Analytical solution of discrete colored noise ECA tracking filter

New analytical solutions of steady-state Kalman gains are presented for a discrete-time tracking filter with correlation in both the measurement noise and the target maneuver. The measurement noise model is a first-order discrete Markov process characterized by a correlation coefficient ρ. The target motion is examined for an exponentially correlated acceleration maneuver type in which the vehicle oscillation such as wind-induced-bending is also considered. The present solution method is based on factorizing the observed spectral density matrix Ψ(z) in frequency domain. The algorithm proposed here gives the Kalman gain matrix directly. For a case when the steady-state error covariance matrix is desired, such gains can be incorporated with the algebraic Riccati equation     

Utilization of CAM,CAF, MAX,and FAX for space radiation analyses using HZETRN

To estimate astronaut health risk due to space radiation, one must have the ability to calculate various exposure-related quantities that are averaged over specific organs and tissue types. Such calculations require computational models of the ambient space radiation environment, particle transport, nuclear and atomic physics, and the human body. While significant efforts have been made to verify, validate, and quantify the uncertainties associated with many of these models and tools, relatively little work has focused on the uncertainties associated with the representation and utilization of the human phantoms. In this study, we first examine the anatomical properties of the Computerized Anatomical Man (CAM), Computerized Anatomical Female (CAF), Male Adult voXel (MAX), and Female Adult voXel (FAX) models by comparing the masses of various model tissues used to calculate effective dose to the reference values specified by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The MAX and FAX tissue masses are found to be in good agreement with the reference data, while major discrepancies are found between the CAM and CAF tissue masses and the reference data for almost all of the effective dose tissues. We next examine the distribution of target points used with the deterministic transport code HZETRN (High charge (Z) and Energy TRaNsport) to compute mass averaged exposure quantities. A numerical algorithm is presented and used to generate multiple point distributions of varying fidelity for many of the effective dose tissues identified in CAM, CAF, MAX, and FAX. The point distributions are used to compute mass averaged dose equivalent values under both a galactic cosmic ray (GCR) and solar particle event (SPE) environment impinging isotropically on three spherical aluminum shells with areal densities of 0.4 g/cm², 2.0 g/cm², and 10.0 g/cm². The dose equivalent values are examined to identify a recommended set of target points for each of the tissues and to further assess the differences between CAM, CAF, MAX, and FAX. It is concluded that the previously published CAM and CAF point distributions were significantly under-sampled and that the set of point distributions presented here should be adequate for future studies involving CAM, CAF, MAX, or FAX. It is also found that the errors associated with the mass and location of certain tissues in CAM and CAF have a significant impact on the mass averaged dose equivalent values, and it is concluded that MAX and FAX are more accurate than CAM and CAF for space radiation analyses.     

Star visibility and tracking from the Space Station

Purpose of the present study is to provide algorithms for and examples of how to simulate star visibility and tracking by a Telescope attached to the main truss of the International Space Station (ISS).     

Nuclear fragmentation database for GCR transport code development

A critical need for NASA is the ability to accurately model the transport of heavy ions in the Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) through matter, including spacecraft walls, equipment racks, etc. Nuclear interactions are of great importance in the GCR transport problem, as they can cause fragmentation of the incoming ion into lighter ions. Since the radiation dose delivered by a particle is proportional to the square of (charge/velocity), fragmentation reduces the dose delivered by incident ions. The other mechanism by which dose can be reduced is ionization energy loss, which can lead to some particles stopping in the shielding. This is the conventional notion of shielding, but it is not applicable to human spaceflight since the particles in the GCR tend to be too energetic to be stopped in the relatively thin shielding that is possible within payload mass constraints. Our group has measured a large number of fragmentation cross sections, intended to be used as input to, or for validation of, NASA’s radiation transport models. A database containing over 200 charge-changing cross sections and over 2000 fragment production cross sections has been compiled. In this report, we examine in detail the contrast between fragment measurements at large acceptance and small acceptance. We use output from the PHITS Monte Carlo code to test our assumptions using as an example ⁴⁰Ar data (and simulated data) at a beam energy of 650 MeV/nucleon. We also present preliminary analysis in which isotopic resolution was attained for beryllium fragments produced by beams of ¹⁰B and ¹¹B. Future work on the experimental data set will focus on extracting and interpreting production cross sections for light fragments.     

Feasibility of developing an ionospheric E-region electron density storm model using TIMED/SABER measurements

We present a new technique for improving ionospheric models of nighttime E-region electron densities under geomagnetic storm conditions using TIMED/SABER measurements of broadband 4.3 μm limb radiance. The response of E-region electron densities to geomagnetic activity is characterized by SABER-derived NO⁺(v) 4.3 μm Volume Emission Rates (VER). A storm-time E-region electron density correction factor is defined as the ratio of storm-enhanced NO⁺(v) VER to a quiet-time climatological average NO⁺(v) VER, which will be fit to a geomagnetic activity index in a future work. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the feasibility of our technique in two ways. One, we compare storm-to-quiet ratios of SABER-derived NO⁺(v) VER with storm-to-quiet ratios of electron densities measured by Incoherent Scatter Radar. Two, we demonstrate that NO⁺(v) VER can be parameterized by widely available geomagnetic activity indices. The storm-time correction derived from NO⁺(v) VER is applicable at high-latitudes.     

Solar Isotopic Composition as Determined Using Solar Energetic Particles

Solar energetic particles (SEPs) provide a sample of the Sun from which solar composition may be determined. Using high-resolution measurements from the Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS) onboard NASA’s Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft, we have studied the isotopic composition of SEPs at energies ≥20 MeV/nucleon in large SEP events. We present SEP isotope measurements of C, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Fe, and Ni made in 49 large events from late 1997 to the present. The isotopic composition is highly variable from one SEP event to another due to variations in seed particle composition or due to mass fractionation that occurs during the acceleration and/or transport of these particles. We show that various isotopic and elemental enhancements are correlated with each other, discuss the empirical corrections used to account for the compositional variability, and obtain estimated solar isotopic abundances. We compare the solar values and their uncertainties inferred from SEPs with solar wind and other solar system abundances and find generally good agreement.     

System aspects and transmission impairments of active phased arrays for satellite communications

The communications link and system aspects of active phased arrays that are used in multiple-beam satellite systems are assessed through measurements and analysis. Three link parameters are investigated and their effects on the overall carrier-to-interference ratio (CIR) are quantified. The first parameter is the intermodulation components that are generated at the nonlinear amplifier outputs and contribute to well-formed interference in the far-field radiation of the array. The second is the bit-error ratio (BER) degradation due to the multi-carrier operation of the active array. Measurement results are shown to demonstrate this effect. The third link parameter is the cochannel interference caused by frequency reuse in multiple-beam systems. The paper starts by reviewing early developments of phased arrays for multiple-beam satellite communications applications. A key component in these developments is the modular monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) beam-forming matrices that generate a number of simultaneous and independently digitally controlled beams