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At least 145 records · Page 8

JPL bibliography 39-12

Annotated bibliography of scientific and engineering work performed at JPL up to Aug. 1970

Source record↗

JPL P/N 71 x 12400 etched disc filter

The results are presented of a glass bead test conducted with a JPL P/N 71 x 12400 etched disk filter assembly to determine the largest diameter spherical glass bead that would transmit through the filter assembly. It was found that the largest glass bead transmitted was 16 microns in diameter.

Source record↗

Error analysis for Mariner Venus/Mercury 1973 conducted at the JPL Mesa west antenna range

Theoretical analysis and experimental data are combined to yield the errors to be used with antenna gain, antenna patterns, and RF cable insertion loss measurements for the Mariner Venus-Mercury 1973 Flight Project. These errors apply to measurements conducted at the JPL Mesa, West Antenna Range, on the high gain antenna, low gain antenna, and RF coaxial cables.

Vincent, N. L.↗

Performance testing of thermoelectric generators at JPL

Several thermoelectric generators, ranging in output power from 170 watts to microwatts, are undergoing testing at JPL. They represent a wide range of technologies using advanced PbTe, SiGe and cascaded PbTe and BiTe thermoelectric materials. Several of these generators are of an advanced concept while others are representative of the Nimbus, Transit, Viking and the multi-hundred-watt (MHW) technology. Of interest is the behavior of generators which have been tested for times in excess of 60,000 hours.

Rouklove, P.↗

JPL field measurements at the Finney County, Kansas, test site, October 1976: Ground-based microwave radiometric measurements

Microwave brightness temperature measurements were made as part of the Joint Soil Moisture Experiment. These measurements are reported with a description of the JPL microwave radiometry van facility. The data will be used with ground truth data from the test site and microwave data from aircraft overflights to investigate the potential of microwave radiometry for soil moisture remote sensing under field conditions.

Njoku, E. G.↗

The navigation system of the JPL robot

The control structure of the JPL research robot and the operations of the navigation subsystem are discussed. The robot functions as a network of interacting concurrent processes distributed among several computers and coordinated by a central executive. The results of scene analysis are used to create a segmented terrain model in which surface regions are classified by traversibility. The model is used by a path planning algorithm, PATH, which uses tree search methods to find the optimal path to a goal. In PATH, the search space is defined dynamically as a consequence of node testing. Maze-solving and the use of an associative data base for context dependent node generation are also discussed. Execution of a planned path is accomplished by a feedback guidance process with automatic error recovery.

Thompson, A. M.↗

Tests and evaluation of multihundred watt thermoelectric generators at JPL

The multihundred watt (MHW) thermoelectric generator, based on silicon-germanium thermoelectric technology, delivers a nominal power output of 150 watts with an efficiency of about 6%. The two Voyager space probes each use three such generators assembled in tandem on a boom. A total of seven MHW type thermoelectric generators were tested at JPL in support of the Voyager project. The tests consisted of: (1) parametric evaluation of the electrical characteristics of the devices over a wide range of output voltage for different values of input power, different operating ambients (air, vacuum), and different internal environments (argon, helium, xenon, mixture of these gases, and vacuum) at different pressures to allow evaluation of the influences of both gas and pressure on the performance of the generator; (2) tests to determine the transient behavior of the generators; and (3) operation of the generator in conjunction with the Voyager spacecraft.

Rouklove, P.↗

Modeling of thruster and solar array characteristics in the JPL low-thrust trajectory analysis

Recent advances in thruster and solar array technology have resulted in the possibility of performing many high energy space missions previously considered infeasible. This capability was demonstrated by an extensive study last year of a comet Halley rendezvous mission. In order to perform this extremely high energy mission, several advanced concepts in electric propulsion technology were investigated; notably the use of very high power, lightweight solar arrays which directly powered the beam supply of the electric propulsion thrusters, and the use of solar concentrators on the arrays together with conventional thrusters and power processors. These technology advances have directly impacted the modeling of the solar arrays and thrusters in the programs used in generating low-thrust trajectories. The intent of this paper is to discuss the modeling of the solar arrays and thrusters as employed in the trajectory programs presently being used in low-thrust mission studies at JPL.

Sauer, C. G., Jr.↗

LS47: A DSN station location set compatible with JPL development ephemeris DE108

An updated Deep Space Network station location set, LS47, is presented which is compatible with JPL Development Ephemeris DE108. Analytic procedures for linearly correcting station spin axis and longitude estimates for an ephemeris update based on Brouwer-Clemence Set III parameters are briefly discussed. The validity of this technique is demonstrated by a comparison of a linearly corrected solution with one explicitly determined by reprocessing the data. A mission data base, including Viking 1 and 2 encounter data, is first used to obtain an updated DE96 compatible station location solution, LS46, which in turn is adjusted to form the DE108 solution, LS47. Improved station Z-heights are estimated by using available very long baseline interferometry data. Spin axis differences between LS46 and LS47 are relatively insignificant; however, the ephemeris change introduces a -0.8 x 10 to the -5 power degree rotation in the DE96 longitude ephemeris.

Ellis, J.↗