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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

GPS Sounding Rocket Developments

Sounding rockets are suborbital launch vehicles capable of carrying scientific payloads several hundred miles in altitude. These missions return a variety of scientific data including; chemical makeup and physical processes taking place In the atmosphere, natural radiation surrounding the Earth, data on the Sun, stars, galaxies and many other phenomena. In addition, sounding rockets provide a reasonably economical means of conducting engineering tests for instruments and devices used on satellites and other spacecraft prior to their use in more expensive activities. The NASA Sounding Rocket Program is managed by personnel from Goddard Space Flight Center Wallops Flight Facility (GSFC/WFF) in Virginia. Typically around thirty of these rockets are launched each year, either from established ranges at Wallops Island, Virginia, Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska; White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico or from Canada, Norway and Sweden. Many times launches are conducted from temporary launch ranges in remote parts of the world requi6ng considerable expense to transport and operate tracking radars. An inverse differential GPS system has been developed for Sounding Rocket. This paper addresses the NASA Wallops Island history of GPS Sounding Rocket experience since 1994 and the development of a high accurate and useful system.

Bull, Barton↗
NASA NTRS2000

A Real Time Differential GPS Tracking System for NASA Sounding Rockets

Sounding rockets are suborbital launch vehicles capable of carrying scientific payloads to several hundred miles in altitude. These missions return a variety of scientific data including: chemical makeup and physical processes taking place in the atmosphere, natural radiation surrounding the Earth, data on the Sun, stars, galaxies and many other phenomena. In addition, sounding rockets provide a reasonably economical means of conducting engineering tests for instruments and devices to be used on satellites and other spacecraft prior to their use in these more expensive missions. Typically around thirty of these rockets are launched each year, from established ranges at Wallops Island, Virginia; Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska; White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico and from a number of ranges outside the United States. Many times launches are conducted from temporary launch ranges in remote parts of the world requiring considerable expense to transport and operate tracking radars. In order to support these missions, an inverse differential GPS system has been developed. The flight system consists of a small, inexpensive receiver, a preamplifier and a wrap-around antenna. A rugged, compact, portable ground station extracts GPS data from the raw payload telemetry stream, performs a real time differential solution and graphically displays the rocket's path relative to a predicted trajectory plot. In addition to generating a real time navigation solution, the system has been used for payload recovery, timing, data timetagging, precise tracking of multiple payloads and slaving of optical tracking systems for over the horizon acquisition. This paper discusses, in detail, the flight and ground hardware, as well as data processing and operational aspects of the system, and provides evidence of the system accuracy.

Bull, Barton↗
NASA NTRS2013

National Report on the NASA Sounding Rocket and Balloon Programs

The U. S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Sounding Rockets and Balloon Programs conduct a total of 30 to 40 missions per year in support of the NASA scientific community and other users. The NASA Sounding Rockets Program supports the science community by integrating their experiments into the sounding rocket payloads, and providing both the rocket vehicle and launch operations services. Activities since 2011 have included two flights from Andoya Rocket Range, more than eight flights from White Sands Missile Range, approximately sixteen flights from Wallops Flight Facility, two flights from Poker Flat Research Range, and four flights from Kwajalein Atoll. Other activities included the final developmental flight of the Terrier-Improved Malemute launch vehicle, a test flight of the Talos-Terrier-Oriole launch vehicle, and a host of smaller activities to improve program support capabilities. Several operational missions have utilized the new Terrier-Malemute vehicle. The NASA Sounding Rockets Program is currently engaged in the development of a new sustainer motor known as the Peregrine. The Peregrine development effort will involve one static firing and three flight tests with a target completion data of August 2014. The NASA Balloon Program supported numerous scientific and developmental missions since its last report. The program conducted flights from the U.S., Sweden, Australia, and Antarctica utilizing standard and experimental vehicles. Of particular note are the successful test flights of the Wallops Arc Second Pointer (WASP), the successful demonstration of a medium-size Super Pressure Balloon (SPB), and most recently, three simultaneous missions aloft over Antarctica. NASA continues its successful incremental design qualification program and will support a science mission aboard WASP in late 2013 and a science mission aboard the SPB in early 2015. NASA has also embarked on an intra-agency collaboration to launch a rocket from a balloon to conduct supersonic decelerator tests. An overview of NASA's Sounding Rockets and Balloon Operations, Technology Development and Science support activities will be presented.

