal at the GEOS 3 altitude of about 840 km. In general, the agreement between the SST-derived map and the conventional GEM method and an altimeter-derived geoid is good. Eight significant positive gravity anomalies were exposed in the central Pacific. Generally speaking, the anomalies form a roughly east-west pattern of alternating sign in the central region, and near the East Pacific they strike about north and south.

Marsh, J. G.↗

Gas-laser behavior in a low-gravity environment

In connection with several experiments proposed for flight on the Space Shuttle, which involve the use of gas lasers, the behavior of a He-Ne laser in a low-gravity environment has been studied theoretically and experimentally in a series of flight tests using a low-gravity-simulation aircraft. No fluctuation in laser output above the noise level of the meter (1 part in 1000 for 1 hr) was observed during the low-gravity portion of the flight tests. The laser output gradually increased by 1.4% during a 1.5-hr test; at no time were rapid variations observed in the laser output. A maximum laser instability of 1 part in 100 was observed during forty low-gravity parabolic maneuvers. The beam remained Gaussian throughout the tests and no lobe patterns were observed.

Owen, R. B.↗

Red star in orbit

Since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 in 1957, the extent and direction of the Soviet space effort have remained unclear. The present book penetrates the secrecy-shrouded Soviet space program, telling not only of its unpublicized disasters, but giving credit to its recent successes as well. The book discusses Khrushchev's sponsorship of early space successes as political surprises, and the incident in October 1960, when forty rocket engineers died in a launch-pad disaster. The life story of Sergei Korolev, the chief designer, is discussed, as well as the 'race to the moon' in the late 1960s. The Apollo-Soyuz expedition and other more recent space-station missions are presented.

Oberg, J. E.↗

Airborne simultaneous spectroscopic detection of laser-induced water Raman backscatter and fluorescence from chlorophyll a and other naturally occurring pigments

The airborne laser-induced spectral emission bands obtained simultaneously from water Raman backscatter and the fluorescence of chlorophyll and other naturally occurring waterborne pigments are reported here for the first time. The importance of this type data lies not only in its single-shot multispectral character but also in the application of the Raman line for correction or calibration of the spatial variation of the laser penetration depth without the need for in situ water attenuation measurements. The entire laser-induced fluorescence and Raman scatter emissions resulting from each separate 532-nm 10-nsec laser pulse are collected and spectrally dispersed in a diffraction grating spectrometer having forty photomultiplier tube detectors. Results from field experiments conducted in the North Sea and the Chesapeake Bay/Potomac River are presented. Difficulties involving the multispectral resolution of the induced emissions are addressed, and feasible solutions are suggested together with new instrument configurations and future research directions.

Hoge, F. E.↗

P78-2 SCATHA environmental data atlas

The 100 eV to approximately 1 MeV plasma environment encountered by the P78-2 Spacecraft Charging at High Altitudes (SCATHA) satellite during its initial operation period was studied. Forty-four days of 10 minute averages of the four moments of the electron and ion distribution functions calculated from the SC5 and SC9 energetic particle measurements were analyzed to determine occurrence frequency, local time variation, geomagnetic activity variation, and L shell variation. The single and double Maxwellian parameters derived from the four moments were similarly analyzed. The interrelationships between the moments and derived parameters were computed and the results compared with the ATS-5 and ATS-6 atlas. Results of this analysis establish a baseline range for the SCATHA plasma environment.

Mulen, E. G.↗

Use of LANDSAT data to define soil boundaries in Carroll County, Missouri

Bands 4, 5 and 7 false color composite photographs were prepared using data from LANDSAT scenes acquired during April 1977 and April 1981 on computer compatible tapes, and these color composites were compared with band 7 black and white photographs prepared for the entire county. Delineations of soil boundaries at the soil association level were achieved using LANDSAT spectral reflectance data and slope maps for a portion of Carroll County, Missouri. Forty two spectral reflectance classes from April 1977 LANDSAT data were overlaid on digitized slope maps of nine USGS 7.5 minute series topographic quadrangle slope maps to achieve boundary delineations of the soil associations.

Davidson, S. E.↗