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At least 163 records · Page 9

Power Sources for Micro-Autonomous Vehicles- Challenges and Prospects

Micro-autonomous vehicle systems are expected to have expanded role in military missions by providing full spectrum intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support on the battlefield, suppression of enemy defenses, and enabling co-operative (swarm-like) configurations. Of the numerous demanding requirements of autonomy, sensing, navigation, mobility, etc., meeting the requirement of mission duration or endurance is a very challenging one. This requirement is demanding because of the constraints of mass and volume that limit the quantity of energy that can be stored on-board. Energy is required for mobility, payload operation, information processing, and communication. Mobility requirements typically place an extraordinary demand on the specific energy (Wh/kg) and specific power (W/kg) of the power source; the actual distribution of the energy between mobility and other system functions could vary substantially with the mission type. The power requirements for continuous mobility can vary from 100-1000 W/kg depending on the terrain, ground speed and flight speed. Even with the power source accounting for 30% of the mass of the vehicle, the best of rechargeable batteries can provide only up to 1-2 hours of run-time for a continuous power demand at 100W/kg. In the case of micro-aerial vehicles with flight speed requirements in the range of 5-15 m s-1, the mission times rarely exceed 20 minutes [2]. Further, the power required during take-off and hover can be twice or thrice that needed for steady level flight, and thus the number and sequence of such events is also limited by the mass and size of the power source. For operations such as "perch and stare" or "silent watch" the power demand is often only a tenth of that required during continuous flight. Thus, variation in power demand during various phases of the mission importantly affects the power source selection.

fuel cells↗

Dual-Telescope Multi-Channel Thermal-Infrared Radiometer for Outer Planet Fly-By Missions

The design of a versatile dual-telescope thermal-infrared radiometer spanning the spectral wavelength range 8-200 microns, in five spectral pass bands, for outer planet fly-by missions is described. The dual- telescope design switches between a narrow-field-of-view and a wide-field-of-view to provide optimal spatial resolution images within a range of spacecraft encounters to the target. The switchable dual-field- of-view system uses an optical configuration based on the axial rotation of a source-select mirror along the optical axis. The optical design, spectral performance, radiometric accuracy, and retrieval estimates of the instrument are discussed. This is followed by an assessment of the surface coverage performance at various spatial resolutions by using the planned NASA Europa Mission 13-F7 fly-by trajectories as a case study.

Aslam, Shahid↗

Pretreatment Solution for Water Recovery Systems

Chemical pretreatments are used to produce usable water by treating a water source with a chemical pretreatment that contains a hexavalent chromium and an acid to generate a treated water source, wherein the concentration of sulfate compounds in the acid is negligible, and wherein the treated water source remains substantially free of precipitates after the addition of the chemical pretreatment. Other methods include reducing the pH in urine to be distilled for potable water extraction by pretreating the urine before distillation with a pretreatment solution comprising one or more acid sources selected from a group consisting of phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, and nitric acid, wherein the urine remains substantially precipitate free after the addition of the pretreatment solution. Another method described comprises a process for reducing precipitation in urine to be processed for water extraction by mixing the urine with a pretreatment solution comprising hexavalent chromium compound and phosphoric acid.

Muirhead, Dean↗

Nasa's Launch Communications Ground Segment for the 21st Century Florida Spaceport

