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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

The NASA radiowave propagation program

The objectives of the NASA radiowave Propagation Program are to enable new satellite communication applications and to enhance existing satellite communication networks. These objectives are achieved by supporting radio wave propagation studies and disseminating the study results in a timely fashion. Studies initiated by this program in the 1980s enabled the infant concept of conducting mobile communications via satellite to reach a state of relative maturity in 1990. The program also supported the satellite communications community by publishing and revising two handbooks dealing with radio wave propagation effects for frequencies below and above 10 GHz, respectively. The program has served the international community through its support of the International Telecommunications Union. It supports state of the art work at universities. Currently, the program is focusing on the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and its propagation needs. An overview of the program's involvement in the ACTS project is given.

Davarian, Faramaz↗
NASA NTRS2016

Statistical Analysis of Instantaneous Frequency Scaling Factor as Derived From Optical Disdrometer Measurements At KQ Bands

The rain rate data and statistics of a location are often used in conjunction with models to predict rain attenuation. However, the true attenuation is a function not only of rain rate, but also of the drop size distribution (DSD). Generally, models utilize an average drop size distribution (Laws and Parsons or Marshall and Palmer [1]). However, individual rain events may deviate from these models significantly if their DSD is not well approximated by the average. Therefore, characterizing the relationship between the DSD and attenuation is valuable in improving modeled predictions of rain attenuation statistics. The DSD may also be used to derive the instantaneous frequency scaling factor and thus validate frequency scaling models. Since June of 2014, NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) and the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) have jointly conducted a propagation study in Milan, Italy utilizing the 20 and 40 GHz beacon signals of the Alphasat TDP#5 Aldo Paraboni payload. The Ka- and Q-band beacon receivers provide a direct measurement of the signal attenuation while concurrent weather instrumentation provides measurements of the atmospheric conditions at the receiver. Among these instruments is a Thies Clima Laser Precipitation Monitor (optical disdrometer) which yields droplet size distributions (DSD); this DSD information can be used to derive a scaling factor that scales the measured 20 GHz data to expected 40 GHz attenuation. Given the capability to both predict and directly observe 40 GHz attenuation, this site is uniquely situated to assess and characterize such predictions. Previous work using this data has examined the relationship between the measured drop-size distribution and the measured attenuation of the link [2]. The focus of this paper now turns to a deeper analysis of the scaling factor, including the prediction error as a function of attenuation level, correlation between the scaling factor and the rain rate, and the temporal variability of the drop size distribution both within a given rain event and across different varieties of rain events. Index Terms-drop size distribution, frequency scaling, propagation losses, radiowave propagation.

Radio Attenuation↗
NASA NTRS2016

Statistical Analysis of Instantaneous Frequency Scaling Factor as Derived From Optical Disdrometer Measurements At KQ Bands

The rain rate data and statistics of a location are often used in conjunction with models to predict rain attenuation. However, the true attenuation is a function not only of rain rate, but also of the drop size distribution (DSD). Generally, models utilize an average drop size distribution (Laws and Parsons or Marshall and Palmer. However, individual rain events may deviate from these models significantly if their DSD is not well approximated by the average. Therefore, characterizing the relationship between the DSD and attenuation is valuable in improving modeled predictions of rain attenuation statistics. The DSD may also be used to derive the instantaneous frequency scaling factor and thus validate frequency scaling models. Since June of 2014, NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) and the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) have jointly conducted a propagation study in Milan, Italy utilizing the 20 and 40 GHz beacon signals of the Alphasat TDP#5 Aldo Paraboni payload. The Ka- and Q-band beacon receivers provide a direct measurement of the signal attenuation while concurrent weather instrumentation provides measurements of the atmospheric conditions at the receiver. Among these instruments is a Thies Clima Laser Precipitation Monitor (optical disdrometer) which yields droplet size distributions (DSD); this DSD information can be used to derive a scaling factor that scales the measured 20 GHz data to expected 40 GHz attenuation. Given the capability to both predict and directly observe 40 GHz attenuation, this site is uniquely situated to assess and characterize such predictions. Previous work using this data has examined the relationship between the measured drop-size distribution and the measured attenuation of the link]. The focus of this paper now turns to a deeper analysis of the scaling factor, including the prediction error as a function of attenuation level, correlation between the scaling factor and the rain rate, and the temporal variability of the drop size distribution both within a given rain event and across different varieties of rain events. Index Terms-drop size distribution, frequency scaling, propagation losses, radiowave propagation.

