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N-point correlation functions in the CfA and SSRS redshift distribution of galaxies

Using counts in cells, we estimate the volume-average N-point galaxy correlation functions for N = 2, 3, and 4, in redshift samples of the CfA and SSRS catalogs. Volume-limited samples of different sizes are used to study the uncertainties at different scales, the shot noise, and the problem with the boundaries. The hierarchical constants S3 and S4 agree well in all samples in CfA and SSRS, with average S3 = 194 +/- 0.07 and S4 = 4.56 +/- 0.53. We compare these results with estimates obtained from angular catalogs and recent analysis over IRAS samples. The amplitudes SJ seem larger in real space than in redshift space, although the values from the angular analysis correspond to smaller scales, where we might expect larger nonperturbative effects. It is also found that S3 and S4 are smaller for IRAS than for optical galaxies. This, together with the fact that IRAS galaxies have smaller amplitude for the above correlation functions, indicates that the density fluctuations of IRAS galaxies cannot be simply proportional to the density fluctuations of optical galaxies, i.e., biasing has to be nonlinear between them.

Gaztanaga, Enrique

Reconstructed Parachute System Performance During the Second LDSD Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test

NASA’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerators project (LDSD) has developed and tested four new aerodynamic decelerator technologies for future Mars missions: two attached toroidal inflatable decelerators, a ballute, and a large supersonic parachute. On June 8, 2015, the project conducted a high-altitude, supersonic flight test of a 30.5-meter supersonic Ringsail (SSRS) canopy at the US Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai, HI. This test, the second in a series of Supersonic Flight Dynamics Tests (SFDT-2), allowed the LDSD project to test the deployment and performance of its parachute decelerator system in the wake of a representative test vehicle (a 4.7-meter aeroshell and 6-meter toroidal inflatable aerodynamic decelerator) at conditions relevant to Mars entry for the second time. The parachute decelerator system consisted of the SSRS main parachute and a 4.4-meter ballute (called the parachute deployment device, or PDD) for its extraction. The ballute was mortar-deployed at a Mach number of 2.78 and a dynamic pressure of 493 Pa, and inflated with the aid of a water-methanol based gas generator. After flying in the wake of the test vehicle for ten seconds, the PDD was released and allowed to extract the main parachute pack. The SSRS reached line-stretch at a Mach number of 2.37 and dynamic pressure of 602 Pa. Following full inflation, the propagation of a tear in the canopy led to the failure of the parachute skirt band and to the subsequent failure of the vent band. The test vehicle was instrumented with load sensors, inertial sensors, and high-speed and high resolution cameras that provided data on the performance of the PDD and SSRS through deployment, inflation, and flight. This paper describes the resulting reconstructed behavior of the PDD and SSRS during deployment and inflation, their aerodynamic performance on SFDT-2, the failure of the SSRS shortly after full inflation, and the LDSD project’s investigation into its underlying causes.

O'Farrell, Clara

High Altitude Supersonic Decelerator Test Vehicle

The Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project is tasked by NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) to advance the state of the art in Mars entry and descent technology in order to allow for larger payloads to be delivered to Mars at higher altitudes with better accuracy. The project will develop a 33.5 m Do Supersonic Ringsail (SSRS) parachute, 6m attached torus, robotic class Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD-R), and an 8 m attached isotensoid, exploration class Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD-E). The SSRS and SIAD-R should be brought to TRL-6, while the SIAD-E should be brought to TRL-5. As part of the qualification and development program, LDSD must perform a Mach-scaled Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test (SFDT) in order to demonstrate successful free flight dynamic deployments at Mars equivalent altitude, of all three technologies. In order to perform these tests, LDSD must design and build a test vehicle to deliver all technologies to approximately 180,000 ft and Mach 4, deploy a SIAD, free fly to approximately Mach 2, deploy the SSRS, record high-speed and high-resolution imagery of both deployments, as well as record data from an instrumentation suite capable of characterizing the technology induced vehicle dynamics. The vehicle must also be recoverable after splashdown into the ocean under a nominal flight, while guaranteeing forensic data protection in an off nominal catastrophic failure of a test article that could result in a terminal velocity, tumbling water impact.

