Black Brant II sounding rocket instrumentation for measurement of D layer electron density and collision rat

Hoffman, D. J.

Nisbet, J. S.

Seliga, T. A.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

AFCR L- 6 5 -6  7 3   
Ionospheric Research  . 
Contract No. PF19(628)-4050 
. Scientific Rep0 r t 
e..”-. . 
LRocket Instrumentation 
E lee tr on Density 
on 
for  the Measurement  of D-Region 
and Collision Frequencie;)’ 
by 
T. A ,  Seliga, D. J. Hoffman and J. S. Nisbet 
Scientific Report  No.  244 
-e--- 
“The r e sea rch  reported in this document has  been sponsored by the 
Defense Atomic Support Agency, Washington, D. C. under Subtask 
07.  530, and in part ,  by the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis- 
tration under Grant  NsG-134-61. ” 
Ionosphere Research Laboratory 
Submftte d by: 
Approved by: 
--rr- J .  (u) 
) 
of Elec t r ica l  Engineering 
Pro jec t  Supervisor 
A .  H. Waynick, Pro35ssor of 
Elec t r ica l  Engineering, Director 
Ionosphere Research Laboratory 
The Pennsylvania State University 
College of Engineering 
Department of E lec t r ica l  Engineering 
P repa red  for  
A i r  Fo rce  Cambridge Research  Laboratories 
Office of Aerospace Research  
United States A i r  F o r c e  
B edf ord, Ma s sac  hu se t t  s 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19660003569 2020-03-16T22:14:27+00:00Z
ABSTRACT 
This r epor t  descr ibes  the instrumentation designed to be flown 
in a Black Brant  II rocket,  AC17.606. 
in  the design and a r e  1.) an AC conductivity probe, 2 . )  a low frequency 
propagation experiment  and 3. ) a tempera ture  probe. 
Three experiments  a r e  included 
TABLE O F  CONTENTS 
1 . 0  Introduction e . . . ~ ~ . . . . . . . . . . , . . . 
2 . 0  Conductivity Probe  Experiment . ~ . . . . . . . 
2, 1 Probe  Instrumentation , . . . . ~ . ~ . . ~ 
2 . 2  Synchronizer ~ ~ . . . . . . ~ . . . . ~ . 
3 . 0  Propagation Experiment ~ ~ . . ~ ~ . e . ~ . 
3 . 1  Low Frequency Receiving Antennas . . . . 
4 . 0  Temperature  Probes . ~ . . . . . . . . . 
5.  0 DC-DC Converter and Bat tery Supply ~ . . . . 
6 0  0 Remote Control Unit . . . ~ ~ . . . . . 
References ~ , ~ , ~ . . ~ , , a . , . . . 
Page 
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1 ~ 0 Introduction 
This experiment was designed to study some of the little under-  
stood factors  in D-region rocket experiments.  
were  considered, the effect  of the boundary layer ,  the effect of the 
Mach cone and the effect of the ion sheath. 
Three main topics 
To study effects of the boundary layer ,  two probe configurations 
were included. 
separated f r o m  the nosecone skin by 1 . 6 2  inches. 
pa i r s  of paral le l  plates mounted flush with the nosecone surface.  
Balls and plates were connected to identical bridge circui ts  fo r  
measuring the resis t ive and capacitive components of the impedance 
a t  100 and 512 kc / s .  
f rom the nosecone surface to be outside the boundary layer  while the 
paral le l  plates were within the boundary Sayer. 
balls would be continuously inside the nosecone Mach cone but on 
descent it was expected that the rotation of the rocket and the re -en t ry  
a1 t;r;de would be such that they would be outside this cone. 
The f i r s t  consisted of an arrangement  of s tee l  balls 
Also included were  
The balls were calculated to be f a r  enough 
During ascent  the 
The effect of the plasma sheath was to be studied by making 
measurements  on both configurations while solidly grounded to the 
main rocket body. Two additional gauges designed to measu re  the 
electron and positive ion temperatures  and the vehicle potential were  
included ~ 
In addition to the probes a propagation experiment was designed 
to provide data on the low frequency propagation constants of the 
ionosphere f o r  comparison with the local measurements  
- 2 -  
A block diagram of the sys tem designed to pe r fo rm the 
experiments is shown in Figure 1. 
conductivity probe and propagation experiments was flown successfully 
on two Black Brant I1 rockets in July of 1963. 
descr ibed the instrumentation fo r  those flights. Consequently, o d y  
the differences in instrumentation between this experiment  and that 
descr ibed by Seliga and Vogt a r e  covered in this report .  
