Polymer research
Investigating spacecraft magnetic recording tapes and magnetic heads, sterilizable battery separators, and structural performance of solid propellant motor
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Investigating spacecraft magnetic recording tapes and magnetic heads, sterilizable battery separators, and structural performance of solid propellant motor
System for recording and reproducing PCM data from data stored on magnetic tape
Data acquisition and processing system with buffer storage and timing device for magnetic tape recording of PCM data and timing information
Computer program for reducing radar tracking data magnetic tape numbers for data storage by editing and low pass filtering
Shadow band observations during 7 March 1970 solar eclipse, determining spectral energy distribution from magnetic tape recordings of collimated photocells output
Online data collection of the amplitudes of circularly polarized radio waves, partially reflected from the D region of the earth's ionosphere, has enabled the calculation of an electron-density profile in the height region 60-90 km. A PDP 15/30 digital computer with an analog to digital converter and magnetic tape as an intermediary storage device are used. The computer configuration, the software developed, and the preliminary results are described.
The possibility of improving the accuracy of terrain classification by preprocessing spectral data was investigated. Terrain maps were made using the following techniques: 1) preprocessing by scan angle function transformation, using the computer-selected best set of three channels; and 2) preprocessing by ratio transformation, using the specified ERTS data channels, simulated by fitting the spectral response of each of the 12 data channels to the ERTS channels by a set of weighting coefficients. By using a simple technique during printout, the maps were produced in color. The normalized scan angle function transformation resulted in the most accurate classification. The best ratio transformation for the Yellowstone Park data was the ratio of each channel to the sum of all channels. A supervised training program involving maximum likelihood decision for selecting the best spectrometer channels and similar techniques for digitizing the data of the analog magnetic tapes were used. Cloud shadows were recognized in addition to eight classes of terrain. Preprocessing of data resulted in more accurate maps, required fewer training areas (hence less preparation and computer time), and enabled much of the area formerly classified as shadow to be reclassified according to actual terrain type.
A microdensitometer, scanning pairs of star plates of identical areas of the sky taken a decade apart, is coupled to a magnetic tape unit through a data acquisition system. This system performs an image density threshold level selection for each plate and a buffer memory system to smooth the data flow as well as analog and digital display controls. The data from the tape are processed later by a large scale high speed computer which reconstructs the scanned images, discovers, measures, and documents stellar proper motions by precise comparison of corresponding areas of the two star plates to detect those images which have moved at least 0.10 seconds annually in the time interval between the exposures.
Background information is given which briefly describes the mission of the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC), including its functions and systems, along with its policies and purposes for collecting rocket data. The operation of a machine-sensible rocket information system, which allows the Data Center to have convenient access to information and data concerning all rocket flights carrying scientific experiments, is also described. The central feature of this system, an index of rocket flights maintained on magnetic tape, is described. Standard outputs for NSSDC and for the World Data Center A (WDC-A) for Rockets and Satellites are described.
Investigations of triangulation nets and scaling are reported. Adjustment of the BC-4 worldwide geometric satellite triangulation net is described, along with procedures for correcting type II data and the contents of magnetic tapes containing data from the Pageos network. Computational steps for the further reduction of partially reduced satellite image plate coordinates are outlined. The problem of improving existing triangulation systems by means of satellite super-control points was studied. The SAO-69 geometric solution was scaled with C-band radar data, resulting in SAO and C-band adjustment compatible with one another in the Western Hemisphere. The North America solution NA-6, obtained from GEOS 1 data, was readjusted with new heights as constraints on all 30 optical stations and is referred to as the NA-8 solution.
The construction of the Stanford Spectral Digital Data Acquisition System is described. The objective of the system is to record both the spectral distribution of incoming radiation from the rock samples measured by the spectroradiometer (Exotech Model 10-34 Circular Variable Filter Infrared Spectroradiometer) together with other weather information. This system is designed for both laboratory and field measurement programs. The multichannel inputs (8 channels) of the system are as follows: Ch 1 the Spectro-radiometer, Ch 2 the radiometer (PRT-5), and Ch 3 to Ch 8 for the weather information. The system records data from channel 1 and channel 2 alternately for 48 times, before a fast sweep across the six weather channels, to form a single scan in the scan counter. The operation is illustrated in a block diagram, and the theory of operation is described. The outputs are written on a 7-track magnetic tape with IBM compatible form. The format of the tape and the playback computer programs are included. The micro-pac digital modules and a CIPHER model 70 tape recorder (Cipher Data Products) are used. One of the major characteristics of this system is that it is externally clocked by the spectroradiometer instead of taking data at intervals of various wavelengths by using internal-clocking.
With the deployment of the Apollo 15 lunar surface experiments package, two identical solar-wind spectrometers (SWS), separated by approximately 1100 km, are now on the lunar surface. The spectrometers provide the first opportunity to measure the properties of the solar plasma simultaneously at two locations a fixed distance apart. It is hoped that these simultaneous observations will yield new information about the plasma and its interaction with the Moon and the geomagnetic field. At the time of preparation of this report, magnetic tapes of only 20 hours of simultaneous data had been received. These data are discussed.
The empirical data used in the 1969 Smithsonian Standard Earth (2) are presented. The variance-covariance matrix, or the normal equations, used for correlation analysis, are considered. The format and contents of the matrix, available on magnetic tape, are described and a sample printout is given.
In order to test the feasibility of remote sensing of the reststrahlen effect, a two-channel radiometer was constructed that sensed radiance in two channels simultaneously. The channels selected were 8.3 to 9.3 and 10.2 to 11.2 micrometers. The instrument had an instantaneous geometric field of view of 2 deg x 2 deg and a rotating mirror scan mechanism designed to produce contiguous scans from a DC-3 aircraft at approximately 10,000 ft. altitude. Signals were recorded on a magnetic tape recorder and subsequently converted to equivalent black body temperature for both channels. Results of measurements made over a number of rock types in the Maryland-Pennsylvania region are briefly discussed.
A functional description of a multispectral airborne scanner system that provides spectral bands along a single optical line of sight is reported. The airborne scanner consists of an optical telescope for scanning plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and radiation detectors for converting radiation to electrical signals. The system makes a linear transformation of input radiation to voltage recorded on analog magnetic tape.
The application of remote sensing to study soil-vegetation systems requires quantification and precise location of ground observation data such that they can be correlated with multispectral aerial acquired data. Griddling and sampling of an area for exact identification in a known address on magnetic tape containing multispectral scanner data produces quantitative physico-chemical parameters and the energy which is radiating from within the soil-vegetation complex of an area. Example classifications and spectral mappings of soils made from multispectral scanner data are included.
It is demonstrated that the multispectral scanner, using multiple channels in registry and recorded on magnetic tape, can be used in variety of applications in the marine environment.
A color enhancement system designed for the Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) spin scan experiment has been adapted for the analysis of Nimbus infrared radiation measurements. For a given scene recorded on magnetic tape by the Nimbus scanning radiometers, a virtually unlimited number of color images can be produced at the ATS Operations Control Center from a color selector paper tape input. Linear image interpolation has produced radiation analyses in which each brightness-color interval has a smooth boundary without any mosaic effects. An annotated latitude-longitude gridding program makes it possible to precisely locate geophysical parameters, which permits accurate interpretation of pertinent meteorological, geological, hydrological, and oceanographic features.