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At least 1,747 records · Page 97

High-density digital recording

The problems associated with high-density digital recording (HDDR) are discussed. Five independent users of HDDR systems and their problems, solutions, and insights are provided as guidance for other users of HDDR systems. Various pulse code modulation coding techniques are reviewed. An introduction to error detection and correction head optimization theory and perpendicular recording are provided. Competitive tape recorder manufacturers apply all of the above theories and techniques and present their offerings. The methodology used by the HDDR Users Subcommittee of THIC to evaluate parallel HDDR systems is presented.

Kalil, F.↗

Archival of Poker Flat MST radar data

The Poker Flat MST (mesosphere stratosphere troposphere) radar has operated from early 1979 to 1985. The data recorded during that time resides on some 1100 magnetic tapes. A second set containing only the derived parameters of velocity, width and signal to noise of the primary echo at each height, plus the noise spectra, occupies another 250 tapes. While processing to generate the compressed data set does correct some known errors, no attempt has been made to identify or remove spurious echoes. Because the Poker Flat data set is such a unique and valuable resource, a proposal is made to archive the data in forms more useful for analysis. The archived data set would contain only the parameters for significant echoes with contamination from airplanes, unwanted ionospheric returns, frequently aliased Doppler signals and other sources removed. The archived set should be as good or better than the example shown and may occupy only 25 to 50 tapes.

Riddle, A. C.↗

Landsat D Thematic Mapper image dimensionality reduction and geometric correction accuracy

To characterize and quantify the performance of the Landsat thematic mapper (TM), techniques for dimensionality reduction by linear transformation have been studied and evaluated and the accuracy of the correction of geometric errors in TM images analyzed. Theoretical evaluations and comparisons for existing methods for the design of linear transformation for dimensionality reduction are presented. These methods include the discrete Karhunen Loeve (KL) expansion, Multiple Discriminant Analysis (MDA), Thematic Mapper (TM)-Tasseled Cap Linear Transformation and Singular Value Decomposition (SVD). A unified approach to these design problems is presented in which each method involves optimizing an objective function with respect to the linear transformation matrix. From these studies, four modified methods are proposed. They are referred to as the Space Variant Linear Transformation, the KL Transform-MDA hybrid method, and the First and Second Version of the Weighted MDA method. The modifications involve the assignment of weights to classes to achieve improvements in the class conditional probability of error for classes with high weights. Experimental evaluations of the existing and proposed methods have been performed using the six reflective bands of the TM data. It is shown that in terms of probability of classification error and the percentage of the cumulative eigenvalues, the six reflective bands of the TM data require only a three dimensional feature space. It is shown experimentally as well that for the proposed methods, the classes with high weights have improvements in class conditional probability of error estimates as expected.

Ford, G. E.↗

Application of the complex cepstrum to the location of acoustic sources near reflective surfaces

The complex cepstrum is used to correct bearing estimations of acoustic sources in the presence of a reflective surface. An automated liftering procedure is used which zeros out a block portion of the cepstrum including the echo information. The problem of the resulting distortion is alleviated by applying a coherence criterion to the recovered direct signals at each microphone. Thus to a large degree the interactive nature of cepstral processing is overcome for this application. For the test signals and geometries considered the cepstrum is shown to accurately correct for bearing errors in acoustic signals contaminated with reflections from nearby surfaces.

Fuller, C. R.↗

Experiments on thermoacoustic convection heat transfer in gravity and zero-gravity environments

The results of an experimental study of thermoacoustic convection (TAC) heat transfer in gravity and zero-gravity environments are presented. The experimental apparatus consisted of a cylinder containing air as the compressible fluid. The enclosed air was heated electrically at the top surface which consisted of a thin high-resistance steel foil connected to a power source. Thermocouples were used to measure the transient temperature of the air on the axis of the cylinder and the heated surface in the both zero-gravity and gravity environments. The zero-gravity tests were performed in the Zero-Gravity Drop Tower Facility of NASA-Lewis Research Center. The experimental results were corrected for the error due to radiation absorption by the thermocouples. A conduction-only numerical heat transfer model was developed to compute the transient air temperature in the cylindrical geometry. The results were compared to the experimental data to determine the significance of the thermoacoustic convection heat transfer mechanism. It is observed that the rate of heat transfer to the air measured during the experiments is consistently higher than that obtained by the conduction-only solution indicating a significant presence of the TAC heat transfer. Further experiments are planned to measure directly (1) the radiative heat transfer contribution to the rise in the air temperature, and (2) the air pressure oscillations within the cylinder that are responsible for the convective heat transfer mode.

