Nonlinear adaptive and sliding mode flight path control of F/A-18 model

The question of inertial trajectory control of aircraft in the three-dimensional space is discussed. It is assumed that the nonlinear aircraft model has uncertain aerodynamic derivatives. The control system is decomposed into a variable structure outer loop and an adaptive inner loop. The outer-loop feedback control system accomplishes (x,y,z) position trajectory and sideslip angle control using the derivative of thrust and three angular velocity components (p,q,r) as virtual control inputs. Then an adaptive inner feedback loop is designed, which produces the desired angular rotations of aircraft using aileron, elevator, and rudder control surfaces to complete the maneuver. Simplification in the inner-loop design is obtained based on a two-time scale (singular perturbation) design approach by ignoring the derivative of the virtual angular velocity vector, which is a function of slow variables. These results are applied to a simplified F/A-18 model. Simulation results are presented which show that in the closed-loop system asymptotic trajectory control is accomplished in spite of uncertainties in the model at different flight conditions.     

Observation of an outburst from the X-ray pulsator 0115+63

The Ariel 6 X-ray instruments observed 0115+63 during 1980 December 16–30, when the mean flux was 150 millicrab. Analysis of the 3.6s pulsations given a refined orbital period of 24.3155 ± 0.0002 days and a periastron angle of 47°. 15 ± 0°.13, setting a limit on the rate of advance of periastron since 1978 of 0.11 yr^–1. During the observation the pulse period was decreasing faster than during the 1978 outburst, but in the 3 year interval there had been a spin down.     

Evidence of a hot population in the SMC/LMC bridge detected by the very wide field camera of spacelab-1

Deep 66° field photographs of the sky have been taken by the SL - 1 Very Wide Field Camera (experiment 1-ES-022) at 1650, 1930 and 2530 Å, with a limiting magnitude of 9.3 at 1930 Å. A 1,2 × 2,4Kpc ultraviolet extension of the Shapley's wing of the small Magellanic Cloud is revealed.     

Variations of Solar Ultraviolet Irradiance Observed by the UARS SOLSTICE — 1991 to 1999

The Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) is one of ten instruments on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) — one of two instruments measuring the solar ultraviolet irradiance. The instrument is a three channel spectrometer covering the spectral range 120 to 420nm with a spectral resolution of approximately 0.2nm. It has been successfully operating since October 1991, and has now provided more than eight years of data, extending from near the peak of solar cycle 22, through solar minimum and into the new cycle. The data provide time series that display solar variations over time scales from a few days up to the 11-year solar cycle. Quantitative estimates of amplitudes of both rotational modulation and the solar cycle variation in the 1991–1999 epoch are given for the UV spectrum between 119 and 300nm.     

The International Space Station: a pathway to the future

Nearly six years after the launch of the first International Space Station element, and four years after its initial occupation, the United States and our 6 international partners have made great strides in operating this impressive Earth orbiting research facility. This past year we have done so in the face of the adversity of operating without the benefit of the Space Shuttle. In his January 14, 2004, speech announcing a new vision for America's space program, President Bush affirmed the United States' commitment to completing construction of the International Space Station by 2010. The President also stated that we would focus our future research aboard the Station on the long-term effects of space travel on human biology. This research will help enable human crews to venture through the vast voids of space for months at a time. In addition, ISS affords a unique opportunity to serve as an engineering test bed for hardware and operations critical to the exploration tasks. NASA looks forward to working with our partners on International Space Station research that will help open up new pathways for future exploration and discovery beyond low Earth orbit. This paper provides an overview of the International Space Station Program focusing on a review of the events of the past year, as well as plans for next year and the future.     

X-ray broad line emission in Seyfert galaxies: Mrk 766 and NGC 4051

Long (>100 ks) observations of the bright Seyfert galaxies Mrk 766 and NGC 4051 have been obtained using XMM-Newton. The RGS 5–38 Å spectra reveal evidence of broad features. These can be modelled with relativistic emission lines coming from the immediate vicinity of a massive rotating black hole. Lines of OVIII, NVII and CVI are required to reproduce the spectrum of Mrk 766, whereas the spectrum of NGC 4051 can be modelled using a single, even broader OVIII line. Both Seyferts also exhibit broad iron line emission in the 2–8 keV range, and the data available thus far suggest that the strength of the low-energy emission lines and the strength of the iron line may be correlated.     

A direct fusion drive for rocket propulsion

The Direct Fusion Drive (DFD), a compact, anuetronic fusion engine, will enable more challenging exploration missions in the solar system. The engine proposed here uses a deuterium–helium-3 reaction to produce fusion energy by employing a novel field-reversed configuration (FRC) for magnetic confinement. The FRC has a simple linear solenoid coil geometry yet generates higher plasma pressure, hence higher fusion power density, for a given magnetic field strength than other magnetic-confinement plasma devices. Waste heat generated from the plasma?s Bremsstrahlung and synchrotron radiation is recycled to maintain the fusion temperature. The charged reaction products, augmented by additional propellant, are exhausted through a magnetic nozzle. A 1 MW DFD is presented in the context of a mission to deploy the James Webb Space Telescope (6200 kg) from GPS orbit to a Sun–Earth L2 halo orbit in 37 days using just 353 kg of propellant and about half a kilogram of ³He. The engine is designed to produce 40 N of thrust with an exhaust velocity of 56.5 km/s and has a specific power of 0.18 kW/kg.     

Heliospheric asymmetries due to the action of the interstellar magnetic field

We discuss the asymmetry of the heliospheric discontinuities obtained from the analysis of 3D modeling of the solar wind (SW) interaction with local interstellar medium (LISM). The flow of charged particles is governed by the ideal MHD equations and the flow of neutral particles is described by the Boltzmann equation. The emphasis is made on the asymmetries of the termination shock (TS) and the heliopause under the combined action of the interstellar and interplanetary magnetic fields (ISMF and IMF) in the presence of neutral hydrogen atoms whose transport through the heliosphere is modeled kinetically, using a Monte Carlo approach. We show that the deflection of neutral hydrogen flow from its original direction in the unperturbed LISM is highly anisotropic and evaluate a possible angle between the hydrogen deflection plane measured in the SOHO SWAN experiment and the plane containing the ISMF and LISM velocity vectors for different ISMF strengths. It is shown that the ISMF of a strength greater than 4 μG can account for the 10 AU difference in the TS heliocentric difference observed during its crossing by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft, which however results in a larger discrepancy between the calculated and observed velocity distributions. The effect of a strong ISMF on the distribution of plasma quantities in the inner heliosheath and on 2–3 kHz radio emission is discussed.