Interaction of artificially injected plasma flows with ionospheric plasma

Results of rocket experiments on study of plasma flows (PF) artificially injected by sources separated from vehicles and their effect on medium parameters in ionosphere at altitudes 160:230 km are presented.PF were injected comprising lithium ions with velocities 1,2 x 10⁴ m/sec. and cesium-potassium ions with velocities (1,4–1,5)x10³ m/sec. Mass flow rate in case of lithium PS is 2 mg/sec, and in case of cesium-potassium PS is 0,2 g/sec. During experiments mass-spectrometer measurements of ion medium content in ranges of different ion masses were held, disturbancies of electric fields with frequencies up to 20 kHz and electron flows with energies 0,7keV, 4,6keV and over 40 keV were controlled at distancies from 150m to (500–600)m between plasma source and scientific equipment.     

Thermoluminescent dose measurements on-board Salyut type orbital stations.

A small, vibration- and shock-resistant thermoluminescent dosemeter /TLD/ system--named PILLE--was developed at the Health Physics Department of the Central Research Institute for Physics, Budapest, to measure the cosmic radiation dose on board orbital stations. The first on-board measurements with this system were performed /by B. Farkas, the Hungarian astronaut/, on the Salyut-6 space station in 1980. The same instrument was used by other crews in the following years. Doses measured at different sites in Salyut-6 are presented. The dose rates varied from 0.07 to 0.11 mGy.day-1. After the first cosmic measurements, the system was further developed. The minimum detectable dose of the new TLD system is 1 microGy, i.e. less by on order of magnitude than that of the former system. The self-irradiation dose rate of the TLD bulbs is also reduced--by more than one order of magnitude--to 10 nGy.h-1, by the use of potassium-free glass for the bulb envelope. This new type of PILLE TLD system is currently on-board Salyut-7. The dose rates /0.12-0.23 mGy.day-1/ measured in 1983 are presented in detail.     

Cockpits for 2010 and Beyond

Truly optimal weapon system performance is highly dependent on the level of man-machine cockpit integration resulting from the intelligent application of crew station technologies. Future cockpits will incorporate a wide range of enhancements. Heavy application of artificial intelligence techniques can be expected to encompass the entire spectrum of crew station technologies; from data fusion, to optimized display resource management, to real-time onboard maintenance and fault reporting, and even to the optimization of pilot physiological needs. Emphasis on exploiting applications of the ultimate human resource, the mind, can be expected through the use of biocybernetics; initially to control previously manual and/or automated cockpit functions, and eventually to allow bidirectional communications. Future enhancements can also be expected to improve aircrew performance by allowing the pilot to take full advantage of aircraft maneuvering capability, and to operate effectively in hostile chemical, biological and radiological environments. New high resolution, full color, three dimensional crew station display devices will complement enlarged sensor suites and enhance aircrew situational awareness. Does the pilot really need to see the outside world to fly and fight effectively? Or, can panoramic display techniques, in an encapsulated environment, coupled with 4? steradian sensor coverage, increase performance? This paper strives to illustrate some ``no holds barred' approaches to making future fighter cockpits an ``in-tune' extension of the operator, based on current and projected tactical needs.     

Confirmation of gravisensitivity in the slime mold physarum polycephalum under near weightlessness

We have investigated Physarum polycephalum, a unicellular organism with no special gravity receptors, on its ability to react to gravity. The first experiments were 0 g-simulation experiments on the fast-rotating clinostat conducted with plasmodial strands of this acellular slime mold. In these earth-bound experiments the observed parameters were periodicity of the contractions and dilatations of the strand's ectoplasm as well as the periodicity and velocity of the striking cytoplasmic (endoplasmic) shuttle streaming. During 0 g-simulation these parameters showed significant changes indicating the existence of a gravisensitivity of the slime mold.

