OGO 6

OGO 6 was a large observatory instrumented with 26 experiments designed to study the various interrelationships between, and latitudinal distributions of, high-altitude atmospheric parameters during a period of increased solar activity. The main body of the spacecraft was attitude controlled by means of horizon scanners and gas jets so that its orientation was maintained constant with respect to the earth and the sun. The solar panels rotated on a horizontal axis extending transversely through the main body of the spacecraft. The rotation of the panels was activated by sun sensors so that the panels received maximum sunlight. Seven experiments were mounted on the solar panels (the SOEP package). An additional axis, oriented vertically across the front of the main body, carried seven experiments (the OPEP package). Nominally, these sensors observed in a forward direction in the orbital plane of the satellite. The sensors could be rotated more than 90 deg relative to the nominal observing position and more than 90 deg between the upper and lower OPEP groups mounted on either end of this axis. On June 22, 1969, the spacecraft potential dropped significantly during sunlight operation and remained so during subsequent sunlight operation. This unexplained shift affected seven experiments which made measurements dependent upon knowledge of the spacecraft plasma sheath. During October 1969, a string of solar cells failed, but the only effect of the decreased power was to cause two experiments to change their mode of operation. Also during October 1969, a combination of manual and automatic attitude control was initiated, which extended the control gas lifetime of the attitude control system. In August 1970, tape recorder (TR) no. 1 operation degraded, so all recorded data were subsequently taken with TR no. 2. By September 1970, power and equipment degradation left 14 experiments operating normally, 3 partially, and 9 off. From October 14, 1970, TR no. 2 was used only on Wednesdays (world days) to conserve power and extend TR operation. In June 1971, the number of "on" experiments decreased from 13 to 7, and on June 28, 1971, the spacecraft was placed in a spin-stabilized mode about the yaw (Z) axis and turned off due to difficulties with spacecraft power. OGO 6 was turned on again from October 10, 1971, through March 1972, for operation of experiment 25 by The Radio Research Laboratory, Japan. For additional information see J. E. Jackson and J. I. Vette, OGO Program Summary, NASA SP-7601, Dec. 1975.

OGO 6 是一座大型观测仪器，配备有26项实验，旨在研究在太阳活动增强期间，高空大气参数之间的各种相互关系及其纬度分布。该航天器的本体通过地平仪和气体喷射进行姿态控制，以确保其相对于地球和太阳的取向保持恒定。太阳能板沿水平轴旋转，该轴穿越航天器本体，其旋转由太阳传感器激活，以确保太阳能板接收最大阳光。七项实验安装在太阳能板上（SOEP包）。另一个垂直穿过本体前部的附加轴携带了七项实验（OPEP包）。这些传感器通常在卫星轨道平面内向前观测。传感器可以相对于标准观测位置旋转超过90度，并且在上、下OPEP组之间（该组分别安装在轴的两端）旋转超过90度。1969年6月22日，在阳光操作期间，航天器的电位显著下降，并在随后的阳光操作期间保持如此。这种未解释的变动影响了七项实验，这些实验的测量结果依赖于对航天器等离子体鞘的了解。在1969年10月，一系列太阳能电池损坏，但降低的功率唯一的影响是导致两项实验改变了它们的操作模式。同样在1969年10月，启动了手动和自动姿态控制的组合，这延长了姿态控制系统控制气体的使用寿命。1970年8月，录音机（TR）第1号的操作性能下降，因此所有记录的数据随后都使用TR第2号记录。到1970年9月，电力和设备退化导致14项实验正常运行，3项部分运行，9项停止运行。从1970年10月14日起，仅在每个星期三（世界日）使用TR第2号以节约电力并延长录音机的使用寿命。1971年6月，"开启"的实验数量从13项减少到7项，并在1971年6月28日，由于航天器电力问题，航天器被置于绕偏航（Z）轴的旋转稳定模式并关闭。1971年10月10日，OGO 6再次开启，至1972年3月，以供日本无线电研究实验室进行的实验25操作。有关更多信息，请参阅J. E. Jackson和J. I. Vette所著的《OGO项目摘要》，NASA SP-7601，1975年12月。