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At least 91 records · Page 5

Investigation of LANDSAT follow-on thematic mapper spatial, radiometric and spectral resolution

The author has identified the following significant results. Fine resolution M7 multispectral scanner data collected during the Corn Blight Watch Experiment in 1971 served as the basis for this study. Different locations and times of year were studied. Definite improvement using 30-40 meter spatial resolution over present LANDSAT 1 resolution and over 50-60 meter resolution was observed, using crop area mensuration as the measure. Simulation studies carried out to extrapolate the empirical results to a range of field size distributions confirmed this effect, showing the improvement to be most pronounced for field sizes of 1-4 hectares. Radiometric sensitivity study showed significant degradation of crop classification accuracy immediately upon relaxation from the nominally specified values of 0.5% noise equivalent reflectance. This was especially the case for data which were spectrally similar such as that collected early in the growing season and also when attempting to accomplish crop stress detection.

Nalepka, R. F.↗

Metafitting: Weight optimization for least-squares fitting of PTTI data

For precise time intercomparisons between a master frequency standard and a slave time scale, we have found it useful to quantitatively compare different fitting strategies by examining the standard uncertainty in time or average frequency. It is particularly useful when designing procedures which use intermittent intercomparisons, with some parameterized fit used to interpolate or extrapolate from the calibrating intercomparisons. We use the term 'metafitting' for the choices that are made before a fitting procedure is operationally adopted. We present methods for calculating the standard uncertainty for general, weighted least-squares fits and a method for optimizing these weights for a general noise model suitable for many PTTI applications. We present the results of the metafitting of procedures for the use of a regular schedule of (hypothetical) high-accuracy frequency calibration of a maser time scale. We have identified a cumulative series of improvements that give a significant reduction of the expected standard uncertainty, compared to the simplest procedure of resetting the maser synthesizer after each calibration. The metafitting improvements presented include the optimum choice of weights for the calibration runs, optimized over a period of a week or 10 days.

Douglas, Rob J.↗

Aeroacoustic computation of a gust-plate interaction via MacCormack schemes

We apply second, fourth, and sixth order spatially accurate variations of the MacCormack scheme to calculate the noise radiated by the interaction of a flat plate with an oncoming gust. For the given gust wavelength and numerical discretization, the fourth and sixth order schemes each are effective in capturing the occurring acoustic waves. However, for the case of the sixth order scheme, the high order of extrapolation applied at the far field boundaries necessitates an extension of the computational boundaries from their prescribed location.

Martin, James E.↗

Bilinear modeling and nonlinear estimation

New methods are illustrated for online nonlinear estimation applied to the lateral deflection of an elastic beam on board measurements of angular rates and angular accelerations. The development of the filter equations, together with practical issues of their numerical solution as developed from global linearization by nonlinear output injection are contrasted with the usual method of the extended Kalman filter (EKF). It is shown how nonlinear estimation due to gyroscopic coupling can be implemented as an adaptive covariance filter using off-the-shelf Kalman filter algorithms. The effect of the global linearization by nonlinear output injection is to introduce a change of coordinates in which only the process noise covariance is to be updated in online implementation. This is in contrast to the computational approach which arises in EKF methods arising by local linearization with respect to the current conditional mean. Processing refinements for nonlinear estimation based on optimal, nonlinear interpolation between observations are also highlighted. In these methods the extrapolation of the process dynamics between measurement updates is obtained by replacing a transition matrix with an operator spline that is optimized off-line from responses to selected test inputs.

Dwyer, Thomas A. W., III↗

The 32-GHz performance of the DSS-14 70-meter antenna: 1989 configuration

The results of preliminary 32 GHz calibrations of the 70 meter antenna at Goldstone are presented. Measurements were done between March and July 1989 using Virgo A and Venus as the primary efficiency calibrators. The flux densites of theses radio sources at 32 GHz are not known with high accuracy, but were extrapolated from calibrated data at lower frequencies. The measured value of efficiency (0.35) agreed closely with the predicted value (0.32), and the results are very repeatable. Flux densities of secondary sources used in the observations were subsequently derived. These measurements were performed using a beamswitching radiometer that employed an uncooled high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) low-noise amplifier. This system was installed primarily to determine the performance of the antenna in its 1989 configuration, but the experience will also aid in successful future calibration of the Deep Space Network (DSN) at this frequency.

