Genesis on-board determination of the solar wind flow regime

Some of the objectives of the Genesis mission require the separate collection of solar wind originating in different types of solar sources. Measurements of the solar wind protons, alpha particles, and electrons are used on-board the spacecraft to determine whether the solar-wind source is most likely a coronal hole, interstream flow, or a coronal mass ejection. A simple fuzzy logic scheme operating on measurements of the proton temperature, the alpha-particle abundance, and the presence of bidirectional streaming of suprathermal electrons was developed for this purpose. Additional requirements on the algorithm include the ability to identify the passage of forward shocks, reasonable levels of hysteresis and persistence, and the ability to modify the algorithm by changes in stored constants rather than changes in the software. After a few minor adjustments, the algorithm performed well during the initial portion of the mission. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Sidelobe blanking with integration and target fluctuation

In radar systems, sidelobe blanking (SLB) is used to mitigate impulsive interference that enters the radar through sidelobes of the main antenna. SLB employs an auxiliary antenna channel with the output being compared with that of the main antenna channel and a decision is then made as to whether or not to blank the main channel output. SLB performance determination involves the evaluation of several probability functions. Based on the classical Maisel SLB architecture, this work extends previous performance results, in which detection was limited to the case of a single radar pulse with either Marcum or Swerling I target fluctuation. Probability expressions have been generalized to include both an arbitrary number of integrated pulses and target fluctuation models based on the gamma distribution. The Swerling fluctuation models are all special cases of the gamma distribution. Results are derived in terms of two generalized probability functions, one for detection and the other for blanking. With these generalized probability functions, the SLB design and performance results can be determined. Examples are presented and discussed.     

THE WIDE-BAND PLASMA WAVE INVESTIGATION

As part of the Cluster Wave Experiment Consortium (WEC), the Wide-Band (WBD) Plasma Wave investigation is designed to provide high-resolution measurements of both electric and magnetic fields in selected frequency bands from 25 Hz to 577 kHz. Continuous waveforms are digitised and transmitted in either a 220 kbit s^-1 real-time mode or a 73 kbit s^-1 recorded mode. The real-time data are received directly by a NASA Deep-Space Network (DSN) receiving station, and the recorded data are stored in the spacecraft solid-state recorder for later playback. In both cases the waveforms are Fourier transformed on the ground to provide high-resolution frequency-time spectrograms. The WBD measurements complement those of the other WEC instruments and also provide a unique new capability for performing very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) measurements.     

Hydra — A 3-dimensional electron and ion hot plasma instrument for the POLAR spacecraft of the GGS mission

HYDRA is an experimental hot plasma investigation for the POLAR spacecraft of the GGS program. A consortium of institutions has designed a suite of particle analyzers that sample the velocity space of electron and ions between 2 keV/q – 35 keV/q in three dimensions, with a routine time resolution of 0.5 s. Routine coverage of velocity space will be accomplished with an angular homogeneity assumption of 16°, appropriate for subsonic plasmas, but with special 1.5° resolution for electrons with energies between 100 eV and 10 keV along and opposed to the local magnetic field. This instrument produces 4.9 kilobits s^–1 to the telemetry, consumes on average 14 W and requires 18.7 kg for deployment including its internal shielding. The scientific objectives for the polar magnetosphere fall into four broad categories: (1) those to define the ambient kinetic regimes of ions and electrons; (2) those to elucidate the magnetohydrodynamic responses in these regimes; (3) those to assess the particle populations with high time resolution; and (4) those to determine the global topology of the magnetic field. In thefirst group are issues of identifying the origins of particles at high magnetic latitudes, their energization, the altitude dependence of the forces, including parallel electric fields they have traversed. In thesecond group are the physics of the fluid flows, regimes of current, and plasma depletion zones during quiescent and disturbed magnetic conditions. In thethird group is the exploration of the processes that accompany the rapid time variations known to occur in the auroral zone, cusp and entry layers as they affect the flow of mass, momentum and energy in the auroral region. In thefourth class of objectives are studies in conjunction with the SWE measurements of the Strahl in the solar wind that exploit the small gyroradius of thermal electrons to detect those magnetic field lines that penetrate the auroral region that are directly open to interplanetary space where, for example, the Polar Rain is observed.     

