Basics of Space Flight
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Preface Patrick Besha, Editor Alexander Macdonald, Editor in The
EARLY DRAFT - NASAWATCH.COM/SPACEREF.COM Preface Patrick Besha, Editor Alexander MacDonald, Editor In the next decade, NASA will seek to expand humanity’s presence in space beyond the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit to a new habitation platform orbiting the moon. By the late 2020’s, astronauts will live and work far deeper in space than ever before. The push to cis-lunar orbit is part of a stepping-stone approach to extend our reach to Mars and beyond. This decision to explore ever farther destinations is a familiar pattern in the history of American space exploration. Another major pattern with historical precedent is the transition from public sector exploration to private sector commercialization. After the government has developed and demonstrated a capability in space, whether it be space-based communications or remote sensing, the private sector has realized its market potential. As new companies establish a presence, the government withdraws from the market. In 2015, we are once again at a critical stage in the development of space. The most successful long-term human habitation in space, orbiting the Earth continuously since 1998, is the International Space Station. Currently at the apex of its capabilities and the pinnacle of state-of-the-art space systems, it was developed through the investments and labors of over a dozen nations and is regularly re-supplied by cargo delivery services. Its occupants include six astronauts and numerous other organisms from Earth’s ecosystems from bacteria to plants to rats. Research is conducted on the spacecraft from hundreds of organizations worldwide ranging from academic institutions to large industrial companies and from high-tech start-ups to high-school science classes. -
Preparation of Papers for AIAA Technical Conferences
DUKSUP: A Computer Program for High Thrust Launch Vehicle Trajectory Design & Optimization Spurlock, O.F.I and Williams, C. H.II NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, 44135 From the late 1960’s through 1997, the leadership of NASA’s Intermediate and Large class unmanned expendable launch vehicle projects resided at the NASA Lewis (now Glenn) Research Center (LeRC). One of LeRC’s primary responsibilities --- trajectory design and performance analysis --- was accomplished by an internally-developed analytic three dimensional computer program called DUKSUP. Because of its Calculus of Variations-based optimization routine, this code was generally more capable of finding optimal solutions than its contemporaries. A derivation of optimal control using the Calculus of Variations is summarized including transversality, intermediate, and final conditions. The two point boundary value problem is explained. A brief summary of the code’s operation is provided, including iteration via the Newton-Raphson scheme and integration of variational and motion equations via a 4th order Runge-Kutta scheme. Main subroutines are discussed. The history of the LeRC trajectory design efforts in the early 1960’s is explained within the context of supporting the Centaur upper stage program. How the code was constructed based on the operation of the Atlas/Centaur launch vehicle, the limits of the computers of that era, the limits of the computer programming languages, and the missions it supported are discussed. The vehicles DUKSUP supported (Atlas/Centaur, Titan/Centaur, and Shuttle/Centaur) are briefly described. The types of missions, including Earth orbital and interplanetary, are described. The roles of flight constraints and their impact on launch operations are detailed (such as jettisoning hardware on heating, Range Safety, ground station tracking, and elliptical parking orbits). -
So, Has Voyager 1 Left the Solar System? Scientists Face Off Cosmic-Ray Fluctuations Could Mean the Craft Has Exited the Sun's Magnetic Field