Gatti, M. S.↗

Tilt Rotor Aircraft Aeroacoustics

A fleet of civil tilt rotor transports offers a means of reducing airport congestion and point-to-point travel time. The speed, range, and fuel economy of these aircraft, along with their efficient use of vertiport area, make them good candidates for short-to-medium range civil transport. However, to be successfully integrated into the civilian community, the tilt rotor must be perceived as a quiet, safe, and economical mode of transportation that does not harm the environment. In particular, noise impact has been identified as a possible barrier to the civil tilt rotor. Along with rotor conversion-mode flight, and blade-vortex interaction noise during descent, hover mode is a noise problem for tilt rotor operations. In the present research, tilt rotor hover aeroacoustics have been studied analytically, experimentally, and computationally. Various papers on the subject were published as noted in the list of publications. More recently, experimental measurements were made on a 1/12.5 scale model of the XV-15 in hover and analyses of this data and extrapolations to full scale were also carried out. A dimensional analysis showed that the model was a good aeroacoustic approximation to the full-scale aircraft, and scale factors were derived to extrapolate the model measurements to the full-scale XV-15. The experimental measurements included helium bubble flow visualization, silk tuft flow visualization, 2-component hot wire anemometry, 7-hole pressure probe measurements, vorticity measurements, and outdoor far field acoustic measurements. The hot wire measurements were used to estimate the turbulence statistics of the flow field into the rotors, such as length scales, velocity scales, dissipation, and turbulence intermittency. Several different configurations of the model were tested: (1) standard configurations (single isolated rotor, two rotors without the aircraft, standard tilt rotor configuration); (2) flow control devices (the 'plate', the 'diagonal fences'); (3) basic configuration changes (increasing the rotor/rotor spacing, reducing the rotor plane/wing clearance. operating the rotors out of phase). Also, an approximation to Sikorsky's Variable Diameter Tilt Rotor (VDTR) configuration was tested, and some flow measurements were made on a semi-span configuration of the model. Acoustic predictions were made using LOWSON.M, a Mathematica code Mean aerodynamic models were developed based on hover performance predictions from HOVER.FOR. This hover prediction code used blade element theory for the aerodynamics, and Prandtl's Vortex theory to model the wake, along with empirical formulas for the effects of Reynolds number, Mach number, and stall. Aerodynamic models were developed from 7-hole pressure probe measurements of the mean velocity into the model rotors.

George, Albert R.↗

A Comprehensive Radial Velocity Error Budget for Next Generation Doppler Spectrometers

We describe a detailed radial velocity error budget for the NASA-NSF Extreme Precision Doppler Spectrometer instrument concept NEID (NN-explore Exoplanet Investigations with Doppler spectroscopy). Such an instrument performance budget is a necessity for both identifying the variety of noise sources currently limiting Doppler measurements, and estimating the achievable performance of next generation exoplanet hunting Doppler spectrometers. For these instruments, no single source of instrumental error is expected to set the overall measurement floor. Rather, the overall instrumental measurement precision is set by the contribution of many individual error sources. We use a combination of numerical simulations, educated estimates based on published materials, extrapolations of physical models, results from laboratory measurements of spectroscopic subsystems, and informed upper limits for a variety of error sources to identify likely sources of systematic error and construct our global instrument performance error budget. While natively focused on the performance of the NEID instrument, this modular performance budget is immediately adaptable to a number of current and future instruments. Such an approach is an important step in charting a path towards improving Doppler measurement precisions to the levels necessary for discovering Earth-like planets.

