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The results of a study on time delays in communication systems applicable to the teleoperator program are presented. Time delay data for 11 specific orbits of interest are shown. These data can be used in the MSFC teleoperator simulator to investigate the effect of time delays in the communications link on the teleoperator control functions.
The conditions for the applicability of the phase observable in very long baseline interferometry are discussed and examples of adequate observation programs are given. These considerations apply in particular to the Mark 2 system, which is already in operation at many observatories.
GeoSAR is an airborne, interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (INSAR) system for terrain mapping, currently under development by a consortium including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Calgis, Inc., and the California Department of Conservation (CalDOC) with funding provided by the Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The radar simultaneously maps swaths on both sides of the aircraft at two frequencies, X-Band and P-Band. For the P-Band system, data is collected for two across track interferometric baselines and at the crossed polarization. The aircraft position and attitude are measured using two Honeywell Embedded GPS Inertial Navigation Units (EGI) and an Ashtech Z12 GPS receiver. The mechanical orientation and position of the antennas are actively measured using a Laser Baseline Metrology System (LBMS). In the GeoSAR motion measurement software, these data are optimally combined with data from a nearby ground station using Ashtech PNAV software to produce the position, orientation, and baseline information are used to process the dual frequency radar data. Proper calibration of the GeoSAR system is essential to obtaining digital elevation models (DEMS) with the required sub-meter level planimetric and vertical accuracies. Calibration begins with the determination of the yaw and pitch biases for the two EGI units. Common range delays are determined for each mode, along with differential time and phase delays between channels. Because the antennas are measured by the LBMS, baseline calibration consists primarily of measuring a constant offset between mechanical center and the electrical phase center of the antennas. A phase screen, an offset to the interferometric phase difference which is a function of absolute phase, is applied to the interferometric data to compensate for multipath and leakage. Calibration parameters are calculated for each of the ten processing modes, each of the operational bandwidths (80 and 160 MHZ), and each aircraft altitude. In this talk we will discuss the layout calibration sites, the synthesis of data from multiple flights to improve the calibration, methods for determining time and phase delays, and techniques for determining radiometric and polarimetric quantities. We will describe how calibration quantities are incorporated into the processor and pre-processor. We will demonstrate our techniques applied to GeoSar data and assess the stability and accuracy of the calibration. This will be compared to the modeled performance determined from calibrating the output of a point target simulator. The details of baseline determination and phase screen calculation are covered in related talks.
Errors from a number of sources in astrometric very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) have been reduced in recent years through a variety of methods of calibration and modeling. Such reductions have led to a situation in which the extended structure of the natural radio sources used in VLBI is a significant error source in the effort to improve the accuracy of the radio reference frame. In the past, work has been done on individual radio sources to establish the magnitude of the errors caused by their particular structures. The results of calculations on 26 radio sources are reported in which an effort is made to determine the typical delay and delay-rate errors for a number of sources having different types of structure. It is found that for single observations of the types of radio sources present in astrometric catalogs, group-delay and phase-delay scatter in the 50 to 100 psec range due to source structure can be expected at 8.4 GHz on the intercontinental baselines available in the Deep Space Network (DSN). Delay-rate scatter of approx. 5 x 10(exp -15) sec sec(exp -1) (or approx. 0.002 mm sec (exp -1) is also expected. If such errors mapped directly into source position errors, they would correspond to position uncertainties of approx. 2 to 5 nrad, similar to the best position determinations in the current JPL VLBI catalog. With the advent of wider bandwidth VLBI systems on the large DSN antennas, the system noise will be low enough so that the structure-induced errors will be a significant part of the error budget. Several possibilities for reducing the structure errors are discussed briefly, although it is likely that considerable effort will have to be devoted to the structure problem in order to reduce the typical error by a factor of two or more.
Ocular exposure to early morning room light can significantly advance the timing of the human circadian pacemaker. The resetting response to such light has a non-linear relationship to illuminance. The dose-response relationship of the human circadian pacemaker to late evening light of dim to moderate intensity has not been well established. Twenty-three healthy young male and female volunteers took part in a 9 day protocol in which a single experimental light exposure6.5 h in duration was given in the early biological night. The effects of the light exposure on the endogenous circadian phase of the melatonin rhythm and the acute effects of the light exposure on plasma melatonin concentration were calculated. We demonstrate that humans are highly responsive to the phase-delaying effects of light during the early biological night and that both the phase resetting response to light and the acute suppressive effects of light on plasma melatonin follow a logistic dose-response curve, as do many circadian responses to light in mammals. Contrary to expectations, we found that half of the maximal phase-delaying response achieved in response to a single episode of evening bright light ( approximately 9000 lux (lx)) can be obtained with just over 1 % of this light (dim room light of approximately 100 lx). The same held true for the acute suppressive effects of light on plasma melatonin concentrations. This indicates that even small changes in ordinary light exposure during the late evening hours can significantly affect both plasma melatonin concentrations and the entrained phase of the human circadian pacemaker.
