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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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At least 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1977

An extension of the dual magnetometer method for use on a dual spinning spacecraft

A method of estimating and correcting for the magnetic field of a dual spinning spacecraft has been developed by employing an extension of the dual magnetometer technique. This new method is useful for those situations in which a magnetometer boom of modest length is attached to the spinning part of a large spacecraft. The purpose of using a dual spinning spacecraft is to accommodate two types of instruments: imaging and similar pointed remote sensing systems on the stationary platform, and fields, particles and other in-situ measuring instruments on the spinning portion. The new method assumes that the stationary part of the spacecraft possesses a magnetic field which is represented by a combination of a dipole and a quadrupole field.

Lepping, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Momentum Transfer in a Spinning Fuel Tank Filled with Xenon

Transient spin-up and spin-down flows inside of spacecraft fuel tanks need to be analyzed in order to properly design spacecraft control systems. Knowledge of the characteristics of angular momentum transfer to and from the fuel is used to size the de-spin mechanism that places the spacecraft in a controllable in-orbit state. In previous studies, several analytical models of the spin-up process were developed. However, none have accurately predicted all of the flow dynamics. Several studies have also been conducted using Navier-Stokes based methods. These approaches have been much more successful at simulating the dynamic processes in a cylindrical container, but have not addressed the issue of momentum transfer. In the current study, the spin-up and spin-down of a fuel tank filled with gaseous xenon has been investigated using a three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes code. Primary interests have been concentrated on the spin-up/spin-down time constants and the initial torque imparted on the system. Additional focus was given to the relationship between the dominant flow dynamics and the trends in momentum transfer. Through the simulation of both a cylindrical and a spherical tank, it was revealed that the transfer of angular momentum is nonlinear at early times and tends toward a linear pattern at later times. Further investigation suggests that the nonlinear spin up is controlled by the turbulent transport of momentum, while the linear phase is controlled by a Coriolis driven (Ekman) flow along the outer wall. These results indicate that the spinup and spin-down processes occur more quickly in tanks with curved surfaces than those with defined top, bottom, and side walls. The results also provide insights for the design of spacecraft de-spin mechanisms.

Peugeot, John W.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Nonresonance rotation of Venus

Radar observations accumulated over the past 14 yr are used to make a precise estimate of the spin vector of Venus. The results obtained show that the spin vector of Venus may be adequately described in the standard 1950.0 coordinate system by a period of 243.01 + or - 0.03 days (retrograde) and a north pole direction corresponding to alpha = 272.8 + or - 0.5 deg and delta = 67.2 + or - 0.3 deg; the quoted errors represent estimates of 70% confidence intervals. The angular separations between the spin vector and those vectors representing the unit normals to the invariable plane of the solar system and the orbital plane of Venus are found to be 0.5 deg and 2.6 deg, respectively. It is concluded that Venus is not rotating with a resonance spin period relative to the orbit of earth and that the spin of Venus may be in a generalized Cassini state.

Shapiro, I. I.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The application of color display techniques for the analysis of Nimbus infrared radiation data

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.

Allison, L. J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Rigid rotators

The two-particle, steady-state Schroedinger equation is transformed to center of mass and internuclear distance vector coordinates, leading to the free particle wave equation for the kinetic energy motion of the molecule and a decoupled wave equation for a single particle of reduced mass moving in a spherical potential field. The latter describes the vibrational and rotational energy modes of the diatomic molecule. For fixed internuclear distance, this becomes the equation of rigid rotator motion. The classical partition function for the rotator is derived and compared with the quantum expression. Molecular symmetry effects are developed from the generalized Pauli principle that the steady-state wave function of any system of fundamental particles must be antisymmetric. Nuclear spin and spin quantum functions are introduced and ortho- and para-states of rotators, along with their degeneracies, are defined. Effects of nuclear spin on entropy are deduced. Next, rigid polyatomic rotators are considered and the partition function for this case is derived. The patterns of rotational energy levels for nonlinear molecules are discussed for the spherical symmetric top, for the prolate symmetric top, for the oblate symmetric top, and for the asymmetric top. Finally, the equilibrium energy and specific heat of rigid rotators are derived.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1984

Theoretical analysis of infrared radiation shields of spacecraft

For a system of N diffuse, gray body radiation shields which view only adjacent surfaces and space, the net radiation method for enclosures has been used to formulate a system of linear, nonhomogeneous equations in terms of the temperatures to the fourth power of each surface in the coupled system of enclosures. The coefficients of the unknown temperatures in the system of equations are expressed in terms of configuration factors between adjacent surfaces and the emissivities. As an application, a system of four conical radiation shields for a spin stabilized STARPROBE spacecraft has been designed and analyzed with respect to variations of the cone half angles, the intershield spacings, and emissivities.

Shealy, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Programming for Pioneer 12

Background on Pioneer probes 6 to 11 is given as well as an overview of the Pioneer Venus mission. A computer program was written in C language for analyzing radio signals from the Pioneer Venus orbiter. A second program was written to facilitate high gain antenna commands to move the antenna itself, to set the simulated spin period, and to set the attitude control system angle.

