改善推进剂老化和低温物理性质的键合剂系统

新的混合键合剂系统用于端羟基聚丁二烯推进剂配方时,推进剂的高温老化特性和低温物理性质都有很大改善。混合键合剂系统由 MT_4[2.0克分子三-1-(2-甲基氮丙啶)膦化氧、0.7克分子已二酸和0.3克分子酒石酸的反应产物]、HX752[双-间苯二酰-1-(2-甲基)氨丙啶]和 BIDE(丁基亚胺二乙醇)组成,其重量百分含量分别占推进剂组成的0.10～0.20%、0.10～0.20%和0.02～0.05%。     

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。     

On the correlation between individual biochemical parameters of human blood serum following space flight and their basal values

The article presents data concerning the osmolality and concentration of electrolytes and hormones regulating their balance for blood serum of 223 cosmonauts and astronauts. The obtained results allow us to judge the constancy of physicochemical parameters for the blood serum of healthy individuals and how they react to extreme conditions of space flight. The parameters used for evaluation included not just absolute values for the examined indices, but also how they responded to space flight, the dependence on baseline values and the interrelationship between ions. These data are important to predict the effect of exposure to extreme conditions and point to what extent the effect depends on the characteristics of the individual.     

Topological biosignatures: large-scale structure of chemical networks from biology and astrochemistry

The chemical basis of life involves more than simply the presence of biological molecules; biochemical systems embody a complex network of reactions with characteristic topological features. At the same time, chemical complexity is also present in nonbiological contexts, inviting us to clarify the relationship between chemistry and life through comparative studies. This study examines chemical networks from biology (the metabolism of E. coli) and astronomy (gas-phase reactions in dark molecular clouds) to establish common topological features that may be generic for any complex chemical system, as well as clear differences that may be topological signatures of life. The biological and astrochemical networks exhibit different scaling behaviors, and the network motifs found in the two systems show similarities as well as significant differences. The PageRank algorithm was used to quantify the degree to which individual species act primarily as products or reactants; in the metabolic network, these two roles are nearly identical for most species, whereas the astrochemical network shows a clearer partitioning into reactants and products.     

The PROCESS experiment: an astrochemistry laboratory for solid and gaseous organic samples in low-earth orbit

The PROCESS (PRebiotic Organic ChEmistry on the Space Station) experiment was part of the EXPOSE-E payload outside the European Columbus module of the International Space Station from February 2008 to August 2009. During this interval, organic samples were exposed to space conditions to simulate their evolution in various astrophysical environments. The samples used represent organic species related to the evolution of organic matter on the small bodies of the Solar System (carbonaceous asteroids and comets), the photolysis of methane in the atmosphere of Titan, and the search for organic matter at the surface of Mars. This paper describes the hardware developed for this experiment as well as the results for the glycine solid-phase samples and the gas-phase samples that were used with regard to the atmosphere of Titan. Lessons learned from this experiment are also presented for future low-Earth orbit astrochemistry investigations.