Parang, Masood↗

Analysis of experimental shaft seal data for high-performance turbomachines - As for Space Shuttle main engines

High-pressure, high-temperature seal flow (leakage) data for nonrotating and rotating Raleigh-step and convergent-tapered-bore seals were characterized in terms of a normalized flow coefficient. The data for normalized Rayleigh-step and nonrotating tapered-bore seals were in reasonable agreement with theory, but data for the rotating tapered-bore seals were not. The tapered-bore-seal operational clearances estimated from the flow data were significantly larger than calculated. Although clearances are influenced by wear from conical to cylindrical geometry and errors in clearance corrections, the problem was isolated to the shaft temperature - rotational speed clearance correction. The geometric changes support the use of some conical convergence in any seal. Under these conditions rotation reduced the normalized flow coefficiently by nearly 10 percent.

Hendricks, R. C.↗

Photoelectric photometry of the RS CVn binary EI Eridani = HD 26337

Differential UBV(RI)sub KC and UBVRI photometry of the RS CVn binary EI Eridani obtained during December 1987 and January 1988 at fourteen different observatories is presented. A combined visual bandpass light curve, corrected for systematic errors of different observatories, utilizes the photometric period of 1,945 days to produce useful results. The analysis shows the visual light curve to have twin maxima, separated by about 0.4 phase, and a full amplitude of approximately 0.06 mag for the period of observation, a smaller amplitude than reported in the past. The decrease in amplitude may be due to a decrease or homogenization of spot coverage. To fit the asymmetrical light curve, a starspot model would have to employ at least two spotted regions separated in longitude.

Hooten, J. T.↗

Diffraction, chopping, and background subtraction for LDR

The Large Deployable Reflector (LDR) will be an extremely sensitive infrared telescope if the noise due to the photons in the large thermal background is the only limiting factor. For observations with a 3 arcsec aperture in a broadband at 100 micrometers, a 20-meter LDR will emit 10(exp 12) per second, while the photon noise limited sensitivity in a deep survey observation will be 3,000 photons per second. Thus the background subtraction has to work at the 1 part per billion level. Very small amounts of scattered or diffracted energy can be significant if they are modulated by the chopper. The results are presented for 1-D and 2-D diffraction calculations for the lightweight, low-cost LDR concept that uses an active chopping quaternary to correct the wavefront errors introduced by the primary. Fourier transforms were used to evaluate the diffraction of 1 mm waves through this system. Unbalanced signals due to dust and thermal gradients were also studied.

Wright, Edward L.↗

Local area network with fault-checking, priorities, and redundant backup

This invention is a redundant error detecting and correcting local area networked computer system having a plurality of nodes each including a network connector board within the node for connecting to an interfacing transceiver operably attached to a network cable. There is a first network cable disposed along a path to interconnect the nodes. The first network cable includes a plurality of first interfacing transceivers attached thereto. A second network cable is disposed in parallel with the first cable and, in like manner, includes a plurality of second interfacing transceivers attached thereto. There are a plurality of three position switches each having a signal input, three outputs for individual selective connection to the input, and a control input for receiving signals designating which of the outputs is to be connected to the signal input. Each of the switches includes means for designating a response address for responding to addressed signals appearing at the control input and each of the switches further has its signal input connected to a respective one of the input/output lines from the nodes. Also, one of the three outputs is connected to a repective one of the plurality of first interfacing transceivers. There is master switch control means having an output connected to the control inputs of the plurality of three position switches and an input for receiving directive signals for outputting addressed switch position signals to the three position switches as well as monitor and control computer means having a pair of network connector boards therein connected to respective ones of one of the first interfacing transceivers and one of the second interfacing transceivers and an output connected to the input of the master switch means for monitoring the status of the networked computer system by sending messages to the nodes and receiving and verifying messages therefrom and for sending control signals to the master switch to cause the master switch to cause respective ones of the nodes to use a desired one of the first and second cables for transmitting and receiving messages and for disconnecting desired ones of the nodes from both cables.