Eberspeaker, Philip↗
NASA NTRS1977

Rocket measurements of electrons in a system of multiple auroral arcs

A Nike-Tomahawk rocket was launched into a system of auroral arcs northward of Poker Flat Research Range, Fairbanks, Alaska. The pitch-angle distribution of electrons was measured at 2.5, 5, and 10 keV and also at 10 keV on a separating forward section of the payload. The auroral activity appeared to be the extension of substorm activity centered to the east. The rocket crossed a westward-propagating fold in the brightest band. The electron spectrum was relatively hard through most of the flight, showing a peak in the range from 2.5 to 10 keV in the weaker aurora and below 5 keV in the brightest arc. The detailed structure of the pitch-angle distribution suggested that, at times, a very selective process was accelerating some electrons in the magnetic field direction, so that a narrow field-aligned component appeared superimposed on a more isotropic distribution. It is concluded that this process could not be a near-ionosphere field-aligned potential drop, although the more isotropic component may have been produced by a parallel electric field extending several thousand kilometers along the field line above the ionosphere.

Boyd, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Middle atmosphere response to measured relativistic electrons

During two independent rocket programs, Aurorozone 1 and 2 at Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska in September 1976 and March 1978 respectively, frequent penetration and absorption of relativistic electrons were observed between 40-70 km altitude. This relativistic electron source was compared with bremsstrahlung X-ray energy deposition in the same altitude domain. Correlated atmospheric electrical response was simultaneously observed. Ozone was also measured following each event to determine its departure from quiet nighttime values. Preliminary results for Aurorozone 1 show that the relativistic electrons observed on September 23, 1976 dominated X-ray bremmstrahlung as an energy source to an atmospheric depth of 55 km. Above this height, the deposition ratio rapidly grew to a value greater than 100, clearly demonstrating the dominant role of relativistic electrons as an important energy source for this lower mesospheric domain.

Barcus, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Mapping of auroral X-rays from rocket overflights

Remote sensing of energetic auroral X-rays from above the emission region can provide both local and global information regarding X ray and energetic electron deposition within the middle atmosphere. However, contamination of X ray detectors by local corpuscular radiation can severely affect the scope and accuracy of the detector measurements. It is, therefore, necessary to employ techniques designed to observe X rays while rejecting the far more intense corpuscular radiation component. A suitable approach for the mapping of auroral X rays involves the employment of rockets for flights above the emission region. A description is presented of the results obtained from two rocket flights launched from Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska, during aurorally active periods in March 1978. The data were measured with the aid of scanning detectors protected from particles by broom magnet techniques.

Goldberg, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Nighttime auroral energy deposition in the middle atmosphere

Ionospheric rocket sounding data for eight nighttime auroral events are used to characterize relativistic electron showers and their effects on atmospheric ozone. The rockets were launched from the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska and from Andoya, Norway over the period 1976-82. Energetic fluxes were always detected but were of insufficient magnitude to produce significant changes in stratospheric ozone. However, middle atmospheric energy sources were found to be dominated by relativistic electrons and X-ray bremmstrahlung, the latter from 40-55 km and the former from 55-60 km altitudes. The ionizing radiation is concluded to be a significant factor in mesospheric ion conductivity, mobility, electric field structure and analytical models for the ion-neutral chemistry.

Goldberg, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Acceleration of barium ions near 8000 km above an aurora

A barium shaped charge, named Limerick, was released from a rocket launched from Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska, on March 30, 1982, at 1033 UT. The release took place in a small auroral breakup. The jet of ionized barium reached an altitude of 8100 km 14.5 min after release, indicating that there were no parallel electric fields below this altitude. At 8100 km the jet appeared to stop. Analysis shows that the barium at this altitude was effectively removed from the tip. It is concluded that the barium was actually accelerated upward, resulting in a large decrease in the line-of-sight density and hence the optical intensity. The parallel electric potential in the acceleration region must have been greater than 1 kV over an altitude interval of less than 200 km. The acceleration region, although presumably auroral in origin, did not seem to be related to individual auroral structures, but appeared to be a large-scale horizontal structure. The perpendicular electric field below, as deduced from the drift of the barium, was temporally and spatially very uniform and showed no variation related to individual auroral structures passing through.

