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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 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Feasibility study using large ribbon parachutes, retrorockets, and hydrodynamic attenuation to recover liquid rocket boosters for the Space Shuttle

A new three-phase approach to recovery of the large liquid rocket boosters being studied for the Space Shuttle is proposed. The concept consists of a cluster of larger ribbon parachutes, retrorockets, and spar mode flotation. The two inert liquid rocket boosters weighing 115,000 lb to 183,000 lb descend from high altitude in a side-on coning attitude to 16,000 ft altitude where a cluster of large ribbon parachutes are deployed. The terminal velocity near water landing is 80 ft/sec. Retrorockets are used to decrease the velocity to about 40 ft/sec. The third phase is opening of the front end of the cylindrical rocket case to allow flooding to cushion impact and allow vertical flotation in the spar mode keeping the four expensive liquid rocket engines dry.

Pepper, William B.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Sound attenuation apparatus

An apparatus is disclosed for reducing acoustic transmission from mechanical or acoustic sources by means of a double wall partition, within which an acoustic pressure field is generated by at least one secondary acoustic source. The secondary acoustic source is advantageously placed within the partition, around its edges, or it may be an integral part of a wall of the partition.

Shepherd, Kevin P.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Attenuation of soil microwave emissivity by corn and soybeans at 1.4 and 5 GHz

Theory and experiments have shown that passive microwave radiometers can be used to measure soil moisture. However, the presence of a vegetative cover alters the measurement that might be obtained under bare conditions. Deterministically accounting for the effect of vegetation and developing algorithms for extracting soil moisture from observations of a vegetable-soil complex present significant obstacles to the practical use of this approach. The presence of a vegetation canopy reduces the sensitivity of passive microwave instruments to soil moisture variations. The reduction in sensitivity, as compared to a bare-soil relationship, increases as microwave frequency increases, implying that the longest wavelength sensors should provide the most information. Sensitivity also decreases as the amount of vegetative wet biomass increases for a given type of vegetation.

Jackson, Thomas J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

How to observe the gyre to global-scale variability in satellite altimetry - Signal attenuation by orbit error removal

Formulas analogous to the frequency response functions for commonly used filters in orbit error removal are analytically derived to devise observational strategies for the large-scale oceanic variability and to decipher the signal contents of previous results. These include the polynomial orbit error approximations, i.e., the linear, bias-only and quadratic corrections, and the sinusoidal orbit error approximations (the purely sinusoidal correction, and the sinusoid-and-bias correction). It is shown that the frequency response function for a polynomial correction is a function of the ratio of wavelength/track length and to retain 90 percent or more of the signal at a certain wavelength, the ratio must be less than 0.65 (for the quadratic case), 0.90 (linear), and 1.54 (bias-only).

Tai, Chang-Kou↗
NASA NTRS1992

A communication protocol for mobile satellite systems affected by rain attenuation

A communication protocol is described that has been developed as part of a K/Ka-band mobile terminal breadboard system to be demonstrated through NASA's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) in 1993. The protocol is aimed at providing the means for enhancing link availability and continuity by supporting real-time data rate selection and changes during rain events. Particular attention is given to the system architecture; types of links, connections, and packets; the protocol procedures; and design rationales.

Lay, Norman↗
NASA NTRS1992

Attenuation of human carotid-cardiac vagal baroreflex responses after physical detraining

Astronauts who are occupied with prelaunch schedules may have to limit their regular physical exercise routines. To assess a potential effect on blood pressure control, carotid baroreceptor-cardiac reflex responses of 16 men were evaluated before and after two weeks of exercise detraining that followed ten weeks of regular scheduled exercise (30 min/d, 4 d/week at 75 percent V(O2) max). After detraining, the baroreflex stimulus-response relationship had a reduced slope 0.4 msec/mmHg and range of response. In addition, there was a resetting of the relationship on the R-R interval axis. Both the minimum and maximum R-R interval responses to the stimulus were significantly reduced after detraining. Baseline systolic pressure did not change with detraining, and the carotid baroreceptor-cardiac response relationship did not shift on the pressure axis. These results suggest that detraining from regular exercise can compromise vagally-mediated mechanisms of blood pressure regulation.

Convertino, Victor A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Light-trap design using multiple reflections and solid-angle attenuation - Application to a spaceborne electron spectrometer

The design and performance of a new light trap for a spaceborne electron spectrometer are described. The light trap has a measured photon-rejection ratio of 2 x 10 exp -11, allowing only one in 5 x 10 exp 10 incident photons to reach the sensitive area of the instrument. This rejection is more than sufficient because the ambient UV in earth orbit requires a rejection no better than 10 exp -8 to maintain the photon interference to less than 10 count/s. The light trap uses triple reflections to keep most of the light passing through the entrance slit away from the sensitive area of the spectrometer. It is shown that the average reflectance of all the internal surfaces must be less than 0.006, which is consistent with the data on the black coating applied to all surfaces. The analysis makes it possible to compare the photon contributions of each of the internal reflecting areas and to estimate the effective scattering width of the metallic electrode edge.

Herrero, Federico A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Effects of acute exercise on attenuated vagal baroreflex function during bed rest

We measured carotid baroreceptor-cardiac reflex responses in six healthy men, 24 h before and 24 h after a bout of leg exercise during 6 deg head-down bed rest to determine if depressed vagal baroreflex function associated with exposure to microgravity environments could be reversed by a single exposure to acute intense exercise. Baroreflex responses were measured before bed rest and on day 7 of bed rest. An exercise bout consisting of dynamic and isometric actions of the quadriceps at graded speeds and resistances was performed on day 8 of bed rest and measurements of baroreflex response were repeated 24 h later. Vagally-mediated cardiac responses were provoked with ramped neck pressure-suction sequences comprising pressure elevations to +40 mm Hg, followed by serial, R-wave triggered 15 mm Hg reductions, to -65 mm Hg. Baroreceptor stimulus-cardiac response relationships were derived by plotting each R-R interval as a function of systolic pressure less the neck chamber pressure applied during the interval. Compared with pre-bed rest baseline measurements, 7 d of bed rest decreased the gain (maximum slope) of the baroreflex stimulus-response relationship by 16.8 +/- 3.4 percent (p less than 0.05). On day 9 of bed rest, 24 h after exercise, the maximum slope of the baroreflex stimulus-response relationship was increased (p less than 0.05) by 10.7 +/- 3.7 percent above pre-bed rest levels and 34.3 +/- 7.9 percent above bed rest day 7. Our data verify that vagally-mediated baroreflex function is depressed by exposure to simulated microgravity and demonstrate that this effect can be acutely reversed by exposure to a single bout of intense exercise.

Convertino, Victor A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Shock attenuation at the Slate Islands revisited

This study of a more extensive suite of Slate Islands samples confirms previous interpretations. It indicates clearly that recorded shock pressures, as determined by planar deformation feature orientations, increased towards the center. The 'shock center' is very close (considering the structural movements during cavity modification) to that from an independent determination from shatter cone orientations. Shock metamorphism at a higher level in breccia clasts than in the adjacent country rocks is evidence that the shock event preceded the formation of the breccia dikes. These observations, which are consistent with those at other impact structures, are all contrary to the interpretation by Sage that breccia dike formation by diatreme action was the source of the shock event. There is no plausible reason to consider the Slate Islands as anything but the emergent portion of the central uplift of a complex impact crater. It cannot be cited as an example of endogenic shock in arguments regarding evidence of impact in the terrestrial stratigraphic record.

Wu, S.↗