4 research outputs found
Analysis of operating procedures in OMI at NOAA.
The important internal operating procedures of NOAA Research's Office of Management and Information have been thoroughly documented with flowcharts and written narratives. Analysis of these procedures has revealed problems of communication between departments and excessive numbers of individuals involved in simple tasks. Based on this analysis, it is recommended that the office make stronger use of e-mail, document new procedures as early as possible, and trim procedures to the minimum number of necessary personnel
Development of a time-of-flight spectrometer to measure micronewton thruster performance
Colloid thrusters provide micro-newtons of thrust, allowing for precision spacecraft control. In a vacuum, colloid thrusters will emit a cone shaped plume consisting of charged droplets. Previous works have characterized an overall charge-to-mass distribution in this plume, however different regions within the plume have not been studied. This project involved designing and building an instrument that can move a small target in cylindrical coordinates, and can record the information gathered by the target and associated electronics using LabVIEW software