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NASA NTRS1979

An interim report on the NTS-2 solar cell experiment

Data obtained from the fourteen solar cell modules on the NTS-2 satellite are presented together with a record of panel temperature and sun inclination. The following flight data are discussed: (1) state of the art solar cell configurations which embody improvements in solar cell efficiency through new silicon surface and bulk technology, (2) improved coverslip materials and coverslip bonding techniques, (3) short and long term effects of ultraviolet rejection filters vs. no filters on the cells, (4) degradation on a developmental type of liquid epitaxy gallium-aluminum-arsenide solar cell, and (5) space radiation effects.

Statler, R. L.↗

NASA NTRS1978

DOE/NASA Mod-OA wind turbine performance

The NASA Lewis Research Center has designed, built, and is operating a 200-kW wind turbine (designated the Mod-OA-1) at Clayton, New Mexico. This paper compares the measured power-vs-speed performance of the Mod-OA-1 with predictions made using the PROP code. It is found that the actual performance closely matches predictions.

Richards, T. R.↗

NASA NTRS1978

In-flight gyro drift rate calibration on the Viking Orbiters

The drift rates of the attitude control gyros on the Viking Orbiters were calibrated several times in flight. The process by which these rates were estimated as functions of time is novel for a space flight project, although relatively standard estimation techniques were used. The process is described fully and the results obtained from the twelve Viking single-axis gyros are analyzed. Although the possibility was explored, no significantly repeatable function of drift rate vs time or temperature was discovered; the overall mean was found to predict drift rate with acceptable accuracy.

Breckenridge, W. G.↗

NASA NTRS1977

A GSTDN/TDRSS compatible RF system for the Solar Maximum Mission /SMM/

The Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) is a major NASA observatory to be launched in late 1979. SMM will be supported by NASA's existing Ground Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (GSTDN) and the planned Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Design of a GSTDN/TDRSS compatible RF system for SMM poses multiple problems related to the complex nature of the observatory command, telemetry, and tracking support requirements and the fundamental differences in signal design, antenna characteristics, data rates, and link performance criteria for GSTDN vs. TDRSS support. The RF system described in this paper achieves full compatibility with a minimum of hardware complexity by use of an integrated antenna system, the NASA standard S-Band transponder, and utilization of both the single access and multiple access support capabilities of the TDRSS to handle both real time data and tape recorder dumps.

Heffernan, P. J.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Experimental and theoretical examples of the value and limitations of transition state theory

Value and limitations of transition-state theory (TST) are reviewed. TST analyses of the temperature dependence of the 'direct' reactions CH3 + CH3CHO yields CH4 + CH3CO(1) and O + CH4 yields OH + CH3(2) are presented in detail, and other examples of TST usefulness are recalled. Limitations are discussed for bimolecular processes in terms of 'complex' vs. 'direct' mechanisms. The reaction OH + CO yields CO2 + H is discussed in this context. Limitations for unimolecular processes seem to arise only for simple bond fission processes, and recent advances are noted.

Golden, D. M.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Comparison of projected critical currents in PbMo6S8 and Nb3Ge

Critical current densities, Jc, of sputtered Chevrel phase PbMo6S8 films have been measured as a function of field to 19 T at several temperatures. The pinning forces were found to obey a scaling law. Assuming an effective upper critical field Bc2 = 45 T, an effective critical temperature Tc = 13 K, together with empirical estimates of numerical factors in the scaling law, the upper limits for critical current density Jc in PbMo6S8 are estimated. Comparisons are made with estimates of Jc for Nb3Ge at 4.2 K. A crossover of Jc vs. B is found for B of the order of 25 to 30 T. Below this point, Nb3Ge is projected to have a higher critical current density. Thus practical use of Chevrel materials in high field magnets only appears to be competitive with Nb3Ge for fields above 25 to 30 T.

Alterovitz, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Isentropic decompression of fluids from crustal and mantle pressures

Criteria are derived according to which the flow of single-phase magmatic fluids and the rarefaction expansion of low-viscosity liquids and gases may be considered approximately isentropic. Graphs of entropy vs. density with contours of constant pressure and mass fraction are used to examine the possible thermodynamic histories of H2O and CO2 decompressing isentropically from crustal and upper mantle pressures; these graphs offer a simple visual representation of a number of thermodynamic variables involved in isentropic processes. It is shown how the graphs can be used to examine the behavior of volatiles that (1) ascend in volcanic systems originating at different depths within the earth, and (2) decompress from a shock Hugoniot state. Entropy-density graphs are presented separately for H2O and CO2.

