Dynamic storage expansion in NASTRAN

Some functions of NASTRAN require a large block of working computer storage to execute. The method of meeting this requirement, because of insufficient data, was to specify in advance an excessive amount of data to avoid a fatal exit. A method was developed to calculate the amount of working space needed for the analysis and to inform the analyst of this data or, in the case of Univac computers, to acquire this extra storage and continue the analysis

A geometry package for generation of input data for a three-dimensional potential-flow program

The preparation of geometric data for input to three-dimensional potential flow programs was automated and simplified by a geometry package incorporated into the NASA Langley version of the 3-D lifting potential flow program. Input to the computer program for the geometry package consists of a very sparse set of coordinate data, often with an order of magnitude of fewer points than required for the actual potential flow calculations. Isolated components, such as wings, fuselages, etc. are paneled automatically, using one of several possible element distribution algorithms. Curves of intersection between components are calculated, using a hybrid curve-fit/surface-fit approach. Intersecting components are repaneled so that adjacent elements on either side of the intersection curves line up in a satisfactory manner for the potential-flow calculations. Many cases may be run completely (from input, through the geometry package, and through the flow calculations) without interruption. Use of the package significantly reduces the time and expense involved in making three-dimensional potential flow calculations

Jupiter's radiation belts: Can Pioneer 10 survive?

Model calculations of Jupiter's electron and proton radiation belts indicate that the Galilean satellites can reduce particle fluxes in certain regions of the inner magnetosphere by as much as six orders of magnitude. Average fluxes should be reduced by a factor of 100 or more along the Pioneer 10 trajectory through the heart of Jupiter's radiation belts in early December. This may be enough to prevent serious radiation damage to the spacecraft

The Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans: vestiges of a neighborhood

The Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans: Vestiges of a Neighborhood is a photo-documentary of the remnants of one of America’s most unique and culturally distinct neighborhoods. Three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated this neighborhood, it lies in ruin, slowly returning to nature. All that remains of the community that once occupied the Lower Ninth are the dilapidated buildings, the crumbling homes, and the small possessions left behind. For the past three years I have explored the Lower Ninth Ward, discovering the remains of a community rich in tradition, family, and religion. Through the use of black and white photographs and the panoramic format, the tragic landscape and the broken architecture come together to give a greater perspective of the fragile state of the neighborhood. In this past year I have created a portrait of this neighborhood, to serve as a memorial to the loss of the Lower Ninth Ward community and as a means of preserving what is left

Absorption of trapped particles by Jupiter's moons

Absorption effects of the four innermost moons in the radial transport equations for electrons and protons in Jupiter's magnetosphere are presented. The phase space density n at 2 R sub J for electrons with equatorial pitch angles less than 69 deg is reduced by a factor of 4.2 x 1000 when lunar absorption is included in the calculation. For protons with equatorial pitch angles less than 69 deg, the corresponding reduction factor is 3.2 x 100000. The effect of the satellites becomes progressively weaker for both electrons and protons as equatorial pitch angles of pi/2 are approached, because the likelihood of impacting a satellite becomes progressively smaller. The large density decreases which we find at the orbits of Io, Europa, and Ganymede result in corresponding particle flux decreases that should be observed by spacecraft making particle measurements in Jupiter's magnetosphere. The characteristic signature of satellite absorption should be a downward pointing cusp in the flux versus radius curve at the L-value corresponding to each satellite