For aerospace programs,the crises continue

The Legislative Update column reports on President Bush's supplemental budget request for the war in Iraq, the formation of a defense caucus in the House of Representatives, stabilized funding for airport security, the Department of Homeland Security budget, NASA's budget request, funding for NASA's aeronautics program, and NASA's new authorization. NASA's FY04 budget request is $15.47 billion, less than 1% more than FY03. The aeronautics program budget request for FY04 is $959 million, a decrease of 8.5% from FY03. Congress is working to introduce a multiyear authorization for NASA during the 108th session.     

Benefits and challenges of Integrated Sensor Systems

Projection of avionics system costs shows unacceptable escalation as a percentage of flyaway cost. Time sharing of RF modules between Radar, EW and CNI offers savings. The Air Forces' PAVE PACE program defined the benefits and initial architecture approaches. From this, an optimum Integrated Sensor System (ISS) design was defined that reduces the life cycle cost of the fleet of vehicles using the common modules. The ISS program will design, build and test modules to prove the approach. Challenges to overcome include system complexity, real time control, test and calibration, and diagnostics. The most stressing requirements were determined by analyzing requirements for Radar, EW and CNI. Open interface specifications and module partitioning were developed that can meet all the requirements     

Steering the station back on course

Rising costs of the International Space Station prompted NASA to convene a panel of experts to assess the quality of ISS cost estimates and review program assumptions and requirements. The panel concluded that NASA was unable to accurately predict ISS costs or to support requests for increased funding for the ISS through 2006 and should maintain a U.S. core complete program with three-person crews with 6-month stays on the ISS. International response to the panel report was negative with space agencies from Japan, Russia, Canada, and Europe taking issue with the expected impact on ISS construction and use.     

A System for the Measurement of the Amazon

The System for the Vigilance of the Amazon (SIVAM) is a $1.4 billion dollar project of Brazil aimed at the development and deployment of a high-technology system-of-systems to perform monitoring, protection, and control of the land, air, and water resources of the Brazilian Amazon region. The primary challenge of the SIVAM project is to perform remote sensing and communications over a vast and undeveloped land area. The SIVAM network meets this challenge through an extensive network of Air Traffic Control/Surveillance Radars, Environmental Sensors, Communications Systems, Airborne Sensor Systems, and Coordination Centers. Now fully operational, the SIVAM system is the world's largest fully integrated remote monitoring system of the environment and provides critical information on a timely basis to the Brazilian government, law enforcement agencies, and to commercial, educational, and research groups.     

综合传感器系统--向纵深发展的航空电子综合技术

文章从传感器的重要性及"经济上可承受性"引出了"综合传感器系统(ISS)概念"并对其定义、实现方法和验证结果及目前存在问题进行了分析.特别是对孔径综合、射频综合和ISS管理做了图示说明.指出传感器综合技术是本世纪初航空电子的关键技术,对未来作战飞机有致关重要的影响,并就我国开展这项关键技术研究提出了有益建议.     

"装置范式论"的原创性探析

思想家从不同维度对现代技术世界所呈现的世界图景进行了思考。＂装置范式论＂是美国当代著名技术哲学家阿尔伯特.伯格曼（Albert Borgmann）在技术哲学经验转向的背景下,从现象学技术哲学视角对现代技术所引发的超现实现象进行思考的理论成果,这一思想与前人和他人相比,对人类思想史有着原创性贡献。对这一问题的厘清,一方面有助于我国现代化进程中技术政策的选择;另一方面,也有利于人类思想的进一步发展。     

Steady course for civil space in 2002

Total expenditures for space activities by civilian governments totaled $20.3 billion in 2002. National summaries by expenditure and type of flight are provided.     