A slightly different vers ion of the 
Seliga and Vogt (1963) 
2 .0  Conductivity Probe  Experiment 
The AC conductivity experiment was designed to  measu re  the 
conductance and capacitance alternately between se t s  of plates and 
spheres .  
to the rocket nosecone while Figure 3 i l lustrates  the detai ls  of the 
spherical  probes. The exact dimensions of the probes which were 
designed fo r  AC 17. 606 a r e  given in Figure 4. 
Figure 2 is a photograph of the probes a s  they were  mounted 
Both probes were made of stainless steel .  The plates were 
made of 1 /8 "  stock and se t  in flush to the skin of the nosecone. 
spheres  a r e  a nominal 1'' diameter  and a r e  mounted on conical sections 
whose s ides  a r e  kept paral le l  as shown in F igure  3. 
configurations were designed to determine any differences between a 
probe mounted flush to the skin and one extending a shor t  distance f r o m  
the skin. 
The 
The two probe 
Figure 5 shows the internal  e lectr ical  connections and locations 
of the probes.  
configuration which is symmetr ica l  about the nosecone. 
Two pairs  of each probe were  used in o r d e r  to produce a 
a 
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NOSECONE AND EXTERNAL PROBE CONFIGURATION 
FIGURE 2 
PLATES 
SPHERICAL 
/PROBES 
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TEMPERATURE 
PROBE . 
. 
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4 
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- 5 -  
FIGURE 3 
SPHERES - .167" - - .167" - 
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PROBE DIMENSIONS 
FIGURE 4 
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PLATES 
CROSS-SECTION O F  NOSE C O N E  
INTERNAL ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 
AND EXTERNAL PROBE CONNECTIONS 
FIGURE 5 
2. 1 Probe Instrumentation 
I 
The impedance a c r o s s  the probes i s  measu red  with a capaci-  
tance conductance bridge circuit, 
(512 k c / s  arid 100 kc /s1  oSciu ld tor  5 0  that 1mpedan;e measu remen t s  
The bridge A S  fed by a dual sou rce  
could be made simultaneousiy at both frequencies ,  The de tec tors  
consis ted of tuned R F  amplif.ea s tages  k:a;hng a logarithmic detection 
Characterist ic which se rved  as the te lemet ry  mput. The osclj lator , 
bridge, and detector a r e  described thoroughly by Sei,ga and Vogt  
(1963). The only d i f fe rence  IS that a coaxtal switch has  been added 
s o  that the two probe units cdri time sha re  the oscrllator output. 
2 ,  2 I Synchronizer 
Because of a limsted number of as.dli3ble te iemet ry  chinnei:, 
the outputs f r o m  ?he detectors  were time s h a i e d  between the two probe 
configurations. The synchronizer  15 made up of c a m  ac tb j ted  m i c r o -  
switches,  and the c a m  is driven by a 1 2  volt DC motor The operdtion 
of the snychronizer 1s buch that during the frr- .a_ h J f  cycle the s igna?s 
f r o m  the spherical  de tec tors  a r e  fed I O  t e l eme t ry ,  w h i l e  during the 
second half cycle the te lemerry input5 a r e  derilc-d f r o m  ?he  plate 
de tec tors ,  The circu-t d i ag ram of the syn;hron,zer  IS given rn Fmgbre 
6 ,  The synchronizer a is0 coc t rc i s  the coax,a! switch which synchron>zes 
the output of the oscil lator with the proper  probe unit. 
3 0 Propagation Experiment ~- 
The inst rurnentation for  the propagation exper iment  is descr ibed  
Only tne antenna s t r u c t u r e  nas  been changed by Seliga and Vogt (1963) 
fo r  this payload. 
