The RETE experiment for the TSS-1 mission

Summary This paper describes the RETE (Research on Electrodynamic Tether Effects) experiment mounted on board the TSS (Tethered-Satellite System) satellite which was deployed on a cable from the space Shuttle Atlantis during the TSS mission flown in August 1992. The experiment layout and its modes of operation are described in detail. To give an idea of RETE capabilities and actual performance during the mission, samples of measurements are also presented.     

Tethered-Satellite system (TSS): Preliminary results on the active experiment core equipment

Summary The first Tethered-Statellite System (TSS-1) Electrodynamic mission has been launched aboard the Space Shuttle STS-46 on July 31, 1992, as a joint mission between the United States and Italy. A 500 kg spherical Satellite (1.6 m diameter) attached to the Orbiter by a thin (0.24 cm), conducting, insulated wire (Tether), has been reeled upwards from the Orbiter payload bay to a distance of 257 m when the Shuttle was at a projected altitude of 300 km. ASI, the Italian Space Agency, had the responsibility for developing the reusable Satellite, while NASA had the responsibility for developing the Deployer system and the Tether, integrating the payload and providing transportation into space. One of the main scientific goals of this first mission was to demonstrate the possibility of energy conversion from mechanical to electrical by using a long Tether orbiting through the Earth's magnetic field. ASI designed and developed an active experiment, referred to as Core Equipment, in order to carry out this demonstration. The experiment used two Electron Generator Assemblies (EGAs), located on the Orbiter, to re-emit into the ionosphere as an electron beam the electrons collected on the Satellite from the ionosphere. Each EGA had the capability to emit an electron beam with a programmed intensity from 10 mA up to 750 mA with a resolution of 3 mA. The perveance of each EGA was 7.2 microperv, and the beam energy, up to 3 kV, was provided as part of the e.m.f. induced across the TSS due to its motion through the Earth's magnetic field. Other instruments provided current, voltage, and ambient-pressure measurements, and allowed, via a series of switches, different electrical configurations of the TSS. Moreover, the Core Equipment provided a dynamic package, to study the TSS dynamics, as a first goal, and to verify the possibility of using the TSS Satellite as a platform for future experiments in the microgravity field. The expected voltage across the TSS was estimated to be 5 kV for a full Tether deployment of 20 km. During the mission, and due to unforeseenable reasons, the Tether deployment achieved was only of 257 m. Despite this limitation, there is evidence that the experiment was working nominally in the very low-voltage range across the TSS. This result strongly increases the confidence in the possibility of high-voltage operation of the electrodynamic TSS, as the Tether deployment will achieve the 20 km, as expected in the future reflight. The paper describes the experiment, and reports some preliminary results achieved during the first mission. Paper presented at the 6th Cosmic Physics National Conference, Palermo, 3–7 November 1992.     

Electromagnetic radiation from a conducting tether moving in the ionosphere

Summary We set up a model to compute electromagnetic radiation associated with the motion of a conductor through a magnetized plasma. Calculations are carried out, in the framework of cold-plasma theory, for radiation near the ion cyclotron frequency. Results are applied to the TSS (Tethered Satellite System) project presently under development.

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Riassunto S’imposta il formalismo generale per il calcolo della radiazione elettromagnetica associata con il moto di un conduttore in moto attraverso un plasma magnetizzato. I calcoli sono poi fatti specificamente per la radiazione nelle vicinanze della frequenza di ciclotrone degli ioni. I risultati sono applicati ai parametri del progetto spaziale TSS (Tethered Satellite System) che è attualmente in fase di sviluppo.

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Резюме Мы предлагаем модель для вычисления электромагнитного излучения, связанного с движением проводника через намагниченныю плазму. Вычисления проводятся в рамках теории холодной плазмы для изучения вблизи ионной циклотронной частоты. Полученные результаты применяются к ТСС (связанная система спутников), проект которой разрабатывается в настояцее время.

     

Radiation from long conducting tethers moving in the near-earth environment

Summary In connection with the presently developed TSS (tethered satellite system) project, we consider the problem of radiation of electromagnetic waves from a long conducting tether moving in the ionosphere. In particular, we address to radiation of low-frequency plasma modes, from ULF up to the electron cyclotron frequency. Both the case of a passive tether (no generator) and that of a tether driven as an antenna are considered. This work was partially supported by the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche under contract No. 81.00952.     