NATURE | NEWS So, has Voyager 1 left the Solar System? Scientists face off Cosmic-ray fluctuations could mean the craft has exited the Sun's magnetic field. Ron Cowen 21 March 2013 A space physicist this week suggests that NASA’s venerable Voyager 1 spacecraft has become the first vehicle to venture beyond the heliosphere — the magnetic bubble created by the Sun — but other mission scientists disagree. William Webber of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces bases the claim on signals recorded last August by the Voyager 1 cosmic-ray subsystem — a device that he helped to build — along with his late colleague and study co-author Francis McDonald. JPL-Caltech/NASA Voyager 1 recorded a sudden drop in cosmic rays The instrument recorded a dramatic drop in the intensity of the cosmic rays trapped last August, a possible sign that it had left the in the Sun’s magnetic field and a concomitant rise in that of rays generated by more Sun's sphere of influence. distant reaches of the Galaxy. That pattern indicates that Voyager 1 has travelled beyond the Sun’s magnetic influence and is no longer being shielded from galactic cosmic rays, the researchers report in a study published online this week in Geophysical Research Letters1. But if one is to believe a press release issued by NASA on 20 March (the same day the report was published), the two researchers jumped the gun. Other Voyager scientists who analysed the same data last autumn reiterate what they said then: the cosmic-ray data indicate that Voyager 1 is in a transition zone within the outer part of the heliosphere, but until a dramatic change in magnetic-field intensity and direction is detected, the craft remains firmly within the Sun’s magnetic sphere of influence. -
General Disclaimer One Or More of The
General Disclaimer One or more of the Following Statements may affect this Document This document has been reproduced from the best copy furnished by the organizational source. It is being released in the interest of making available as much information as possible. This document may contain data, which exceeds the sheet parameters. It was furnished in this condition by the organizational source and is the best copy available. This document may contain tone-on-tone or color graphs, charts and/or pictures, which have been reproduced in black and white. This document is paginated as submitted by the original source. Portions of this document are not fully legible due to the historical nature of some of the material. However, it is the best reproduction available from the original submission. Produced by the NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI) (NASA-CR-16S983) RESEARCH 2N PARTICLES AND V83-18777 FIELDS Semiannual Status Report, 1 Apr. - 30 Sep. 1982 (California Inst. of Tech.) 12 p HC A02/MF A01 CSCL 22A Unclas G3/12 02974 SPACE RADIATION LABORATORY CAIZORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Pasadena, California 91125 SEMI-ANNUAL STATUS REPORT for f i NA71ONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADIGNMU71ON Grant NGR 05-002-160 • "RESEARCH IN PARTICLES AND FIELDS" for 1 April 1982 - 30 September 1882 R. E. Vogt, Principal Investigator A. BuMogton, Coinvestigator 1^1 F ; ^ R L. Davis, Jr., Coinvestigator E.-C. Stone, Coinvestigator RES I ^ lurr ACM DEPT. *'NASA Technical Officer: Dr. A. G. Opp, Physics and Astronomy Programs _a_ 1 ^ TABLE OF CONTENTS Page t . Cosmic Rays and Astrophysical Plasmas 3 1.1 Activities in Support of or in Preparation for Spacecraft EnwIments 3 1.2 on NASA Spacecraft 4 2. -
The 2015 Senior Review of the Heliophysics Operating Missions
The 2015 Senior Review of the Heliophysics Operating Missions June 11, 2015 Submitted to: Steven Clarke, Director Heliophysics Division, Science Mission Directorate Jeffrey Hayes, Program Executive for Missions Operations and Data Analysis Submitted by the 2015 Heliophysics Senior Review panel: Arthur Poland (Chair), Luca Bertello, Paul Evenson, Silvano Fineschi, Maura Hagan, Charles Holmes, Randy Jokipii, Farzad Kamalabadi, KD Leka, Ian Mann, Robert McCoy, Merav Opher, Christopher Owen, Alexei Pevtsov, Markus Rapp, Phil Richards, Rodney Viereck, Nicole Vilmer. i Executive Summary The 2015 Heliophysics Senior Review panel undertook a review of 15 missions currently in operation in April 2015. The panel found that all the missions continue to produce science that is highly valuable to the scientific community and that they are an excellent investment by the public that funds them. At the top level, the panel finds: • NASA’s Heliophysics Division has an excellent fleet of spacecraft to study the Sun, heliosphere, geospace, and the interaction between the solar system and interstellar space as a connected system. The extended missions collectively contribute to all three of the overarching objectives of the Heliophysics Division. o Understand the changing flow of energy and matter throughout the Sun, Heliosphere, and Planetary Environments. o Explore the fundamental physical processes of space plasma systems. o Define the origins and societal impacts of variability in the Earth/Sun System. • All the missions reviewed here are needed in order to study this connected system. • Progress in the collection of high quality data and in the application of these data to computer models to better understand the physics has been exceptional. -
