SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Erasable-memory programs designed for guidance computers used in command and lunar modules are presented. The purpose, functional description, assumptions, restrictions, and imitations are given for each program.
A description is given of the flight safety experiences gained during the Apollo Program and safety, from the viewpoint of program management, engineering, mission planning, and ground test operations was discussed. Emphasis is placed on the methods used to identify the risks involved in flight and in certain ground test operations. In addition, there are discussions on the management and engineering activities used to eliminate or reduce these risks.
Spaceflight programs such as the planned Viking landing on Mars require the determination of planetary surface slopes and surface dielectric constants by earth-based methods. Heavy reliance is often placed on radar backscattering data for estimation of these surface properties. An assessment is presented of the basic theory by which the raw radar data are interpreted, and it is shown that serious difficulties and internal inconsistencies are present in the available theoretical formulas. The discussion brings into question the reliability of the presently available results for these surface properties as obtained by earth-based radar methods.
Current status and future NASA plans for the NASTRAN program are presented and discussed. Information is also presented to indicate the extent of NASTRAN use throughout the world.
A concept for a multi-hull weightlifting airship is presented. The concept is based upon experience in the design and handling of gas-filled balloons for commercial purposes, it was first tested in April, 1972. In the flight test, two barrage balloons were joined side-by-side, with an intermediate frame, and launched in captive flight. The success of this flight test led to plans for a development program calling for a powered, piloted prototype, a follow-on 40 ton model, and a 400 ton transport model. All of these airships utilize a tetrehedric three-line tethering method for loading and unloading phases of flight, which bypasses many of the difficulties inherent in the handling of a conventional airship near the ground. Both initial and operating costs per ton of lift capability are significantly less for the subject design than for either helicopters or airships of conventional mono-hull design.
The present status of NASA's remote sensing program and its future plans are reviewed, and some investigations into the possible uses of remotely sensed data are briefly summarized. Landsat-1 photographs are presented to demonstrate how such data can be employed for monitoring and forecasting of agricultural production, for watershed management and flood control, and for mineral exploration. The performance of Landsat-2 and expectations for Landsat-C are evaluated. High-priority problems which should be the driving forces for designing space observation systems for the 1980's are outlined, including the problem of world food supply and the relationship between land use and climatic changes. The design of the modular Landsat-D spacecraft, which will fly a thematic mapper for agricultural observations, is described.
The missions of two NASA satellites for the monitoring of environmental quality are described: Nimbus G, the Air Pollution and Oceanographic Observing Satellite, and the Applications Explorer Mission (AEM) satellite to be used in the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE). The scientific payload of Nimbus G is described in detail with a discussion of limb infrared monitoring of the stratosphere, the stratospheric and mesospheric sounder, stratospheric aerosol measurement, the solar and backscatter UV spectrometer for ozone mapping, the earth radiation budget experiment, the scanning multichannel microwave radiometer, the coastal zone color scanner and the temperature-humidity infrared radiometer. A brief description is given of the SAGE program and future NASA plans relating to the global monitoring of environmental quality are outlined.
An overview of NASA's current planning for a space industrialization program is described as an introduction to the papers on Space Industrialization being presented by Rockwell International Corporation and Science Applications Incorporated. Background information is presented that outlines the integrated planning process which resulted in specific long range goals and objectives being formulated for NASA programs in technology, environment, resources, earth science, communications, space exploration, aeronautics, and an expanded application of space called space industrialization. Program objectives for NASA's Industrialization of Space and studies on potential near term supporting elements (Space Platform, Large Space Structures, Orbital Operations Capabilities Development, Space Manufacturing Module) are discussed.
Long-term plans for future NASA programs are reported, and some of the following topics are discussed in detail: (1) systematic formulation of space scenarios; (2) the basic international context; (3) potential 21st century space developments; (4) space vehicle developments; and (5) future exploration.
