2 research outputs found
Acceleration Profiles and Processing Methods for Parabolic Flight
Parabolic flights provide cost-effective, time-limited access to "weightless"
or reduced gravity conditions experienced in space or on planetary surfaces,
e.g. the Moon or Mars. These flights facilitate fundamental research - from
materials science to space biology - and testing/validation activities that
support and complement infrequent and costly access to space. While parabolic
flights have been conducted for decades, reference acceleration profiles and
processing methods are not widely available - yet are critical for assessing
the results of these activities. Here we present a method for collecting,
analyzing, and classifying the altered gravity environments experienced during
a parabolic flight. We validated this method using a commercially available
accelerometer during a Boeing 727-200F flight with parabolas. All data and
analysis code are freely available. Our solution can be easily integrated with
a variety of experimental designs, does not depend upon accelerometer
orientation, and allows for unsupervised and repeatable classification of all
phases of flight, providing a consistent and open-source approach to
quantifying gravito-intertial accelerations (GIA), or levels. As academic,
governmental, and commercial use of space increases, data availability and
validated processing methods will enable better planning, execution, and
analysis of parabolic flight experiments, and thus, facilitate future space
activities.Comment: Correspondence to C.E. Carr ([email protected]). 15 pages, 4 figures, 3
supplemental figures. Code: https://github.com/CarrCE/zerog, Dataset:
https://osf.io/nk2w4