Materials samples face rigors of space

The Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) is described. This project is designed to conduct long duration materials tests on samples attached to the ISS. A batch of 750 material samples were delivered on STS-105 and attached to the ISS airlock. They will be exposed to the space environment for 18 months and are slated to return on STS-114. A second batch of 750 samples is being prepared. The experiment containers were used originally for the Mir Environmental Effects Payload, which tested a variety of substances, including some slated for use on the ISS. Researchers are particularly interested in the effects of atomic oxygen on the samples. Some samples are being tested to determine their use in radiation protection. As part of the MISSE project, ultrathin tether materials are being tested for use on the Propulsive Small Expendable Depoloyer System (ProSEDS), which will use a tether system to change a satellite's orbital altitude.     

促进我国载人航天发展的政策研究

针对我国载人航天工程管理中存在的问题和矛盾,探讨了如何创建更加适合我国国情的重大专项管理模式,通过研究提出了我国载人航天发展的政策建议,即在创新专项管理的同时,将政府"看得见的手"和市场"看不见的手"有机结合,开展务实有效的国际合作,推动载人航天工程又好又快发展。     

Global Positioning System-the newest utility

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has become the high tech utility of the 20th century. It was developed by the US Department of Defense as a precise navigation reference for the military services. Although the signal available to civilian users had been purposely degraded in what is called selective availability (SA), it is one of a few technological success stories that had positive unintended consequences. Recent announcements indicate that this SA impediment has been removed. GPS currently has a huge civilian market in commercial and private aviation, ship navigation, mapping and surveying, telecommunications position determination, and recreational boating and hiking. By 2003 sales of GPS based products are expected to be $16 billion     

中国中小企业发展环境分析与政府政策支持体系的构建

中小企业发展受市场环境和政策环境的双重制约,无论是从市场环境还是从政策环境来看,中国中小企业都需要政府政策的大力支持。政府支持中小企业发展本质上是对市场的干预行为,应当以最大限度弥补市场失灵和尽可能避免自身失灵为标准。因此,政府中小企业政策支持体系应当摆脱以往单纯从企业融资、技术支持等具体环节着手的政策路径,从宏观角度深入分析市场环境和政策环境,针对市场和政策两个方面存在的主要问题,有针对性地构建起符合中国国情的政策支持体系。     

Computerized Medical Devices: Trends, Problems, and Safety

Virtually all of the medical devices utilizing electronics will contain a micro or minicomputer by 1990. These devices accounted for $7 billion in U.S. sales in 1984. Their capabilities can provide the means for new or greatly improved medical procedures, and ensure greater patient safety. However, these benefits can easily be compromised if ``computer safety' is not practiced in the design, manufacturing, testing and clinical use of these devices. Along with a trend to wider usage, the number of recalls of medical devices due to computer-related problems has approximately doubled in the last five years. ``Computer-caused' problems are often not recognized or reported as such, resulting in an underestimation of the prevalence of this type of problem. Our study of technical factors causing problems in computerized devices revealed that software quality assurance (SQA), the quality of the ac power, and electromagnetic interference are primary factors. Selected design and QA techniques that are well-known in military-aerospace industries can be used to prevent the most prevalent problems occurring in computerized medical devices, without significantly affecting overall device manufacturing costs.     

Safe Flight 21: ground broadcast service system

The FAA-initiated Safe Flight 21 program is a cooperative government/industry effort to evaluate enhanced aerodome and aircraft capabilities based on evolving communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS) technologies. Safe Flight 21 will demonstrate the in-cockpit display of traffic, weather, terrain, and obstacle information for pilots and will provide improved information to controllers. The Ground Broadcast Service (GBS) System will act as the main communication service between the Safe Flight 21 sensors and both the avionic and ground vehicle users. The data, collected and processed by multiple sensors, is routed to the GBS System for formatting, broadcast timing coordination, filtering, and transmission to the end-users. This paper provides an overview of the GBS System as part of the FAA Safe Flight 21 program. It also presents the GBS System's complete functional requirements as well as user interface formats and protocols necessary for compliance with the Safe Flight 21 Program architecture.     

