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Eide, D. G.

Publications and source records attributed to Eide, D. G..

Candidate techniques for non-intrusive measurement of flight boundary-layer properties

Techniques to measure gas composition and chemical activity in the hypersonic boundary layer associated with entry research vehicles and with a tethered satellite deployed at 100-125 km altitude are currently being investigated at the NASA-Langley Research Center. These measurements are appropriate for the study of the aerothermodynamic properties of these vehicles when operating with controlled trajectories in the thermosphere between 125 and 55 km. A number of the required quantitative physical measurements have been identified, and candidate techniques to obtain the measurements without perturbing the flow are being considered. Two candidate techniques are discussed in this paper: a mass spectrometer to analyze the gas composition at the vehicle surface, and Rayleigh scattering to obtain density, velocity, and temperature gradients from the surface to the edge of the boundary layer.

Wood, G. M., Jr.

Transportation - Space Station interfaces

A study aimed at identifying conceptual mechanisms for the transfer and manipulation of various masses in the vicinity of or on the Space Station is presented. These transfers encompass mass transfers involved in the arrivals or departures of various vehicles including the Shuttle, Orbital Manuever Vehicles (OMVs), and Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTVs); point-to-point mass transfer of a nonroutine nature around the Space Station; and routine transfer of cargo and spacecraft around the Space Station, including the mating and processing of OMVs, OTVs, propellants, and payloads.

Macconchie, Ian O.

Operational awareness in future space transportation system concepts and technology selections

An analysis of operations for a two-stage, fully reusable future space transportation system has been performed, and the results are discussed. The value of conducting an analysis of operations in the conceptual design phase to produce a highly productive system was demonstrated by obtaining estimated reductions in resources and ground turnaround time and comparing them with estimated mature Shuttle program requirements. Cooperative efforts by users, future vehicle designers, and operations analysts during the conceptual design phase are shown to produce an efficient vehicle design with broad market potential. The synergistic effects of vehicle design configuration, subsystems, and procedures can enhance productivity of the transportation system as measured by flexibility, availability, and viability. Advanced technologies and subsystems beneficial to such a system are identified.

Eide, D. G.

Developing mass spectrometric techniques for boundary layer measurement in hypersonic high enthalpy test facilities

Thermodynamic flow properties of gases in the boundary layer or the flowfield have been mainly deduced from pressures and temperatures measured on a model. However, further progress with respect to an understanding of these properties requires a more complete characterization of the layer including determination of the gas composition and chemistry. Most attempts to measure boundary layer chemistry involve the employment of a mass spectrometer and an associated gas sampling system. The three major limiting factors which must be addressed for species measurement in aerothermodynamic investigations on models at reentry stream velocities, are gas sampling effects, instrument limitations, and problems with data acquisition. The present investigation is concerned with a concentrated effort to quantitatively identify and correct for instrument and sampling system effects, and to develop a miniaturized high performance mass spectrometer for on-model real-time analysis of the boundary layer and its associated atmosphere.

Wood, G. M., Jr.

Designing for a new era of launch vehicle operational efficiency

It is pointed out that early recognition of operational requirements and assessment of their effects provides the best chance of designing an economically viable future space transportation system (FSTS). Operational factors which may influence configuration design include fleet size, operation mode, refurbishment, and the resource requirements. FTST has a simplified operational role compared to the Space Shuttle, which, in addition to transportation, must perform experiments, support payloads, and stay long on orbit. In the future a space station will perform many of these tasks. The FSTS comprises a two-stage fully reusable launch vehicle designed to carry 150,000 lb to a space station, off-load, and return. It would always be launched fully loaded, and its cargo would be processed and redistributed at the space station. Attention is given to ground servicing, flight operations, rendezvous-compatible orbits, launch windows, standard trajectories, entry windows, operational costs, the mission model, and resource requirements.

Talay, T. A.

Operations simulation for the design of a future space transportation system

A high, level discrete simulation model has been developed to study the operational requirements of future space transportation systems. To illustrate the capabilities of this model, the result of a study for a future fully reusable, two-stage launch vehicle concept which delivers men and material to a space station and returns are presented. Orbital transfer vehicles, based at the space station, are also included for delivery to other orbits. Results are presented which indicate that the model can be a helpful tool in evaluating the transportation system's operational needs and its ability to meet the desired mission requirements.

Morris, W. D.

Anatomy of an entry vehicle experiment

The anatomy and evolution of a simple small-scale unmanned entry vehicle is described that is delivered to orbit by the shuttle and entered into the atmosphere from orbit to acquire flight data to improve our knowledge of boundary-layer behavior and evaluate advanced thermal protection systems. The anatomy of the experiment includes the justification for the experiments, instrumentation, configuration, material, and operational needs, and the translation of these needs into a configuration, weight statement, aerodynamics, program cost, and trajectory. Candidates for new instrumentation development are also identified for nonintrusive measurements of the boundary-layer properties.

Eide, D. G.

A space-based orbital transfer vehicle - Bridge to the future

A comparison is made between a space-based and earth-based orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) for use in the Shuttle era and beyond. The space-based vehicle alleviates the limited capability inherent in an earth-based OTV whose design is constrained by a particular launch vehicle. Several sizes of space-based OTVs were generated and compared with an earth-based system for a number of mission scenarios with varying types and levels of traffic. The space-based OTVs showed substantial cost savings for each scenario, with the smallest space-based vehicle showing the largest saving. The space-based OTV retains the cost advantage even if the number of missions or the Shuttle cost-per-flight is drastically reduced.

Rehder, J. J.

Investigation of abort procedures for space shuttle-type vehicles

An investigation has been made of abort procedures for space shuttle-type vehicles using a point mass trajectory optimization program known as POST. This study determined the minimum time gap between immediate and once-around safe return to the launch site from a baseline due-East launch trajectory for an alternate space shuttle concept which experiences an instantaneous loss of 25 percent of the total main engine thrust.

Powell, R. W.