Stenbaek-Nielsen, H. C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Preliminary risk assessment for the Black Brant XII

In order to provide the scientific community, as well as NASA management, with a preview of typical safety restrictions for the proposed Black Brant XII sounding rocket, a risk assessment for a typical payload has been performed. This paper details the considerations which ensure minimal risk for projects managed by Wallops Flight Facility and the safety criteria required to conduct an operation. Specifically, three launch scenarios for the Black Brant XII have been considered. The first case assumes a test launch from Wallops, and the other two cases analyze typical scientific missions from Poker Flat Research Range.

Underwood, B. E.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Interferometric phase velocity measurements in the auroral electrojet

A double-probe electric field detector and two spatially separated fixed-bias Langmuir probes were flown on a Taurus-Tomahawk sounding rocket launched from Poker Flat Research Range in March 1982. Interesting wave data have been obtained from about 10s of the downleg portion of the flight during which the rocket passed through the auroral electrojet. Here the electric field receiver and both density fluctuation (delta-n/n) receivers responded to a broad band of turbulence centered at 105 km-altitude and at frequencies generally below 4 kHz. Closer examination of the two delta-n/n turbulent waveforms reveals that they are correlated; from the phase difference between the two signals, the phase velocity of the waves in the rocket reference frame is inferred. The magnitude and direction of the observed phase velocity are consistent either with waves which travel at the ion sound speed or with waves which travel at the electron drift velocity. The observed phase velocity varies by about 50 percent over a 5 km altitude range, an effect which probably results from shear in the zonal neutral wind, although, unfortunately, no simultaneous neutral wind measurements exist to confirm this.

Labelle, J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Solar extreme ultraviolet sensor and advanced langmuir probe

For more than two decades, the staff of the Space Physics Research Laboratory (SPRL) has collaborated with the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in the design and implementation of Langmuir probes (LP). This program of probe development under the direction of Larry Brace of GSFC has evolved methodically with innovations to: improve measurement precision, increase the speed of measurement, and reduce the weight, size, power consumption and data rate of the instrument. Under contract NAG5-419 these improvements were implemented and are what characterize the Advanced Langmuir Probe (ALP). Using data from the Langmuir Probe on the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, Brace and Walter Hoegy of GSFC demonstrated a novel method of monitoring the solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) flux. This led to the idea of developing a sensor similar to a Langmuir probe specifically designed to measure solar EUV (SEUV) that uses a similar electronics package. Under this contract, a combined instrument package of the ALP and SEUV sensor was to be designed, constructed, and laboratory tested. Finally the instrument was to be flight tested as part of sounding rocket experiment to acquire the necessary data to validate this method for possible use in future earth and planetary aeronomy missions. The primary purpose of this contract was to develop the electronics hardware and software for this instrument, since the actual sensors were suppied by GSFC. Due to budget constraints, only a flight model was constructed. These electronics were tested and calibrated in the laboratory, and then the instrument was integrated into the rocket payload at Wallops Flight Facility where it underwent environmental testing. After instrument recalibration at SPRL, the payload was reintegrated and launched from the Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks Alaska. The payload was successfully recovered and after refurbishment underwent further testing and developing to improve its performance for future use.

Voronka, N. R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Preferential heating of light ions during an ionospheric AR(+) injection experiment

The ARCS 4 sounding rocket was launched northward into high altitude from Poker Flat Research Range on February 23, 1990. The vehicle crossed geomagnetic field lines containing discrete auroral activity. An instrumented subpayload released 100 ev and 200 ev Ar(+) ion beams sequentially, in a direction largely perpendicular to both the local geomagnetic field and the subpayload spin axis. The instrumented main payload was separated along field lines from the beam emitting subpayload by a distance which increased at a steady rate of approx. 2.4 m/s. Three-dimensional mass spectrometric ion observations of ambient H(+) and O(+) ions, obtained onboard the main payload, are presented. Main payload electric field observations in the frequency range 0-16 kHz, are also presented. These observations are presented to demonstrate the operation of transverse ion acceleration, that was differential with respect to ion mass, primarily during 100-ev beam operations. The preferential transverse acceleration of ambient H(+) ions, as compared with ambient O(+) ions during the second, third, fourth, and fifth 100-ev beam operations, is attributed to a resonance at the injected the beam drift velocity among the thermal H(+) ions and plasma waves generated by the injected beam and propagating at the beam drift speed. This work provides experimental support of processes predicted by previously published theory and simulations.

