Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Kopf, E. H., Jr..
New control system damps vibrations in rotating equipment with help of phase-locked-loop techniques. Vibrational modes are controlled by applying suitable currents to drive motor. Control signals are derived from sensors mounted on equipment.
HYPACE provides an adaptable, analog/digital design approach that permits preflight and in-flight accommodation of mission changes, component performance variations, spacecraft changes, etc., through programing. This enabled broad multimission flexibility of application in a cost-effective manner. The HYPACE design, which was demonstrated in breadboard form on a single-axis gas-bearing spacecraft simulation, uses a single control channel to perform the attitude control functions sequentially, thus significantly reducing the number of component parts over hard-wired designs. The success of this effort resulted in the concept being selected for the Mariner/Jupiter/Saturn 1977 spacecraft application.
In the course of extended life attitude control system (ELACS) research sponsored by NASA a hybrid programable attitude control electronics (HYPACE) concept was developed and demonstrated. The wide variety of future planetary missions demanded a new control approach to accommodate the automatic fault tolerance and long the life requirements of such missions. HYPACE provides an adaptable, analog/digital design approach that permits preflight and in-flight accommodation of mission changes, component performance variations, and spacecraft changes, through programing. This enabled broad multimission flexibility of application in a cost effective manner. Previously, flight control computers have not been not flown on planetary missions because of weight and power problems. These problems were resolved in the design of HYPACE. The HYPACE design, which was demonstrated in breadboard form on a single-axis gas-bearing spacecraft simulation, uses a single control channel to perform the attitude control functions sequentially, thus significantly reducing the number of component parts over hard-wired designs.
Adaptive numerical integration program for IBM 1620 II
Digital computer simulation of solar pressure effect on spacecraft attitude control after gas system depletion
Optimization of attitude control systems by development of mathematical model and computer program for space vehicle simulation
Attitude control system optimization - computer programs, listings and subroutines