NASA-NSF Extreme Precision Doppler Spectrometer in↗

Development of a High Frequency Class-A Amplifier for High Temperature Wireless Microsystems based on a Silicon Carbide Static Induction Transistor

Next generation gas turbine engine health monitoring for high performance jet engine-powered aircraft will incorporate integrated microelectronic sensors specifically designed to enhance aircraft functionality, engine efficiency, and safety. Temperature, air flow and pressure associated with the gas path as well as emissions from the engine correlate to the state of the combustor and other engine health conditions. Monitoring these parameters accurately requires positioning electronic sensors in the hot zone of the gas turbine engine, which exposes them to temperatures in excess of 400ºC. At these temperatures, signal amplification is needed at the transducer level to distinguish the desired measured signal from the significant electronic noise generated by the harsh environment. In this presentation, we report on the simulation, development, fabrication, and testing on a high temperature Class-A amplifier which utilizes a 4H-SiC Static Induction Transistor (SIT) as the active device and input/output matching and DC bias networks comprised of thin-film spiral inductors, metal-insulator-metal capacitors, and thick film chip resistors. A small signal model that emulates the operation of the 4H-SiC SIT from 25 to 400ºC, with an emphasis on operation at 400οC, was utilized. Measurements were performed from 25 to 400ºC to generate current-voltage curves, capacitive transistor characteristics and high frequency scattering parameters (S-parameters). The measured data was used to extrapolate the transconductance, gm, as a function of temperature for model development. Circuit simulation tools were used to generate S-parameters, which were compared to the measured values. At 400οC, a maximum difference between measured and simulated S-parameters for frequencies from 20 to 100 MHz were 3.84%, 0.68%, 10.61%, and 3.26% for S21, S12, S11, and S22, respectively. The average transit frequency, ft, was calculated from measured values to be 197.8 MHz, while the simulated value from the model was found to be 200 MHz. The Amplifier’s S-parameters were recorded at 20-100 MHz over a temperature range of 25-400ºC and show a gain of approximately 15.8 and 5.80 dBm at 25 and 400ºC, respectively. The input and output reflection coefficients at 50 MHz and 400ºC were -18.5 and -15.2 dB, respectively. The noise figure and phase noise were measured over the temperature range of 25-400ºC and recorded. The noise figure increased 21% at 50 MHz over the temperature range, while the 1 kHz offset of the phase noise remained below -110 dB. The stability factor, K, calculated with measured and simulated data demonstrates unconditional stability over the frequency range at 400ºC. Lastly, the 1-dB compression point was measured at 50 MHz and 400ºC with an approximated output of 9.5 dBm.

SiC↗

The SOFIA/SAFIRE Far-Infrared Spectrometer: Highlighting Submillimeter Astrophysics and Technology

The Submillimeter and Far-InfraRed Experiment (SAFIRE) on the SOFIA airborne observatory is an imaging spectrometer for wavelengths between 28 microns and 440 microns. Our design is a dual-band long-slit grating spectrometer, which provides broadband (approx. 4000 km/s) observations in two lines simultaneously over a field of view roughly 10" wide by 320" long. The low backgrounds in spectroscopy require very sensitive detectors with noise equivalent powers of order 10(exp -18) W/square root of Hz. We are developing a kilopixel, filled detector array for SAFIRE in a 32 x 40 format. The detector consists of a transition edge sensor (TES) bolometer array, a per-pixel broadband absorbing backshort array, and a NIST SQUID multiplexer readout array. This general type of array has been used successfully in the GISMO instrument, so we extrapolate to the sensitivity needed for airborne spectroscopy. Much of the cryogenic, electronics, and software infrastructure for SAFIRE have been developed. I provide here an overview of the progress on SAFIRE.

Benford, Dominic J.↗

Performance of noncoherent MFSK channels with coding

Computer simulation of data transmission over a noncoherent channel with predetection signal-to-noise ratio of 1 shows that convolutional coding can reduce the energy requirement by 4.5 dB at a bit error rate of 0.001. The effects of receiver quantization and choice of number of tones are analyzed; nearly optimum performance is attained with eight quantization levels and sixteen tones at predetection S/N ratio of 1. The effects of changing predetection S/N ratio are also analyzed; for lower predetection S/N ratio, accurate extrapolations can be made from the data, but for higher values, the results are more complicated. These analyses will be useful in designing telemetry systems when coherence is limited by turbulence in the signal propagation medium or oscillator instability.