Kieffer, S. W.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Origin and history of the adcumulate eucrite, Moama as inferred from REE abundances, Sm-Nd and U-Pb systematics

The abundances of Sm-Nd and U-Pb isotopes and of rare earth elements (REE) in Moama cumulate eucrite were investigated. The Sm-Nd data plotted on a Nd-143/Nd-144 vs Sm-147/Nd-144 evolution diagram define a line with a slope corresponding to an age of 4.58 plus or minus 0.05 billion years and an initial Nd-143/Nd-144 ratio of about 0.50684. Moama was found to contain the lowest overall trivalent REE abundances, the most light REE-depleted abundance pattern, and largest positive Eu anomaly of any eucrite yet studied. The REE data indicate that Moama could have been derived by about 1 to 5% fractional crystallization from a liquid with REE contents similar to Juvinas, or about 20 to 30% fractional crystallization from a Sioux County-like liquid. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that the Moama, Serra de Mage, and Moore county cumulate meteorites could have been derived from the same parent liquid. Results of the U-Th-Pb study indicate that the majority of the Pb in Moama is of terrestrial origin, and suggest that the meteorite has undergone a minor thermal event causing re-equilibration of the U-Pb system.

Hamet, J.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Evidence for the constancy of the solar cosmic ray flux over the past ten million years - Mn-53 and Al-26 measurements

Mn-53 and Al-26 activities have been measured in fourteen samples carefully ground from the upper 1.5 cm of rock 68815 to discern whether the magnitude and shape of the solar cosmic ray (SCR) flux in the last 2 m.y. has differed from the recent SCR flux and that averaged over the last 10 m.y. Results yield no evidence that the SCR flux has varied among these time intervals. Assuming the appropriate erosion rates, the measured profiles of rock 68815 (with a 2 m.y. surface exposure) and of rocks 12002 and 14321 (saturated with respect to Mn-53 and Al-26) can all be fit with the SCR parameters of R sub zero = 100 MV and J = 70 protons/sq cm/sec (4 pi, energy greater than 10 MeV). The measured profiles of 68815 and 14310 are incompatible with the short surface exposure age (less than 3 m.y.) proposed for 14310 on the basis of track studies. Activity vs. depth profiles for three different faces of 68815, show surface activities nearly independent of sample inclination.

Kohl, C. P.↗

NASA NTRS1978

A new color correlation method applied to XRF Al/Si ratios and other lunar remote sensing data

Orbital X-ray fluorescence Al/Si intensity ratios, corrected for variations in solar activity, are correlated with normal albedo, elevation measurements from laser altimetry data, and gamma ray data in the 2.75-8.60 MeV range. Each of these data sets is placed into a digital array consisting of 1/4 deg latitude by 1/4 deg longitude pixels. Information relative to the correlation of Al/Si ratios with each of the other data sets is presented in the following forms: (1) histograms are given for each data set to show the frequency distribution within the areas of common coverage; (2) density plots are produced from the plot of a two-dimensional array consisting of the Al/Si ratio vs the other parameter value for each pixel; and (3) color correlation maps are produced by placing the two-dimensional array into a 3 x 3 matrix consisting of nine equal subarrays containing an equal number of data points.

Clark, P. E.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Size-frequency distributions of primary and secondary lunar impact craters

The graphs of diameter vs frequency plotted in the present study for primary impact craters produced in four time intervals exhibit an appreciable change in form with age. A deficiency of small craters relative to an extrapolation from the large-diameter parts of the curves is greatest and extends to the largest sizes in the oldest population (pre-Nectarian), whose curve approximates a log-normal form. Successively younger populations (Nectarian, Imbrian, Copernican plus Eratosthenian) have successively more small craters relative to larger ones and more nearly log-log distributions. Many of the craters thought to be small old primaries are here identified as secondary craters of basins, on the basis of previously developed criteria.

Wilhelms, D. E.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Energy and mass distributions of impact ejecta blankets on the moon and Mercury

The paper applies previously calculated impact-induced flow fields (O'Keefe and Ahrens, 1977) resulting from interaction of 5-cm radius gabbroic anorthosite impactor with a half-space of the same material, at various velocities, to obtain mass and energy ejecta distributions. Whereas earlier results described the ejecta distribution from a 15 km/s impact of an iron object on the moon in terms of mass vs. distance, the present results describe, at a given distance from the impact, the energy content as a function of depth, i.e., the thermal structure of ejecta blankets. Pertinent computational methods are included, and several tables and plots supplement the text.

