Aug 13 1980
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(New page: WFC reported that it had made nighttime electric-field measurements in the "middle atmosphere" from balloon ceiling to the ionosphere (30 to 100 kilometers), to extend measurement capabili...)
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WFC reported that it had made nighttime electric-field measurements in the "middle atmosphere" from balloon ceiling to the ionosphere (30 to 100 kilometers), to extend measurement capability into this region, and to compare techniques simultaneously on a worldwide basis. During the past decade scientists had become able to obtain reliable data elsewhere in the atmosphere (troposphere, stratosphere, ionosphere, magnetosphere, and even in deep space) but not in the middle region. WFC used rockets and a balloon for its local experiments; radars in Massachusetts, Alaska, Peru, Puerto Rico, France, and Scandinavia made supporting ground measurements.
At 8:35 p.m. EDT August 13, WFC launched a hundred-thousand cubic foot balloon inflated with helium, carrying a 21-kilogram (46-pound) payload to measure AC and DC electric fields from to 10 kHz in the middle atmosphere. The mission ended 10 hours, and a chase plane located the payload near Roanoke, Va. At 10:40 p.m. EDT, WFC launched a two-stage Nike Orion rocket carrying a 232-kilogram (510-pound) payload that reached peak altitude of 90.2. kilometers (56 miles) and recorded data during both ascent and descent. The payload included a water-recovery system; it was recovered at 11:58 p.m. and returned to WFC.
At 11:11 p.m. EDT, WFC launched a single-stage Super Arcas to reach 90 kilometer (58-mile) altitude, carrying an experiment called Blunt Probe to measure electric fields as well as positive and negative conductivity in the middle region, for comparison with balloon and Nike-Orion measurement. (WFC Release 80-11)
ARC would close the free world's largest wind tunnel for an $85 million modification. The 40 x 80 foot (12 x 24 meter) tunnel, in continuous use since completed in 1944, would have a 600-foot (183-meter) addition to house a new test section 80 x 120 feet (24 x 37 meters) with an air intake 362 feet (110 meters) wide and 132 feet (40 meters) high. The six 6,000-hp electric motors used since 1944 would be replaced with 22,500-hp units, raising drive from 36,000 hp to 135,000 hp. (NASA Release 80-125)
NASA reported results of a coordinated balloon and rocket launch at WFC August 13 to measure fair-weather electric fields. A balloon carrying Aerospace Corporation instruments measured vector electric fields on six booms and evaluated the data with an on-board COSMAC microprocessor. At 30-kilometer altitude, it saw unexpectedly large fields for about one hour. Rockets carrying payloads from Cornell and Penn State Universities launched 20 minutes apart during the balloon flight, both saw anomalously large electric fields that peaked near 70 kilometers. The results would call for revision of present theories, as they suggested that some other generator of electricity was active in addition to the thunderstorm-driven system and the ionospheric system. (NASA Dly Actv Rpt, Sept 23180)
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