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Jones, James L., Jr.

Publications and source records attributed to Jones, James L., Jr..

Orbiting meteoroid and debris counting experiment

The Orbiting Meteoroid and Debris Counting Experiment (OMDC) flew for approximately 90 days in a highly elliptical earth orbit onboard the Clementine Interstage Adapter (ISA) Spacecraft. This experiment obtained data on the impact flux of natural micrometeoroids and it provided limited information on the population of small mass man-made debris as a function of altitude in near earth space. The flight of the OMDC experiment on the ISA spacecraft also demonstrated that the ultra-lightweight, low-power, particle impact detector system that was used is a viable system for flights on future spacecraft to monitor the population of small mass man-made debris particles and to map the cosmic dust environment encountered on interplanetary missions. An overview of the ISA spacecraft mission, the approach to the OMDC experiment, and the data obtained by the experiment are presented.

Kinard, William H.↗

The Long Duration Exposure Facility material experiments

In the early 1970s, the NASA Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) approved the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) Project. The LDEF project provided NASA and other U.S. and foreign research organizations with opportunities to perform critical technology and science experiments in space using the LDEF and the Space Shuttle. Many of the experiments which were developed and are flying on the first LDEF mission are experiments to investigate the effects of the space environment on materials. An overview is provided for these materials experiments. The LDEF was placed in orbit by the shuttle orbiter Challenger in April 1984, and it was to have been retrieved approximately 1 year later. The Challenger accident, however, has delayed the retrieval more than 4 years. The LDEF retrieval is now manifested on Flight 32 in July 1989. Since the facility and experiments will have been in space almost 5-1/4 years when they are retrieved, they will be a national trove of science and technology data.

Kinard, William H.↗