EDGAR-STS-80 CAN DO SEM Module

EDGAR

Experimental Device for Gravity and Acceleration Research

EDGAR was designed to measure the effects of microgravity on a pendulum.

EDGAR was a pendulum assembly made by suspending a weight using a banjo string. A reflector on the bottom of the weight reflected light from a center mounted Light Emitting Diode to Phototransistor mounted around the base. In the active mode- Edgar was released by pulling a pin so that the resulting oscillations could be measured. Later, Edgar was reactivated at set intervals so that it could serve as a passive accelerometer to measure maneuvering by the shuttle.

 

Here is EDGAR (right) mounted on the SEM base plate. A conical shroud protects the pendulum assembly. The bent arm just to the left is the lever that pulls the pin to start EDGAR. It is activated by the same motor that serves CRIS and BARI.

 RESULT

The EDGAR mechanism appears to have worked exactly as designed and produced a large volume of data. The complex vector mathematics needed to analyze that data has proven more difficult than originally realized. Work is still in progress to complete the analysis of the EDGAR data and to develop better ways to collect and analyze such data for future missions.

 

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