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Winston, G. C.

Publications and source records attributed to Winston, G. C..

9 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1978

A high speed pointing system

A laser ranging system for use with the Space Shuttle, and applied to a precise determination of the distance between points arrayed on different tectonic plates, i.e., along the San Andreas fault, spaced at distances of 25, 50, and 100 km, is discussed with attention to the orbiting pointing system. The mount carrying the system contains a single elliptical mirror which directs ten laser firings per second (15-18 firings to each target), and receives the light reflected from the target. The mirror and all moving structural parts are constructed of Be. The axes are equipped with 19-bit shaft angle encoders and brushless torque motors. Care is taken to avoid structural resonances, and to ensure a minimum of servo settling time. A Kalman filter is used with the microprocessor system to interpolate low data rate commands to the higher data rates required by the pointing system.

Winston, G. C.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Satellite laser ranging work at the Goddard Space Flight Center

Laser ranging systems, their range and accuracy capabilities, and planned improvements for future systems are discussed, the systems include one fixed and two mobile lasers ranging systems. They have demonstrated better than 10 cm accuracy both on a carefully surveyed ground range and in regular satellite ranging operations. They are capable of ranging to all currently launched retroreflector equipped satellites with the exception of Timation III. A third mobile system is discussed which will be accurate to better than 5 cm and will be capable of ranging to distant satellites such as Timation III and LAGEOS.

Mcgunigal, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Satellite laser ranging work at the Goddard Space Flight Center

The pulsed-laser satellite ranging systems presently being operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center are described along with their range and accuracy capabilities. The major subsystems are outlined, operation of the fixed system and the two mobile systems is discussed, and the performance of all three systems is evaluated. It is noted that these systems have an accuracy of better than 10 cm on a carefully surveyed range as well as in regular satellite ranging operations and are capable of ranging to all currently launched retroreflector-equipped satellites with the exception of Timation III. Future improvements discussed include a third mobile system which will be able to range distant satellites, such as Timation III, with an accuracy of better than 5 cm and the use of a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser in place of the ruby lasers now being employed.

Mcgunigal, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Satellite laser ranging work at the Goddard Space Flight Center

The paper describes the satellite laser ranging system at the Goddard Space Flight Center, its range and accuracy capabilities, and planned improvements for future systems. Major subsystems are described, including the laser, optical/mechanical, receiver, computer/software, timing, and laser data preprocessing subsystems. Operational considerations are examined, with attention given the mobile station layout, manpower requirements, and transportability. System performance is considered, with emphasis on system accuracy (calibration, stability, clock synchronization, atmospheric propagation correction) and range capability.

Mcgunigal, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Adaptive compensation for an optical tracking telescope

The application of model referenced adaptive control theory to an optical tracking telescope is discussed. The capability of the adaptive technique to compensate for mount irregularities such as inertial variations and bearing friction is demonstrated via field test results on a large tracking telescope. Results are presented which show a 6 to 1 improvement in tracking accuracy for a worst-case satellite trajectory.

Gilbart, J. W.↗