Cook, Brant T.

On the derivation of selection functions from redshift survey data

A previously unrecognized effect is described in the derivation of luminosity functions and selection functions from existing redshift survey data, due to binning of quoted magnitudes and diameters. Corrections are made for this effect in the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and Southern Sky (SSRS) Redshift Surveys. The correction makes subtle but systematic changes in the derived density fields of the CfA survey, especially within 2000 km/s of the Local Group. The effect on the density field of the SSRS survey is negligible.

Strauss, Michael A.

Redshift distortions of galaxy correlation functions

To examine how peculiar velocities can affect the two-, three-, and four-point redshift correlation functions, we evaluate volume-average correlations for configurations that emphasize and minimize redshift distortions for four different volume-limited samples from each of the CfA, SSRS, and IRAS redshift catalogs. We present the results as the correlation length r(sub 0) and power index gamma of the two-point correlations, bar-xi(sub 0) = (r(sub 0)/r)(exp gamma), and as the hierarchical amplitudes of the three- and four-point functions, S(sub 3) = bar-xi(sub 3)/bar-xi(exp 2)(sub 2) and S(sub 4) = bar-xi(sub 4)/bar-xi(exp 3)(sub 2). We find a characteristic distortion for bar-xi(sub 2), the slope gamma is flatter and the correlation length is larger in redshift space than in real space; that is, redshift distortions 'move' correlations from small to large scales. At the largest scales (up to 12 Mpc), the extra power in the redshift distribution is compatible with Omega(exp 4/7)/b approximately equal to 1. We estimate Omega(exp 4/7)/b to be 0.53 +/- 0.15, 1.10 +/- 0.16, and 0.84 +/- 0.45 for the CfA, SSRS, and IRAS catalogs. Higher order correlations bar-xi(sub 3) and bar-xi(sub 4) suffer similar redshift distortions but in such a way that, within the accuracy of our ananlysis, the normalized amplitudes S(sub 3) and S(sub 4) are insensitive to this effect. The hierarchical amplitudes S(sub 3) and S(sub 4) are constant as a function of scale between 1 and 12 Mpc and have similar values in all samples and catalogs, S(sub 3) approximately equal to 2 and S(sub 4) approximately equal to 6, despite the fact that bar-xi(sub 2), bar-xi(sub 3), and bar-xi(sub 4) differ from one sample to another by large factors (up to a factor of 4 in bar-xi(sub 2), 8 for bar-xi(sub 3), and 12 for bar-xi(sub 4)). The agreement between the independent estimations of S(sub 3) and S(sub 4) is remarkable given the different criteria in the selection of galaxies and also the difference in the resulting range of densities, luminosities, and locations between samples.

Fry, J. N.

Analytic Confusion Matrix Bounds for Fault Detection and Isolation Using a Sum-of-Squared- Residuals Approach

Given a system which can fail in 1 or n different ways, a fault detection and isolation (FDI) algorithm uses sensor data in order to determine which fault is the most likely to have occurred. The effectiveness of an FDI algorithm can be quantified by a confusion matrix, which i ndicates the probability that each fault is isolated given that each fault has occurred. Confusion matrices are often generated with simulation data, particularly for complex systems. In this paper we perform FDI using sums of squares of sensor residuals (SSRs). We assume that the sensor residuals are Gaussian, which gives the SSRs a chi-squared distribution. We then generate analytic lower and upper bounds on the confusion matrix elements. This allows for the generation of optimal sensor sets without numerical simulations. The confusion matrix bound s are verified with simulated aircraft engine data.

