The relevant atomic data

The current status of the theoretical methods for producing the relevant atomic data is surveyed.Proceedings of the Conference Solar Physics from Space, held at at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), 11–14 November 1980.     

The Goddard Experiment Package?An Automated Space Telescope

The Goddard Experiment Package will measure the ultraviolet spectral emittance of stars and nebulae. It has a spectral resolution of 2 ? in the 1050-? to 4000-? band. The telescope has a 38-inch clear aperture and automatically reduces the spectral data to digital form. Guidance accuracy is 1 of second arc.     

Spectral computation of Tandem mirror equilibria with Finite Larmor Radius effects

A direct iterative method of solving for Tandem equilibria by moving magnetic field lines in a manner to satisfy the linearized equilibrium equations converges much more rapidly than standard relaxation techniques, typically in under a fifty iterations. At the highest 's the number of iterations increase, but is still far less than other methods. In quadrupole tandem mirror equilibrium, octupole and higher distortions of the flux surfaces are important which forces us to abandon finite differences in the angle-like flux variable and resort to a spectral decomposition to solve the equilibrium equations. We display equilibria at the high expected for MFTF-B and show how Finite Larmor Radius (FLR) effects strongly suppress these azimuthal distortions.     

Water and salt disturbances under condition of microgravity

Under conditions of microgravity severe alterations in body fluid composition and volume take place largely as a result of "cardiothoracic pooling" or headward shift of blood. Inappropriate endocrine, renal and cardiovascular responses result from the "misreading" of homeostatic signals by physiological receptors to produce an as yet incompletely defined syndrome under microgravitational conditions.     

Thoracic sonography for pneumothorax: the clinical evaluation of an operational space medicine spin-off

The recent interest in the use of ultrasound (US) to detect pneumothoraces after acute trauma in North America was initially driven by an operational space medicine concern. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are at risk for pneumothoraces, and US is the only potential medical imaging available. Pneumothoraces are common following trauma, and are a preventable cause of death, as most are treatable with relatively simple interventions. While pneumothoraces are optimally diagnosed clinically, they are more often inapparent even on supine chest radiographs (CXR) with recent series reporting a greater than 50% rate of occult pneumothoraces. In the course of basic scientific investigations in a conventional and parabolic flight laboratory, investigators familiarized themselves with the sonographic features of both pneumothoraces and normal pulmonary ventilation. By examining the visceral–parietal pleural interface (VPPI) with US, investigators became confident in diagnosing pneumothoraces. This knowledge was subsequently translated into practice at an American and a Canadian trauma center. The sonographic examination was found to be more accurate and sensitive than CXR (US 96% and 100% versus US 74% and 36%) in specific circumstances. Initial studies have also suggested that detecting the US features of pleural pulmonary ventilation in the left lung field may offer the ability to exclude serious endotracheal tube malpositions such as right mainstem and esophageal intubations. Applied thoracic US is an example of a clinically useful space medicine spin-off that is improving health care on earth.     

Gravity and perceptual stability during translational head movement on earth and in microgravity

We measured the amount of visual movement judged consistent with translational head movement under normal and microgravity conditions. Subjects wore a virtual reality helmet in which the ratio of the movement of the world to the movement of the head (visual gain) was variable. Using the method of adjustment under normal gravity 10 subjects adjusted the visual gain until the visual world appeared stable during head movements that were either parallel or orthogonal to gravity. Using the method of constant stimuli under normal gravity, seven subjects moved their heads and judged whether the virtual world appeared to move “with” or “against” their movement for several visual gains. One subject repeated the constant stimuli judgements in microgravity during parabolic flight. The accuracy of judgements appeared unaffected by the direction or absence of gravity. Only the variability appeared affected by the absence of gravity. These results are discussed in relation to discomfort during head movements in microgravity.     

Spherical oscillation patterns

Spherical harmonics are an integral part of the study of stellar pulsations. To gain an understanding of how the star is affected by non-radial pulsations, the radial part of the oscillation is plotted, with an assumed sinusoidal time variation. The amplitude of the motion is arbitrarily set at 20% of the radius.     

Error Analysis for Relay Type Satellite-Aided Search and Rescue Systems

An analysis is made of the errors in the determination of the position of an emergency transmitter in a satellite-aided search and rescue system. The satellite is assumed to be at a height of 820 km in a near-circular near polar orbit. Short data spans of four minutes or less are used. The error sources considered are measurement noise, transmitter frequency drift, ionospheric effects, and error in the assumed height of the transmitter. The errors are calculated for several different transmitter positions, data rates, and data spans. The only transmitter frequency used was 406 MHz, but the result can be scaled to different frequencies.