螺栓挤压推力终止系统验证试验

本文总结了螺栓挤压推力终止系统(BETTS)的设计、研制和验证试验。该系统在阿诺德工程研制中心(AEDC)进行了多次冷试,一次海平面热试和两次高空点火推力终止试验,试验所用的发动机是政府向化学系统分公司提供的“民兵”发动机空壳体装药后制成的。通过大发动机热试,证明本计划所验证的这种BETTS可以消除前部碎片,大大地简化药柱和发动机壳体的设计,提高末级性能。另外,这种方法设计简单,从而可以降低推进系统的成本。BETTS用爆炸螺栓和挤压螺栓的组合代替连接喷管法兰和发动机壳体法兰的普通螺栓。接到指令后,爆炸螺栓立即打开,喷管循着挤压螺栓向后平移,发动机气体迅速排出,从而使推进剂熄火。挤压螺栓控制着喷管的移动速度和最大运动行程。以前根据NO.F04611—75—C—0044合同(CSD计划2549)曾成功地在缩比发动机上进行了BETTS热试和在飞行重量的“民兵”Ⅲ第三级发动机上进行了冷试。     

HTPB推进剂的老化及使用寿命

为了进行老化评价研究,选择和研制了三种不同固体含量的(88～91%)端羟基聚丁二烯(HTPB)推进剂。已经证实,88%固体含量的HTPB推进剂符合以前提出的老化模型。这种老化模型已成功地进一步用于较高固体含量的推进剂以及其它计划用的HTPB推进剂的实测力学性能老化数据。采用这种老化模型,根据加速热老化试验数据予测了长期力学性能,予测数据与六年实测老化数据相当一致。利用予测的推进剂破坏性能,结合火箭发动机的要求,来确定予先选定安全裕度的发动机药柱的使用寿命。本文列出了各种复合推进剂老化速率的比较数据。根据老化结果的分析,提出了一个宽范围老化行为的数学表达式。     

CELSS nutrition system utilizing snails

At the 40th IAF Congress in Malaga, a nutrition system for a lunar base CELSS was presented. A lunar base with a total of eight crew members was envisaged. In this paper, four species of plants--rice, soybean, lettuce and strawberry--were introduced to the system. These plants were sufficient to satisfy fundamental nutritional needs of the crew members. The supply of nutrition from plants and the human nutritional requirements could almost be balanced. Our study revealed that the necessary plant cultivation area per crew member would be nearly 40 m3 in the lunar base. The sources of nutrition considered in the study were energy, sugar, fat, amino acids, inorganic salt and vitamins; however, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin A and sodium were found to be lacking. Therefore, a subsystem to supply these elements is of considerable value. In this paper, we report on a study for breeding snails and utilizing meat as food. Nutrients supplied from snails are shown to compensate for the above mentioned lacking elements. We evaluate the snail breeder and the associated food supply system as a subsystem of closed ecological life support system.     

Leg venous hemodynamics and leg volumes during a 42 day -6 degrees head-down bedrest

Seven healthy subjects were submitted to a 42-day head down bedrest, where leg venous compliance (venous distensibity index VDI) and leg volumes were assessed by mercury strain gauge plethysmography with venous occlusion and optoelectronic plethysmography, respectively. Plethysmographic and volometric measurements were made, before, during (at days 1, 4, 7, 14, 21, 26, 34 and 41), and after bedrest (days 1, 4, 7, 11 and 30 of the recovery period). Results showed a continuous decrease in leg volumes throughout bedrest, when VDI increased until day 26 of bedrest, and then decreased afterwards. The recovery period was characterized by a rapid return of VDI to prebedrest levels while leg volumes progressively normalised. These results showed that leg venous compliance changes are not always dependant upon skeletal muscle changes, and that factors other than size of muscle compartment are able to determine increases in leg venous compliance during long-term bedrest.     

Spatial orientation during locomotion [correction of locomation] following space flight

To investigate changes in spatial orientation ability and walking performance following space flight, 7 astronaut subjects were asked pre- and post-flight to perform a goal directed locomotion paradigm which consisted of walking a triangular path with and without vision. This new paradigm, involving inputs from different sensory systems, allows quantification of several critical parameters, like orientation performance, walking velocities and postural stability, in a natural walking task. The paper presented here mainly focusses on spatial orientation performance quantified by the errors in walking the previously seen path without vision. Errors in length and reaching the corners did not change significantly from pre- to post-flight, while absolute angular errors slightly increased post-flight. The significant decrease in walking velocity and a change in head-trunk coordination while walking around the corners of the path observed post-flight may suggest that during re-adaptation to gravity the mechanisms which are necessary to perform the task have to be re-accomplished.     

Influence of graviceptives cues at different level of visual information processing: the effect of prolonged weightlessness

We evaluated the influence of prolonged weightlessness on the performance of visual tasks in the course of the Russian-French missions ANTARES, Post-ANTARES and ALTAIR aboard the MIR station. Eight cosmonauts were subjects in two experiments executed pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight sessions.

In the first experiment, cosmonauts performed a task of symmetry detection in 2-D polygons. The results indicate that this detection is locked in a head retinal reference frame rather than in an environmentally defined one as meridional orientations of symmetry axis (vertical and horizontal) elicited faster response times than oblique ones. However, in weightlessness the saliency of a retinally vertical axis of symmetry is no longer significantly different from an horizontal axis. In the second experiment, cosmonauts performed a mental rotation task in which they judged whether two 3-D objects presented in different orientations were identical. Performance on this task is basically identical in weightlessness and normal gravity.     

Lower body negative pressure (LBNP) as a countermeasure for long term spaceflight

The article presents the current status of lower body negative pressure (LBNP) as a countermeasure for preventing orthostatic intolerance after space flight or bed rest. Devices discussed include the Chibis vacuum suit, the Anthrorack device, a collapsible device, and an inflatable device. Two bed rest studies examined the effect of LBNP and exercise on orthostatic tolerance; plasma volume; vasopressin, plasma renin activity, and catecholamines; and side effects.     

DARPA着手开发小型侦察卫星

美国防预研计划局(DARPA)提出一个由低地轨道卫星组成的监视、瞄准和侦察卫星(Starlite)方案,旨在直接为战区提供战术情报,而不需要依靠更复杂的系统.军方提倡这个方案的人说,此系统将意味着战区指挥员不再需要征得允许来观看卫     

实现“航线准备”目标要求进行更多试验

波音公司解决飞机问题的新对策在B777飞机飞行试验计划中得到反映。按“航线准备”这一原理制定的飞行试验计划有硬通货投资作后盾。 在交付用户使用之前,B777飞机累计进行的飞行试验小时数将是过去通常情况下的2倍。这种差别在试验装第二种、第三种发动机的飞机时将更为明显:飞行试验循环数将是通常试验的4～10倍。 波音公司为什么认为必须进行“航线准备”飞行试验,波音公司的董事会又为什么把股东们的钱花在2倍多的飞行试验小时上,一个关键因素就是,当B777启动时,B747-400曾一度遇到暂时的困难。B747-40O项目是一个分水岭,美国联合航空公司B777项目经理戈登·麦金哲说:“它是     

GPS接收机中的数字信号处理技术

GPS接收机信号处理可分为三部分:射频信号处理,同相(I)和正交(Q)信号的估计及其随后处理。本篇回顾了模拟射频信号处理,描述和评价了产生I/Q信号的三种数字信号处理技术(基带、幅度采样中频和相位采样中频),并介绍了能完成其随后处理功能的典型数字信号处理算法。