Enhanced variable dimension filter for maneuvering target tracking

An enhancement of the variable dimension (VD) filter for maneuvering-target tracking is presented. The use of measurement concatenation, a procedure whereby fast sampled measurements are stacked while maintaining their proper relationships with the states, leads to significant reduction in estimation error by low processing rate algorithms. The use of double decision logic (DDL) for the maneuver onset and ending detection as well as appropriate procedures for reinitialization of the estimation filters results in improved maneuver detection and filter adaptation. Simulation results show the performance of the proposed enhanced variable dimension (EVD) filter     

Chemical heating rates derived from SCIAMACHY vibrationally excited OH limb emission spectra

The SCIAMACHY instrument on board Envisat is able to measure nearly all vibrational transitions of mesospheric hydroxyl – from the ultraviolet to the near infrared spectral region.

In this paper, we analyze SCIAMACHY limb emission data in the 1000–1750 nm spectral region by means of a new vibrational non-LTE model of OH. Several hydroxyl hotbands are identified. Vibrational non-LTE model calculations applying different collisional relaxation models are able to reproduce the measured spectra. Best agreement between model calculations and measured spectra is obtained, if a combination of multiquantum and step ladder single-quantum relaxation model is applied. Emissions from the OH(v = 9) vibrational state are used to derive chemical heating rates from the SCIAMACHY spectra. Instantaneous heating rates are in the order of 10 K/day.     

On the origin of satellite swarms

For a species to develop in nature basically two things are needed: an enabling technology and a “niche”. In spacecraft design the story is the same. Both a suitable technology and a niche application need to be there before a new generation of spacecraft can be developed. In the last century two technologies have emerged which had and still have a huge impact on the development of technical systems: Micro-Electronics (ME) and Micro-Systems Technology (MST). Many different terrestrial systems have changed dramatically since the introduction of ME and MST and many new systems have emerged. In the same period many nano-satellites have been built and launched and shown that they can perform in space. Still it is not clear what the specific role of these small satellites will be. Where will they go? What will they do? In this paper the authors will try to answer these questions and will refer to the OLFAR space born radio telescope as one of the niche applications for a nano-satellite swarm.     

RPC-MIP: the Mutual Impedance Probe of the Rosetta Plasma Consortium

The main objective of the Mutual Impedance Probe (MIP), part of the Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC), is to measure the electron density and temperature of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s coma, in particular inside the contact surface. Furthermore, MIP will determine the bulk velocity of the ionised outflowing atmosphere, define the spectral distribution of natural plasma waves, and monitor dust and gas activities around the nucleus. The MIP instrumentation consists of an electronics board for signal processing in the 7 kHz to 3.5 MHz range and a sensor unit of two receiving and two transmitting electrodes mounted on a 1-m long bar. In addition, the Langmuir probe of the RPC/LAP instrument that is at about 4 m from the MIP sensor can be used as a transmitter (in place of the MIP ones) and MIP as a receiver in order to have access to the density and temperature of plasmas at higher Debye lengths than those for which the MIP is originally designed.     

MESSENGER and the Chemistry of Mercury’s Surface

The instrument suite on the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft is well suited to address several of Mercury’s outstanding geochemical problems. A combination of data from the Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (GRNS) and X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS) instruments will yield the surface abundances of both volatile (K) and refractory (Al, Ca, and Th) elements, which will test the three competing hypotheses for the origin of Mercury’s high bulk metal fraction: aerodynamic drag in the early solar nebula, preferential vaporization of silicates, or giant impact. These same elements, with the addition of Mg, Si, and Fe, will put significant constraints on geochemical processes that have formed the crust and produced any later volcanism. The Neutron Spectrometer sensor on the GRNS instrument will yield estimates of the amount of H in surface materials and may ascertain if the permanently shadowed polar craters have a significant excess of H due to water ice. A comparison of the FeO content of olivine and pyroxene determined by the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) instrument with the total Fe determined through both GRNS and XRS will permit an estimate of the amount of Fe present in other forms, including metal and sulfides.     

On an analytical model of the aerothermodynamics of fluid–structure interaction

An analytical model of the aerothermodynamics of fluid–structure interaction through an ablative wall is developed, involving: (i) the solution to the Navier–Stokes equations in the fluid; (ii) the solution to the equations of thermoelasticity in the solid wall; (iii) the matching of the two solutions across the fluid–wall interface by continuity of normal and tangential stresses and jump of the heat flux equal to the heat of ablation. These three matching conditions determine the three constants of integration, besides the boundary conditions: (i) in the free stream far above the wall, the fluid velocity and temperature are given; (ii) in the backing material below the wall the temperature is given and displacement is assumed to be zero. In order to arrive at a simple analytical solution the simplest geometry is chosen: two-dimensional, with a flat fluid–wall interface, and all quantities in the fluid and structure depending only on distance from the wall. Extensions to unsteady and three-dimensional cases would be more complex. The present theory specifies: (i) the velocity, pressure and density in the fluid; (ii) the displacement vector, and strain and stress tensors in the structure; (iii) the temperature and heat flux in the fluid and structure, including discontinuities across the fluid–wall interface. The model is applied to examples of (a) hypersonic flight and (b) atmospheric re-entry.     

Current distribution control for parallel connected converters. II

For pt.I, see ibid., vol.28, no.3, p.829-840 (1992). In the central-limit control (CLC), the multiloop controls are employed to regulate the output voltage and track the central weighted current, thus equalizing the output current of each converter module (CM). The current distribution error (CDE) between the output current of each CM is used as a criterion in judging system performance. The prediction and simulation results of this control scheme are illustrated. When incorporated with the maximum current limit, the proposed control method can determine the number of required converters in the active state for each load condition. As a result, the efficiency of a system can be increased significantly. A comparison between the performances of the system under master-slave control (MSC) and CLC is given     

Maneuvering target tracking using extended Kalman filter

A numerically well-conditioned, quasi-extended Kalman filter is proposed. The filter is numerically described. The simulation results presented show that the estimation performance of the quasi-extended filter is superior, for short distances, compared with the widely used linear tracking filters. In addition, the simplicity of the quasi-extended filter makes it very easy to implement     

Programmable ultrawideband signal generator for electromagnetic susceptibility testing

Under Phase I of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Networking in Extreme Environments (NETEX) initiative, Multispectral Solutions, Inc. (MSSI) was tasked with the development of a general-purpose, ultrawideband hardware simulator capable of reproducing a wide variety of ultrawideband (UWB) waveforms. The simulator, with UWB outputs from baseband through millimeter wave, was to be used for the purpose of electromagnetic susceptibility testing of legacy military radio, radar, and positioning systems. The ultimate goal of this portion of the Phase I program was the quantitative determination of those UWB parameters (e.g., frequency, power, pulse rate, pulse shape, dithering, etc.) which had the least impact on the operational performance of legacy designs. This describes the development of the MSSI NETEX UWB simulator (BFP1000).