The recent development of low-loss single-mode optical fiber waveguides for light has made possible a new class of inertial reference devices built on the principle of a closed loop interferometer. Light circulating through the loop in both directions experiences a relative phase delay proportional to rotation rate about the loop axis. This paper derives the phase delay and discusses signal detection, signal processing techniques and error sources. It is concluded that synchronous modulation and demodulation and an active gain control at the signal calculation level are required to eliminate drift errors. Potential performance is extraordinarily good; rotation rate sensitivity of a few milli-arc seconds per second and angular position random walk errors of an arc second per square root hour appear feasible.
A piloted simulation investigation was conducted using the NASA Ames Vertical Motion Simulator to study the impact of pitch, roll and yaw attitude bandwidth and phase delay on handling qualities of large tilt-rotor aircraft. Multiple bandwidth and phase delay pairs were investigated for each axis. The simulation also investigated the effect that the pilot offset from the center of gravity has on handling qualities. While pilot offset does not change the dynamics of the vehicle, it does affect the proprioceptive and visual cues and it can have an impact on handling qualities. The experiment concentrated on two primary evaluation tasks: a precision hover task and a simple hover pedal turn. Six pilots flew over 1400 data runs with evaluation comments and objective performance data recorded. The paper will describe the experiment design and methodology, discuss the results of the experiment and summarize the findings.
The potential of timed exposures to bright light as a countermeasure to the changes in the work/rest schedules during space missions was investigated. In the experiments, four human subjects were exposed to two sessions of eleven days of simulated weightlessness (6-deg head-down-tilt bedrest) with 6-hr extensions of the scheduled wake time on days 3 and 4 (a 12-hr phase delay). In a blind crossover design, subjects were exposed to bright light (greater than 3500 lux) for 5 hrs on each of the two shift days and on the following day, at times expected to accelerate adaptation to the phase delay (experimental group), or have no phase shifting effect (control group). Results indicate that bright light may accelerate the rate of adaptation to work/rest schedule delays under simulated weightlessness conditions. However, such effect was found to be largely independent of the timing of the light exposure.
An analysis of interferometric phase delays from 15 years of Mark I and Mark III very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiments carried out with two radio telescopes in Westford, Massachusetts, about 1.24 km apart, yields weighted root-mean-square (WRMS) scatters about the mean locally horizontal coordinates of 1.0 and 2.0 mm in the north and east directions, respectively. It is concluded that VLBI antennas of at least of the structural quality of the pair in Westford satisfy a necessary but not sufficient condition for being able to maintain a global reference system with submillimeter per year accuracy for intervals in excess of a decade. These data are also used to determine an error model for the VLBI group delay measurements, and, for this particular pair of telescopes, they indicate that the WRMS difference between group and phase delays is composed of a constant part (5.4 mm, for the most recent data) and a SNR term which is about 10 percent larger than that computed theoretically.
The invention provides a means whereby the baseband output signals of all but one of the receivers associated with each of the antennas are summed and used as a correlation reference for the baseband signal not contained in the summed signal, thereby providing a plurality of correlation or alignment loops, each having an output signal related to the phase difference between its input baseband signal and the summed signal. The invention further provides a means for subtracting an output or error signal generated in one of the correlation loops whose baseband signal has a predetermined phase delay from all the other alignment loops, thereby avoiding interaction and reflection effects in the signal combiner. A variable phase delay means for each of the other baseband signals is controlled by its corresponding correlation loop.
Control signals for phase-delay rectifiers, which require a variable firing angle that ranges from 0 deg to 180 deg, are derived from line-to-line 3-phase signals and both positive and negative firing angle control signals which are generated by comparing current command and actual current. Line-to-line phases are transformed into line-to-neutral phases and integrated to produce 90 deg phase delayed signals that are inverted to produce three cosine signals, such that for each its maximum occurs at the intersection of positive half cycles of the other two phases which are inputs to other inverters. At the same time, both positive and negative (inverted) phase sync signals are generated for each phase by comparing each with the next and producing a square wave when it is greater. Ramp, sync and firing angle controls signals are than used in combinational logic to generate the gate firing control signals SCR gate drives which fire SCR devices in a bridge circuit.
Connected-element interferometry (CEI) has the potential to provide high-accuracy angular spacecraft tracking on short baselines by making use of the very precise phase delay observable. Within the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (DSCC), one of three tracking complexes in the NASA Deep Space Network, baselines of up to 21 km in length are available. Analysis of data from a series of short-baseline phase-delay interferometry experiments are presented to demonstrate the potential tracking accuracy on these baselines. Repeated differential observations of pairs of angularly close extragalactic radio sources were made to simulate differential spacecraft-quasar measurements. Fiber-optic data links and a correlation processor are currently being developed and installed at Goldstone for a demonstration of real-time CEI in 1990.
