Satellite mobile communications spread-spectrum receiver

Since 1999, ESA has conducted a number of system studies and technological developments to support the European and Canadian industry in the definition of a Satellite UMTS (S-UMTS) component development strategy, identifying critical technological areas and promoting S-UMTS demonstrations. In particular, the MUSIC project has successfully demonstrated advanced digital signal processing techniques to mitigate CDMA interference in spread-spectrum receivers, thus increasing the capacity and/or quality of service of a wireless communication network. The low-complexity solution for interference mitigation investigated and developed in the project is particularly suited for being implemented in mobile terminals.     

US Military space policy 1945–92

This article uses space power theory to analyse the military space policy of the United States during the Cold War period up to the demise of the Soviet Union. It examines the consensus that emerged during this period which sought to prevent the weaponization of space. This consensus was called into question during the latter period with the announcement of the Strategic Defence Initiative and its subsequent orientation to Global Protection Against Limited Strikes system.     

Numerical modelling of radiance of the presumed dust torus around Mars in the 0.350-1 μm spectral range

Currently conducted studies on modelling of scattered solar radiation in the 0.350-1.00 μm range along the Phobos orbit around Mars are presented. Our calculations include various types of grains, various densities and scattering angles. The calculations are performed with the aid of LOWTRAN7 program. These studies are directly related to the photometer coupled to PFS (Planetary Fourier Spectrometer) planned for the Mars-96 mission.     

Measuring the matter distribution within z = 0.2 cluster lenses with XMM-Newton

We present an analysis of seven clusters observed by XMM-Newton as part of our survey of 17 most X-ray luminous clusters of galaxies at z  0.2 selected for a comprehensive and unbiased study of the mass distribution in massive clusters. Using the public software FTOOLS and XMMSAS we have set up an automated pipeline to reduce the EPIC MOS and pn spectro-imaging data, optimized for extended sources analysis. We also developped a code to perform intensive spectral and imaging analysis particularly focussing on proper background estimate and removal. XMM-Newton deep spectro-imaging of these clusters allowed us to fit a standard β-model to their gas emission profiles as well as a standard MEKAL emission model to their extracted spectra, and test their inferred characteristics against already calibrated relations.     

Surveillance through walls and other opaque materials

The Department of Defense (DoD) has funded a dazzling array of “high tech” solutions for many of the problems facing our military forces. Many of these “solutions” have been effective for long range mass destruction but have not been applicable for the close-in hand-to-hand combat that is on our streets. Our goal at the Hughes AET Center has been to convert “high tech” DoD capabilities into cost effective tools to help law enforcement agencies do their jobs better. Surveillance systems presently used by law enforcement officers make extensive use of television, infrared and other Line-of-Sight (LOS) surveillance systems. However, these systems cannot tell what is happening on the other side of a wall, behind bushes, around the corner, in the dark or through a dense fog. A new sensor has been developed that uses technology developed by the DoD for missile warhead fuzing. This small, light weight, low power “Radar” is based upon the fact that radio waves can penetrate nonmetallic materials. This new surveillance capability can help provide information about what is in a wall, ceiling or floor or on the other side of a door or concrete wall. Real field scenarios are used in this paper to show how this radar works and how field users can tell if someone is moving inside a building, even from remote locations     

Radar target classification of commercial aircraft

With the increased availability of coherent wideband radars there has been a renewed interest in radar target recognition. A large bandwidth gives high resolution in range which means target discrimination may be possible. Coherence makes cross-range resolution and radar images possible. Some of the problems of classifying high resolution range profiles (HRRPs) are examined and simple preprocessing techniques which may aid subsequent target classification are investigated. These techniques are applied to HRRP data acquired at a local airport using the Microwave Radar Division (MRD) mobile radar facility It is found that Boeing 727 and Boeing 737 aircraft can be reliably distinguished over a range of aspect angles. This augers well for future target classification studies using HRRPs     

Small-Signal Model for the Series Resonant Converter

The results of a previous discrete-time model of the series resonant dc-dc converter are reviewed and from these a small signal dynamic model is derived. This model is valid for low frequencies and is based on the modulation of the diode conduction angle for control. The basic converter is modeled separately from its output filter to facilitate the use of these results for design purposes. Experimental results are presented.     

Tapped-inductor filter assisted soft-switching PWM DC-DC power converter

A novel high-frequency transformer linked full-bridge type soft-switching phase-shift pulsewidth modulated (PWM) controlled dc-dc power converter is presented, which can be used as a power conditioner for small-scale photovoltaic and fuel cell power generation systems as well as isolated boost dc-dc power converter for automotive ac power supply. In these applications with low-voltage large-current sources, the full-bridge circuit is the most attractive topology due to the possibility of using low-voltage high-performance metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) and achieving high efficiency of the dc-dc power converter. A tapped-inductor filter including the freewheeling diode is newly implemented in the output stage of the full-bridge phase-shift PWM dc-dc converter to achieve soft-switching operation for the wide load variation range. Moreover, in the proposed converter circuit, the circulating current is effectively minimized without using additional resonant circuit and auxiliary power switching devices. The practical effectiveness of the proposed soft-switching dc-dc power converter was verified in laboratory level experiment with 1 kW 100 kHz breadboard setup using power MOSFETs. Actual efficiency of 94-97% was obtained for the wide duty cycle and load variation ranges.     

Fiber-optic radar calibration

A simple fiber-optic radar calibration target is described. Its operation is based on a wideband fiber, a laser transmitter that is directly modulated by the down-converted radar signal and an optical diode receiver recovering said signal. Further up-conversion having a common local oscillator with the first mixer ensures fidelity of the calibration return. Measured useful bandwidth exceeds 200 MHz and practically any radar RF frequency can be handled when suitable mixers are employed. Amplifiers can be added to the down-converted path as desired to compensate for the fiber loss. Modulation and LO sweep provide easy ways of introducing artificial fluctuations and Doppler frequencies. Particularly pulsed radars are readily tested with the proposed scheme as no restrictions are posed by the radar's TR-switch delays.     

Analysis of the Integrity of the Microwave Landing System (MLS) Data Eu nctions

The microwave landing system (MLS) transmits angle, data, andrange information for use by airborne receivers. In this paper, theintegrity of the data functions is analyzed in terms of the probabilityof undetected errors remaining in the data. The data format andintegrity requirements were derived from the MLS standards andguidance material defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Results show that the performancerequirements can be met by: 1) averaging the received data bits ofseveral samples of the same word using a majority voting;2) reducing the bit error rate at the output of the receiver'sdecoder; and 3) a combination of the above techniques.