Hermetic sealed vibration damper Patent
Hermetically sealed vibration damper design for use in gimbal assembly of spacecraft inertial guidance system
Wheatley, D. G.↗
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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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Control moment gyro for Skylab
Skylab control moment gyroscope inner gimbal design and thermal vacuum and environmental tests
Fikes, E. H.↗
Use of Centaur spacecraft flight data in the synthesis of forcing functions at Centaur main engine cutoff during boost of Mariner Mars 1969, OAO 2, and ATS spacecraft. Volume 2 - Computer plots
Computer plots of acceleration flight data of Mariner Mars 69, OAO 2, and ATS showing selected gimbal axis forcing functions and dynamic response of Centaur main engine cutoffs
Chisholm, J. R.↗
The ST-224 - A redundant inertial measurement system
ST-224 redundant inertial measurement system, using conventional gimbaled platforms, each with three skewed single-degree-of-freedom control gyro and one caged gyro
Oconnor, B. J.↗
A new fail operational control moment gyro configuration
Fail operational control moment gyro configuration of four single gimbal gyros, eliminating cross coupling by simple analog steering law
Liden, S. P.↗
An integrated system for precision attitude determination and control
Integrated system for precision attitude determination and pointing control of spacecraft gimbaled payloads
Frew, A. M.↗
Low-friction ball-and-socket
Ball-bearing retainer assembly reduces friction in ball-and-socket mount which replaces gimbals mounting used with spacecraft antennas.
Imus, R. E.↗
High torque bellows seal rotary drive
Bellows seal rotary drive device was developed which allows high torque transmission through sealed compartments. Bearing friction which would normally be carried by sealing bellows in comparable devices is absorbed by universal-gimbal joint. It can be used to transmit high torque, low speed, rotary motion through sealed barriers to prevent contamination or escape of fluids.
Diaguila, A. J.↗
A scanning mirror system for the Apollo telescope mount ultraviolet spectroheliometer
The scanning mirror system described is being developed as the primary mirror in the spectroheliometer. The system consists of a gimbaled mirror mount that is rotated through extremely small angles by the use of frictionless pivots and a closed-loop servo system. Design, fabrication, and test experience are discussed.
Highman, C. O.↗
Angular momentum desaturation for Skylab using gravity gradient torques
An angular momentum desaturation method for momentum exchange devices of orbiting spacecraft is described. The specific application of the method is to the Skylab which contains three double-gimbaled control moment gyros for precise attitude control and maneuvering. It is assumed that the attitude reference is inertially fixed and that two of the vehicle principal moments of inertia are much larger than the third. Gravity gradient torques and resultant angular momentum accumulation are developed for small deviations from the reference. The assumed moment-of-inertia distribution allows desaturation about all axes with only two attitude angles each for the two axes with large moments of inertia. The necessary desaturation maneuvers can be decoupled for a special set of orbital coordinates. All maneuvers are made during the night portion of the orbit, and the percentage utilized for desaturation is selectable. Expressions for the attitude angle commands are developed assuming infinite vehicle rates. The effect of finite rates introduces an efficiency into the desaturation. Expressions for this efficiency are developed and means for compensation are treated. Arbitrary misalignments between geometric vehicle axes and principal moment-of-inertia axes are permissible. An angle bias about the sun line minimizes the angular momentum accumulation about the sun line projection into the orbital plane. Adaptive desaturation maneuver limiting consistent with the available maneuver momentum is included.
Kennel, H. F.↗
CMG assembly life test and engineering evaluation test, M-509 experiment
The initial checkout of the control moment gyro system for the astronaut stabilizer maneuvering unit is described, and the test results are presented. The life test proceeded smoothly to its completion, and problem areas encountered in the engineering tests are described. These tests included command rate and torquer current transfer, cage and lock, static inverter and signal noise, dynamic response, closed loop drift rate, and gimbal disturbance torque evaluation tests.