Pollock, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Preferential heating of light ions during an ionospheric Ar(+) injection experiment

The Argon Release for Controlled Studies (ARCS) 4 sounding rocket was launched northward into high altitude from Poker Flat Research Range on February 23, 1990. The vehicle crossed geomagnetic field lines containing discrete auroral activity. An instrumented subpayload released 100-eV and 200-eV Ar(+) ion beams sequentially, in a direction largely perpendicular to both the local geomagnetic field and the subpayload spin axis. The instrumented main payload was separated along field lines from the beam emitting subpayload by a distance which increased at a steady rate of approximately 2.4 m/s. Three dimensional mass spectrometric ion observations of ambient H(+) and O(+) ions, obtained on board the main payload, are presented. Main payload electric field observations in the frequency range 0-16 kHz, are also presented. These observations are presented to demonstrate the operation of transverse ion acceleration, which was differential with respect to ion mass, primarily during 100-eV beam operations. The preferential transverse acceleration of ambient H(+) ions, as compared with ambient O(+) ions, during the second, third, fourth, and fifth 100-eV beam operations, is attributed to a resonance among the injected Ar(+) ions, beam-generated lower hybrid waves, and H(+) ions in the tail of the ambient thermal distribution. This work provides experimental support of processes predicted by previously published theory and simulations.

Pollock, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Soft Particle Spectrometer, Langmuir Probe, and Data Analysis for Aerospace Magnetospheric/Thermospheric Coupling Rocket Program

Under this grant two instruments, a soft particle spectrometer and a Langmuir probe, were refurbished and calibrated, and flown on three instrumented rocket payloads as part of the Magnetosphere/Thermosphere Coupling program. The flights took place at the Poker Flat Research Range on February 12, 1994 (T(sub o) = 1316:00 UT), February 2, 1995 (T(sub o) = 1527:20 UT), and November 27, 1995 (T(sub o) = 0807:24 UT). In this report the observations of the particle instrumentation flown on all three of the flights are described, and brief descriptions of relevant geophysical activity for each flight are provided. Calibrations of the particle instrumentation for all ARIA flights are also provided.

Sharber, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Tracking the Relative Motion of Four Space Payloads Launched from a Sub-Orbital NASA Rocket

One problem, which is comparatively new in the field of GPS (Global Positioning System) applications, is the determination of the relative trajectories of space vehicles. Applications include the docking of spacecraft, collision avoidance in the area of space stations, and trajectory reconstruction of multiple payloads. The required precision in any of these applications will vary, according to the requirements of the task and abilities of GPS to cope with the environment and the dynamics. This paper describes the post-mission reconstruction of the relative trajectories of four GPS receivers attached to four payloads jettisoned from a Black Brant XII rocket. This vehicle was launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in January 1999 from the Poker Flats Research Range near Fairbanks, Alaska. The Black Brant XII is a sub-orbital rocket designed to carry payloads of 100 to 500 kg into the upper atmosphere. Flight time is generally in the order of 10 - 20 minutes.

