A Meteor Burst Telemetry System for a Nuclear Lunar Power Plant

Abstract

The meteor burst telemetry system to be described was conceived, designed, and developed as an Engineering Model. The telemetry system will be used to telemeter oceanographic data from an experimental instrumented ocean buoy to be moored at continental shelf depths on Cobb Seamount to shore facilities at Seattle, Washington. Cobb Seamount is located in the Pacific Ocean approximately 300 miles off the coast of the State of Washington. A general description of the telemetry system and its operational characteristics, which are dictated by the statistical characteristics of the meteor burst mode of propagation, is presented. This is followed by a more detailed description of equipment elements of the system. The developmental status, the results of a propagation path field test, and plans for additional tests are discussed. Development results to date are sufficiently encouraging to generate confidence in the utility of a meteor burst telemetry system for oceanographic data acquisition.