The Space-Shuttle experiment (ESA-Biorack in D 1-Mission) should demonstrate the validity of the 0 g-simulation on the fast-rotating clinostat. The experiment was designed in a way enabling the registration of the same parameters as on the clinostat (using the light microscope in combination with a photo diode and a cinecamera). Only one of the two planned measurement sessions was fully successful and provided us with data confirming the results gained on the fast-rotating clinostat: The slime mold showed under real near weightlessness in the D 1-Space Shuttle Mission a transient frequency increase in its contraction rhythmicity and a (steady) increase in the streaming velocity of its endoplasm.     

Spectroscopic study of plasma parameters for solar active regions and flares

Results are given of the study of active regions and flares by a high resolution Mg XI ion spectra obtained aboard rockets and a satellite. It is shown that there is a noticable similarity in the physical conditions in the plasma of active regions and flares. Plasma of both sources consists okf a thermal component with the temperature T ～ 2.?3.10⁶K for active regions and T ～ 1.5?2.5.10⁷K for flares and in both cases of a relatively small number (～ 1–5%) of suprathermal electrons with an energy E ～ 3–6 kT.     

Simulation of Permanent Magnet Generator/Rectifier Combination

Permanent magnet generators are often used as the pilot exciters of three-stage generating units to provide an efficient and reliable source of electrical power. No external power supply is then necessary, and the problems associated with brushwear and with arcing at the rubbing contacts are eliminated. A technique is presented here by which the performance of a permanent magnet generator, when combined with a rectifier-fed d.c. load at its output terminals, may be accurately and efficiently computed. The machine model takes into account the magnetization characteristic of the permanent magnet rotor and involves only parameters which can be determined from terminal measurements on the machine at standstill. Both computed and measured characteristics for an experimental machine are presented, and a comparison of these characteristics shows that the model can predict accurately all the major characteristics of the machine, as well as its detailed internal performance, when supplying a typical resistiveinductive load.     

Observations of the interplanetary plasma

Observations bearing on the nature and properties of the interplanetary plasma are reviewed, and consideration is given to possible fruitful directions for further work. The observations are classified according as they involve traditional (comet tail, optical, geomagnetic, cosmic ray), radio (solar noise, radar, radio-source scattering and scintillation, space-probe transmission) or direct (space-probe) measurements. A fairly complete set of references up to September 1967 is given for the cases of comet tail, radar, radio-source scattering and scintillation, and space-probe measurements.An important development concerns observations of the composition of the solar wind. High-resolution measurements of the positive ion energy per charge spectra have been made using the Vela-3 satellites (Bame et al., 1968). Ionic components other than H⁺ and He⁺⁺ have been detected, notably the various ions of oxygen, O⁺⁵, O⁺⁶, O⁺⁷, (Hundhausen et al., 1968). A promising technique for unambiguously distinguishing H⁺ and He⁺⁺ ions, based on velocity as well as energy per unit charge, has been flown successfully on the satellite IMP-F by Ogilvie and Williamson (1968).This research was supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (Project DEFENDER) and was monitored by the U.S. Army Research Office — Durham under Contract DA-31-124-ARO-D-257.     

Physical characteristics of the upper layers of Saturn's atmosphere

Analysis of polarimetric observations of Saturn was carried out. In the long wave-length spectral range (λ > 0.5μm) polarimetric observations do not contradict the model of spherical or irregular randomly oriented particles. In the short wave-length spectral interval (λ < 0.5μm) it is necessary to take into account the scattering by oriented particles.     

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.     

Fluxes of Quasi-trapped Electrons with Energies >0.08 MeV in the Near-Earth Space on Drift Shells <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis> < 2

We study the characteristics of fluxes of electrons with energy >80 keV in the near-Earth space regions corresponding to the drift shells L = 1.7, 1.4, and 1.1 observed during the entire period of the GRIF experiment onboard the Spectr module of the Mir orbital station from October 1995 to June 1997. The obtained geographic maps of the distribution of electron fluxes at the height of the station flight (400 km) and, also, the estimates of the spectra indicate that the South-Atlantic Anomaly provides for a mechanism of stable replenishment for shells with L < 1.5. The mechanism of stable replenishment of shells with L < 1.5 may be due to the scattering, in the residual atmosphere, of electrons from the inner radiation belt precipitating into the region of the South-Atlantic Anomaly.