Bull, Barton↗
NASA NTRS1999

Low Earth Orbiter: Terminal

In response to the current government budgetary environment that requires the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to do more with less, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility has developed and implemented a class of ground stations known as a Low Earth Orbiter-Terminal (LEO-T). This development thus provides a low-cost autonomous ground tracking service for NASA's customers. More importantly, this accomplishment provides a commercial source to spacecraft customers around the world to purchase directly from the company awarded the NASA contract to build these systems. A few years ago, NASA was driven to provide more ground station capacity for spacecraft telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) services with a decreasing budget. NASA also made a decision to develop many smaller, cheaper satellites rather than a few large spacecraft as done in the past. In addition, university class missions were being driven to provide their own TT&C services due to the increasing load on the NASA ground-tracking network. NASA's solution for this ever increasing load was to use the existing large aperture systems to support those missions requiring that level of performance and to support the remainder of the missions with the autonomous LEO-T systems. The LEO-T antenna system is a smaller, cheaper, and fully autonomous unstaffed system that can operate without the existing NASA support infrastructure. The LEO-T provides a low-cost, reliable space communications service to the expanding number of low-earth orbiting missions around the world. The system is also fostering developments that improve cost-effectiveness of autonomous-class capabilities for NASA and commercial space use. NASA has installed three LEO-T systems. One station is at the University of Puerto Rico, the second system is installed at the Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks, Alaska, and the third system is installed at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. This paper will describe the current NASA implementation of the LEO-T network of antenna systems, the customers now being supported, and the services NASA can now offer with this new breed of autonomous ground stations. In addition, the paper will define the technical capabilities of the system and the cost effectiveness of using the systems including the capital costs of installation.

Kremer, Steven E.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Tracking the Relative Motion of Four Space Payloads Launched from a Sub-Orbital NASA Rocket

One problem, which is comparatively new in the field of GPS applications, is the determination of the relative trajectories of space vehicles. Applications include the docking of spacecraft, collision avoidance in the area of space stations, and trajectory reconstruction of multiple payloads. The required precision in any of these applications will vary, according to the requirements of the task and abilities of GPS to cope with the environment and the dynamics. This paper describes the post-mission reconstruction of the relative trajectories of four GPS receivers attached to four payloads jettisoned from a Black Brant XII rocket. This vehicle was launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in January 1999 from the Poker Flats Research Range near Fairbanks, Alaska. The Black Brant XII is a sub-orbital rocket designed to carry payloads of 100 to 500 kg into the upper atmosphere. Flight time is generally in the order of 10-20 minutes. In this experiment, a GPS receiver and antenna was attached to each of the four payloads. One of the GPS receivers was assigned as the "base station", while the other 3 receivers were designated as remotes. GPS time, code and phase measurements were telemetered to a ground station for real-time processing and storage. The object of the mission was to re-compute the position and velocity of the remote units with respect to the base station during the launch phase and after the payloads separated. During the launch segment the 3 baseling distances between the 4 antennas are known from plans and are constant values until each payload is released. On the fly ambiguity determination was used to establish local coordinates from the base antenna to each of the other 3 GPS units during flight. Distance computations were made from the GPS-derived coordinates and compared to plan distances. Using this methodology an error analysis of the relative GPS accuracies has been presented and in addition a description given of the respective payload behaviour following separation from the vehicle.

Martell, Hugh↗
NASA NTRS2011

A Rocket-Base Study of Auroral Electrodynamics Within the Current Closure Ionosphere

The Auroral Current and Electrodynamics Structure (ACES) mission consisted of two sounding rockets launched nearly simultaneously from Poker Flat Research Range, AK on January 29, 2009 into a dynamic multiple-arc aurora. The ACES rocket mission, in conjunction with the PFISR Radar, was designed to observe the three-dimensional current system of a stable auroral arc system. ACES utilized two well instrumented payloads flown along very similar magnetic field footprints, at various altitudes with small temporal separation between both payloads. ACES High, the higher altitude payload (apogee 360 km), took in-situ measurements of the plasma parameters above the current closure region to provide the input signature into the lower ionosphere. ACES Low, the low-altitude payload (apogee 130 km), took similar observations within the current closure region, where cross-field currents can flow. We present results comparing observations of the electric fields, magnetic fields, electron flux, and the electron temperature at similar magnetic footpoints between both payloads. We further present data from all-sky imagers and PFISR detailing the evolution of the auroral event as the payloads traversed regions connected by similar magnetic footpoints. Current measurements derived from the magnetometers on both payloads are further compared. We examine data from both PFISR and observations on the high-altitude payload which we interpreted as a signature of electron acceleration by means of Alfv n waves. We further examine all measurements to understand ionospheric conductivity and how energy is being deposited into the ionosphere through Joule heating. Data from ACES is compared against models of Joule heating to make inferences regarding the effect of collisions at various altitudes.

Kaeppler, Stephen R.↗