Diurnal phase anomaly in the earth's upper atmosphere
Dynamic diffusion concept for calculating diurnal thermospheric temperature characteristics
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Dynamic diffusion concept for calculating diurnal thermospheric temperature characteristics
Analysis of anomalous jettisoning of service module during reentry of Apollo 11
Analysis of propellant sloshing in lunar module during Apollo 14 flight and resultant erroneous indication of low level of propellant
Quantitative determination of umbral increases and penumbral decreases and increases in lunar wake of solar wind flow
Thermal conductivity anomalous behavior prediction for carbon dioxide, argon, nitrogen, oxygen and methane in critical region
Changes in the red tonal response of Kodak Ektrachrome Infrared Aero 8443 film (EIR) are often incorrectly attributed solely to variations in infrared light reflectance of plant leaves, when the primary influence is a difference in visible light reflectance induced by varying chlorophyll contents. Comparisons are made among aerial photographic images of high- and low-chlorophyll foliage. New growth, foot rot, and boron and chloride nutrient toxicites produce low-chlorophyll foliage, and EIR transparency images of light red or white compared with dark-red images of high-chlorophyll foliage. Deposits of the sooty mold fungus that subsists on the honeydew produced by brown soft scale insects, obscure the citrus leaves' green color. Infected trees appear as black images on EIR film transparencies compared with red images of healthy trees.
An experimental investigation of the restart process of an oxygen-Plexiglas hybrid rocket demonstrated that preheating the fuel (as a consequence of a previous ignition and a temporary extinguishment) significantly increases the rate of chamber pressurization and produces regression rate overshoots during reignition. Higher rates of chamber pressurization measured during the restart transient imply faster instantaneous regression rates of the fuel during restart. Transient periods following the initial ignition and the restart after a two-second shutdown were observed for four experimental tests. Thermocouples were embedded in the fuel to record subsurface temperature histories. A mathematical model of the thermal processes in the fuel and the events that occur during an experimental firing was developed to calculate the regression rate transients. Quantitative agreement with experimental results was obtained by making nominal corrections to the calculated convective and radiative heating rates.
Continuity through the circuit breaker in the mechanically closed condition was prevented by a foreign substance on the contact surface onboard Apollo 14. It was concluded that this was the only failure of this type in over 3400 units that were flown, and since no circuit breaker is a single-point failure for crew safety or mission success, no corrective action was taken.
Three rock types are described that produce dark cross-polarized images on Ka-band imagery: lava flows dating from Pleistocene and Holocene, some Tertiary volcanics, and certain massive sandstones. Their planar surfaces are large with respect to the wavelength of the Ka-band system, yet are small in comparison to the resolution. It is found that only outcrops with proper faceted surface orientations produce significant radar returns showing the dominance of specular reflectors. The omnidirectional attitude of the facets and their wide distribution on the outcrops explains the independence of look-direction that the flat-lying anomalous outcrops exhibit in production of darker cross-polarized images.
The command module reaction control system is emptied of all remaining propellant using ground support equipment designed to provide an acid/base neutralization of the propellant in both the liquid and gaseous phases so that it may be disposed of safely. During the deactivation operation of the oxidizer from the Apollo 16 command module on 7 May 1972, the scrubber tank of the decontamination unit exploded, destroying the ground support equipment unit and damaging the building that housed the operation. Only minor injuries were received by the personnel in the area and the command module was not damaged. Test results show that the failure was caused by an insufficient quantity of neutralizer for the quantity of oxidizer. This insufficiency lead to exothermic nitration-type reactions which produced large quantities of gas at a very high rate and failed the decontamination tank.
The observed lack of a high rate of growth in global CO concentration implies that there is some sink mechanism for destroying the CO as rapidly as it is being produced. A program is described which is intended to develop both the experiment concept and the remote sensor required to measure atmospheric CO with sufficient accuracy to locate the sink, whether it be at the earth's surface or in the upper atmosphere. The program calls for the development of a remote sensor which can look for surface sinks by mapping the vertical CO burden in the atmosphere on a daily basis, and which can look for an upper atmospheric sink by means of measurements of total CO in a horizontal path through the limb of the earth's atmosphere, using the sun as the source.
A coordinated rocket program to study winter variability in D-region ionization was conducted at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, during the winter of 1970-1971. Parachute-borne blunt probes that measure positive-ion and electron conductivities were flown, in conjunction with other experiments, on Jan. 22 and 26 and Feb. 1, 1971. Both A1 and A3 radiowave absorption techniques were used to indicate anomalous winter days. The two rocket shots in January occurred on such days of high absorption. The first of these was one of quiet solar activity, whereas the second was preceded by a major solar proton event on January 24. The third flight occurred on a normal winter day. We tentatively conclude that we have observed two days of 'anomalous' winter absorption of very different character, one possibly related to a solar disturbance, and one probably entirely induced by meteorological effects. The former day was probably characterized by inhibition of the formation of negative ions due to increased detachment and the latter by decreased ionization loss rate.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
The report by the Apollo 16 crew that the lunar roving vehicle rear steering was inoperative during the initial drive from the vehicle's deployment site was investigated. The malfunction, and the steering system are described. It is concluded that an open circuit occurred either in the hand controller potentiometer or between the potentiometer wiper and the summing node.
An explosive failure of a ground support equipment decontamination unit tank occurred during the postflight deactivation of the oxidizer (nitrogen tetroxide) portion of the Apollo 16 command module reaction control system. A discussion of the significant aspects of the incident and conclusions are included.
Results are presented of analyses conducted to determine why erroneous data were transmitted by 60 of the 1 sample-per-second telemetry channels of Apollo 17 for a 2-minute period beginning at about 191 hours 40 minutes. Reasons for the failure and corrective actions taken are described.
On the assumption that the compensation for the topographic load is achieved in the manner of Airy-Heiskenenan hypothesis at a compensation depth of 30 kilometers, the spherical harmonic coefficients of the isostatic reduction potential U are computed. The degree power spectra of these coefficients are compared with the power spectra of the isostatic reduction coefficients given by Uotila. Results are presented in tabular form.
Thallium and Pb204 contents were determined by stable-isotope-dilution analysis in 16 chondrites, one achondrite, and Apollo 11 and 12 lunar fines. Meteoritic thallium contents vary over a large range, 0.02 to 100 ppb, corresponding to the fact that thallium is a highly fractionated volatile element. Lunar thallium contents are less than 5 ppb. The Tl205/Tl203 ratio was determined in most of the samples, with precision ranging from 0.03% to several percent depending mainly on the amount of thallium present. No variations from the terrestrial ratio were observed. The chondritic isochron slope for Pb205 (13.8-m.y. half-life) is less than or equal to 0.00009 (99% confidence level), corresponding to an interval of at least 60 m.y. and possibly exceeding 120 m.y. between the termination of s-process nucleosynthesis and the lead-thallium fractionations.