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Near Earth Network (NEN) Project is implementing a new launch communications ground segment to provide services for the next generation of human and robotic space exploration systems. It will deliver unique and advanced capabilities to accelerate the transformation of Kennedy Space Center into a multi-user spaceport in cooperation with the United States Air Force (USAF). The project has leveraged commercial technologies and remote operations concepts matured in NASAs orbiting satellite ground systems to achieve dramatic lifecycle cost efficiencies as compared to the space shuttle-era ground segment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development history, capabilities and anticipated use cases of the NEN Launch Communications Segment (NEN LCS).The NASA Kennedy Space Center is co-located with the USAF Eastern Launch Range at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The USAF operates two launch communications ground stations, but they are not designed to transmit voice, commands or other data to the launch vehicle or astronauts. The bi-directional uplink-downlink communications responsibility for human missions has historically resided with the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Several market analyses and feasibility studies investigating concepts to provide NASAs next generation launch communications services were performed during the Constellation Program prior to its cancellation in 2009, and as part of the Kennedy Space Centers follow-on efforts to transform itself into a 21st century multi-user spaceport. In 2012, the Kennedy Space Center and the USAF 45th Space Wing jointly led a study to analyze the market needs of current and future launch systems and assess the operational deficiencies of the Eastern Range infrastructure. The study team issued several recommendations, two of which ultimately became driving operational capability requirements for the NEN LCS: increased telemetry data rates of at least 20 Mbps, and S-band uplink capability. Additional capabilities identified in the requirements development process include spread spectrum modulation support, LDPC 12 and 78 error correction codes, support for IRIG-106 and CCSDS data formats, automated best source selection, and Space Link Extension (SLE) services for data distribution. The NEN LCS is comprised of two permanent ground stations, the new Kennedy Uplink Station (KUS) and refurbished Ponce de Leon (PDL) station. Both stations are remotely operated from the Global Monitor and Control Center at Wallops Flight Facility. This core architecture is extensible through host-tenant arrangements with the U.S. Air Force and deployable assets, enabling agile, tailored and robust solutions to meet the needs of civil, commercial or military customers. The NEN LCS has three use cases:1.To provide agile, tailored and robust launch communications solutions to Florida spaceport customers2.To provide orbital communications services to near-earth customers 3.To provide an experimental proving ground for Space Mobile Network concepts and technologies The NEN LCS driving mission is to support the bi-directional link with the Orion crew capsule and two 20 Mbps telemetry links from the Space Launch System core stage on Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of NASAs flagship human exploration systems.

Roberts, Christopher J.↗

Adventures in Low Disc Loading VTOL Design

This memoir covers the first eight years of my 37 year career in VTOL aircraft design. It starts with family and how I came to be an engineer with a passion for aviation and a desire to make a difference. At MIT I acquired a solid understanding of basic physics, learned the basics of the various engineering disciplines and gained design experience. After over a decade on the East Coast I was homesick for Northern California. I decided to take a chance on working for the government instead of industry in order to return home. I was hired by Dr. Richard M. Carlson in March 1975 and joined a wonderful Army/NASA technical environment. The Interservice Helicopter Commonality Study was an important introduction to Joint Service aircraft design. The Advanced Attack Helicopter Source Selection Evaluation Board was an opportunity to learn acquisition system fundamentals and to lead a small team in a major technical evaluation. The Advanced Scout Helicopter Concept Formulation was an opportunity to learn how an aircraft development program is created and it formed a partnership between Dr. Carlson's Labs and Charlie Crawford's Development and Qualification directorate. The Army was Executive Service for the first year (1982) of the Joint Services Advanced Vertical Lift Aircraft (JVX) program. The JVX Joint Technology Assessment concluded that there was at least one design configuration, the tilt rotor, which could satisfy all JVX mission requirements with a high degree of inter-service commonality. The Navy became Executive Service at the end of the year and promptly released a JVX RFP to industry. This RFP resulted in the V-22 Osprey tilt rotor as the third type of VTOL aircraft to enter production and service. I was very lucky to have a useful role early in this program.

VTOL Design↗

The NEP Hard X-ray Survey with ART-XC

We will report the status of the Astronomical Roentgen Telescope X-ray Concentrator (ART-XC) survey in the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) region. ART-XC is a hard X-ray instrument onboard the Spectrum Röntgen Gamma (SRG) mission, the observations of the ecliptic pole regions have reached exceptional depth thanks to the survey design of overlapping exposure in these regions over the course of the SRG's all-sky survey mission. The unique area-depth combination of the ART-XC NEP survey probes a population of hard X-ray selected sources yet to be explored by existing hard X-ray instruments. We will report the hard X-ray source catalog detected using the ART-XC data in the NEP region, and the multiwavelength data for the ART-XC sources, including results from the Palomar Observatory optical follow-up campaign.

Chien-Ting Chen↗

Rotation of Low-mass Stars in Upper Centaurus-Lupus and Lower Centaurus-Crux with TESS

We present stellar rotation rates derived from Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) light curves for stars in Upper Centaurus–Lupus (UCL; ∼136 pc, ∼16 Myr) and Lower Centaurus–Crux (LCC; ∼115 pc, ∼17 Myr). We find spot-modulated periods (P) for ∼90% of members. The range of light-curve and periodogram shapes echoes that found for other clusters with K2, but fewer multiperiod stars may be an indication of the different noise characteristics of TESS, or a result of the source selection methods here. The distribution of P as a function of color as a proxy for mass fits nicely in between that for both older and younger clusters observed by K2, with fast rotators being found among both the highest and lowest masses probed here, and a well-organized distribution of M-star rotation rates. About 13% of the stars have an infrared excess, suggesting a circumstellar disk; this is well matched to expectations, given the age of the stars. There is an obvious pileup of disked M stars at P ∼ 2 days, and the pileup may move to shorter P as the mass decreases. There is also a strong concentration of disk-free M stars at P ∼ 2 days, hinting that perhaps these stars have recently freed themselves from their disks. Exploring the rotation rates of stars in UCL/LCC has the potential to help us understand the beginning of the end of the influence of disks on rotation, and the timescale on which stars respond to unlocking.

