Comparison of Calorimetric Sensors - NASA Ames and IRS

A space act agreement between NASA Ames Research Center and the Institute of Space Systems at the University of Stuttgart was put in place in October 2011. The focus of this collaboration is the comparison and refinement of measurement techniques for plasma characterization. Within this paper, first test results from this collaboration will be presented, based on tests completed at NASA Ames arc jet facilities. A water-cooled energy balance calorimeter and a null-point calorimeter from the Institute of Space Systems were compared to a slug calorimeter and null-point calorimeter from NASA Ames. The results are expected to serve the plasma and entry community by providing comparative data between the two facilities and the three types of sensors.