Anomalous Cosmic Rays in the Distant Heliosphere and the Reversal of the Sun’S Magnetic Polarity in Cycle 23 F
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 34, L05105, doi:10.1029/2006GL028932, 2007 Click Here for Full Article Anomalous cosmic rays in the distant heliosphere and the reversal of the Sun’s magnetic polarity in Cycle 23 F. B. McDonald,1 E. C. Stone,3 A. C. Cummings,3 W. R. Webber,2 B. C. Heikkila,4 and N. Lal4 Received 28 November 2006; revised 5 January 2007; accepted 17 January 2007; published 7 March 2007. [1] Beginning in early June 2001 and extending over a where, by the still generally accepted paradigm, they are 3 month period the Cosmic Ray Subsystem (CRS) accelerated at the TS [Fisk et al., 1974; Pesses et al., 1981]. experiment on Voyager 1 (80.3 AU, 34°N) observed a Their relative charge composition of H, He, N, O, Ne and A rapid transition in the energy of the peak intensity of along with a small C abundance - when corrected for anomalous cosmic ray (ACR) He from 11 MeV/n to ionization rates, filtration effects and acceleration efficiency 25 MeV/n. One month later there began a similar spectral - is very similar to the abundance of neutral atoms in the shift at Voyager 2 (64.7 AU, 24°S). When these ACR local interstellar medium and their energy spectra are transition times are extrapolated back from the estimated consistent with that expected from shock acceleration at location of the heliospheric termination shock (TS) to the the TS [Cummings et al., 2002]. The heliospheric TS, which Sun (1 year) there is reasonable agreement with the range was crossed by Voyager 1 (V1) on 16 Dec. -
555/Of 474- 70
555/of 474- 70/ A PERSPECTIVE ON THE USE OF STORABLE PROPELLANTS FOR FUTURE SPACE VEHICLE PROPULSION William C. Boyd and Warren L. Brasher NASA, Johnson Space Center 0 O"0 Houston, Texas 0 ABSTRACT Propulsion system configurations for future NASA and DOD space initiatives are driven by the continually emerging new mission requirements. These initiatives cover an extremely wide range of mission scenarios, from unmanned planetary pro- grams, to manned lunar and planetary programs, to Earth-oriented ('Mission to Planet Earth) programs, and they are in addition to existing and future require- ments for near-Eirth missions such as to geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO). Increasing space transportation costs, and anticipated high costs associated with space-basing of future vehicles, necessitate consideration of cost-effective and easily maintainable configurations which maximize the use of ex-Isting technologies and assets, and use budgetary resources effectively. System design considerations associated with the use of storable propellants to fill these needs are presented. Comparisons in areas such as ccrrplexity, performance, flexibility, maintainabili- ty, and technology status are made for earth and space storable propellants, cluding nitrogen tetroxide/monomethylhydrazine and LOX/monomethylhydrazine. INTRODUCTION As the nation approaches the next century, some very harsh realities mist be faced, and some equally important decisions will be made. The economic and progranrnatic realities of space flight, and of space vehicle development and oper- ation, have been forced home. We have learned that space systems are expensive and conplex, require a long time to develop, and are allowed very little margin for error. In spite of these realities, however, we know that doing business in space in the future is going to require significant advances in orbital capability over what is currently available. -
Cassini Mission to Saturn