Morales, Sergio↗

Satellite radar altimetry over ice. Volume 1: Processing and corrections of Seasat data over Greenland

The data-processing methods and ice data products derived from Seasat radar altimeter measurements over the Greenland ice sheet and surrounding sea ice are documented. The corrections derived and applied to the Seasat radar altimeter data over ice are described in detail, including the editing and retracking algorithm to correct for height errors caused by lags in the automatic range tracking circuit. The methods for radial adjustment of the orbits and estimation of the slope-induced errors are given.

Zwally, H. Jay↗

Extremely lightweight space telescope mirrors with integrated active figure control

A concept for an extremely lightweight primary mirror for a large space telescope is proposed. The mirror uses a sandwich structure composed of aluminum faceplates with an aluminum foam core. Modal analysis indicates that a fundamental frequency of 100 Hz can be obtained for a 6 meter diameter mirror with a tapered back and having a total mass of about 3500 kg. An array of thermal actuators embedded in the mirror corrects for figure errors. Such an active thermal figure control system does not have a quick response, but is well suited to space applications where disturbances have relatively long time constants. The advantage of thermal actuators is very high reliability, a primary concern in any space system requiring a large number of actuators.

Bely, Pierre Y.↗

Rotating reactor studies

Undesired gravitational effects such as convection or sedimentation in a fluid can sometimes be avoided or decreased by the use of a closed chamber uniformly rotated about a horizontal axis. In a previous study, the spiral orbits of a heavy or buoyant particle in a uniformly rotating fluid were determined. The particles move in circles, and spiral in or out under the combined effects of the centrifugal force and centrifugal buoyancy. A optimization problem for the rotation rate of a cylindrical reactor rotated about its axis and containing distributed particles was formulated and solved. Related studies in several areas are addressed. A computer program based on the analysis was upgraded by correcting some minor errors, adding a sophisticated screen-and-printer graphics capability and other output options, and by improving the automation. The design, performance, and analysis of a series of experiments with monodisperse polystyrene latex microspheres in water were supported to test the theory and its limitations. The theory was amply confirmed at high rotation rates. However, at low rotation rates (1 rpm or less) the assumption of uniform solid-body rotation of the fluid became invalid, and there were increasingly strong secondary motions driven by variations in the mean fluid density due to variations in the particle concentration. In these tests the increase in the mean fluid density due to the particles was of order 0.015 percent. To a first approximation, these flows are driven by the buoyancy in a thin crescent-shaped depleted layer on the descending side of the rotating reactor. This buoyancy distribution is balanced by viscosity near the walls, and by the Coriolis force in the interior. A full analysis is beyond the scope of this study. Secondary flows are likely to be stronger for buoyant particles, which spiral in towards the neutral point near the rotation axis under the influence of their centrifugal buoyancy. This is because the depleted layer is thicker and extends all the way around the reactor.

Roberts, Glyn O.↗

Analysis of the Intel 386 and i486 microprocessors for the Space Station Freedom Data Management System

The feasibility is analyzed of upgrading the Intel 386 microprocessor, which has been proposed as the baseline processor for the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Data Management System (DMS), to the more advanced i486 microprocessors. The items compared between the two processors include the instruction set architecture, power consumption, the MIL-STD-883C Class S (Space) qualification schedule, and performance. The advantages of the i486 over the 386 are (1) lower power consumption; and (2) higher floating point performance. The i486 on-chip cache does not have parity check or error detection and correction circuitry. The i486 with on-chip cache disabled, however, has lower integer performance than the 386 without cache, which is the current DMS design choice. Adding cache to the 386/386 DX memory hierachy appears to be the most beneficial change to the current DMS design at this time.