Plans for NASTRAN, a program developed and improved over the past 13 years, were outlined in reference to a new capability of level 17. The target release date is given as December 1977 and domestic release will be through COSMIC. As an example of the improved efficiency of NASTRAN level 16, a table of CPU run time comparisons is shown.
Data needs for state natural resources programs, state capabilities for using satellite technology, and the existing remote sensing technology are reviewed. State programs in land use planning, wetlands management, coastal zone management, transportation planning, and forestry management are summarized. Emphasis is placed on the use of LANDSAT imagery.
The purpose of this workshop was to begin the process of definition and development of the SEASAT-A Demonstration Program, leading to the implementation of a set of experiments which would begin during the latter part of 1978 following the launch of SEASAT-A (now scheduled for May 1978). NASA through the SEASAT-A program, has encouraged the planning of cooperative experiments by industry and government agencies that operate in areas of ocean activity that could benefit from improved measurements and forecasts of weather and ocean conditions. The objectives of these experiments are to: (1) evaluate the significance of SEASAT-A data to commercial user organizations; (2) assist in identifying those characteristics of follow-on systems that are important to industrial users; (3) obtain experimental evidence that could be used to refine estimates of the economic potential of an operational system; and (4) begin the technology transfer process to the industrial users.
An overview of the ongoing program is presented. Objectives, plan, schedule, pollution and performance goals, catalyst advantages, present problems, and the present status of identified combustor concepts are discussed. The possible increase in upper atmosphere oxides of nitrogen (NOx) levels due to aircraft number density increases was predicted to adversely decrease ozone concentration levels. A technique for achieving low NOx emission levels was experimentally demonstrated with a lean, premixing prevaporizing flame-tube combustor.
Cost and programmatic elements of the space construction systems analysis study are discussed. The programmatic aspects of the ETVP program define a comprehensive plan for the development of a space platform, the construction system, and the space shuttle operations/logistics requirements. The cost analysis identified significant items of cost on ETVP development, ground, and flight segments, and detailed the items of space construction equipment and operations.
Results from flight tests of the ARW-1 research wing are presented. Preliminary loads data and experiences with the active control system for flutter suppression are included along with comparative results of test and prediction for the flutter boundary of the supercritical research wing and on performance of the flutter suppression system. The status of the ARW-2 research wing is given.
The Thunderstorm Overflight Program is being conducted by NASA, NOAA, and universities to evaluate the feasibility of making meaningful measurements of lightning parameters from an orbiting platform above thunderstorms. A NASA instrumented U-2 high-altitude research aircraft was used during the summer of 1979 and spring of 1980 to collect data over the tops of the thunderstorms while ground-based measurements were being made simultaneously. Test sites at Langmuir Laboratory, Socorro, N. Mex., and the National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Okla. were used for this program. Additional flights are planned for the spring and summer of 1981. Data from the NASA U-2 flights will also be used to interpret measurements made during the Nighttime/Daytime Optical Survey Lightning Experiment to be flown on the Space Shuttle in late 1981.
This paper briefly reviews the land mobile market and discusses services that might be provided by hybrid terrestrial/land mobile satellite systems (T/LMSS). In view of the expected urban/suburban patterns of planned terrestrial systems it is suggested that a satellite may prove a cost-effective complement to terrestrial systems for serving thinly populated or large geographical areas. A basic Land Mobile Satellite Service (LMSS) is described, example applications are provided, and the status and rationale for LMSS frequencies in the 806-890 MHz band is given. Next, examples are given of NASA supported land mobile satellite experiments and a preliminary T/LMSS work plan, part of an overall Narrowband Program, is presented for structuring future work. The initiation of the T/LMSS plan depends on pending management/budget decisions. The report closes with a listing of issues and potential problem areas, the solutions of which NASA believes are critical to the success of the proposed T/LMSS effort.
An overview of the developments and direction of the USSR Space Life Sciences Program is given. Highlights of launches, program development, and mission planning are given. Results of ground-based research and space flight studies are summarized. Topics covered include: space medicine and physiology; space biology; and life sciences technology.