NASA Facts National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 91109 Cassini Mission to Saturn The Cassini mission to Saturn is the most ambi- tem. Like the other gaseous outer planets – Jupiter, tious effort in planetary space exploration ever Uranus and Neptune – it has an atmosphere made up mounted. A joint endeavor of NASA, the European mostly of hydrogen and helium. Saturn’s distinctive, Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian space agency, bright rings are made up of ice and rock particles Agenzia ranging in size Spaziale from grains of Italiana (ASI), sand to boxcars. Cassini is send- More moons of ing a sophisti- greater variety cated robotic orbit Saturn spacecraft to than any other orbit the ringed planet. So far, planet and study observations the Saturnian from Earth and system in detail by spacecraft over a four-year have found period. Onboard Saturnian satel- Cassini is a sci- lites ranging entific probe from small called Huygens asteroid-size that will be bodies to the released from aptly named the main space- Titan, which is craft to para- larger than the chute through planet Mercury. the atmosphere The 12 sci- to the surface of entific instru- Saturn’s largest and most interesting moon, Titan. ments on the Cassini orbiter will conduct in-depth Launched in 1997, Cassini will reach Saturn in studies of the planet, its moons, rings and magnetic 2004 after an interplanetary cruise spanning nearly environment. The six instruments on the Huygens seven years. Along the way, it has flown past Venus, probe, which will be dispatched from Cassini during Earth and Jupiter in “gravity assist” maneuvers to its third orbit of Saturn, will provide our first direct increase the speed of the spacecraft. -
The Compton-Getting Effect of Energetic Particles With
The Astrophysical Journal, 624:1038–1048, 2005 May 10 # 2005. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. THE COMPTON-GETTING EFFECT OF ENERGETIC PARTICLES WITH AN ANISOTROPIC PITCH-ANGLE DISTRIBUTION: AN APPLICATION TO VOYAGER 1 RESULTS AT 85 AU Ming Zhang Department of Physics and Space Science, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901 Receivedv 2004 October 10; accepted 2005 January 31 ABSTRACT This paper provides a theoretical simulation of anisotropy measurements by the Low-Energy Charged Particle (LECP) experiment on Voyager. The model starts with an anisotropic pitch-angle distribution function in the solar wind plasma reference frame. It includes the effects of both Compton-Getting anisotropy and a perpendicular diffusion anisotropy that possibly exists in the upstream region of the termination shock. The calculation is directly applied to the measurements during the late 2002 particle event seen by Voyager 1. It is shown that the data cannot rule out either the model with zero solar wind speed or the one with a finite speed on a qualitative basis. The determination of solar wind speed using the Compton-Getting effect is complicated by the presence of a large pitch- angle distribution anisotropy and a possible diffusion anisotropy. In most high-energy channels of the LECP instru- ment, because the pitch-angle distribution anisotropy is so large, a small uncertainty in the magnetic field direction can produce very different solar wind speeds ranging from 0 to >400 km sÀ1. In fact, if the magnetic field is cho- sen to be in the Parker spiral direction, which is consistent with the magnetometer measurement on Voyager 1, the derived solar wind speed is still close to the supersonic value. -
COMMERCIALIZING the TRANSFER ORBIT STAGE Michael W. Miller
COMMERCIALIZING THE TRANSFER ORBIT STAGE Michael W. Miller Orbital Sciences Corporation Vienna, Virginia 22 180 ABSTRACT Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC), a technically-based management, marketing, and financial corporation, was formed in 1982 to provide economical space transportation hardware and services to commercial and government users. As its first project, OSC is developing a new medium-capacity upper stage for use on NASA’s Space Shuttle, called the TOS. Before the TOS project successfully entered the development stage, many obstacles for a new company operat- ing in the established space industry had to be overcome. This paper describes key milestones necessary to establish this new commercial space endeavor. Historical milestones began with the selection of the project concept and synthesis of the company. This was followed by venture capital support which led to early discussions with NASA and the selection of a major aerospace company as prime contractor. A landmark agree- ment with NASA sanctioned the commercial TOS concept and provided the critical support necessary to raise the next round of venture capital. Future challenges