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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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A payload retention concept that may be utilized on Space Shuttle missions is investigated. This concept appears to embody all the desirable features for the very demanding requirements for space flight. Desirable features include light weight, low cost, high reliability, excellent load distribution, versatility, and insensitivity to critical alignment.
Data from the scientific payload, OSTA 1, is available. Images of the Earth's surface taken from the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A were processed, and can be obtained in the form of photographic prints, negatives, or positive transparencies. Magnetic tapes containing data for the ocean color experiment and the Shuttle multispectral infrared radiometer are also available.
Acoustic data collected inside the payload bay and over the exterior of the orbiter collected during the third launch (STS 3) were analyzed and evaluated.
The algorithm used in the reel maneuver was refined so as to develop a workable pre-release maneuver with particular emphasis on accounting for propagation delay and the dynamics of the tether itself in order to release the payload with no loss of tension along the wire.
Flight events for the OSTA-1 scientific payload on the second flight of the Space Shuttle, STS-2 are described. Data acquisition is summarized. A discussion of problems encountered and a preliminary evaluation of data quality is also provided.
Payload mission integration is summarized. Activities and achievements for Spacelab OSTA and OSS are discussed.
The coupled base motion equations of a system composed of a launch vehicle and several payloads are derived. In previous work it was shown how the special form of these equations allow for a quick and accurate solution both for the response and the loads of the system. In this paper a short-cut version of this direct integration technique is presented and evaluated. The result is a method which, depending on the nature of the structure at hand, vasilates between a full-scale coupled base motion approach and an open loop base drive method. Although completely general, the presented technique is most effective when the number of interface degrees of freedom is relatively small compared to the overall number of degrees of freedom of the system. The S.T.S.-S.T.-O.M.S. Kit system is used as an illustrative example.
Spacelab missions 1 to 3, OSTA partial payloads, Astro-1 mission, premission definition, and mission peculiar equipment support structure are discussed.
An overview of the APOC is given. For Spacelab payloads channel 2 and 3 data are input via a Statistical Multiplexer (SM) to the various SIPS functions. These include recording of the data on High Density Recorders (HDR), DQM and demultiplexing of the composite data stream by the High Rate Demultiplexer (HRDM). This system performs the inverse functions of the onboard Spacelab High Rate Multiplexer (HRM) enabling access to the data streams as multiplexed onboard the Spacelab. The contents and characteristics of channels one, two and three data as downlinked by the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) ku-band are given.
SPACELAB missions 1 to 3, OSTA partial payloads, Astro-1 mission, premission definition, and a middeck electronics module are summarized.
A management overview of the Attached Payload Operations Center (APOC) functional requirements and design are presented. The rationale for developing the APOC concept and the assumptions utilized are presented. A summary of the concept complete with major functional areas and associated data flows is provided. The attributes of this concept are formalized and the necessary resources needed for its development and operation presented.
Entry heating flight data and wind tunnel data on the side fuselage and payload bay door, Z = 400 and 440 trace aft of X/L=0.2, for the first five flights of the Space Shuttle Orbiter are presented. The heating rate data are reviewed in terms of normalized film heat transfer coefficients as a function of angle of attack, Mach number, and normal shock Reynolds number. The surface heatings rates and temperatures were obtained by the JSC NONLIN/INVERSE computer program. Time history plots of the surface heating rates and temperatures are outlined.
Flight data from the Space Shuttle missions STS-1 through STS-5 have been evaluated to assess the Orbiter payload bay low-frequency loads and dynamics. An overview of external loading environments for lift-off is presented and a summary of landing impact conditions is given. Accelerometer data at various Orbiter locations are presented and comparisons are made with analytical predictions. The measured accelerations at lift-off for the STS-2 through STS-5 missions were very repeatable and much lower than those of STS-1 because of the reduction of solid rocket booster overpressure loading on the Shuttle. The environments for the quasi-static conditions were below design requirements for all flights. The landing conditions and responses for STS-3 were near limit but nominal on the other flights. Comparisons are made with frequency content of analytical and test data. The primary emphasis of this assessment was to verify the adequacy of Space Transportation System design load environments to envelop flight responses.
The Research Animal Holding Facility, developed to support rodent and squirrel monkey animal husbandry in the Spacelab environment, is to be tested during the Spacelab Mission 3 flight. The configuration and function of the payload hardware elements, the assembly and test program, the operational rationale, and the scientific approach of this mission are examined. Topics covered include animal life support systems, the squirrel monkey restraint, the camera-mirror system, the dynamic environment measurement system, the biotelemetry system, and the ground support equipment. Consideration is also given to animal pretests, loading the animals during their 12 hour light cycle, and animal early recovery after landing. This mission will be the first time that relatively large samples of monkeys and rats will be flown in space and also cared for and observed by man.
In November 1981 the first scientific payload was carried on board the second flight of the Space Shuttle. The principal instrument on that flight was a synthetic aperture radar. This paper is concerned with the operational concepts developed to achieve the objective of terrestrial geologic mapping by radar from earth orbit for this mission. Computer software was developed as an aid to mission design prior to the mission and as a replanning tool used during the mission: The first step in the development of software for future missions where such tools will become indispensable to meet the apparently contradictory objectives of complex observations and low cost.
Various operational aspects of the Spacelab 1 mission are reviewed by the four payload crew members. Two-shift operations, voice communication with ground investigators, joint participation in experiment activity, Spacelab performance, and recent advances are discussed.
The needs of an aggressive commercial microgravity program are identified, space missions are defined, and infrastructural issues are identified and analyzed. A commercial laboratory, commerce lab, is conceived to be one or more an array of carriers which would fly aboard the space shuttle and accommodate microgravity science experiment payloads. Commerce lab is seen as a logical transition between currently planned space shuttle missions and future microgravity missions centered around the space station.
The objectives of the commerce lab mission analysis and payload integration study are discussed. A mission model which accommodates commercial users and provides a basic data base for future mission planning is described. The data bases developed under this study include: (1) user requirements; (2) apparatus capabilities and availabilities; and (3) carrier capabilities. These data bases are synthesized in a trades and analysis phase along with the STS flight opportunities. Optimum missions are identified.