L M Rebull↗

Nonclassical Light Sources Based on Selectively Positioned Deterministic Microlens Structures and (111) In(Ga)As Quantum Dots

The results of investigations of the optical characteristics of nonclassical light sources based on selectively positioned microlens structures and single (111) In(Ga)As quantum dots grown on a (111) BGaAs substrate are presented. The single-photon nature of the radiation is confirmed by measuring and analyzing second-order correlation functions g{sup (2)}(τ); g{sup (2)}(0) = 0.07. The fine structure of the exciton states of (111) In(Ga)As quantum dots is investigated. It is shown that, in the energy range of 1.320–1.345 eV, the splitting of exciton states is comparable to the natural width of the exciton lines, which is of interest for developing photon-pair emitters based on them.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A catalog of selected compact radio sources for the construction of an extragalactic radio/optical reference frame (Argue et al. 1984): Documentation for the machine-readable version

This document describes the machine readable version of the Selected Compact Radio Source Catalog as it is currently being distributed from the international network of astronomical data centers. It is intended to enable users to read and process the computerized catalog. The catalog contains 233 strong, compact extragalactic radio sources having identified optical counterparts. The machine version contains the same data as the published catalog and includes source identifications, equatorial positions at J2000.0 and their mean errors, object classifications, visual magnitudes, redshift, 5-GHz flux densities, and comments.

Source record↗

Investigating Mountain Watershed Headwater‐To‐Groundwater Connections, Water Sources, and Storage Selection Behavior With Dynamic‐Flux Particle Tracking

Abstract Climate change will impact mountain watershed streamflow both directly—with changing precipitation amounts and variability—and indirectly—through temperature shifts altering snowpack, melt, and evapotranspiration. To understand how these complex processes will affect ecosystem functioning and water resources, we need tools to distinguish connections between water sources (rain/snowmelt), groundwater storage, and exit fluxes (streamflow/evapotranspiration), and to determine how these connections change seasonally and as climate shifts. Here, we develop novel watershed‐scale approaches to understand water source, storage, and exit flux connections using a dynamic‐flux particle tracking model (EcoSLIM) applied in California's Cosumnes Watershed, which connects the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley. This work develops new visualizations and applications to provide mechanistic understanding that underpins the interpretation of isotopic field data at watershed scales to distinguish sources, flow paths, residence times, and storage selection. In our simulations, streamflow comes primarily from snow‐derived water while evapotranspiration generally comes from rain. Most streamflow starts above 1,000 m while evapotranspiration is sourced relatively evenly across the watershed and is generally younger than streamflow. Modeled streamflow consists primarily of water sourced from precipitation in the previous 5 years but before the current water year, while ET consists primarily of water from precipitation in the current water year. ET, and to a lesser extent streamflow, are both younger than water in groundwater storage. However, snowmelt‐derived streamflow preferentially discharges older water from snow‐derived storage. Dynamic‐flux particle tracking and new approaches presented here enable novel model‐tracer comparisons in large‐scale watersheds to better understand watershed behavior in a changing climate.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

New opportunities for quasielastic and inelastic neutron scattering at steady-state sources using mechanical selection of the incident and final neutron energy

We propose a modification of the neutron wide-angle velocity selector (WAVES) device that enables inelastic (in particular, quasielastic) scattering measurements not relying on the neutron time-of-flight. The proposed device is highly suitable for a steady-state neutron source, somewhat similar to a triple-axis spectrometer, but with simultaneous selection of the incident and final neutron energy over a broad range of scattering momentum transfer. Both the incident and final neutron velocities are defined by the WAVES geometry and rotation frequency. The variable energy transfer is achieved through the natural variation of the velocity of the transmitted neutrons as a function of the scattering angle component out of the equatorial plane.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Installation of spectrally selective imaging system in RF negative ion source