including project management and customer commitments are also discussed. BACKGROUND Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC), a technically-based management, marketing, and financial corporation, was formed in 1982 to provide economical space transportation hardware and services to commercial and government users. As its first project, OSC is developing a new medium-capacity upper stage-for use on NASA’s Space Shuttle,called the Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS). The TOS project represents an evolutionary milestone in the nation’s attempts to com- mercialize space. Responding to the Reagan administration’s mandate and to Congressional guidelines, NASA is encouraging private-sector initiatives in space activities. -
ASTRONOMY FH Astros
Lecturer Series ASTRONOMY FH Astros Telecommunication with Space Craft Kurt Niel (University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria) [email protected] - August 2017 Lecturer Series ASTRONOMY FH Astros Telecommunication with Space Craft Kurt Niel (University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria) [email protected] - August 2017 [email protected] - August 2017 VOYAGER 1, 2 Start 1977; now end of solar system (139 AU 1) – c 19:16:55 h) Technical data (communication via Deep Space Network DSN) • Launch mass 835 - 733 kg (loosing weight / fuel consumption) • Power supply Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (3 pcs.) - 315 W • Antenna 3.7 m High Gain paraboloid • Transmission power 6.6 W – 18 W Transmission channel: • Uplink S-Band (2.7 – 3.5 GHz) - 16 b/s • Downlink X-Band (8.4 – 8.5 GHz) - 160 b/s normal / 1.4 kb/s high-rate E.g. Plasma Wave Subsystem PWS • Recording per week 48 s PWS-signal with 115.2 kb/s on Digital Tape Recorder DTR • These data are received every 6 months via 70 m DSN E.g. Imaging Science Subsystem ISS (switched off 1990 to save power) • resolution (BW-Camera with filter wheel) per channel 895 x 848 Pixel = 758 960 Byte transmission 1:15 h per channel 1) [email protected] - August 2017 AU - astronomical unit = 149.6 Mio km (Distance Sun - Earth) VOYAGER 1, 2 Start 1977; now end of solar system (139 AU 1) – c 19:16:55 h) Technical data (communication via Deep Space Network DSN) • Launch mass 835 - 733 kg (loosing weight / fuel consumption) • Power supply Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (3 pcs.) - 315 W • Antenna 3.7 m High Gain paraboloid • Transmission power 6.6 W – 18 W Transmission channel: • Uplink S-Band (2.7 – 3.5 GHz) - 16 b/s • Downlink X-Band (8.4 – 8.5 GHz) - 160 b/s normal / 1.4 kb/s high-rate E.g. -
INTEGRATED SPACE PLAN (Preliminary)
CRITICAL PATH AMERICAN SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM INTEGRATED SPACE PLAN Space Transportation (NSTS) Systems Division FIRST INTERNATIONAL RMS GENERATION EXPENDABLE LAUNCH (INTERNATIONAL) OF VEHICLE FLEET (Preliminary) IUS UNITED STATES LAUNCH VEHICLE CAPABILITES REUSABLE SPACECRAFT PRIVATE LAUNCH VERSION 1.1 FEBRUARY, 1989 VEHICLE # TO LEO # TO GEO GEO-CIRCULAR FIRST FLIGHT VEHICLES ALS 200,000 1998 * THE AMERICAN SPACE SHUTTLE (ELV’S) EMU SHUTTLE C 150,000 20,000 (CENTAUR) 1994 1983 PRODUCED BY RONALD M. JONES D/385-210 SPACE 55,000 5,500 (IUS) 1981 1983 * CHALLENGER OV-099 SHUTTLE 6,500 (TOS) * COLUMBIA OV-102 ABOUT THIS DIAGRAM: TITAN 4 40,000 12,500 10,000 (CENTAUR) 1989 OV-103 * DISCOVERY GOVERNMENT - The Rockwell Integrated Space Plan (ISP) is a very long range systematic perspective of America’s and the TITAN 3 33,000 8,600 4,200 (IUS) 1965 MMU * ATLANTIS OV-104 COMMERCIAL SATELLITE Western World’s space program. Its 100-plus-year vision was created from the integration of numerous NASA ATLAS 2 14,400 5,200 2,500 1991 EARTH-TO-ORBIT * TBD OV-105 DEPLOYMENT long-range studies including the project Pathfinder case studies, recommendations from the National ATLAS 1 12,300 1959 AND IN-SPACE Commission on Space’s report to the President, the Ride report to the NASA Administrator, and the new DELTA 2 11,100 3,190 1,350 (PAM-D) 1988 SATELLITE RETRIEVAL * THE SOVIET SPACE SHUTTLE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS National Space Policy Directive. Special initiatives such as the four Pathfinder scenarios or those described in DELTA 7,800 1960 AND SERVICING * BURAN the Ride Report (i.e., Mission To Planet Earth, Exploration of the Solar System, Outpost on the Moon, and TITAN 2 5,500 1965 DEFENSE SATELLITES Humans to Mars) are integral parts of the ISP.