Shem, B. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Node-avoiding Levy flight - A numerical test of the epsilon expansion

A study is conducted of an extension of Levy flight to include self-repulsion in the path of the walk. The extension is called node-avoiding Levy flight and its equivalence to the n approaches 0 limit of a statistical mechanical model for a magnetic system with long-range interactions between the spins is shown. By use of this equivalence it is possible to make a detailed comparison beween the results of the epsilon expansion for the magnetic model, a Monte Carlo simulation of the Levy flight model, and the results of a Flory-type argument. This is the first comparison of the epsilon expansion for epsilon much less than 1 with a numerical simulation for any model. Some speculations are made on applications of the model of node-avoiding Levy flight.

Halley, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Ultraviolet spectroscopy of pre-main-sequence accretion disks

Low-resolution, ultraviolet spectra of the pre-main-sequence objects Z Canis Majoris, V1057 Cygni, and FU Orionis are presented. Ultraviolet absorption features indicate spectral types of A5 I for FU Ori and F5 I for Z CMa. These results are in reasonable agreement with predictions of simple accretion disk models. The lack of significant veiling of ultraviolet absorption features implies that a hot boundary layer at the inner edge of the disk contributes less than 20 percent of the radiation at 2600-3200 A, which is significantly smaller than expected. It is suggested that accretion has significantly modified the structure of the underlying pre-main-sequence stars in these systems (perhaps by expanding the photosphere or by spinning up a radiative photosphere close to breakup velocity, or both), or that the boundary layer region is much more extended above the disk midplane than standard thin disk theories predict.

Kenyon, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Estimating satellite pose and motion parameters using a novelty filter and neural net tracker

A system for determining the position, orientation and motion of a satellite with respect to a robotic spacecraft using video data is advanced. This system utilizes two levels of pose and motion estimation: an initial system which provides coarse estimates of pose and motion, and a second system which uses the coarse estimates and further processing to provide finer pose and motion estimates. The present paper emphasizes the initial coarse pose and motion estimation sybsystem. This subsystem utilizes novelty detection and filtering for locating novel parts and a neural net tracker to track these parts over time. Results of using this system on a sequence of images of a spin stabilized satellite are presented.

Lee, Andrew J.↗
NASA NTRS1998

A Mobility Concept for Martian Exploration

Soil mechanics and geological investigations on Mars or on the Moon are described herein, using a novel mobility system, designated as the "Elastic Loop Mobility System (ELMS)". ELMS was developed as a spin-off of the U. S. Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) which operated on the Moon during the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 Missions. Extensive testing of the ELMS, both on soft soil and on rigid obstacles, has shown that the ELMS outperforms by far both the LRV and the two manned, self-propelled Soviet rovers, Lunokhod 1 and 2, which landed on the Moon in the western part of Mare Imbrium, aboard the spacecraft Luna 17 and 21. In this paper, examples of soil mechanics and geological investigations that can be conducted either by an unmanned, self-propelled ELMS rover, or by an ELMS attached to a Martian Lander are discussed, along with the associated instrumentation. Through such investigations, ascertaining the existence of some primitive forms of past or present life on Martian or Lunar geological formations may become possible, in addition to obtaining numerous data on the mechanical and physico-chemical properties of Martian or Lunar soils along long traverses.

Costes, Nicholas↗
NASA NTRS1998

TOO Observations of Soft Gamma Repeaters

SGR 1806-20 turned active late 1996, and in response to this reactivation we triggered our target-of-opportunity observations. The results were extremely rewarding. We found a periodic modulation of the persistent X-ray signal, at a period of 7.47 seconds. We combined our data with similar data obtained by Dr T. Strohmayer, which confirmed the presence of the pulsations, and gave evidence for a spin down on a time scale of some 1000 years. We retrieved the pulsations in archival ASCA data, obtained in 1993 and 1995, and confirmed the long-term spin down of the neutron star in this system. The properties of SGR 1806-20 lead to the conclusion that it is a mgnetar, i.e., a neutron star with a magnetic field some 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than those of young radio pulsars and binary X-ray pulsars.

vanParadijs, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Alteration of mineral crystallinity and collagen cross-linking of bones in osteopetrotic toothless (tl/tl) rats and their improvement after treatment with colony stimulating factor-1

