Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Stone, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Stone, R..

FPGA-based tracking for the CMS Level-1 trigger using the tracklet algorithm

The high instantaneous luminosities expected following the upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) pose major experimental challenges for the CMS experiment. A central component to allow efficient operation under these conditions is the reconstruction of charged particle trajectories and their inclusion in the hardware based trigger system. There are many challenges involved in achieving this: a large input data rate of about 20–40 Tb/s; processing a new batch of input data every 25 ns, each consisting of about 15,000 precise position measurements and rough transverse momentum measurements of particles (“stubs”); performing the pattern recognition on these stubs to find the trajectories; and producing the list of trajectory parameters within 4 µs. Here, this paper describes a proposed solution to this problem, specifically, it presents a novel approach to pattern recognition and charged particle trajectory reconstruction using an all-FPGA solution. The results of an end-to-end demonstrator system, based on Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGAs, that meets timing and performance requirements are presented along with a further improved, optimized version of the algorithm together with its corresponding expected performance.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

A High Power Density Power System Electronics for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

A high power density, modular and state-of-the-art Power System Electronics (PSE) has been developed for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission. This paper addresses the hardware architecture and performance, the power handling capabilities, and the fabrication technology. The PSE was developed by NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and is the central location for power handling and distribution of the LRO spacecraft. The PSE packaging design manages and distributes 2200W of solar array input power in a volume less than a cubic foot. The PSE architecture incorporates reliable standard internal and external communication buses, solid state circuit breakers and LiIon battery charge management. Although a single string design, the PSE achieves high reliability by elegantly implementing functional redundancy and internal fault detection and correction. The PSE has been environmentally tested and delivered to the LRO spacecraft for the flight Integration and Test. This modular design is scheduled to flight in early 2009 on board the LRO and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) spacecrafts and is the baseline architecture for future NASA missions such as Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) and Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS).

Hernandez-Pellerano, A.↗

Space VLBI at Low Frequencies

At sufficiently low frequencies, no ground-based radio array will be able to produce high resolution images while looking through the ionosphere.

Space VLBI Interferometry Low Frequency↗

A comparison of methods for the measurement of the absorption coefficient in natural waters

In the spring of 1992 an optical closure experiment was conducted at Lake Pend Orielle, Idaho. A primary objective of the experiment was to compare techniques for the measurement of the spectral absorption coefficent and other inherent optical properties of natural waters. Daily averages of absorption coefficents measured using six methods are compared at wavelengths of 456, 488, and 532 nm. Overall agreement was within 40% at 456 nm and improved with increasing wavelength to 25% at 532 nm. These absorption measurements were distributed over the final 9 days of the experiement, when bio-optical conditions in Lake Pend Oreille (as indexed by the beam attenuation coefficent c(sub p)(660) and chlorophyll a fluorescence profiles) were representative of those observed throughout the experiment. However, profiles of stimulated chlorophyll a fluorescence and beam transmission showed that bio-optical properties in the lake varied strongly on all time and space scales. Therefore environmental variabilty contributed significantly to deviations between daily mean absorption coefficients measured using the different techniques.

Pegau, W. Scott↗

The Helios radio astronomy experiment

Radio bursts traveling between the Sun and the Earth were tracked by radio astronomy experiments on Helios 1 and 2. A relatively short dipole antenna with a well-defined toroidal reception pattern was flown. The antenna spins in the ecliptic at 60.3 rpm and 2 frequencies are measured in each revolution. The signal analysis determines the strength of the signal, the direction of the source in the ecliptic, and the degree of modulation, and estimates source size. The experiments provide three-dimensional direction finding in space. They extend the radio frequency window beyond what is observable on Earth, and offer a long triangulation baseline.

Kayser, S.↗

Antarctic meteorite newsletter. Volume 4: Number 1, February 1981: Antarctic meteorite descriptions, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979

This issue of the Newsletter is essentially a catalog of all antarctic meteorites in the collections of the Johnson Space Center Curation Facility and the Smithsonian except for 288 pebbles now being classed. It includes listings of all previously distributed data sheets plus a number of new ones for 1979. Indexes of samples include meteorite name/number, classification, and weathering category. Separate indexes list type 3 and 4 chondrites, all irons, all achondrites, and all carbonaceous chondrites.

Stone, R.↗