On some electromagnetic phenomena in the tether magnetoplasma cloud

Summary The tethered satellite system (TSS) will be accompanied by a variety of electromagnetic phenomena. An independent interconnected formation, a ?tethered magnetoplasma cloud? (TMC), moving in space along the orbit of TSS, at an altitude of about 300 km, will be created. This time-dependent cloud will be a very complicated inhomogeneous formation including electromagnetic oscillations and waves of different type. Some of these waves will be observed on the Earth's surface. Rarefiel regions of the magnetoplasma behind, and dense regions in front of the shuttle orbiter (SO) and the subsatellite (SS) will arise. The neutral nitrogen beam ejected by the thruster becomes an ion beam on the day-light part of the orbit. Its energy is much greater than the local thermal energy. Instabilities of different kind as well as diffusion and recombination effects are expected to accompany the interaction of these beams with the surrounding plasma. The electron beams will produce other types of instabilities. By the electrons precessing along the magnetic-field lines, a current (5·10³V, 0.5 A) should be induced in the 20th km length conducting tether. It will be closed at the bottom of the ionosphere. This huge magnetic loop, so-called ?phantom loop? (PL), should accompany the tether system along its orbit. The length of this ?tether electromagnetic tail? (TEMT) is about 200 km, its magnetic moment will be about 10¹³ A·cm². Alfvén waves and nonlinear effects of heating type may be produced by this loop along the magnetic-field lines. ?Strings? of hot plasma may accompany the tether system.     

Laboratory simulation of the itneraction between a tethered satellite system and the ionosphere

Summary The authors report on the measurements performed in the IFSI/CNR plasma chamber at Frascati related to the laboratory investigation of the interaction between a plasma source and an ambient plasma of ionospheric type. Such an interaction is of relevant interest for the possibility of using electrodynamic tethered satellite systems, orbiting at ionospheric altitude, for generating electric power or propulsion in space. The interaction region was analysed at various conditions of ambient magnetic field ((0÷0.5) G) and at different polarization levels of the plasma source ((0÷40) V). The plasma measurements were carried out with a diagnostic system using an array of Langmuir probes movable in the chamber so that a map of the plasma parameters could be obtained at the different experimental conditions. Paper presented at the V Cosmic Physics National Conference, S. Miniato, November 27–30, 1990.     

A model for the normal ionosphere over Rome

Summary Some results of statistical analyses on data from the Rome ionospheric station during the period 1948–1983 are shown as a model of the normal ionosphere over Rome.

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Riassunto Si presenta un modello della ionosfera normale su Roma ottenuto con l'analisi statistica dei dati provenienti dalla locale stazione ionosferica lungo il periodo 1948–1983.

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Резюме Предлагается модель нормальной ионосферы на Пимом на основе статистического анализа данных, полученных в Риме на ионосферной станциqi в течение 1948–1983 г.г.

     

Focusing-defocusing phenomena of radio echo signal after passage of the morning solar terminator

Summary Campaign results of high-repetition ionospheric soundings, performed at the ionospheric station of Rome using a Digisonde 128P, are presented. We introduce an index derived from run rapid ionograms that can be used to detect oscillations of isodensity surfaces ofF ionospheric region started by morning solar terminator.     

The first Mission of the Tethered Statellite

Summary The first test flight of the Italian Tethered Satellite was carried out from July 31 to August 8, 1992 on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis. This paper, authored by one of the crewmembers, directly involved with the Tethered Statellite Mission, describes the on-board experiment environment and the Payload Crew experience. Paper presented at the 6th Cosmic Physics National Conference, Palermo, 3–7 November 1992.     

Operation of the EGA electron gun at high gas pressures

Summary This paper presents experimental results on the effects of increasing gas pressure on electron gun operations. The electron gun used is the gun EGA which has been developed for the TSS-1 mission. Various gases have been used with pressures in the range from 10⁻⁶ to a few times 10⁻³ mbar. The measurements, taken in a vacuum chamber, show a steady increase in the slope of theI–V characteristics of the gun when the pressure is increased, as a consequence of ionization phenomena induced by the electron beam. Further measurements have been taken of the overall current on a target at some distance from the gun itself. An attempt is also made at a theoretical calculation of the effects observed, based on simplified models.     