Statistics↗
NASA NTRS1995

ITU recommendations regarding propagation effects on mobile-satellite links

To predict the effect of radiowave propagation on mobile-satellite links, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) offers three Recommendations. These Recommendations have been developed by the participants of ITU Study Groups to enable service planners and design engineers of mobile-satellite systems to characterize the mobile satellite link. This paper briefly reviews the structure of the ITU, its Study Groups, and its contributions to propagation modeling. The shortcomings of some of these models are examined and means to overcome them have been pointed out. The protocol for participation in ITU Study Groups is very briefly discussed.

Davarian, F.↗
NASA NTRS1998

NASA Propagation Studies Status

To leverage NASA's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) to characterize radiowave propagation at Ka-band for utilization by U.S. industry and the space community.

Communications↗
NASA NTRS1992

The Olympus and ACTS propagation measurement campaigns in the U.S

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory under the auspices of NASA carries out radiowave propagation studies for satellite communications. As a prelude to the ACTS experiments, it was considered prudent to gather experience in 20/30 GHz propagation using the Olympus satellite beacons at 12, 20, and 30 GHz. Therefore, NASA funded an experiment program with Virginia Tech under JPL management to develop hardware and to collect data for the Olympus campaign. The paper reviews the results of the Olympus campaign. The experience gathered from this campaign is beneficial to the forthcoming ACTS propagation program which is also discussed in this paper.

Stutzman, Warren L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

NASA Propagation Studies: Status

This paper presents the status of NASA propagation studies. The objective of the ACTS propagation campaign is to leverage NASA's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) in order to characterize radiowave propagation at Ka-band for utilization by U.S. industry and the space community. Topics discussed are: 1) Objective of ACTS propagation campaign; 2) Expected results and outputs of the ACTS propagation campaign; 3) ACTS propagation campaign milestones; and 4) New focus for NASA propagation studies.

Golshan, Nasser↗
NASA NTRS1998

Proceedings of the Eleventh Advanced Communications Technology Satellite Propagation Studies Workshop (APSW 11)

The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite Propagation Studies Workshop (APSW) is convened each year to present the results of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) Ka-band propagation campaign. Representatives from the space community including industry, academia, and government who are interested in radiowave propagation at Ka-band are invited to APSW for discussions and exchange of information. The ACTS Propagation campaign will complete five years of Ka-Band data collection at seven sites in North America by December 31, 1998. Through this effort, NASA is making a major contribution to the effective utilization of this band by providing timely propagation data and models for predicting the performance of Ka-band links between space and ground.

Golshan, Nasser↗
NASA NTRS1989

ACTS propagation concerns, issues, and plans

ACTS counters fading by resource sharing between the users. It provides a large margin only for those terminals which are at risk by unfavorable atmospheric conditions. ACTS, as an experimental satellite, provides a 5 dB clear weather margin and 10 dB additional margin via rate reduction and encoding. For the uplink, this margin may be increased by exercising uplink power control. Some of the challenges faced by the radiowave propagation community are listed. The issue of needs for the satellite are listed, both general and specific.

Davarian, Faramaz↗
NASA NTRS1994

Propagation characteristics of 20/30 GHz links with a 40 deg masking angle

An effective means of reducing Ka-band propagation loss is the use of high elevation angle paths, i.e., a large masking angle, between earth stations and the space platform. Experimental data have shown that the signal loss associated with most atmospheric effects is inversely proportional to sin(theta), where theta denotes the path elevation angle. A large masking angle and a generous link margin are the primary tools used in the Teledesic Corporation network to minimize atmospheric-related signal outages. This report documents the results of a study sponsored by Teledesic Corporation to characterize the effect of radiowave propagation on Teledesic's links. The recent Olympus campaign in Europe and the U.S. has provided new information that is not included. Therefore, CCIR recommendations and NASA Propagation Handbook models constitute the base of this study, and, when applicable, data from other sources have been used to improve the predictions. Furthermore, attention has been given to data from the Olympus campaign. The effects investigated during this study include gas, rain, fog, sand, and cloud attenuation; diversity gain; scintillation; and depolarization.