- 9 -  
I '  - 
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+6 
2 -  
3 -  
4 -  
5 -  
6 -  
7 -  
B -  
-6 
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512 Kc 
100 Kc 
TM OUT 
I 
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5 
TO COAX 
sw (I: 
M ON 
ON0 
1 2 
st_ 
-F 
J 
M O T O R  r&--1 
I 
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SYNCHRONIZER SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM 
FIGURE 6 
SWITCHING 
SEQUENCE 
1 (',Z L 
5 R (MOMENTARILY) 
- 
L R  
- 10 - 
3 .  1 Low Frequency Receiving Antennas 
Two fe r r i t e  loop antennas made up pa r t  of the payload and were  
used  to receive a low-frequency C W  wave which was t ransmi t ted  f r o m  
the ground to  the rocket.  One antenna was oriented along the rocket 
axis while the other was aligned perpendicular to  the rocket axis. The 
antennas were  mounted on a deck above the r ece ive r s  as  f a r  away a s  
possible f rom the r e s t  of the ic5trumentat;ori in orde r  to reduce pickup 
and possible feedback, 
Each  antenna consisted or four f e r r i t e  b;ocku arouild which was 
wound 50 turns  of No. 16 enameled copper wire  The wire  was wound 
in two l aye r s  of 25 tu rns  each The antenna was s e t  into a piece of 
Micarda tubing whose ends were  s e i l e d  w,tkl mdchuned pieces of 
Synthane, ". P i i o r  t o  sealing the anteFnnd ledds were  mated  to  a coaxi i l  
cable which was fed through a hoie i r ,  !he MLcarda tubing, The remAn.ing 
space in the tube w a s  filled with foam (Eccofodm F2) in o rde r  to  insure 
rigidity and provide shock protection bo the arrrennds. 
The antennas were  measu red  to  have a Q of approximately 3 0 .  
Tuning was accomplished with vdridb:e capacit i jrs  which were  mounted 
in separa te  aluminum boxej  near  the antenr-i- ?he  equivalent length 
of: each antenna W ~ S  approximdteiy 0.  3 m e t e r s .  The antennas were  
connected to  their  respective re;e;bers  by coaxial  cabies which mated  
to  the tuning boxes, 
4 . 0  Tempera ture  P robes  
The electron and positive ion t empera tu re  unit; were  idendecal 
except for  the bias polarity to  the metal , ic  conductors  which were  
.I- 
Manufactured by Snythane Corporat ion Oaks,  Pa, 
- 11 - 
. 
. 
mounted flush to the nosecone surface.  
were  1" in diameter  and one of them may  be seen in F igure  2 .  
ionosphere these conductors exhibit a diode type charac te r i s t ic  and 
relations between the current ,  voltage and particle tempera ture  can 
be derived. 
These c i r cu la r  metall ic plates 
In the 
By keeping a constant DC cu r ren t  and applying a sma l l  constant 
AC cur ren t  to the probe, and detecting the AC voltage a c r o s s  the probe, 
it is possible to obtain a measurement  of the tempera ture  of the cur ren t  
c a r r i e r s .  
and the ion probe has  a negative bias to a t t rac t  the positive ions in the 
iono s phe re .  
The electron probe has  a positive bias to a t t rac t  e lectrons 
Figure 7 is a block diagram of the temperature  unit. The 
constant cur ren t  AC source is a multivibrator with a f i l tered,  high 
impedance output. 
impedance amplifier using a field effect t rans is tor .  
amplified and detected by a simple diode detector ,  The output of the 
detector is approximately 0 to 1. 5 volts over a range f rom 10 kS2 to 
seve ra l  megohms probe impedance. The schematic d iagram for one 
of the units is shown in Figure 8. 
charac te r i s t ics  of the probes. 
The DC bias level to the probe is detected by a high 
The AC signal is 
Figure 9 i l lustrates  the A C  resis tance 
5 .  0 DC-DC Converter and Bat tery Supply 
The converter  was in a common emi t te r  configuration and was a 
modification of the TY-81 model made by Triad Transformer  Corpora-  
tion. The converter supplies Bar, 1 3 5  volts, f r o m  the 12 volt bat tery 
pack. I ts  schematic diagram is shown in Figure 10. 