A common feature of various types of mammalian osteopetroses is a marked increase in bone mass accompanied by spontaneous bone fractures. The toothless (tl/tl) rat osteopetrotic mutation is characterized by drastically reduced bone resorption due to a profound deficiency of osteoclasts and their precursors. An altered bone morphology has also been observed. The mutants cannot be cured by bone marrow transplantation, but skeletal defects are greatly reduced after treatment with colony stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1). The objectives of this study were to characterize mineral and collagen matrices in cancellous and compact bone isolated from long bones of 6-week-old normal littermates, tl/tl osteopetrotic mutants and mutants (tl/tl) treated with CSF-1. There were no differences in bone mineral content, but a significant decrease in the crystallinity of mineral evaluated by the method based on electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometry was observed in all bones of tl/tl mutants as compared to that of controls. Within the collagen matrix, slight decreases in the labile cross-links, but significant increases in the content of the stable cross-links, pyridinoline, and deoxypyridinoline, were observed in both cancellous and compact bone of osteopetrotic mutants. In tl/tl mutants treated with human recombinant CSF-1, the normalization of the crystallinity of bone mineral as well as collagen cross-links was found. Our results indicate that remodeling of bone matrix in tl/tl mutants is highly suppressed, but that after treatment with CSF-1, this activity recovers significantly. Taken together, these data provide further support for the hypothesis that CSF-1 is an essential factor for normal osteoclast differentiation and bone remodelling.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗
NASA NTRS2004

Formal Verification of Safety Properties for Aerospace Systems Through Algorithms Based on Exhaustive State-Space Exploration

The Runway Safety Monitor (RSM) designed by Lockheed Martin is part of NASA's effort to reduce aviation accidents. We developed a Petri net model of the RSM protocol and used the model checking functions of our tool SMART to investigate a number of safety properties in RSM. To mitigate the impact of state-space explosion, we built a highly discretized model of the system, obtained by partitioning the monitored runway zone into a grid of smaller volumes and by considering scenarios involving only two aircraft. The model also assumes that there are no communication failures, such as bad input from radar or lack of incoming data, thus it relies on a consistent view of reality by all participants. In spite of these simplifications, we were able to expose potential problems in the RSM conceptual design. Our findings were forwarded to the design engineers, who undertook corrective action. Additionally, the results stress the efficiency attained by the new model checking algorithms implemented in SMART, and demonstrate their applicability to real-world systems. Attempts to verify RSM with NuSMV and SPIN have failed due to excessive memory consumption.

Ciardo, Gianfranco↗
NASA NTRS2001

Look, Ma, No HANS!

As part of the low cost design, the spinning Genesis spacecraft has no High Accuracy Navigation Systems (HANS) on board, such as gyros or accelerometers.

High Accuracy Navigation Systems (HANS) Genesis↗
NASA NTRS2008

Mergers of Non-spinning Black-hole Binaries: Gravitational Radiation Characteristics

We present a detailed descriptive analysis of the gravitational radiation from black-hole binary mergers of non-spinning black holes, based on numerical simulations of systems varying from equal-mass to a 6:1 mass ratio. Our primary goal is to present relatively complete information about the waveforms, including all the leading multipolar components, to interested researchers. In our analysis, we pursue the simplest physical description of the dominant features in the radiation, providing an interpretation of the waveforms in terms of an implicit rotating source. This interpretation applies uniformly to the full wavetrain, from inspiral through ringdown. We emphasize strong relationships among the l = m modes that persist through the full wavetrain. Exploring the structure of the waveforms in more detail, we conduct detailed analytic fitting of the late-time frequency evolution, identifying a key quantitative feature shared by the l = m modes among all mass-ratios. We identify relationships, with a simple interpretation in terms of the implicit rotating source, among the evolution of frequency and amplitude, which hold for the late-time radiation. These detailed relationships provide sufficient information about the late-time radiation to yield a predictive model for the late-time waveforms, an alternative to the common practice of modeling by a sum of quasinormal mode overtones. We demonstrate an application of this in a new effective-one-body-based analytic waveform model.

Baker, John G.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Application of a new X-ray reflection model to V1223 Sagittarii

In intermediate polars (IPs), the intrinsic thermal emissions from white dwarfs (WDs) have typically been studied. Few reports have analysed X-ray reflections from WDs. We recently developed an elaborate IP-reflection spectral model. Herein, we report the first application of a reflection model with an IP thermal model to the spectra of the brightest typical IP V1223 Sagittarii observed by the Suzaku and Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array satellites. The model reasonably reproduces the spectra within the range of 5–78 keV and estimates the WD mass as 0.92 ± 0.02 Mꙩ. The WD mass estimated by the proposed model is consistent with that measured using an active galactic nucleus reflection model and a partial covering absorption model. However, the choice of incorrect parameter values, such as an unsuitable fitting energy band and an incorrect metal abundance, was found to introduce systematic errors (e.g. ≲0.2 Mꙩ in the WD mass) in the WD mass measurement. Our spin-phase-resolved analysis resulted in discoveries regarding the modulations of the equivalent width of the fluorescent iron K α line and the angle between the post-shock accretion column and the line of sight (viewing angle). The viewing angle anticorrelates approximately with the X-ray flux and has average and semi-amplitude values of 55° and 7°, respectively, which points towards two WD spin axis angles from the line of sight of 55° and 7°, respectively. Both estimated spin axis angles are different from the reported system inclination of 24°.

Takayuki Hayashi↗