Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Levy, G. S..
Proposed network of radio telescopes, controlled by a central computer and managed by a single organization, offer potential for research on a scale that could not be matched by present privately and publicly-owned radio telescopes. With 10 antenna sites, network would establish base lines thousands of miles long. Antennas will be linked to computer center by telephone circuits.
Results of Voyager 2 radio occultation studies of the atmosphere and ionosphere of Saturn and radio tracking determinations of the masses of Mimas, Tethys, and Iapetus are presented. Measurement of received signal frequency for signals of 3.6 and 13 cm wavelength during Voyager occultation immersion at 36.5 deg N and emmersion at 31 deg S reveal atmospheric temperatures of 143 K at the 1.2 bar level, falling to 82 K at the tropopause at about 70 mbar and rising to about 140 K at the tropopause at about 70 mbar and rising to about 140 K at the 1-mbar pressure level in the stratosphere. Peak electron concentrations of 17,000 and 6400/cu cm are found in the predawn and late afternoon locations, respectively, with topside plasma scale heights of 260-1100 km and 1000 km. Direct measurements of the masses of Tethys and Iapetus yield values of 7.55 and 18.8 x 10 to the 20th kg respectively, and an implied mass of 0.455 x 10 to the 20 kg for Mimas. Results suggest that satellite density tends to decrease with increasing orbital radius, and imply that the intermediate-sized satellites of Saturn may represent objects with differing relative amounts of water, ammonia and methane ices. The apparent low density of Iapetus may then be explained by a large hydrocarbon content.
As Voyager 1 made its swing-by of Io, it passed through and behind the satellite's plasma torus. The phase paths of the coherent 13 cm and 3.6-cm wavelength signals transmitted from the spacecraft were shortened differentially by the plasma, resulting in the observation of a dispersive Doppler signature in the signals received at the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (deep space network) stations. Ray path integration through three different models of the electron distribution of the torus of Io (Warwick et al. 1979; Birmingham et al. 1981; Bagenal et al., 1981) have been performed. The results of the integrations are compared with the dispersive Doppler data.
Coherently related S and X band signals of 2.3 and 8.4 GHz, respectively, which were transmitted from Voyagers 1 and 2 were used to probe the Jovian atmosphere. Height profiles of the gas refractivity, molecular number density, pressure, temperature, and microwave absorption in the troposphere and stratosphere were observed at latitudes ranging from 0 to 70 deg S. At 1000 mbar, the temperature was + or - 5 K and the lapse rate was equal to the adiabatic value of 2.1 K/km within the resolution of the measurements. The ammonia abundance in this region was 0.022 + or - 0.008%, which is in good agreement with values derived from cosmic abundance considerations. The tropopause at the 140 mbar level had a temperature of 110 K, which increased with increasing altitude, reaching 160 + or - 20 K in the 10 to 1 mbar region. Significant horizontal density variations were detected in the stratosphere, which implies a nonuniform temperature and aerosol distribution across the Jovian disk or across high- and low-pressure regions due to local atmospheric dynamics.
Analyses of Voyager 1 radio occultation measurements of the Saturn atmosphere near 75 deg south latitude and of the Titan equatorial atmosphere are presented. Molecular nitrogen appears to be the primary atmospheric constituent of Titan, whose clouds are probably methane ice. Solar abundance considerations of the data suggest large quantities of surface methane near its triple-point temperature, so that the three phases of methane could play a role on Titan analogous to that of water on earth. Ionospheric electron concentration and plasma scale height for the Saturn polar cap and monochromatic attenuation of the Saturn rings are also considered, along with radio tracking figures for the masses of two moons, Rhea and Titan.
The reduction and interpretation of the radio science data from the Voyager 1 and 2 encounters of the planet Jupiter and its satellites resulted in the preparation of several papers for publication in the special Voyager-Jupiter issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research. The radio science and tracking systems of the Deep Space Network provide the data which makes this research possible. This article lists submitted papers by title, with their authors and with abstracts of their contents.
Efforts to discover evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life have become not only feasible, but respectable. Fledgling observational projects have begun that will use state-of-the-art hardware to develop sophisticated receiving and data processing systems. The rationale behind the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, the manner in which the program is taking shape, and the implications for telecommunications are described. It is concluded that the breadth of technological development required for the detection of signals from galactic brethren has particular relevance for the future of telecommunications in Earth oriented uses.
About 22 hours after its closest approach to Jupiter, Voyager 2 passed behind the planet as viewed from the earth. Although the spacecraft was geometrically occulted for nearly two hours, the radio links between it and the earth were maintained almost continuously because of the refraction of the signals in Jupiter's south polar atmosphere. A figure shows the plane-of-the-sky geometry of this grazing occultation and preliminary data on the intensity of the spacecraft radio signals as received by the tracking station at Goldstone, California. The intensity data indicate a classic atmospheric occultation profile and the effects of turbulence and ionospheric focusing and defocusing. Analysis of the dispersive ionospheric refraction data yields preliminary profiles for the topside ionosphere at 66.7 deg S (entry in the evening) and 50.1 deg S (exit in the morning) that are reversed with respect to corresponding Voyager 1 profiles in terms of plasma concentration at a fixed altitude. Preliminary reduction of the preencounter occultation of Voyager 1 by the Io torus gives an average plasma density of about 1000 e/cu cm.