Review of progress in ionospheric mapping

Summary This paper reviews the status of ionospheric mapping in the light of the modern requirements for telecommunication and aeronomy purposes in Europe. We want to point out the general features of three different kinds of ionospheric modelling:a) long-term, used in advance for system planning,b) short-term, used for frequency management and circuit parameters optimization andc) retrospective, used for post-event diagnoses. The paper deals with the following subjects: the different requirements of actual radio users, some physical considerations of the Earth's environment, the current state-of-the-art of existing global and regional maps derived from measured ionosonde data, the accuracy of the global and regional representation of the most significant characteristics indicative of ionospheric state, data sources for ionospheric model testing and improvement, generation of appropriate mapping functions of the daily departures from the monthly median for selected vertical-incidence ionospheric characteristics, and identification of precursors indicative of short-term variations of ionospheric propagation conditions.     

Space charge around conductors at high potential in magnetoplasma

Summary We discuss the effect of a magnetic field on the structure of the space charge region around very highly charged bodies in the ionosphere. Deductions are obtained for the values of current collected by such bodies for the ionospheric plasma. Post doctoral fellow from International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy. On leave from Department of Physics Saurashtra University, Rajkot, India, under programme ?Training and Research? in Italian Laboratories.     

Propagation of a transient electromagnetic disturbance in an inhomogeneous, collisional, Magnetized plasma

Summary The time response of an anisotropic, inhomogeneous magnetized plasma to a time-dependent externally applied electric field is studied. The plasma is considered as a conducting medium embedded in a static magnetic fieldB _o, with finite and constant parallel conductivity σ_∥ and normal conductivity σ_⊥ exponentially varying; a constant ion polarization conductivity (σ_pol) normal toB ₀ is also included. The driving termE ₀ is assumed to be normal to the ambient magnetic field, with a space dependence only in the (E ₀, B₀)-plane (two-dimensional case). The problem is treated as an initial (in time) and boundary (in space) value problem, and an analytic solution is obtained for the time response of the system to a unit step of electric field; the solution for any other driving field is then given via a convolution integral. This model can be used in particular to study the propagation through the ionosphere of ULF waves generated by the motion of an artificially created ion cloud in the upperF region. Moreover, the mathematical technique is rather general, so it may be used also for different plasma models.

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Riassunto Si presenta lo studio della risposta temporale (transitorio) di un plasma magnetizzato, anisotropo e inomogeneo ad un campo elettrico esterno impresso. Il plasma è trattato come un mezzo conduttore, immerso in un campo magnetico staticoB ₀, la cui conducibilità elettrica parallela al campo magnetico σ_∥ è costante, mentre la conducibilità normale σ_⊥ varia esponenzialmente nello spazio; si considera inoltre una conducibilità dovuta alla polarizzazione degli ioni (σ_pol) costante e normale aB ₀. Il campo impressoE ₀ è assunto normale al campo magnetico ambiente con dipendenza spaziale solo nel piano (E ₀, B₀) (caso bidimensionale). In queste ipotesi si perviene ad un problema ai valori iniziali e al contorno, e si deriva una soluzione analitica per la risposta transitoria del sistema ad un gradino di campo elettrico impresso; la soluzione per una qualsiasi funzione di campo applicato è data come integrale di convoluzione con la risposta al gradino. Questo modello può essere usato, in particolare, per studiare la propagazione attraverso la ionosfera di un'onda ULF generata dal moto di una nuvola ionica creata artificialmente nella parte superiore della regioneF. Un ulteriore interesse deriva dal fatto che, essendo la tecnica matematica utilizzata molto generale, questa può essere applicata pure a differenti modelli di plasma.

     

The upper atmosphere as a parallel combination of three variable bandpass filters

Summary We show that the upper atmosphere acts as a parallel combination of three main variable bandpass filters whose bandwidths extend from ∼10¹³ to ∼10¹⁵ Hz, ∼3 MHz to ∼10 GHz and ∼40 Hz to ∼10 kHz. The transmission coefficient of the first bandwidth increases as the intensity of the incident electromagnetic radiation within its passband increases. One consequence of the latter is that the eccentricity effects of the Earth's orbital geometry are (stochastically) amplified. This apparently explains why the 100 000 year eccentricity cycle cannot be predicted by the Milankovitch version of the astronomical theory or any other version that involves a linear response. Revised version of a paper presented at an International Symposium on ?Environmental Protection? held at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from 6 to 15 May 1988.     

