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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 1,243 records · Page 69
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NASA NTRS1976

Magnetic anomaly map of North America south of 50 degrees north from Pogo data

A magnetic anomaly map produced from Pogo data for North America and adjacent ocean areas is presented. At satellite elevations anomalies have wavelengths measured in hundreds of kilometers, and reflect regional structures on a large scale. Prominent features of the map are: (1) a large east-west high through the mid-continent, breached at the Mississippi Embayment; (2) a broad low over the Gulf of Mexico; (3) a strong gradient separating these features, which follows the Southern Appalachian-Ouachita curvature; and (4) a high over the Antilles-Bahamas Platform which extends to northern Florida. A possible relationship between the high of the mid-continent and the 38th parallel lineament is noted.

Mayhew, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1976

The International Heat Pipe Experiment

On October 4, 1974, the International Heat Pipe Experiment was launched aboard a Black Brant sounding rocket from White Sands, New Mexico. The flight provided six min of near zero gravity during which a total of ten separate heat pipe experiments was performed. The fifteen heat pipes tested represent some of the latest American and European technology. This flight provided the first reported zero gravity data on cryogenic and flat plate vapor chamber heat pipes. Additionally, valuable design and engineering data were obtained on several other heat pipe configurations. The payload and several of its experiments are discussed.

Mcintosh, R.↗
NASA NTRS1976

NASA Symposium 76

New Mexico State University and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration hosted a symposium to promote NASA's efforts to increase the available pool of minority and women scientists and engineers to meet affirmative hiring goals. The conferences also provided an opportunity for key NASA officials to meet with appropriate officials of participating institutions to stimulate greater academic interest (among professors and students) in NASA's research and development programs. Minority aerospace scientists and engineers had opportunity to interact with the minority community, particulary with young people at the junior high, high school, and college levels. One aim was to raise minority community's level of understanding regarding NASA's Regional Distribution System for storage and retrieval of scientific and technical information.

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NASA NTRS1977

Evaluation of performance impairment by spacecraft contaminants

The environmental contaminants (isolated as off-gases in Skylab and Apollo missions) were evaluated. Specifically, six contaminants were evaluated for their effects on the behavior of juvenile baboons. The concentrations of contaminants were determined through preliminary range-finding studies with laboratory rats. The contaminants evaluated were acetone, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), trichloroethylene (TCE), heptane and Freon 21. When the studies of the individual gases were completed, the baboons were also exposed to a mixture of MEK and TCE. The data obtained revealed alterations in the behavior of baboons exposed to relatively low levels of the contaminants. These findings were presented at the First International Symposium on Voluntary Inhalation of Industrial Solvents in Mexico City, June 21-24, 1976. A preprint of the proceedings is included.

Geller, I.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Pyroxene-spinel intergrowths in lunar and terrestrial pyroxenes

The paper describes the oriented intergrowth of spinel and pyroxene in a pigeonite from Luna 20, an augite from Apollo 16 anorthosite 67075, and an orthopyroxene from a spinel lherzolite nodule from the San Quintin volcanic field, Mexico. Using Mo K alpha radiation, photographs were taken of small, hand-picked single-crystals. A mechanism of exsolution is suggested in which the oxygen framework remains intact and spinel nuclei are formed by the migration of cations from interstitial sites and tetrahedral sites in the original non-stoichiometric pyroxene.

Okamura, F. P.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Measurement of the nitric oxide altitude distribution in the mid-latitude mesosphere

A simple rocket-borne system has been developed for deriving nitric oxide concentration in the mesosphere from measurements of resonantly scattered solar ultraviolet radiation in the NO gamma band near 2150 A. The NO signal is extracted from a background of Rayleigh-scattered light by a direct measurement of this scattered light by use of an NO absorption cell. This system was utilized to measure the NO concentration above White Sands, New Mexico, in the altitude range from 69 to 101 km. The derived NO profile shows a concentration of about 30 million per cu cm at 67 and 100 km with a deep valley (more than an order of magnitude less) at about 84 km. Comparison with model calculations indicates that the time constant for NO chemistry is smaller than or comparable with that for transport.