A preliminary profile of the atmosphere of Jupiter in the South Equatorial Belt shows (1) the tropopause occurring at a pressure level of 100 millibars and temperature of about 113 K, (2) a higher warm inversion layer at about the 35-millibar level, and (3) a lower-altitude constant lapse rate matching the adiabatic value of about 2 K/km, with the temperature reaching 150 K at the 600-millibar level. Preliminary afternoon and predawn ionospheric profiles at 12 deg and near the equator, respectively, have topside plasma scale heights of 590 km changing to 960 km above an altitude of 3500 km for the dayside, and about 960 km at all measured heights above the peak for the nightside. The higher value of scale height corresponds to a plasma temperature of 1100 K under the assumption of a plasma of protons and electrons in ambipolar diffusive equilibrium. The peak electron concentration in the upper ionosphere is approximately 200,000/cu cm for the dayside and about a factor of 10 less for the nightside. These peaks occur at altitudes of 1600 and 2300 km, respectively. Continuing analyses are expected to extend and refine these results, and to be used to investigate other regions and phenomena.
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Radio links to and from the Voyager spacecraft will be used for occultation measurements of planetary and satellite atmospheres and ionospheres, the rings of Saturn, the solar corona, and the general-relativistic time delay for radio wave propagation through the solar gravity field. In addition, the radio link measurements may provide information on the gravity fields of the planets, the masses of the satellites, properties of the interplanetary medium, and long-wavelength gravitational radiation propagation in the solar system.
The S/X-band experiment on the Mariner Venus/Mercury 1973 spacecraft constituted a unique opportunity to demonstrate the capability of an X-band downlink coherent with the normal S-band downlink. This was both a technological and scientific experiment, and the results indicated that it was successful in both cases. Analysis of the tracking data shows that the new S/X data type was capable of reducing the miss distance at the planet Mercury by 80% (post-processed data). The use of S/X electron content was demonstrated by comparison with Faraday rotation data. An X-band turnaround telemetry experiment showed the feasibility of a planetary X-band link. In the science area, the model atmospheric environment of Venus was refined. The ionosphere of the planet was measured to a higher accuracy than before, and the value of the dual-frequency link for measuring the scale size of turbulence was demonstrated. The estimate of the scale size was increased from 100 m to above 5 km.
The first of two solar occultations of the satellite Helios-1 in 1975 occurred in April when the satellite's ray path approached the west limb of the sun to a minimum distance of 1.63 solar radii. The second occultation took place in late August/early September when Helios-1 was totally eclipsed by the photosphere. Measurements of the polarization angle of the linearly polarized telemetry signal were performed with automatic tracking polarimeters at the 64 m Goldstone Tracking Station in California and also at the 100 m radio telescope in Effelsberg, West Germany. The coronal Faraday rotation as a function of the solar offset for both occultations is shown in graphs. The theoretical significance of the observations is investigated.
Analysis of the radio-tracking data from Mariner 10 yields 6,023,600 plus or minus 600 for the ratio of the mass of the sun to that of Mercury, in very good agreement with values determined earlier from radar data alone. Occultation measurements yielded values for the radius of Mercury of 2440 plus or minus 2 and 2438 plus or minus 2 kilometers at latitudes of 2 N and 68 N, respectively, again in close agreement with the average equatorial radius of 2439 plus or minus 1 kilometers determined from radar data. The mean density of 5.44 grams per cubic centimeter deduced for Mercury from Mariner 10 data thus virtually coincides with the prior determination. No evidence of either an ionosphere or an atmosphere was found.
A tracking polarimeter implemented on the 64-m NASA/JPL paraboloid antenna at Goldstone, Calif., is described. Its performance is analyzed and compared with measurements. The system was developed to measure Faraday rotation in the solar corona of the telemetry carrier from the Pioneer VI spacecraft as it was occulted by the sun. It also measures rotation in the earth's ionosphere and is an accurate method of determining spacecraft orientation. The new feature of this system is its use of a pair of quarter-wave plates to allow the synthesis of a rotating feed system, while requiring the rotation of only a single section of waveguide. Since the polarization sensing is done at RF and the receiver operates essentially as a null detector, the system's accuracy is superior to other polarization tracking schemes. In addition, the antenna size and maser preamplifier provide unsurpassed sensitivity. The associated instrumentation used in the Pioneer VI experiment is also described.
The unique properties of the Mariner 10 radio system, and the preliminary scientific results obtained from the analysis of the radio signals are described. In the normal two-way communication mode, a command- and range-modulated 2115-MHz signal is transmitted to the spacecraft for reception on its omnidirectional antenna. As implemented for Mariner 10, the dual-frequency system has proven fully capable of performing interplanetary columnar electron content measurements while achieving the prime goals of the celestial mechanics and radio science team. The determination of the mass and gravitational potential of Venus is one of the major objectives of the radio science experiments. Information on Venus's atmosphere was deduced from analysis of the radio signals during occultation. Open-loop receiver differential Doppler data were used to measure the nightside and dayside ionospheres of Venus.
Two quarterwave-plate polarizers inserted between rotary waveguide joints transform received signals from arbitrary linear to circular polarizations and then from circular to fixed linear polarizations. Fixed linear polarizations are applied to amplifiers and filters in usual fashion.
The objective of the radio science investigations is to extract the maximum scientific information from the data provided by the radio and radar systems on the Viking Orbiters and Landers. Unique features of the Viking missions include tracking of the landers on the surface of Mars, dual-frequency S- and X-band tracking data from the orbiters, lander-to-orbiter communications system data, and lander radar data, all of which provide sources of information for a number of scientific investigations. Post-flight analyses will provide both new and improved scientific information on physical and surface properties of Mars, on atmospheric and ionospheric properties of Mars, and on solar system properties.