Freethought & Rationalism Archive

WhiteKnight · 02-10-2003, 03:30 PM

Loss of tiles isn't normal. There are no "tile attached" sensors. Even if there were, it is unlikely the limited telemetry bandwidth would be used for what would be essentially constant readings.

Some of the available signals of interest for control of the orbiter are: angle of attack and sideslip, RCS jet driver commands, elevon panel commands and feedbacks, body rates, and lateral and normal accelerations.

Most of these parameters are received at 12.5 Hz or better and should allow derivation of an effective set of aerodynamic coefficients. These can be used to infer the location and type of damage on the left wing, in addition to readings from available temperature sensors.

Mageth · 02-10-2003, 04:04 PM

Most of these parameters are received at 12.5 Hz or better and should allow derivation of an effective set of aerodynamic coefficients. These can be used to infer the location and type of damage on the left wing, in addition to readings from available temperature sensors.

You would know better than I, but just to be clear, I doubt such derivations and/or inferences are automated, in place, and monitored during re-entry. The derivations of aerodynamic coefficients, perhaps, but not the damage location inferences. Even if they were, there might be little or nothing that could be done to address the problem even if detected shortly after it occurred. They're mostly valuable for post-mission diagnostics.

All that talk brings back memories of my years spent demultiplexing and analyzing shuttle experiment data in support of Life Sciences experiments.

WhiteKnight · 02-10-2003, 07:38 PM

Mageth,

You're right, I was referring to analysis in a post-mission (or in this case post-accident) perspective. From what I've heard, the number crunching isn't something that could feasibly be done real-time (CFD never seems to run very fast). As you've noted, there's not much you could do with that data real-time, anyway.

Since the final portion of telemetry is somewhat garbled, the high sampling rates allow more opportunities to observe the final values of these parameters.

White Knight

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02-10-2003, 03:30 PM	#91
WhiteKnight Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: League City, TX Posts: 55	Loss of tiles isn't normal. There are no "tile attached" sensors. Even if there were, it is unlikely the limited telemetry bandwidth would be used for what would be essentially constant readings. Some of the available signals of interest for control of the orbiter are: angle of attack and sideslip, RCS jet driver commands, elevon panel commands and feedbacks, body rates, and lateral and normal accelerations. Most of these parameters are received at 12.5 Hz or better and should allow derivation of an effective set of aerodynamic coefficients. These can be used to infer the location and type of damage on the left wing, in addition to readings from available temperature sensors.

02-10-2003, 04:04 PM	#92
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	Most of these parameters are received at 12.5 Hz or better and should allow derivation of an effective set of aerodynamic coefficients. These can be used to infer the location and type of damage on the left wing, in addition to readings from available temperature sensors. You would know better than I, but just to be clear, I doubt such derivations and/or inferences are automated, in place, and monitored during re-entry. The derivations of aerodynamic coefficients, perhaps, but not the damage location inferences. Even if they were, there might be little or nothing that could be done to address the problem even if detected shortly after it occurred. They're mostly valuable for post-mission diagnostics. All that talk brings back memories of my years spent demultiplexing and analyzing shuttle experiment data in support of Life Sciences experiments.

02-10-2003, 07:38 PM	#93
WhiteKnight Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: League City, TX Posts: 55	Mageth, You're right, I was referring to analysis in a post-mission (or in this case post-accident) perspective. From what I've heard, the number crunching isn't something that could feasibly be done real-time (CFD never seems to run very fast). As you've noted, there's not much you could do with that data real-time, anyway. Since the final portion of telemetry is somewhat garbled, the high sampling rates allow more opportunities to observe the final values of these parameters. White Knight

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