Simon, Dan

Pairs of galaxies in low density regions of a combined redshift catalog

The distributions of projected separations and radial velocity differences of pairs of galaxies in the CfA and Southern Sky Redshift Survey (SSRS) redshift catalogs are examined. The authors focus on pairs that fall in low density environments rather than in clusters or large groups. The projected separation distribution is nearly flat, while uncorrelated galaxies would have given one linearly rising with r sub p. There is no break in this curve even below 50 kpc, the minimum halo size consistent with measured galaxy rotation curves. The significant number of pairs at small separations is inconsistent with the N-body result that galaxies with overlapping halos will rapidly merge, unless there are significant amounts of matter distributed out to a few hundred kpc of the galaxies. This dark matter may either be in distinct halos or more loosely distributed. Large halos would allow pairs at initially large separations to head toward merger, replenishing the distribution at small separations. In the context of this model, the authors estimate that roughly 10 to 25 percent of these low density galaxies are the product of a merger, compared with the elliptical/SO fraction of 18 percent, observed in low density regions of the sample.

Charlton, Jane C.

Omega from the anisotropy of the redshift correlation function

Peculiar velocities distort the correlation function of galaxies observed in redshift space. In the large scale, linear regime, the distortion takes a characteristic quadrupole plus hexadecapole form, with the amplitude of the distortion depending on the cosmological density parameter omega. Preliminary measurements are reported here of the harmonics of the correlation function in the CfA, SSRS, and IRAS 2 Jansky redshift surveys. The observed behavior of the harmonics agrees qualitatively with the predictions of linear theory on large scales in every survey. However, real anisotropy in the galaxy distribution induces large fluctuations in samples which do not yet probe a sufficiently fair volume of the Universe. In the CfA 14.5 sample in particular, the Great Wall induces a large negative quadrupole, which taken at face value implies an unrealistically large omega 20. The IRAS 2 Jy survey, which covers a substantially larger volume than the optical surveys and is less affected by fingers-of-god, yields a more reliable and believable value, omega = 0.5 sup +.5 sub -.25.

Hamilton, A. J. S.

Ring Bus Architecture for a Solid-State Recorder

A document concisely describes a ring bus architecture for a proposed solid-state recorder (SSR) that would serve as buffer of data to be transmitted from a spacecraft to Earth. This architecture would afford fault tolerance needed for reliable operation in an anticipated high-radiation environment in which traditional SSRs cannot operate reliably. Features of the architecture include one or more controller boards and multiple memory boards interconnected in a ringlike topology. The interconnections would be high-speed serial links complying with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 1393 (which pertains to a spaceborne fiber-optic data bus). Accordingly, each controller and memory board would be equipped with an IEEE-1393-compliant ring-bus-interface unit. The ringlike topology and the multiplicity of memory boards (and, optionally, of controller boards) would afford the redundancy needed for fault tolerance. Each board would be a fault-containment region. The IEEE 1393 links could be routed so that the SSR would continue to function even in the event of multiple failures. This architecture would also support scalability over a wide range. In a fully redundant configuration, it could accommodate between 1 and 125 memory boards.

Walker, W. John

Thermal Design and Analysis of the Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test Vehicle for the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator Project

The thermal design and analysis of the experimental Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test (SFDT) vehicle is presented. The SFDT vehicle is currently being designed as a platform to help demonstrate key technologies for NASA's Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project. The LDSD project is charged by NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) with the task of advancing the state of the art in Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) systems by developing and testing three new technologies required for landing heavier payloads on Mars. The enabling technologies under development consist of a large 33.5 meter diameter Supersonic Ringsail (SSRS) parachute and two different types of Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD) devices - a robotic class, SIAD-R, that inflates to a 6 meter diameter torus, and an exploration class, SIAD-E, that inflates to an 8 meter diameter isotensoid. As part of the technology development effort, the various elements of the new supersonic decelerator system must be tested in a Mars-like environment. This is currently planned to be accomplished by sending a series of SFDT vehicles into Earth's stratosphere. Each SFDT vehicle will be lifted to a stable float altitude by a large helium carrier balloon. Once at altitude, the SFDT vehicles will be released from their carrier balloon and spun up via spin motors to provide trajectory stability. An onboard third stage solid rocket motor will propel each test vehicle to supersonic flight in the upper atmosphere. After main engine burnout, each vehicle will be despun and testing of the deceleration system will begin: first an inflatable decelerator will be deployed around the aeroshell to increase the drag surface area, and then the large parachute will be deployed to continue the deceleration and return the vehicle back to the Earth's surface. The SFDT vehicle thermal system must passively protect the vehicle structure and its components from cold temperatures experienced during the ascent phase of the mission as well as from the extreme heat fluxes produced during the supersonic test phase by the main motor plume and aeroheating. The passive thermal design approach for the SFDT vehicle relies upon careful and complex bounding analysis of all three modes of heat transfer - conduction, convection, and radiation - coupled with a tightly managed transient power dissipation timeline for onboard electronics components throughout all mission phases.