Butman, S. A.↗

Evaluation of composite bolometers at 0.4 Kelvin

Composite bolometer structures have provided the most sensitive IR detectors for operation at helium-4 temperatures of 1.5K. Below 1.5K the electrical and thermal properties change significantly and the performance characteristics cannot be accurately extrapolated for composite bolometers at helium-3 temperatures of 0.4K. The paper deals with experimentally assessed performance of composite bolometers at 0.4K. It is found that sensitivity estimates derived from electrical or load curve properties can overestimate the responsivity to radiation by several orders of magnitude depending upon a particular material behavior. For many near-millimeter applications background power levels are several nanowatts and the associated photon noise plus Johnson and phonon noise components impose a fundamental detection limit of about 5 x 10 to the -15thW/Hz to the -1/2. We have successfully fabricated composite bolometers which at 0.4 K and millimeter wavelengths achieve a noise equivalent power of 7 x 10 to the -15thW/Hz to the -1/2 coupled with a large absorbing area (0.3 sq cm) and a fast response time (2 msec.).

El-Ataway, S.↗

Accuracy of the ERBS definitive attitude determination system in the presence of propagation noise

Definitive attitude solutions are supposed to be the most accurate possible. For the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), this has been accomplished by using gyro rates to transform many nonsimultaneous observations to a common time point and then averaging to reduce the effects of observation noise. Rate quality is critical to realizing improved accuracy with this method. Gyro deterioration, which shows up as large observation residuals and discontinuities between contiguous batch solutions, now discourages using the batch approach for ERBS. To address this problem, a simple Kalman filter is tried in place of the batch estimator. The filter works well as long as the attitude is completely observable. During periods without Sun coverage, however, the extrapolated yaw may diverge and then change abruptly when the Sun returns to the sensor field of view. Causes of this behavior are discussed, and some solutions are tried that address the observability aspect of the problem.

Chu, D.↗

Microwave, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far Infrared Spectral Databases

The spectrum of most known astrophysical molecules is derived from transitions between a few hundred to a few hundred thousand energy levels populated at room temperature. In the microwave and millimeter wave regions. spectroscopy is almost always performed with traditional microwave techniques. In the submillimeter and far infrared microwave technique becomes progressively more technologically challenging and infrared techniques become more widely employed as the wavelength gets shorter. Infrared techniques are typically one to two orders of magnitude less precise but they do generate all the strong features in the spectrum. With microwave technique, it is generally impossible and rarely necessary to measure every single transition of a molecular species, so careful fitting of quantum mechanical Hamiltonians to the transitions measured are required to produce the complete spectral picture of the molecule required by astronomers. The fitting process produces the most precise data possible and is required in the interpret heterodyne observations. The drawback of traditional microwave technique is that precise knowledge of the band origins of low lying excited states is rarely gained. The fitting of data interpolates well for the range of quantum numbers where there is laboratory data, but extrapolation is almost never precise. The majority of high resolution spectroscopic data is millimeter or longer in wavelength and a very limited number of molecules have ever been studied with microwave techniques at wavelengths shorter than 0.3 millimeters. The situation with infrared technique is similarly dire in the submillimeter and far infrared because the black body sources used are competing with a very significant thermal background making the signal to noise poor. Regardless of the technique used the data must be archived in a way useful for the interpretation of observations.

Pearson, J. C.↗

Spatial and Temporal scales of time-averaged 700 MB height anomalies

The monthly and seasonal forecasting technique is based to a large extent on the extrapolation of trends in the positions of the centers of time averaged geopotential height anomalies. The complete forecasted height pattern is subsequently drawn around the forecasted anomaly centers. The efficacy of this technique was tested and time series of observed monthly mean and 5 day mean 700 mb geopotential heights were examined. Autocorrelation statistics are generated to document the tendency for persistence of anomalies. These statistics are compared to a red noise hypothesis to check for evidence of possible preferred time scales of persistence. Space-time spectral analyses at middle latitudes are checked for evidence of periodicities which could be associated with predictable month-to-month trends. A local measure of the average spatial scale of anomalies is devised for guidance in the completion of the anomaly pattern around the forecasted centers.

Gutzler, D.↗

High-resolution profiles for the diffuse interstellar band at 6196 A

The 6196.0 A diffuse feature is observed in various directions towards moderately and slightly reddened stars at high spectral resolution and signal to noise ratio. The feature is found to be symmetric with no fine structure with an equivalent-width upper unit paralleling that of H2. The feature is as narrow as 0.4 A, although much broader in other stars due to cloud blending in the line of sight, and is absent in all observed stars with E(B-V) less than 0.1, and upper limits more than an order of magnitude below values extrapolated from more reddened stars. Upper limits are determined by multiplying the square root of the number of channels in which the line may lie, and another narrow feature, although highly asymmetric, is observed at 6194.6 A. It is concluded that the results increase the possibility of at least one of the diffuse band carriers being a molecule.