Davarian, Faramaz↗
NASA NTRS1992

Remote sensing of the atmosphere by multi-channel radiometers

To characterize Earth/space communication links, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL's) Radiowave Propagation Program supports a number of propagation studies. Low-availability satellite links and their propagation vagaries at Ka and millimeter-wave bands constitute a major effort within this program. Since 1987, this program has funded the Wave Propagation Laboratory (WPL) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct multiple-frequency radiometric observations of the atmosphere. Measurements of atmospheric emission and attenuation at 20, 31, and 90 GHz at different locations are presented. Single-station and joint-station statistics are derived. A linear regression scheme for the prediction of fade statistics in one channel using fade data from the other two channels is presented.

Davarian, Faramaz↗
NASA NTRS2006

The International Reference Ionosphere - Climatological Standard for the Ionosphere

The International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) a joint project of URSI and COSPAR is the defacto standard for a climatological specification of ionospheric parameters. IRI is based on a wide range of ground and space data and has been steadily improved since its inception in 1969 with the ever-increasing volume of ionospheric data and with better mathematical descriptions of the observed global and temporal variation patterns. The IRI model has been validated with a large amount of data including data from the most recent ionospheric satellites (KOMPSAT, ROCSAT and TIMED) and data from global network of ionosondes. Several IRI teams are working on specific aspects of the IRI modeling effort including an improved representation of the topside ionosphere with a seamless transition to the plasmasphere, a new effort to represent the global variation of F2 peak parameters using the Neural Network (NN) technique, and the inclusion of several additional parameters in IRI, e.g., spread-F probability and ionospheric variability. Annual IRI workshops are the forum for discussions of these efforts and for all science activities related to IRI as well as applications of the IRI model in engineering and education. In this paper I will present a status report about the IRI effort with special emphasis on the presentations and results from the most recent IRI Workshops (Paris, 2004; Tortosa, 2005) and on the most important ongoing IRI activities. I will discuss the latest version of the IRI model, IRI-2006, highlighting the most recent changes and additions. Finally, the talk will review some of the applications of the IRI model with special emphasis on the use for radiowave propagation studies and communication purposes.

Bilitza, Dieter↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Key Observations and Discoveries from the Vector Electric Field Investigation on the C/NOFS Satellite

Launched in 2008 and operating for 7.5 years, the Air Force Communication /Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite included the Vector Electric Field Investigation (VEFI) designed and built at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. VEFI successfully met its objectives: 1) investigate the role of ambient electric fields in initiating nighttime density depletions and turbulence; 2) determine the quasi-DC electric fields associated with abrupt density depletions, and 3) quantify the spectrum of the irregularities associated with density depletions, providing many key observations and discoveries including: -- Global (low latitude) vector DC electric fields at 16 s/sec revealing variations with local time, longitude, and season between extremely low and moderate solar activity-- Reversed zonal E x B drifts below the F-region ledge at sunset and simultaneous observations of large scale Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities as seeds of spread-F -- Large expanses of quasi-coherent kilometer-scale vector wave observations (electric field and density) below 450 km and their discovery as a source of scintillations using the C/NOFS GPS -- Reversed zonal DC electric fields and simultaneous observations of afternoon counter electrojet-- Enhanced zonal DC electric fields at sunrise and full vector plasma flow continuity at the terminator-- Vector electric field and density irregularities extending to meter-scales within equatorial plasma depletions -- Intense electric field structure within the equatorial ionosphere at night in the absence of density depletions -- First observations of the westward equatorial electrojet in post-midnight ionosphere and possible association with downward meridional drifts-- Spaceborne Dst observations and implications for ring current asymmetries-- Vector electric and magnetic field Poynting flux within depletions and TIDs-- Measurements of ionospheric reflectance and Alfvenic waves associated with TIDs-- Observations of Alfven resonators -- ULF magnetic field structure within the nightime equatorial ionosphere-- Discovery of Schumman resonances in space and implications of ELF radiowave propagation-- Vector observations of 50-60 Hz powerline radiation without harmonics-- Ion cyclotron resonance absorption lines associated with ELF hiss and the identification of ambient ions-- Parallel electric fields associated with lower hybrid waves driven by thunderstorm lightning-related sferics-- Discovery of Z-mode radiation in the equatorial ionosphere including its associated with density depletions-- Optical lightning detector waveforms and electric field sferics observed up to altitudes of 800 km

Robert F Pfaff↗