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Spacecraft ram glow and surface temperature
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Llewellyn, E. J. Mende, S. B. Swenson, G. R. |
| Copyright Year | 1987 |
| Description | Space shuttle glow intensity measurements show large differences when the data from different missions are compared. In particular, on the 41-G mission the space shuttle ram glow was observed to display an unusually low intensity. Subsequent investigation of this measurement and earlier measurements suggest that there was a significant difference in temperature of the glow producing ram surfaces. The highly insulating properties coupled with the high emissivity of the shuttle tile results in surfaces that cool quickly when exposed to deep space on the night side of the orbit. The increased glow intensity is consistent with the hypothesis that the glow is emitted from excited NO2. The excited NO2 is likely formed through three body recombination (OI + NO + M = NO2*) where ramming of OI interacts with weakly surface bound NO. The NO is formed from atmospheric OI and NI which is scavenged by the spacecraft moving through the atmosphere. It is postulated that the colder surfaces retain a thicker layer of NO thereby increasing the probability of the reaction. It has been found from the glow intensity/temperature data that the bond energy of the surface bound precursor, leading to the chemical recombination producing the glow, is approximately 0.14 eV. A thermal analysis of material samples of STS-8 was made and the postulated temperature change of individual material samples prior to the time of glow measurements above respective samples are consistent with the thermal effect on glow found for the orbiter surface. |
| File Size | 62786 |
| Page Count | 1 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19870016772 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t4fn62g39 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1987-06-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance Earth Orbital Environments Spacecraft Glow Luminescence Surface Temperature Molecular Excitation Space Shuttle Orbiters Luminous Intensity Oxygen Atoms Surface Reactions Chemical Bonds Nitrogen Oxides Oxygen Recombination Spacecraft Temperature Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