The basic power supply was eight PM-5 Yardley Silvercels 
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- 15 - 
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POWER REQUIREMENTS: 
12 VOLTS DC INPUT 
150-170 VOLTS DC OUTPUT a O . 2  AMPS 
OUTPUT POWER- 170 X 0 . 2 ~ 3 4  WATTS 
i' INPUT 
2 I 
+ 
I 
c4== R 3  ou 
- 
R3.30 K/ IO  WATTS 
CI = 250 pf/25 VOLTS 
C 4 =  5 )rf/450 VOLTS 
R I ,  Re, C2-  OPTIMUM STARTIR G AND BASE DRIVE 
C3-MINIMUM SPIKES ON COLLECTOR AND 
EMITTER WAVEFORM 
TPUT 
DC-DC CONVERTER 
FIGURE 10 
- 16 - 
connected in ser ies .  
t o  the instrumentation and was distributed through the control box. 
c i rcu i t  diagram of the control box i s  given in Figure 1 B 
6. 0 Remote Control Unit 
The output of the Silvercels provided a l l  the power 
A 
The functions of the remote control unit a r e  descr ibed by 
Seliga and Vogt (1963). However, the unit was modified and i ts  
schematic is given in Figure 12. The modifications included the 
addition of a scheme to  monitor a19 &e te lemetry inputs in the block- 
house while operating under both internal and external  power. 
requiring alteration was the DC supply voltage 
in the Control Box f r o m  110 to 28 volts. 
References  
Also 
to the stepping switch 
Seliga, T. A .  and R. W. Vogt, Rocket Instrumentation for  the 
Measurement of A C  Conductivity, with a Capacitive Probe ,  
and Long Wave Propagation in the Lower Ionosphere, 
Ion0 sphe r e  Res e a r  ch Laboratory,  Pennsylvania State 
University, Sci. Report (E)  No ,  181. 
4 
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0 5  
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0 0 0 
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1-6 0 
I - CPU NO.1 (512 k d s )  7-  ELECTRON ION 
2- CPU NO. I ( 100 k d s )  8- ELECTRON ION 
3- CPU NO. 2 (512 kc/s) 9- ELECTRON ION 
4- CPU NO. 2 (100 k d s )  IO- ELECTRON ION 
5- 163 kc/s RCVR(X-ANT.) 12-FIRE (MON. 
6- 163 kc/s RCVR(Y-ANT) COMMUTATOR OUTPUT) 
(CPU - CAPACITANCE PROBE UNIT) 
CONTROL BOX 
FIGURE I1 
- 18 - 
3 POS. sw. 
UP, CHARGE 
1 3 POS. sw. 
CHAN 1 
OFF 
CHAN 2 
SELECTOR 
ON -OFF I 
t 
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CHAN I 1,2 
CENTER, NO CHARGE 
DOWN, CHARGE CHAN 2 
+6 H .  - 6  GND 
F ~ R  
CHARGING 
TO 
2 
C H A W  I i t  .05 
2,4,6, ON COMM. 
e,io OUT 
REMOTE CONTROL UNIT CIRCUIT DIAGRAM 
FIGURE 12 
Uncia s si f  ied 
Security Classification 
1. ORIGINATINO ACTIVITY (Carpomtc author) 
The Ionosphere Research  Laboratory 
The Pennsylvania State University 
. 
pa REPORT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 
Unclassified 
2b. GROUP 
Electron Density and Collision Frequencies  
1. OLSCRIPTIVL NOTES (Trpe of r e p a  and indwiue dater) 
A PROJECT no. 
C. TASK 
y"; 9:'" 1965 
@a. c o w n x r  on ORANT NO. AF 19(628)-4050 
Scientific Report  No. 244 
7 0  TOTAL or  P A O W  7b NO.OF REFS ?Q 1 
BO. ORIGINATOR'S REPORT NUMf3E"s) 
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Washington, D. C. 
DD , T:::, 1473 
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KEY WORDS 
AC conductivity probe, a low 
frequency propagation experiment 
and a temperature probe. 
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Rocket instrumentation for the measurement of D-region electron density and collision frequencies Scientific report no. 244

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