Interaction of a plasma source with an ambient plasma

Summary Plasma sources are used to control spacecraft potential and, in general, to improve the electrical contact between a charged body and the space plasma. In the present paper we address the problem of the interaction of a plasma source with the ambient plasma. The source is supposed to be positively charged with respect to the ambient. A self-consistent collisionless one-dimensional fluid model is sketched and some of the results obtained are then presented and discussed. Paper presented at the V Cosmic Physics National Conference, S. Miniato, November 27–30, 1990.     

TSS core equipment I.—Electrodynamic package and rationale for system electrodynamic analysis

Summary The first Tethered-Satellite System (TSS-1) Electrodynamic mission has been launched aboard the Space Shuttle STS-46 on July 31, 1992, as a joint mission between the United States and Italy. A 500 kg, spherical Satellite (1.6 m diameter), attached to the Orbiter by a thin (0.24 cm), conducting, insulated wire (Tether), has been reeled upwards from the Orbiter payload bay to a distance of 256 m, rather than the expected 20 km, when the Shuttle was at a projected altitude of 300 km. ASI, the Italian Space Agency, had the responsibility for developing the reusable Satellite, while NASA had the responsibility for developing the Deployer system and the Tether, integrating the payload and providing transportation into space. One of the main scientific goals of this first mission is to demonstrate the possibility of energy conversion from mechanical to electrical by using a long Tether orbiting through the Earth's magnetic field. ASI designed and developed an active experiment, referred to as Core Equipment, in order to carry out this demonstration, and to support all the scientific investigations related to the study of the TSS electrodynamic interactions with the Earth's ionosphere. The experiment uses two Electron Generator Assemblies (EGAs), located on the Orbiter, to re-emit into the ionosphere, as an electron beam, the electrons collected on the Satellite from the ionosphere. Other instruments provide current, voltage, and ambient pressure measurements, and allow, via a series of switches, different electrical configurations of the TSS. The Core Equipment was innovative for space experiments in general and Shuttle experiments in particular. In fact, it was the first flight in which the Shuttle has been used as an integral part of the experiment and not only as an observing platform. It was the first mission with an integrated approach to science, will all the instrumentation and their operative modes selected to characterize the electric properties of the TSS.     

Range distribution of sporadic meteors and sunrise

Summary The echo ranges of 6921 sporadic meteors, determined by the Budrio meteor radar in April-September 1978 during a 15 hour interval around sunrise, are analysed. The variation of the mean ranges exhibits no correlation with the geomagneticK _p index. The observed seasonal variation of the mean ranges at three times of the day is accounted for by the position of the Earth's apex. The mean ranges with respect to local sunrise in the meteor region show a variation with a minimum just after sunrise.

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Riassunto Si analizzano le distanze degli echi da 6921 meteore sporadiche determinate utilizzando la stazione radar di Budrio nel corso di 15 ore di osservazioni centrate intorno all'alba nel periodo aprile-settembre 1978. Le variazioni delle distanze medie non evidenziano alcuna correlazione con l'indice geomagneticoK _p. Le variazioni stagionali delle distanze medie osservate a tre ore diverse del giorno sono da attribuire alla posizione dell'apice della Terra. Le distanze medie rispetto alla locale alba nella regione delle meteore mostrano una variazione che presenta un minimo appena dopo l'alba.

     

EUV-FUV spectroscopy of TSS optical Phenomena

Summary We propose to use the IEH (International Ultraviolet Hitchhiker), a multidisciplinary facility (Astronomy, Solar System, Earth's atmosphere) to be mounted on the Shuttle pallet as a Hitchhiker flight opportunity, in order to obtain 2D images in the EUV-FUV ((400÷1300) ?) of the optical phenomena occurring in the neighborhood of the TSS satellite. These peculiar phenomena, not detectable during the first TSS mission, are primarily due to the interaction of a high-potential conductive body with the surrounding ionospheric plasma. Paper presented at the V Cosmic Physics National Conference, S. Miniato, November 27–30, 1990.