We present a mathematical description of a Quasioptical Vector Interferometer (QVI), a device that maps an input polarization state to an output polarization state by introducing a phase delay between two linear orthogonal components of the input polarization. The advantages of such a device over a spinning wave-plate modulator for measuring astronomical polarization in the far-infrared through millimeter are: 1. The use of small, linear motions eliminates the need for cryogenic rotational bearings, 2. The phase flexibility allows measurement of Stokes V as well as Q and U, and 3. The QVI allows for both multi-wavelength and broadband modulation. We suggest two implementations of this device as an astronomical polarization modulator. The first involves two such modulators placed in series. By adjusting the two phase delays, it is possible to use such a modulator to measure Stokes Q, U, and V for passbands that are not too large. Conversely, a single QVI may be used to measure Q and V independent of frequency. In this implementation, Stokes U must be measured by rotating the instrument. We conclude this paper by presenting initial laboratory results.
A Translational Rate Command (TRC) control law has been developed to enable low speed maneuvering of a large civil tiltrotor with minimal pitch changes by means of automatic nacelle angle deflections for longitudinal velocity control. The nacelle actuator bandwidth required to achieve Level 1 handling qualities in hover and the feasibility of additional longitudinal cyclic control to augment low bandwidth nacelle actuation were investigated. A frequency-domain handling qualities criterion characterizing TRC response in terms of bandwidth and phase delay was proposed and validated against a piloted simulation conducted on the NASA-Ames Vertical Motion Simulator. Seven experimental test pilots completed evaluations in the ADS-33E-PRF Hover Mission Task Element (MTE) for a matrix of nacelle actuator bandwidths, equivalent rise times and control response sensitivities, and longitudinal cyclic control allocations. Evaluated against this task, longitudinal phase delay shows the Level 1 boundary is around 0.4 0.5 s. Accordingly, Level 1 handling qualities were achieved either with a nacelle actuator bandwidth greater than 4 rad/s, or by employing longitudinal cyclic control to augment low bandwidth nacelle actuation.
Micro-Spec (u-Spec) is a high-performance spectrometer working in the 250-700-micrometer wavelength range, whose modules use low-loss superconducting microstrip transmission lines on a single 4-inch-diameter silicon wafer. Creating the required phase delays in transmission lines rather than free space allows such an instrument to have, in principle, the performance of a meter-scale grating spectrometer. Such a dramatic size reduction enables classes of instruments for space that would be impossible with conventional technologies. This technology can dramatically enhance the long-wavelength capability of the space infrared telescope for cosmology and astrophysics SPICA. u-Spec is analogous to a grating spectrometer. The phase retardation generated by the reflection from the grating grooves is instead produced by propagation through a transmission line. The power received by a broadband antenna is progressively divided by binary microstrip power dividers, and the required phase delays are generated by different lengths of microstrip transmission lines. by arranging these outputs along a circular focal surface, the analog of a Rowland spectrometer can he created. The procedure to optimize the Micro-Spec design is based on the stigmatization and minimization of the light path function in a two-dimensional hounded region, which results in an optimized geometry arrangement with three stigmatic points. In addition, in order to optimize the overall efficiency of the instrument, the emitters are directed to the center of the focal surface. The electric field amplitude and phase as well as the power transmitted and absorbed throughout the region are analyzed. Measurements are planned in late summer to validate the designs.
Two Ka-band, half-meter diameter, circularly polarized microstrip reflectarrays have been developed. One has identical square patches with variable-length phase delay lines. The other uses identical square patches and delay lines with variable element rotation angles. Although both antennas demonstrated excellent efficiencies, adequate bandwidths, and low average sidelobe and cross-pol levels, the one with variable rotation angles achieved superior overall performance. It is believed that these are electrically the largest microstrip reflectarrays (6924 elements with 42 dB gain) ever developed. It is also the first time that circular polarization has been actually demonstrated using microstrip patch elements. Recent advances in reflectarray technology include the following: An X-band 0.75 m diameter microstrip reflectarray using variable-length phase delay lines which demonstrated a relatively high efficiency of 70% with peak gain of 35 dB; a partial microstrip reflectarray with beam scanning capability; A 27 GHz 0.23m diameter microstrip reflectarray using variable-size patches which achieved a gain of 31 dB at an efficiency of 31%. All these reflectarrays have dual-linear and dual-circular polarization capabilities, but only linear polarizations were demonstrated.
Heterodyne phase shifter with inductive delay line pickup providing stepless phase shift
Data gathered on solar gamma-ray events by the gamma-ray spectrometer on board the HEAO-3 satellite are discussed. Measurements were made of both hard X-ray and gamma-ray events. A total of 37 flare-like incidences were detected from October 1979 to July 1980. Power law spectra were fitted to the flux energies exceeding 420 keV. The appearance of two events with a 30 sec interval between radiation peaks, a slow rise and quick decay of the high energy component, and the softening of the low energy component are taken for evidence of two acceleration processes, one boosting electrons to hundreds of keV for the X ray bursts, the other producing gamma rays through ions accelerated to tens of MeV.