Ares I-X Range Safety Analyses Overview

Ares I-X was the first test flight of NASA's Constellation Program's Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle designed to provide manned access to low Earth orbit. As a one-time test flight, the Air Force's 45th Space Wing required a series of Range Safety analysis data products to be developed for the specified launch date and mission trajectory prior to granting flight approval on the Eastern Range. The range safety data package is required to ensure that the public, launch area, and launch complex personnel and resources are provided with an acceptable level of safety and that all aspects of prelaunch and launch operations adhere to applicable public laws. The analysis data products, defined in the Air Force Space Command Manual 91-710, Volume 2, consisted of a nominal trajectory, three sigma trajectory envelopes, stage impact footprints, acoustic intensity contours, trajectory turn angles resulting from potential vehicle malfunctions (including flight software failures), characterization of potential debris, and debris impact footprints. These data products were developed under the auspices of the Constellation's Program Launch Constellation Range Safety Panel and its Range Safety Trajectory Working Group with the intent of beginning the framework for the operational vehicle data products and providing programmatic review and oversight. A multi-center NASA team in conjunction with the 45th Space Wing, collaborated within the Trajectory Working Group forum to define the data product development processes, performed the analyses necessary to generate the data products, and performed independent verification and validation of the data products. This paper outlines the Range Safety data requirements and provides an overview of the processes established to develop both the data products and the individual analyses used to develop the data products, and it summarizes the results of the analyses required for the Ares I-X launch

Efficient ultrasonic grinding: a new technology for micron-sized coal. Quarterly technical progress report No. 1, September 15-December 15, 1979

During the first quarter, preliminary testing demonstrated the ability of ultrasonically enhanced comminution to increase fraction of -200 mesh particles by 100 to 500% over mechanical grinding alone. Modification of the preliminary ultrasonic comminution process to include cycles of ultrasonic activation followed by removal of fines has shown a significant increase in the production of -325 mesh particles (-44 microns) with substantial fractions in the -20 micron and -10 micron ranges. Efforts to characterize coal samples have yielded a correlation between Hardgrove Grindability Index (HGI) and susceptibility to ultrasonic comminution. This information, along with other considerations and data relating to the cost effectiveness of industrial ultrasonic comminution, will be used to select coal samples for the Phase II experiments. While several preliminary equipment configurations have been used, their purpose has been mainly to verify the mechanism of ultrasonic comminution and to secure information for the design and fabrication of optimized laboratory apparatus for Phase II testing. On this basis a nip configuration has been selected to insure contact throughout the ultrasonic activation period and prevent coal particle compaction

Efficient ultrasonic grinding: a new technology for micron-sized coal. Quarterly technical progress report No. 2, December 16, 1979-March 15, 1980

Work focused on establishing experimentally determined parameters for ultrasonic comminution and their translation into the design of an ultrasonic comminution array for Phase I testing. Early work indicated that continuous removal of fines during communition could significantly increase the production of -10 micron particles. Similarly, varying the mechanical gain of the ultrasonic comminution apparatus and thereby increasing the strain amplitude of the system was shown to enhance fines production. A gain of 3:1 (i.e., a three-fold increase in strain amplitude) produced the best results. These features used with an ultrasonic cylinder segment apparatus resulted in 276% increase in the production of -10 micron fines over that generated by passing coal through a non-activated control. Thus influenced, the design of the Phase I ultrasonic comminution apparatus will incorporate both a dual-roll and roller/plate capability; it will provide continuous flow of particles through the region of ultrasonic activation, thus permitting removal of fines as they are comminuted; and will function with a gain of 3:1. The Phase I apparatus also offers the flexibility of operating with either traveling or standing ultrasonic waves. Varying the physical configuration (dual-roller or roller plate) and the mode of ultrasonic activation (traveling or standing wave) allows for cost effective testing of four different techniques. Additionally, operating frequency has been reduced to 15 kHz to permit use of off-the-shelf hardware in apparatus assembly and thus expedite testing. Selection of four representative, well-characterized coals has been completed; after initial testing, 200 lb. quantities of two of the samples will be secured for Phase II experimentation

Osteoprotegerin: A Novel Secreted Protein Involved in the Regulation of Bone Density

AbstractA novel secreted glycoprotein that regulates bone resorption has been identified. The protein, termed Osteoprotegerin (OPG), is a novel member of the TNF receptor superfamily. In vivo, hepatic expression of OPG in transgenic mice results in a profound yet nonlethal osteopetrosis, coincident with a decrease in later stages of osteoclast differentiation. These same effects are observed upon administration of recombinant OPG into normal mice. In vitro, osteoclast differentiation from precursor cells is blocked in a dose-dependent manner by recombinant OPG. Furthermore, OPG blocks ovariectomy-associated bone loss in rats. These data show that OPG can act as a soluble factor in the regulation of bone mass and imply a utility for OPG in the treatment of osteoporosis associated with increased osteoclast activity

Steady-state kinetic studies with the polysulfonate U-9843, an HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitor

The tetramer of ethylenesulfonic acid (U-9843) is a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 RT * and possesses excellent antiviral activity at nontoxic doses in HIV-1 infected lymphocytes grown in tissue culture. Kinetic studies of the HIV-1 RT-catalyzed RNA-directed DNA polymerase activity were carried out in order to determine if the inhibitor interacts with the template: primer or the deoxyribonucleotide triphosphate (dNTP) binding sites of the polymerase. Michaelis-Menten kinetics, which are based on the establishment of a rapid equilibrium between the enzyme and its substrates, proved inadequate for the analysis of the experimental data. The data were thus analyzed using steady-state Briggs-Haldane kinetics assuming that the template:primer binds to the enzyme first, followed by the binding of the dNTP and that the polymerase is a processive enzyme. Based on these assumptions, a velocity equation was derived which allows the calculation of all the specific forward and backward rate constants for the reactions occurring between the enzyme, its substrates and the inhibitor. The calculated rate constants are in agreement with this model and the results indicated that U-9843 acts as a noncompetitive inhibitor with respect to both the template:primer and dNTP binding sites. Hence, U-9843 exhibits the same binding affinity for the free enzyme as for the enzyme-substrate complexes and must inhibit the RT polymerase by interacting with a site distinct from the substrate binding sites. Thus, U-9843 appears to impair an event occurring after the formation of the enzyme-substrate complexes, which involves either an event leading up to the formation of the phosphoester bond, the formation of the ester bond itself or translocation of the enzyme relative to its template:primer following the formation of the ester bond.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42867/1/18_2005_Article_BF01992044.pd

Genome wide association mapping of grain arsenic, copper, molybdenum and zinc in rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown at four international field sites

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