Ahrens, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1979

A survey of interstellar C I - Insights on carbon abundances, UV grain albedos, and pressures in the interstellar medium

Interstellar atomic carbon has been sampled over 33 different paths with visual extinctions ranging from about 0.15 to 1.5 mag. The trend of C I vs different forms of hydrogen is found to be steep and somewhat erratic. It is concluded that the observed behavior can be explained by strong differences in the responses of C I, H I, and H2 equilibria to physical conditions, together with marked variations of these conditions within different interstellar clouds.

Jenkins, E. B.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Total electron content and F-region electron density distribution near the magnetic equator in India

Total electron content derived from the group delay measurements of ATS-6 radio beacons received at Ootacamund (India) are compared with the electron-density vs height distributions derived from the ionosonde data of the nearby station Kodaikanal. The daily variation of equivalent vertical total electron content does not show the midday bite out which is so prominently present in the corresponding daily variation of the maximum F-region electron density. The topside electron content continues to increase from sunrise to a maximum value around 1500 LT, while the bottomside electron content reaches a maximum value around 0500 LT. Daily variations of these as well as other parameters, e.g. the vertical slab thickness, the bottomside semi-thickness, the height of the F2 peak have been also studied for a geomagnetically quiet and a disturbed day.

Rastogi, R. G.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Solar variability and terrestrial weather

The present review article indicates that the past four years have been very active in the field of sun-weather research in the U.S. Some quite specific questions which have arisen from recent research include the time variation of the VAL vs SB effect; the nature of the clear-air electric field; the relationship of the ionospheric potential to thunderstorm formation; and the constancy of the solar 'constant' both in terms of the total luminosity on the climatic time scale and for near UV radiation on the time scale of days to 11 years.

Scherrer, P. H.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Some observations on four current subjects related to aeroelastic stability

After introductory comments on the literature and the purposes of this paper, a table is presented summarizing the author's views on some currently solved vs partially unsolved problems related to aeroelastic stability. The term 'solved' is used in the practical sense that engineers are able to cope confidently with that problem during the process of structural design. Selected entries in the table are reviewed, partially to motivate the topics in the rest of the paper. The 'four current subjects' are chosen both for timeliness and because they are among the ongoing interests of the Stanford group. The first involves the prediction of linearized unsteady aerodynamic loads due to arbitrary motions of streamlined shapes. Some contributions by Edwards are refined, which were motivated by the requirements of active control system design. The second subject is nonlinear unsteady aerodynamics for the transonic regime. After describing a few useful developments from locally-linear theory and computational fluid dynamics, there is suggested an empirical procedure for interim-analysis purposes. The third and fourth subjects concern recent discoveries regarding the aeroelastic stability of large-aspect-ratio wings and wind turbines. The former work is mainly that of Petre and Boyd. The latter includes some of the author's own preliminary discoveries about the performance and dynamics of vertical-axis machines.

Ashley, H.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Optimization of multiple flyby trajectories

A procedure has been developed which minimizes total delta-V (instantaneous velocity change) for a multiple flyby trajectory with constraints on flyby altitude and orientation. The solution is found by varying the locations of maneuver points between each flyby to minimize the delta-Vs at the maneuver points. Each trajectory segment connecting consecutive maneuver points is found by solving an N-body analog to Lambert's problem. Multiconic techniques are used for trajectory propagation and for computation of the state transition matrix. The constrained parameter optimization problem is converted to an unconstrained problem by means of penalty functions and then solved with a quasi-Newton algorithm utilizing analytic first derivatives. This procedure has been successfully applied to Galileo satellite tour trajectories.

Damario, L. A.↗

NASA NTRS1979

On exosubsets and internal models

Consideration is given to the internal model principle for linear multivariable regulators. The paper examines the possibility of directly constructing a suitable exosubset of regulator states from elementary dynamical descriptions of plant, exosystem, and controller on the basis of quotient set representation of exosystem states. It is found that exosubset existence is a nontrivial question; the importance of product vs coproduct state descriptions for the regulator is emphasized.

Sain, M. K.↗