Baker, K. D.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Wind estimates from cloud motions - Results from Phases I, II and III of an in situ aircraft verification experiment

An experiment is in progress to verify geostationary-satellite-derived cloud-motion wind estimates by in-situ aircraft wind-velocity measurements. One or more low-level aircraft equipped with Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) were used to define the vertical extent and horizontal motion of a cloud and to measure the ambient wind field. A high-level aircraft, also equipped with an INS, took photographs to describe the horizontal extent of the cloud field and to measure cloud motion. To date the experiment has been conducted over tropical oceans and in the western Gulf of Mexico. A total of 60 h have been spent tracking some 40 tropical cumulus and five cirrus clouds. Results for tropical cumulus clouds indicate excellent agreement between the cloud motion and the wind at cloud base. The magnitude of the vector difference between the cloud motion and the cloud-base wind is less than 1.3 m/s for 67% of the cases with track lengths of 1 h or longer. Similarly, the vector differences between the cloud motion and the wind at sub-cloud (150 m), mid-cloud, and cloud-top levels are 1.5, 3.6 and 7.0 m/s, respectively. The cirrus cloud motions agreed best with the mean wind in the cloud layer with a vector difference of about 1.6 m/s.

Hasler, A. F.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Surface temperatures and temperature gradient features of the US Gulf Coast waters

Satellite thermal infrared data on the Gulf of Mexico show that a seasonal cycle exists in the horizontal surface temperature structure. In the fall, the surface temperatures of both coastal and deep waters are nearly uniform. With the onset of winter, atmospheric cold fronts, which are accompanied by dry, low temperature air and strong winds, draw heat from the sea. A band of cooler water forming on the inner shelf expands, until a thermal front develops seaward along the shelf break between the cold shelf waters and the warmer deep waters of the Gulf. Digital analysis of the satellite data was carried out in an interactive mode using a minicomputer and software. A time series of temperature profiles illustrates the temporal and spatial changes in the sea-surface temperature field.

Huh, O. K.↗
NASA NTRS1978

DOE/NASA Mod-0A wind turbine performance

Design and operation of a large wind turbine at Clayton, New Mexico is reported. This is the first of three identical 200 kW wind turbines to be operated on electric utility networks. A comparison between its predicted and measured power versus wind speed performance is presented.

Richards, T. R.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Applications of Seasat to the offshore oil, gas and mining industries

The NASA satellite Seasat-A (to be launched in 1978) has applications to the offshore oil, gas, and mining industries including: (1) improvements in weather and wave forecasting, (2) studies of past wind and wave statistics for planning design requirements, and (3) monitoring ice formation, breakup, and movement in arctic regions. The primary geographic areas which will be monitored by Seasat-A include: the Beaufort Sea, the Labrador Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. east coast, West Africa, Equatorial East Pacific, the Gulf of Alaska, and the North Sea. Seasat-A instrumentation used in ocean monitoring consists of a radar altimeter, a radar scatterometer, a synthetic aperture radar, a microwave radiometer, and a visible and infrared radiometer. The future outlook of the Seasat program is planned in three phases: measurement feasibility demonstration (1978-1980), data accessibility/utility demonstration (1980-1983), and operational system demonstration (1983-1985).

Mourad, A. G.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Four new iron meteorite finds

Four new iron meteorites are described: Buenaventura (IIIB) from Chihuahua, Mexico: mass 114 kg; Denver City (anomalous) from Texas, USA: mass 26.1 kg; Kinsella (IIIB) from Alberta, Canada: mass 3.7 kg; and Tacoma (IA) from Washington, USA: mass 17 g. Denver City is unique - i.e., not related to any other known iron. Tacoma is the smallest iron meteorite recorded. The meteorites were initially discovered in 1969, 1975, 1946, and between 1925 and 1932, respectively.

