SATELLITE INSTRUMENTATION FOR MEASURING SPACE NUCLEAR RADIATION.

Abstract

Certain problem areas of current scientific and military interest lend themselves particularly well to investigation from Discoverer satellite orbits. These areas have been chosen for investigation with Lockheed Missiles and Space Division instruments in the first alternate payload. Data on the species, fluxes, energies, angular distributions, and time dependences of the nuclear radiations in the polar regions of the earth, for example, are necessary for a better understanding of the origins of such radiations and their effect on satellite performance. Also, more detailed knowledge of the primary cosmic radiation can lead to a better understanding of the nature and location of the sources of this radiation, its composition, and interaction with matter. The particular properties of the Discoverer satellite that make it unique for the measurement of polar and cosmic radiation are the following: polar orbit; low altitude of orbit; attitude control feature; and recoverability of portion of the payload.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1959
Accession Number
AD0607929

Entities

Organizations

  • Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altitude
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Cosmic Rays
  • Instrumentation
  • Low Altitude
  • Measuring Instruments
  • Nuclear Radiation
  • Orbits
  • Payload
  • Polar Orbits
  • Polar Regions
  • Radiation
  • Satellite Orbits
  • Time Dependence

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Spectroscopy.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Satellites