thermal desktop

Estimates for the Aerodynamic Coefficients of Ringsail and Disk-Gap-Band Parachutes Operating on Mars

The creation of flight dynamics simulations is often part of the design, development, and flight operations of missions that include entry, descent, and landing (EDL) in their concept of operation. Such flight dynamics simulations include models for many of the EDL sub-systems. For EDL systems that include a parachute, models of the parachute’s aerodynamic characteristics must be created for inclusion in the flight dynamics simulations. Models are presented for the aerodynamic coefficients (i.e., C(D),C(Tot),C(T),C(N), and C(m,SLCP)) of Supersonic Ringsail (SSRS) and Disk-Gap-Band (DGB) parachutes as functions of total porosity, λ(T), Mach number, M, and total angle of attack, λ(T) (when necessary). The source aerodynamic coefficients data used for creating these models were obtained from a wind tunnel test of subscale parachutes. In this wind tunnel test, subscale parachutes of both parachute types were fabricated from two different fabrics with very different permeabilities. By varying the fabric permeability, while maintaining the parachute geometry constant, it was possible to vary λ(T). The fabric permeability test data necessary for the calculation of λ(T) were obtained from samples of the same fabrics used to fabricate the subscale parachutes. Although the models for the aerodynamic coefficients are simple polynomial functions of λ(T) and M, they are capable of producing good reproductions of the source data. The (λ(T), M) domains over which these models are applicable are clearly defined. The models and their domains are applicable to flight operations on Mars. The models presented in this report are not unique – other models could be created from the source data. To make the creation of alternative numerical models, the aerodynamic coefficients source data are included in this report.

Cruz, Juan R.

Low Density Supersonic Decelerator Parachute Decelerator System

The Low Density Supersonic Decelerator Project has undertaken the task of developing and testing a large supersonic ringsail parachute. The parachute under development is intended to provide mission planners more options for parachutes larger than the Mars Science Laboratory's 21.5m parachute. During its development, this new parachute will be taken through a series of tests in order to bring the parachute to a TRL-6 readiness level and make the technology available for future Mars missions. This effort is primarily focused on two tests, a subsonic structural verification test done at sea level atmospheric conditions and a supersonic flight behind a blunt body in low-density atmospheric conditions. The preferred method of deploying a parachute behind a decelerating blunt body robotic spacecraft in a supersonic flow-field is via mortar deployment. Due to the configuration constraints in the design of the test vehicle used in the supersonic testing it is not possible to perform a mortar deployment. As a result of this limitation an alternative deployment process using a ballute as a pilot is being developed. The intent in this alternate approach is to preserve the requisite features of a mortar deployment during canopy extraction in a supersonic flow. Doing so will allow future Mars missions to either choose to mortar deploy or pilot deploy the parachute that is being developed.

Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD)

FJET Database Project: Extract, Transform, and Load

The Data Mining & Knowledge Management team at Kennedy Space Center is providing data management services to the Frangible Joint Empirical Test (FJET) project at Langley Research Center (LARC). FJET is a project under the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). The purpose of FJET is to conduct an assessment of mild detonating fuse (MDF) frangible joints (FJs) for human spacecraft separation tasks in support of the NASA Commercial Crew Program. The Data Mining & Knowledge Management team has been tasked with creating and managing a database for the efficient storage and retrieval of FJET test data. This paper details the Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) process as it is related to gathering FJET test data into a Microsoft SQL relational database, and making that data available to the data users. Lessons learned, procedures implemented, and programming code samples are discussed to help detail the learning experienced as the Data Mining & Knowledge Management team adapted to changing requirements and new technology while maintaining flexibility of design in various aspects of the data management project.

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