Multiple-site investigation of the properties of an HF radio channel and the ionosphere using Digital Radio Mondiale broadcasting

The Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), one of the new digital radio broadcasting standards, has been designed to overcome typical short wave radio channel difficulties, such as the multipath propagation and fast temporal changes of the received signal level, both related to the properties of the ionosphere along the path of propagation. In particular, some of the RF carriers used in the applied COFDM transmission technique serve to estimate the current state of the radio channel to enable the proper demodulation of the received signal.We have been detecting such RF carriers on select frequency channels (standard DRM broadcast) using a network of recording stations located in different parts of Poland in order to collect data on the HF radio channel. We have been also evaluating the usefulness of this procedure in providing information on the current state of the ionosphere in the refraction region between the transmitter and receivers. When the DRM system becomes more widespread, this method can supplement data that comes from the ionosondes, since it does not require much financial resources and the receivers can be easily scattered over a large area. This paper presents a set of experimental data and its analysis.     

Optimization of the propulsion for meteorological probe

The paper discusses the problem of optimization of the power distribution between a rocket booster and a ramjet second stage of meteorological probe. The best solution was found for the case when the ramjet stage starts to operate at the velocity equal to 1.5 M.     

Developments in space activities in Poland

Poland has a long-standing tradition in space activities. Polish institutions have participated as co-investigators in almost all European Space Agency (ESA) science projects, as well as on many other missions. However, the first Polish satellite (PW-SAT) was only launched in 2012. Poland was one of the first Eastern European countries to conclude a Cooperation Agreement with ESA in the peaceful use of outer space; it was signed in 1994 and followed by a second in January 2002. Negotiations on Polish membership in the ESA were started in autumn of 2011, and ended in April 2012. Following ratification of the agreement, Poland officially became the 20th Member State of ESA on 19 November 2012. This article examines how Poland is setting its way as a space nation. It describes recent developments in the Polish space programme, including the road to Poland's full membership in the European Space Agency.     

Streamwise vortex generation by the rod

The technology development related to aerodynamics is leading to ever increasing loads of wings, airfoils and turbine and compressor blades. The increase in aerodynamic forces is often leading to flow separation and depreciation of the aerodynamic performance of flying objects or propulsion systems. Flow control methods are required to avoid these negative effects. In the recent two decades the flow control by means of air-jet vortex generators has been also intensively investigated. In this method a streamwise vortex is introduced by an oblique jet. The necessity to supply air by a pipe system may be considered a disadvantage. In order to eliminate this feature, it has been proposed to put out a rod instead of a jet. It has been shown that the application of a rod can introduce the same effect as a jet, as long as the streamwise vortex generation is concerned and appropriate dimensions are used. The present paper focuses on the influence of rod vortex generators on a flow pattern downstream. The results presented here concern experimental and numerical investigations and provide guidelines for the design of a new flow control method dedicated mainly to external flows.     

Integrating local multi-criteria evaluation with spatially explicit uncertainty-sensitivity analysis

The conventional methods of Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) fail to account for local variability in criteria values and criteria preferences, disregarding local influence in spatial decision making. Moreover, understanding the interaction between MCE model input and output has paramount importance in terms of the level of confidence in the model results and their subsequent use in decision making. This research contributes to spatial MCE methodology by articulating the presence of uncertainty included in criteria weights and extending a local MCE technique with a spatially explicit uncertainty and sensitivity analysis. The article presents a methodology for multi-criteria evaluation extended by an integrated uncertainty-sensitivity analysis and illustrates it on the example of a land prioritization model for conservation practices.     

First laser measurements to space debris in Poland

The Borowiec Satellite Laser Ranging station (BORL 7811, Borowiec) being a part of the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences (SRC PAS) went through modernization in 2014–2015. One of the main tasks of the modernization was the installation of a high-energy laser module dedicated to space debris tracking. Surelite III by Continuum is a Nd:YAG pulse laser with 10?Hz repetition rate, a pulse width of 3–5?ns and a pulse energy of 450?mJ for green (532?nm). This new laser unit was integrated with the SLR system at Borowiec performing standard satellite tracking. In 2016 BORL 7811 participated actively to the observational campaigns related to the space debris targets from LEO region managed by the Space Debris Study Group (SDSG) of the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS).Currently, Borowiec station regularly tracks 36 space debris from the LEO regime, including typical rocket bodies (Russian/Chinese) and cooperative targets like the inactive TOPEX/Poseidon, ENVISAT, OICETS and others. In this paper the first results of space debris laser measurements obtained by the Borowiec station in period August 2016 – January 2017 are presented. The results gained by the SRC PAS Borowiec station confirm the rotation of the defunct TOPEX/Poseidon satellite which spins with a period of approximately 10?s. The novelty of this work is the presentation of the sample results of the Chinese CZ-2C R/B target (NORAD catalogue number 31114) which is equipped (probably) with retroreflectors. Laser measurements to space debris is a very desirable topic for the next years, especially in the context of the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) activity. Some targets are very easy to track like defunct ENVISAT or TOPEX/Poseidon. On the other hand, there is a big population of different LEO targets with different orbital and physical parameters, which are challenging for laser ranging like small irregular debris and rocket boosters.     

Cyclicality or volatility? The satellite insurance market

The history of the satellite insurance market indicates that this market experiences crises and booms in profitability and prices that repeat in a manner suggestive of cycles. The purpose of this article is to rigorously investigate cyclicality of these and other features of the satellite insurance market and assess their volatility formally. Using data from 1968 to 2008, volatility and cyclicality are analyzed for satellite insurance market capacity, rates, and underwriting results, among other measures. The coefficient of variation for the various satellite insurance market metrics is used to assess volatility. Standard underwriting analysis is used to determine whether a cycle exists for various insurance metrics. The results indicate that some aspects of the satellite insurance market are volatile (e.g. claims) or cyclical (e.g. rates), while capacity is both volatile and cyclical.