Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Reference”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 235 records · Page 13

Reference orbits from range and Doppler observations

The paper is concerned with the height accuracy of reference orbits obtained by a system composed of one laser and three Doppler stations. It is thought that reference orbits obtained by this system could be used for altimeter evaluation, although height errors increased up to 50% over those from the orbits with four lasers. Simulation studies and real data results are analyzed, and the implications for the GEOS-3 project are considered.

Berbert, J.↗

Establishing a celestial VLBI reference frame. 1: Searching for VLBI sources

The Deep Space Network is currently engaged in establishing a new high-accuracy VLBI celestial reference frame. The present status of the task of finding suitable celestial radio sources for constructing this reference frame is discussed. To date, 564 VLBI sources were detected, with 166 of these lying within 10 deg of the ecliptic plane. The variation of the sky distribution of these sources with source strength is examined.

Preston, R. A.↗

Electronic heterodyne recording and processing of optical holograms using phase modulated reference waves

The use of a phase-modulated reference wave for the electronic heterodyne recording and processing of a hologram is described. Heterodyne recording is used to eliminate the self-interference terms of a hologram and to create a Leith-Upatnieks hologram with coaxial object and reference waves. Phase modulation is also shown to be the foundation of a multiple-view hologram system. When combined with hologram scale transformations, heterodyne recording is the key to general optical processing. Spatial filtering is treated as an example.

Decker, A. J.↗

Satellite power system: Concept development and evaluation program, reference system report

The Satellite Power System (SPS) Reference System is discussed and the technical and operational information required in support of environmental, socioeconomic, and comparative assessment studies are emphasized. The reference System concept features a gallium-aluminum-arsenide, and silicon solar cell options. Other aspects of an SPS are the construction of bases in space, launch and mission control bases on earth, and fleets of various transportation vehicles to support the construction and maintenance operations of the satellites.

Source record↗

Results of a Loran-C flight test using an absolute data reference

A closed circuit flight test was conducted in the Boston area using VOR's and NDB's as reference points. The Loran-C data collected during the flight was then compared against a reference provided by the Discrete Address Beacon System (DABS) facility at Lincoln Laboratories. A MIT crew used a commercial receiver and recorded Loran-C time differences which would also be compared with the data provided by the DABS facility and eventually with the data collected by Ohio University. The Ohio University low-cost receiver was used for this test which was conducted in the Ohio University DC-3 flying laboratory. The Loran-C time-difference data was recorded with a microcomputer data collection system and stored on magnetic tape for subsequent analysis. The MIT receiver was also on board the DC-3, and recorded its data on a cassette tape which was later used by the MIT crew for data analysis. The equipment configuration in the aircraft, the flight procedure and the results obtained from the data collected with Ohio University's receiver and recording system are described.

Fischer, J. P.↗

Solar power satellite system definition study, phase 2. Volume 2: Reference system description

System descriptions and cost estimates for the reference system of the solar power satellite program are presented. The reference system is divided into five principal elements: the solar power satellites; space construction and support; space and ground transportation; ground receiving stations; and operations control. The program scenario and non-recurring costs are briefly described.

Source record↗

Results of a Loran-C flight test using an absolute data reference

A closed circuit flight test was conducted using VORs and NDBs as reference points. The Loran-C data collected during the flight was then compared against a reference provided by a discrete address beacon system facility. Information on the equipment configuration in the aircraft, the flight procedure, and the results obtained are presented.

Fischer, J. P.↗

Thermocouple, multiple junction reference oven

An improved oven for maintaining the junctions of a plurality of reference thermocouples at a common and constant temperature is described. The oven is characterized by a cylindrical body defining a heat sink with axially extended-cylindrical cavity a singularized heating element which comprises a unitary cylindrical heating element consisting of a resistance heating coil wound about the surface of metallic spool with an axial bore defined and seated in the cavity. Other features of the oven include an annular array of radially extended bores defined in the cylindrical body and a plurality of reference thermocouple junctions seated in the bores in uniformly spaced relation with the heating element, and a temperature sensing device seated in the axial bore for detecting temperature changes as they occur in the spool and circuit to apply a voltage across the coil in response to detected drops in temperatures of the spool.

Leblanc, L. P.↗

The effect of noisy carrier reference on telemetry with baseband arraying

Imperfect carrier reference causes a degradation in detection performance in coherent communication systems. A measure of this degradation is the radio loss, which is the amount of increase in data signal to noise ratio (SNR) per bit required to achieve the same bit error rate when carrier reference is perfect. Performance analysis and numerical results are obtained for the Voyager high rate telemetry link with maximum likelihood convolutional decoding. The arraying of antennas provides not only improved performance due to an increase in effective antenna aperture, but also a decrease in radio loss with respect to a single antenna. This telemetry link performance improvement is a function of the carrier loop SNR and data bit error rate. When the carrier loop SNR's are low, it provides a significant improvement in the telemetry link performance since the decrease in radio loss with respect to a single station is substantial.