Smith, W. H.↗

Bit Error Rate and Frame Error Rate Data Processing for Space Communications and Navigation-Related Communication System Analysis Tools

One of the capabilities that the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Strategic Center for Networking, Integration, and Communications (SCENIC) user interface (UI) web application intends to provide its users is the addition of network protocol and link encryption augmentations of communication system analyses. Before any of these analyses capabilities can be modeled, the simulations of bit error rate (BER) and frame error rate (FER) against signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) have been conducted, requiring parameters from several known coding types (low-density parity-check (LDPC), convolutional, etc.), signal modulations (binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), etc.), coding rates (1/2, 1/3, etc.), and frame sizes (1,280, 3,580, etc.). However, in order to extract useful information from the results of these simulations, a curve fitting technique has been applied to each resulting dataset to extend and extrapolate the curve fit of BER and FER down to 10–30 using MATLAB® Curve Fitting Toolbox™ (The MathWorks, Inc.). This is a necessary step because simulations of BER and FER were only performed to around 10–9 due to the extensive simulation time that would be required to obtain significant simulation results at the error levels desired. Furthermore, the fitted curve results were applied to a finer resolution for the SNR at 0.01-dB interval instead of the 0.05-dB interval limitation used in the simulation. All the possible combinations of the coding types, signal modulations, coding rates, frame sizes, and the extension of BER and FER curves would enable users to capture a wide range of link performances that directly relates to the addition of higher level networking data encapsulated in a frame. The curve fitting results also led to the modeling of the optical link error rate performance by solving for coding gain, FER_BER SNR delta, coded optical BER-SNR, and coded optical FER–SNR.

Communication link analysis↗

Ionospheric gravity wave measurements with the USU dynasonde

A method for the measurement of ionospheric Gravity Wave (GW) using the USU Dynasonde is outlined. This method consists of a series of individual procedures, which includes functions for data acquisition, adaptive scaling, polarization discrimination, interpolation and extrapolation, digital filtering, windowing, spectrum analysis, GW detection, and graphics display. Concepts of system theory are applied to treat the ionosphere as a system. An adaptive ionogram scaling method was developed for automatically extracting ionogram echo traces from noisy raw sounding data. The method uses the well known Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm to form a stochastic optimal estimate of the echo trace which is then used to control a moving window. The window tracks the echo trace, simultaneously eliminating the noise and interference. Experimental results show that the proposed method functions as designed. Case studies which extract GW from ionosonde measurements were carried out using the techniques described. Geophysically significant events were detected and the resultant processed results are illustrated graphically. This method was also developed for real time implementation in mind.

Berkey, Frank T.↗

Characterization of Freestream Disturbances in Conventional Hypersonic Wind Tunnels

While low disturbance ("quiet") hypersonic wind tunnels are believed to provide more reliable extrapolation of boundary layer transition behavior from ground to flight, the presently available quiet facilities are limited to Mach 6, moderate Reynolds numbers, low freestream enthalpy, and subscale models. As a result, only conventional ("noisy") wind tunnels can reproduce both Reynolds numbers and enthalpies of hypersonic flight configurations, and must therefore be used for flight vehicle test and evaluation involving high Mach number, high enthalpy, and larger models. This article outlines the recent progress and achievements in the characterization of tunnel noise that have resulted from the coordinated effort within the AVT-240 specialists group on hypersonic boundary layer transition prediction. New Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) datasets elucidate the physics of noise generation inside the turbulent nozzle wall boundary layer, characterize the spatiotemporal structure of the freestream noise, and account for the propagation and transfer of the freestream disturbances to a pitot-mounted sensor. The new experimental measurements cover a range of conventional wind tunnels with different sizes and Mach numbers from 6 to 14 and extend the database of freestream fluctuations within the spectral range of boundary layer instability waves over commonly tested models. Prospects for applying the computational and measurement datasets for developing mechanism-based transition prediction models are discussed.

Duan, Lian↗