Scott, E. R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Advanced spacecraft tracking techniques using the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System /TDRSS/

The TDRSS will consist initially of two geosynchronous satellites and a common ground station at White Sands, New Mexico. According to current schedules, operations are to begin in November 1980. The overall TDRSS will provide high and low bit-rate telemetry, commands, and satellite-to-satellite tracking services. Each Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) will have four antenna systems for NASA use. The common ground station at White Sands will have three 18-meter K-band antennas. The tracking equipment at the ground station is required to meet the following specifications: (1) 0.1-radian root-mean-square (rms) phase noise on nondestruct Doppler measurements; (2) 10-nanosecond rms range noise; (3) 50-nanosecond maximum systematic range error. Attention is given to two-way range and Doppler measurements, the bilateration tracking of TDRS, and an experiment using differenced one-way Doppler measurements.

Teles, J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Midlatitude oxygen ultraviolet nightglow

A rocket-borne spectrometer measured the weak UV nightglow from 1240 to 1670 A in the altitude range 180-345 km above White Sands, New Mexico. Detection of nightglow emissions at the atomic oxygen lines (1304 and 1356 A) confirmed the existence of a weak midlatitude oxygen nightglow similar to the tropical airglow. Radiative recombination appeared to be the principal cause of the peak observed intensities of the atomic oxygen line emissions, though a maximum 25% contribution from mutual neutralization of O(+) and O(-) could also be contemplated. Partial radiative recombination coefficients are derived from the data.

Brune, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Spectrum of a fast sporadic meteor

The spectrum of a fast (63 km/s) sporadic meteor for which altitude and orbit data are available is reported. The -6 mag meteor occurred on January 5, 1976, over southern New Mexico. Fifty features have been identified in the spectrum. The spectrum is essentially identical to that of Perseid meteors of similar brightness. It is shown that heavy-particle collisions do not dominate bright meteor spectra lacking time resolution. Low-energy electron excitation of Ca II is strongly indicated in the wake to such an extent as to strongly affect spectra of this type lacking time resolution.

Harvey, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Tropospheric ozone distributions measured with an airborne laser absorption spectrometer

Measurements of tropospheric ozone have been made in the southern and middle California regions and over the Pacific Ocean during two series of flights in February and May 1977. The data were obtained by using a laser absorption spectrometer, a nadir-viewing instrument which remotely measures the ozone column abundance between ground level and aircraft altitude by interacting with ozone at specific wavelengths near 9.5 microns. The measurements indicate significantly lower ozone abundances above the Mojave Desert region as compared with farm, forest, and urban areas. The average tropospheric column density was found to be 0.0027 atm cm/km over the California region and 0.0035 atm cm/km over the Pacific Ocean region 1000-2000 km west of the coast of Mexico.

Menzies, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Cost analysis of hot-air solar-heating systems

Report describes results of study of two operational test sites (Huntsville, Alabama and Carlsbad, New Mexico) furnishing stimates of actual costs and potential cost savings of new and retrofit hot-air solar heating and hot-water system for single family dwellings.

Hawkins, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A 200-kW wind turbine generator conceptual design study

A conceptual design study was conducted to define a 200 kW wind turbine power system configuration for remote applications. The goal was to attain an energy cost of 1 to 2 cents per kilowatt-hour at a 14-mph site (mean average wind velocity at an altitude of 30 ft.) The costs of the Clayton, New Mexico, Mod-OA (200-kW) were used to identify the components, subsystems, and other factors that were high in cost and thus candidates for cost reduction. Efforts devoted to developing component and subsystem concepts and ideas resulted in a machine concept that is considerably simpler, lighter in weight, and lower in cost than the present Mod-OA wind turbines. In this report are described the various innovations that contributed to the lower cost and lighter weight design as well as the method used to calculate the cost of energy.

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