Location
Holiday Inn, Manatee Room
Start Date
24-4-1990 2:00 PM
End Date
24-4-1990 5:00 PM
Description
In September 1990, the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) of the University of Bremen, West, Germany, will start the operations for the Drop Tower "Bremen". Drop Towers enable short time experiments under microgravity condititons, and are thus lowcost research facilities complementing the existing and, projected space laboratories for microgravity research. Developed by ZARM in close cooperation with the Bremen based companies MBB/ERNO Raumfahrttechnik, OHB-System and Krupp Atlas Elektronik, the tower will realize up to several times per day to produce microgravitational condititons for approximately 4.7 s in free fall over 110 m. A powerful pumping system by which, the drop tube can, be evacuated to a pressure of 1 Pa, reduces the air drag to a negligible level,, By using a special release system, the rotation and vibration of the experiment capsule during drop can be minimized. In constructing the tower system, gireat efforts were made to detect and to eliminate 'further disturbance effects,. Experimental studies were carried out on a 18 m high, drop tower at ZARM during the last 2 years* These studies are complemented by theoretical, investigations and calculations of drop capsule models and, platforms used for mounting the experimental equipment inside the drop capsule,, The results of these studies and considerations show that the rates of the residual disturbing accelerations, to be attained during free fall at the Drop Tower "Bremen" in the interesting frequency range from 0.2 Hz to 1 kHz can be reduced to a level of 10 g [1]. As a result of these extremely low residual disturbing accelerations, the Drop Tower "Bremen" is not only a lowcost, but also a very high quality microgravity laboratory.
Paper Session I-C - Drop Tower Bremen -Short Time Microgravity Experiments During Free Fall
Holiday Inn, Manatee Room
In September 1990, the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) of the University of Bremen, West, Germany, will start the operations for the Drop Tower "Bremen". Drop Towers enable short time experiments under microgravity condititons, and are thus lowcost research facilities complementing the existing and, projected space laboratories for microgravity research. Developed by ZARM in close cooperation with the Bremen based companies MBB/ERNO Raumfahrttechnik, OHB-System and Krupp Atlas Elektronik, the tower will realize up to several times per day to produce microgravitational condititons for approximately 4.7 s in free fall over 110 m. A powerful pumping system by which, the drop tube can, be evacuated to a pressure of 1 Pa, reduces the air drag to a negligible level,, By using a special release system, the rotation and vibration of the experiment capsule during drop can be minimized. In constructing the tower system, gireat efforts were made to detect and to eliminate 'further disturbance effects,. Experimental studies were carried out on a 18 m high, drop tower at ZARM during the last 2 years* These studies are complemented by theoretical, investigations and calculations of drop capsule models and, platforms used for mounting the experimental equipment inside the drop capsule,, The results of these studies and considerations show that the rates of the residual disturbing accelerations, to be attained during free fall at the Drop Tower "Bremen" in the interesting frequency range from 0.2 Hz to 1 kHz can be reduced to a level of 10 g [1]. As a result of these extremely low residual disturbing accelerations, the Drop Tower "Bremen" is not only a lowcost, but also a very high quality microgravity laboratory.
Comments
Small Microgravity Carriers
Session Chairman: Charles Lundquist, Director, Consortium for Materials Development in Space, University of Alabama in Huntsville
Session Organizer: Dwight Easterly, CSAT, Cocoa Beach, FL