SWE,a comprehensive plasma instrument for the WIND spacecraft

The Solar Wind Experiment (SWE) on the WIND spacecraft is a comprehensive, integrated set of sensors which is designed to investigate outstanding problems in solar wind physics. It consists of two Faraday cup (FC) sensors; a vector electron and ion spectrometer (VEIS); a strahl sensor, which is especially configured to study the electron strahl close to the magnetic field direction; and an on-board calibration system. The energy/charge range of the Faraday cups is 150 V to 8 kV, and that of the VEIS is 7 V to 24.8 kV. The time resolution depends on the operational mode used, but can be of the order of a few seconds for 3-D measurements. Key parameters which broadly characterize the solar wind positive ion velocity distribution function will be made available rapidly from the GGS Central Data Handling Facility.     

Augmenting the Linear Variance Equation

A technique is developed to convert the covariance analysis ofcertain time-varying linear systems into time-invariant form, thusallowing an arbitrary time step for the solution of the differentialequations. The result is accomplished by augmenting the linearvariance equation and augmenting the state vector if necessary. Themethod is illustrated with an example showing the covariancepropagation of ring laser gyro errors in a strapdown inertial systeminto navigation errors during turns.     

A Closely Regulated TWT Converter

The design concept for the traveling wave tube amplifier converter for possible use in the Thermoelectric Outer Planet Spacecraft (TOPS) is presented. An unusual combination of semiconductors and magnetics were utilized to achieve very stable voltage regulation on a number of separate outputs to satisfy the requirements of a high-power traveling wave tube (TWT), and at the same time operate at an efficiency of better than 90 percent from a 30-volt source. The circuitry consists of an output filter, an auxiliary Jensen oscillator driving a high-reactance transformer to provide current limiting to the heater, a variable time delay, a main Jensen oscillator driving the power transformer with a maximum step-up ratio of 120 to 1, and series transistorized post regulators to provide precise voltage adjustment and low output impedance. This paper discusses the design of the high-reactance transformer and the high step-up ratio transformer, as well as the high-voltage series regulators that are limited in range and operate at the top of the unregulated output voltage. Test data is presented, and details of current transients caused by charging the filter circuits, input current ripple, and output voltage ripples are considered. The circuit provides better than 0.5 percent regulation against load change, input voltage change, and over-operating temperature range of from -20 to + 80°C, with output ripple voltage of less than 2 volts peak-to-peak on top of the 3600-Vdc output. The measured efficiency was typically 87 percent. and recommendations are included to improve this to in excess of 90 percent.     

Pure proportional navigation against time-varying target manoeuvres

Capturability of the pure proportional navigation (PPN) guidance law against a target executing bounded piecewise continuous time-varying manoeuvres is investigated. A qualitative analysis is carried out to obtain a set of sufficient conditions for capture defined on the engagement parameters and initial conditions. These conditions are significantly less restrictive than the ones obtained previously by others using the Lyapunov method. It is shown that the actual capture region for time-varying target manoeuvres, obtained by using the conditions derived, is much larger than that obtained from the Lyapunov technique. We also show that though a bounded tine varying target manoeuvre does change the constant target manoeuvre capture region to some extent, it does not reduce it drastically. Further, we show that the worst case capture region is obtained when the target executes a constant manoeuvre equal to the bound on the manoeuvre level. Some bounds on the missile lateral acceleration are also obtained for certain regions in the engagement plane. These results are generalizations and extensions of existing results on the capturability of the PPN guidance law against targets executing constant or time-varying target manoeuvres     

Modification of the SAR step transform algorithm

When the basic step transform algorithm is used to compress synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) signals in azimuth, the linear FM rate and sampling rate must satisfy certain tight constraints. In practice, these constraints cannot be satisfied and errors are introduced into the compressed SAR image. A modification is described of the basic step transform which incorporates interpolation and resampling into the algorithm. These changes allow the removal of the constraints and make the step transform more useful for the compression of real data. An autofocusing capability is also included, without introducing much additional complexity