A spectrally selective imaging system has been installed in the RF negative ion source in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor-relevant negative ion beam test facility ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) to investigate distribution of hydrogen Balmer-α emission (H{sub α}) close to the production surface of hydrogen negative ion. We selected a GigE vision camera coupled with an optical band-path filter, which can be controlled remotely using high speed network connection. A distribution of H{sub α} emission near the bias plate has been clearly observed. The same time trend on H{sub α} intensities measured by the imaging diagnostic and the optical emission spectroscopy is confirmed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

VarIabiLity seLection of AstrophysIcal sources iN PTF (VILLAIN): I. Structure function fits to 71 million objects

Light-curve variability is well-suited to characterizing objects in surveys with high cadence and a long baseline. This is especially relevant in view of the large datasets to be produced by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). We aim to determine variability parameters for objects in the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and explore differences between quasars (QSOs), stars, and galaxies. We relate variability and colour information in preparation for future surveys. We fit joint likelihoods to structure functions (SFs) of 71 million PTF light curves with a Markov chain Monte Carlo method. For each object, we assume a power-law SF and extract two parameters: the amplitude on timescales of one year, A, and a power-law index, γ. With these parameters and colours in the optical (Pan-STARRS1) and mid-infrared (WISE), we identify regions of parameter space dominated by different types of spectroscopically confirmed objects from SDSS. Candidate QSOs, stars, and galaxies are selected to show their parameter distributions. QSOs show high-amplitude variations in the R band, and the highest γ values. Galaxies have a broader range of amplitudes and their variability shows relatively little dependency on timescale. With variability and colours, we achieve a photometric selection purity of 99.3% for QSOs. Even though hard cuts in monochromatic variability alone are not as effective as seven-band magnitude cuts, variability is useful in characterizing object subclasses. Through variability, we also find QSOs that were erroneously classified as stars in the SDSS. We discuss perspectives and computational solutions in view of the upcoming LSST.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Solar heating and cooling: Technical data and systems analysis

The solar energy research is reported including climatic data, architectural data, heating and cooling equipment, thermal loads, and economic data. Lists of data sources presented include: selected data sources for solar energy heating and cooling; bibliography of solar energy, and other energy sources; sources for manufacturing and sales, solar energy collectors; and solar energy heating and cooling projects.

Christensen, D. L.↗

2.3-GHz accurate positions and optical identifications for selected Parkes radio sources

Accurate radio positions of 74 extragalactic radio sources contained in the Parkes 2.7-GHz survey were measured at 2.3 GHz with the Tidbinbilla interferometer, located near Canberra, Australia. The radio sources, most of which lie between declinations -30 deg and -35 deg, were measured to an rms positional accuracy of about 3 arcsec relative to a grid of previously identified radio sources. Optical identifications have been made on the basis of positional coincidence alone, without regard to color or morphology, using the UK Schmidt telescope deep IIIa-J sky survey plates. Identifications are suggested and accurate optical positions have been measured for 62 objects brighter than magnitude 22.5 on the IIIa-J plates.

Jauncey, D. L.↗

A catalog of selected compact radio sources for the construction of an extragalactic radio/optical reference frame

A catalog of 234 strong compact extragalactic radio sources that display optical counterparts is presented. This catalog identifies proposed sources for establishing an almost inertial reference frame against which the motions of the earth, solar system, galactic objects, and spacecraft may be measured. This catalog also defines those sources for which precise optical positions should be determined in order to relate this reference frame with the optical FK 5 fundamental system. The accuracy of the radio source positions of these sources is not greater than 0.1 arcsec with the majority not greater than 0.01 arcsec. Further refinement to not greater than 0.005 arcsec by future observations is expected soon.

Argue, A. N.↗

Monitoring observations of selected SiO maser sources at 7 mm wavelength - 1977-1979

High-spectral-resolution SiO maser observations at 7 mm wavelength were made for 13 circumstellar objects and Ori A over a 34 month interval from January 1977 to November 1979. These data precede and adjoin the SiO monitoring data taken at 3 and 7 mm wavelengths by Lane (1982) and at 3 mm wavelengths by Nyman and Olofsson (1985) and thus provide an important link in the record of the temporal behavior of SiO masers over a period of several years. The time-averaged center of the weak SiO maser emission pedestal gives the stellar radial velocity. This reinforces the idea that the SiO maser emission pedestal is representative of the true structure of a stellar SiO maser, while the more visible and stronger, narrow SiO emission spikes represent chance coherences along the velocity range of the pedestal. Similarities between the SiO maser velocity patterns of VY CMa and Ori A may suggest similarities in their evolutionary stages.

Snyder, L. E.↗