Open systems architecture for integrated RF electronics

The Integrated Sensor System (ISS) program is defining an Open System Architecture (OSA) for Radio Frequency (RF) electronics, which represent the largest portion of an advanced aircraft's avionics flyaway cost. An integrated architecture is used to reduce costs in a number of ways, including time-sharing, centralization of resources, and reduction of the number of unique module types. The OSA approach extends these cost reductions by simplifying technology insertion, using well-understood standards, and increasing use of commercial hardware and software. This paper describes interim results. The work was funded by the Open Systems Joint Task Force (OS-JTF)     

An assessment of the Qualified Manufacturer List (QML)

The Qualified Manufacturer List (QML) approach, detailed in MIL-I-38535, General Specification for Integrated Circuits (Microcircuit) Manufacturing, embraces many of the commercial practices employed by high volume microcircuit suppliers. Nevertheless, with the availability of highly reliable and lower cost commercial parts, the QML approach becomes unnecessary and undesirable. In this paper we attempt to show why US government support of the QML program is leading the military and government to unaffordable access to out-dated technologies, damaging our country's military and avionics position. We will present information to show why we support the retraction of MIL-PRF-38535 and any other documents which imply that QML parts are superior to commercial parts, including those of QPL, MIL-STD-454, and MIL-HDBK-217 (now prohibited from use in all new Army programs)     

面向机载综合监视系统的ADS-B技术综述

广播式自动相关监视（ADS-B）作为机载综合监视系统（ISS）的新增重要组成部分,在保证飞机飞行安全的前提下,在监视成本和效率方面展现出优势,引领了未来监视技术的发展。本文首先介绍了ADS-B系统功能与优劣势,梳理了国内外技术和产品现状;然后从保障飞行安全和高效的角度出发,分析和综述了机载ISS中ADS-B的关键技术,并详细阐述了技术内涵及难点;最后结合下一代空域运行理念,探讨和展望了技术发展趋势,提出了4个ADS-B技术的未来发展方向,为推动ADS-B技术在实际运行与理论研究方面的发展提供参考。     

Civil Access to NAVSTAR GPS

US government policy is established and procedures are being formulated to direct the implementation of techniques providing limited civil access to full GPS accuracy. The results of these efforts balance the conflicting needs of civil GPS navigation and positioning against national security requirements. Granting this access will require sufficient and demonstrable user need, must clearly provide for both national and security interests, and may lead to the imposition of a user service charge. This access will only apply to Precise Positioning Service configured, code-tracking GPS receivers.     

In this issue technically: 12th DASC report-our archaic airtransport control: What can be done?

Commercial airplanes in the Fiji archipelago fly straight from take-off to their destination, using global-positioning-satellite (GPS) receivers. So can general-aviation airplanes in the United States. Commercial airplanes on U.S. transcontinental routes fly dog-legs from city to city. An airplane flying across the Atlantic occupies an exclusive 10,000-cubic-mile moving box. These practices, plus waiting for take-off and landing opportunities, cost United Airlines $2 billion a year. The available USAF flight-management technology is reviewed to see what can be adapted for use in management of the commercial air-space. The problems and plans for implementing a seamless world-wide flight management system, are examined     

International Space Station power storage upgrade planned

As the Earth-orbit International Space Station (ISS) grows, it needs more power which is generated by solar panels. For periods in which the planet Earth occults sunlight, energy is stored in the biggest set of batteries ever flown in space. Reliability of power is important in a space station because a failure requires costly launch of replacement components. Even greater importance results when astronauts work in the station. A power failure that causes the astronauts to perish would be a very serious event. The first battery-containing "integrated equipment module" was launched November 30, 2000 and installed on port 6 of the International Space Station. Two more modules will be launched by the United States; to be launched in 2004 is the European Space Agency's "attached COLUMBUS APM laboratory," which will have its own power system. Unexpected battery-related events occurred in the integrated equipment module during its first year-and-a-half in orbit. The problems and their solutions were described in papers presented at the 37/sup th/ Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference. Since the International Space Station carries more battery cells than any other spacecraft, the in-flight performance data from its battery assembly can be useful to engineers who design power supplies for other spacecraft. We, therefore, summarize the battery development process, the adopted design, and an unexpected in-flight battery degradation and its correction.