Liu, Yuan-Kwei↗

Spaceflight optical disk recorder development

A NASA program to develop a high performance (high rate, high capacity) rewriteable optical disk recorder for spaceflight applications is presented. An expandable, adaptable system concept is proposed based on disk drive modules and a modular controller. Drive performance goals are 10 Gbyte capacity, 300 Mb transfer rate, 10 to the -12th corrected bit-error rate, and 150 msec access time. The preliminary design for an expandable controller is presented. System goals are up to 160 Gbyte capacity at up to 1.8 Gb/sec rate with concurrent I/O, asynchronous data transfer, and 2-5-year operating life in orbit. Projected system environment and operational scenarios based on Polar Orbiting Platform applications are discussed.

Shull, Thomas A.↗

Colored noise effects on batch attitude accuracy estimates

The effects of colored noise on the accuracy of batch least squares parameter estimates with applications to attitude determination cases are investigated. The standard approaches used for estimating the accuracy of a computed attitude commonly assume uncorrelated (white) measurement noise, while in actual flight experience measurement noise often contains significant time correlations and thus is colored. For example, horizon scanner measurements from low Earth orbit were observed to show correlations over many minutes in response to large scale atmospheric phenomena. A general approach to the analysis of the effects of colored noise is investigated, and interpretation of the resulting equations provides insight into the effects of any particular noise color and the worst case noise coloring for any particular parameter estimate. It is shown that for certain cases, the effects of relatively short term correlations can be accommodated by a simple correction factor. The errors in the predicted accuracy assuming white noise and the reduced accuracy due to the suboptimal nature of estimators that do not take into account the noise color characteristics are discussed. The appearance of a variety of sample noise color characteristics are demonstrated through simulation, and their effects are discussed for sample estimation cases. Based on the analysis, options for dealing with the effects of colored noise are discussed.

Bilanow, Stephen↗

A simple implementation of the Viterbi algorithm on the Motorola DSP56001

As systems designers design communication systems with digital rather than analog components to reduce noise and increase channel capacity, they must have the ability to perform traditional communication algorithms digitally. The use of trellis coded modulation as well as the extensive use of convolutional encoding for error detection and correction requires an efficient digital implementation of the Viterbi Algorithm for real time demodulation and decoding. Digital signal processors are now fast enough to implement Viterbi decoding in conjunction with the normal receiver/transmitter functions for lower speed channels on a single chip as well as performing fast decoding for higher speed channels, if the algorithm is implemented efficiently. The purpose of this paper is to identify a good way to implement the Viterbi Algorithm (VA) on the Motorola DSP56001, balancing performance considerations with speed and memory efficiency.

Messer, Dion D.↗

Analysis of the Intel 386 and i486 microprocessors for the Space Station Freedom Data Management System

The feasibility is analyzed of upgrading the Intel 386 microprocessor, which has been proposed as the baseline processor for the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Data Management System (DMS), to the more advanced i486 microprocessors. The items compared between the two processors include the instruction set architecture, power consumption, the MIL-STD-883C Class S (Space) qualification schedule, and performance. The advantages of the i486 over the 386 are (1) lower power consumption; and (2) higher floating point performance. The i486 on-chip cache does not have parity check or error detection and correction circuitry. The i486 with on-chip cache disabled, however, has lower integer performance than the 386 without cache, which is the current DMS design choice. Adding cache to the 386/387 DX memory hierarchy appears to be the most beneficial change to the current DMS design at this time.

Liu, Yuan-Kwei↗

Ulysses orbit determination

The Ulysses mission ESA spacecraft with ESA and NASA experiments explores the polar regions of the sun by sending a spacecraft on a trajectory out of the ecliptic after a Jupiter flyby. After correcting for launch errors and refining the aimpoint, orbit determination results show the change and general improvement in the Jupiter arrival point. Orbit determination results are further discussed, and future plans are mentioned.

Gordon, H. J.↗