Divsalar, D.↗

The operational performance of hydrogen masers in the Deep Space Network (the performance of laboratory reference frequency standards in an operational environment)

Spacecraft navigation to the outer planets (Jupiter and beyond) places very stringent demands upon the performance of frequency and time (F&T) reference standards. The Deep Space Network (DSN) makes use of hydrogen masers as an aid in meeting the routine F&T operational requirements within the 64 m antenna network. Results as of October 1980 indicate the hydrogen masers are performing within the required specifications. Two problem areas are discussed: insufficient control over the environment in which the reference standards reside; and frequency drift.

Ward, S. C.↗

Performance of unbalanced QPSK in the presence of noisy reference and crosstalk

The problem of transmitting two telemetry data streams having different rates and different powers using unbalanced quadriphase shift keying (UQPSK) signaling is considered. It is noted that the presence of a noisy carrier phase reference causes a degradation in detection performance in coherent communications systems and that imperfect carrier synchronization not only attenuates the main demodulated signal voltage in UQPSK but also produces interchannel interference (crosstalk) which degrades the performance still further. Exact analytical expressions for symbol error probability of UQPSK in the presence of noise phase reference are derived.

Divsalar, D.↗

Reproducibility of polycarbonate reference material in toxicity evaluation

A specific lot of bisphenol A polycarbonate has been used for almost four years as the reference material for the NASA-USF-PSC toxicity screening test method. The reproducibility of the test results over this period of time indicate that certain plastics may be more suitable reference materials than the more traditional cellulosic materials.

Hilado, C. J.↗

Modified reference SPS with solid state transmitting antenna

The motivations for considering solid state microwave power amplifiers for the solar power satellite transmitting antenna are the possibilities of greatly increased system reliability due to elimination of electron tube cathodes, a lower mass per unit power and transmitting array area due to the high power densities obtainable in semiconductors, and, probably, cost savings due to development of small hardware items that can be handled by individuals instead of organizations. In order to provide a fair assessment where we stand today with regard to solid state SPS technology, the design described here is close to that of the NASA/DOE reference and is implemented using today's solid state technology with only a small "push". The small push is raising the efficiency of DC-RF conversion from the .68 obtained by RCA in 1975 to somewhat over .8 of the solid state SPS. This is generally considered feasible by semiconductor industry representatives. Other solid state SPS configurations can yield somewhat better performance. However, these generally do not provide as fair a vehicle for comparison with the reference and usually also incorporate somewhat more advanced technologies.

Woodcock, G. R.↗

Panel C report: Standards needed for the use of ISO Open Systems Interconnection - basic reference model

The use of an International Standards Organization (ISO) Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model and its relevance to interconnecting an Applications Data Service (ADS) pilot program for data sharing is discussed. A top level mapping between the conjectured ADS requirements and identified layers within the OSI Reference Model was performed. It was concluded that the OSI model represents an orderly architecture for the ADS networking planning and that the protocols being developed by the National Bureau of Standards offer the best available implementation approach.

Source record↗

Documentation for the machine-readable version of the Lick Jupiter-Voyager Reference Star Catalogue

A machine-readable version is described of the Lick Jupiter-Voyager Reference Star Catalogue (Klemola, Morabito Taraji 1978) prepared for purposes of determining up-to-date, reasonably accurate, equatorial coordinates for reference stars in a band of sky against which cameras of the Voyager spacecraft were aligned for observations of Jovian satellites during the flyby.

Warren, W. H., Jr.↗

Shuttle orbiter stellar-inertial reference system

The Space Shuttle stellar-inertial reference system is a velocity and attitude data source during flight operations. An overview of the reference system is presented as well as specifics discussing design concepts, functional operation, and performance capabilities. Techniques for star sighting and inertial measurement unit alignment and calibration are described, and alignment accuracy, star tracker capability, and gyro and accelerometer accuracy are discussed, with emphasis on flight test results. Test programs have confirmed that the system meets performance requirements such as being accurate to within 0.26 degree at the 400,000 foot altitude entry interface in order to execute an accurate touchdown, as well as demonstrating reusability, payload capability, and operational flexibility. Growth possibilities, such as the implementation of rendezvous target tracking, are discussed.

Smith, F. E.↗

LANDSAT-D Worldwide Reference System (WRS) users guide

A functional description of the LANDSAT-D Worldwide Reference System (WRS) and an overview of the main orbital parameters and instrument coverages are presented. The primary information required to understand the LANDSAT-D orbital characteristics, to effectively use the Worldwide Reference System (WRS) indexing scheme, and to request specific geographic coverage on the desired observation dates is provided.

Source record↗

Cape Canaveral, Florida range reference atmosphere 0-70 km altitude

The RRA contains tabulations for monthly and annual means, standard deviations, skewness coefficients for wind speed, pressure temperature, density, water vapor pressure, virtual temperature, dew-point temperature, and the means and standard deviations for the zonal and meridional wind components and the linear (product moment) correlation coefficient between the wind components. These statistical parameters are tabulated at the station elevation and at 1 km intervals from sea level to 30 km and at 2 km intervals from 30 to 90 km altitude. The wind statistics are given at approximately 10 m above the station elevations and at altitudes with respect to mean sea level thereafter. For those range sites without rocketsonde measurements, the RRAs terminate at 30 km altitude or they are extended, if required, when rocketsonde data from a nearby launch site are available. There are four sets of tables for each of the 12 monthly reference periods and the annual reference period.

Tingle, A.↗