NSSDCA ID: 1969-051A-06
Mission Name: OGO 6An ion mass spectrometer was employed to measure the composition of positive ions in the mass range from 1 to 34 atomic mass units (u). The instrumentation consisted of a grid with an attracting potential located near the entrance aperture, a 90-deg sector magnetic analyzer with constant magnetic field strength, an electron multiplier detector, and a linear automatic-ranging electrometer. The different ion species were sampled by applying a varying voltage to the analyzer. The spectrometer could operate in a sweep mode and a step mode. In the sweep mode the voltage was swept exponentially from -4000 V to -94 V. The time for each sweep depended on the data telemetry rate (21.5 s at 64 kbs, 43 s at 16 kbs, and 86 s at 8 kbs). In the step mode the voltage could be stepped through a sequence of 11 values (corresponding to mass peaks at 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 14, 16, 18, 28, 30, and 32 u) or four values (corresponding to mass peaks at 1, 4, 14, and 16 u). The duration of each step was 1.1 s. The experiment could operate in both a real-time and a tape recorder mode. There were no scientific data from this experiment because the instrument was irreparably damaged at turn-on by high voltage arcing.
Mass: 3.8 kg
Bit rate (avg): 0.0075 kbps
Questions and comments about this experiment can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Mr. T. W. Flowerday | Other Investigator | University of Texas, Dallas | |
Prof. William B. Hanson | Principal Investigator | University of Texas, Dallas |