Cramer, P. S.↗
The design and operation of a planet emitted and albedo radiation simulator
A simulator is described, which provides a dynamic simulation of planetary albedo and planet-emitted thermal radiation. The simulator was designed for model tests of advanced thermal control concepts, the development of space hardware, and flight qualification of small payloads. The simulator was designed to be used in a vacuum chamber equipped with liquid nitrogen cold walls and a solar simulator. The simulator consists of two major components: a gimbaled model support system and an array of quartz infrared lamps. Tests indicate that the apparatus will satisfactorily simulate the secondary radiation on a 0.92-meter spherical body in near-earth orbits. Calculations indicate that other shapes can be accommodated without structural modifications.
Sweet, G. E.↗
Investigation of L-band shipboard antennas for maritime satellite applications
A basic conceptual investigation of low cost L-band antenna subsystems for shipboard use was conducted by identifying the various pertinent design trade-offs and related performance characteristics peculiar to the civilian maritime application, and by comparing alternate approaches for their simplicity and general suitability. The study was not directed at a single specific proposal, but was intended to be parametric in nature. Antenna system concepts were to be investigated for a range of gain of 3 to 18 dB, with a value of about 10 dB considered as a baseline reference. As the primary source of potential complexity in shipboard antennas, which have beamwidths less than hemispherical as the beam pointing or selecting mechanism, major emphasis was directed at this aspect. Three categories of antenna system concepts were identified: (1) mechanically pointed, single-beam antennas; (2) fixed antennas with switched-beams; and (3) electronically-steered phased arrays. It is recommended that an L-band short backfire antenna subsystem, including a two-axis motor driven gimbal mount, and necessary single channel monopulse tracking receiver portions be developed for demonstration of performance and subsystem simplicity.
Heckert, G. P.↗
Iterative computation of generalized inverses, with an application to CMG steering laws
A cubically convergent iterative method for computing the generalized inverse of an arbitrary M X N matrix A is developed and a FORTRAN subroutine by which the method was implemented for real matrices on a CDC 3200 is given, with a numerical example to illustrate accuracy. Application to a redundant single-gimbal CMG assembly steering law is discussed.
Steincamp, J. W.↗
Feasibility study of a pressure-fed engine for a water recoverable space shuttle booster. Volume 1: Executive summary
An overview is presented of the results of the analyses conducted in support of the selected engine system for the pressure-fed booster stage. During initial phases of the project, a gimbaled, regeneratively cooled, fixed thrust engine having a coaxial pintle injector was selected as optimum for this configuration.
Source record↗
Ultra-precise attitude test facility for flight spacecraft
A test facility was designed and built for conducting complete dynamic systems tests of the OAO spacecraft. The operating principle of the facility is illustrated for a single control axis. The test facility is described which was built and used to test the stabilization and control system of the OAO B spacecraft. Fine pointing of the spacecraft was demonstrated to better than 0.5 seconds of arc. Other spacecraft functions tested were gimbaled and boresight star tracker operations, coarse and fine slew maneuvers, inertial guidance operation, settling time of the spacecraft control system, and transfers between all modes of control.
Devine, E. J.↗
The Intelsat 4 antenna positioner
The Intelsat 4 communications satellite has two spot beam antennas which are pointed to selected land masses by gimbaled positioners. The positioners employ drive motors with electromagnetic brakes and jackscrews that are self-caging during the launch. The positioner uses dry lubricants for ball bearings, spur gears, screw and nut, and various journal bearings. A coefficient of friction of approximately 0.05 was demonstrated in vacuum operation. Success of the positioner was demonstrated on the first Intelsat 4 placed in orbit in January 1971. The developmental problems that were encountered and their solutions are discussed.
Glassow, F. A.↗
Orbiter aborts from boost: Presimulation report
A description of a hybrid simulation of the 040C orbiter aborting from boost to specified landing site is provided. The simulation starts when the abort is initiated and continues until a terminal energy state (associated with the selected landing site) is reached. At abort it is assumed that all SRM's are jettisoned with the external tank remaining with the orbiter. The simulation described has six degrees of freedom with the vehicle simulated as a rigid body. A conventional form of autopilot is provided to control engine gimbaling during powered flight. An ideal form of an autopilot is provided to test conventional autopilot function and provide pseudo RCS function during coasting flight. The simulation is proposed to provide means for studies of abort guidance function and to gain information concerning ability to control the abort trajectory.
Backman, H. D.↗