A method for improving extended Kalman filter performance forangle-only passive ranging

A relatively simple method is presented which eliminates previously reported (Oct. 1985) erratic estimation performance associated with Cartesian formulations of the extended Kalman filter (EKF) for the 2D angle-only emitter location problem. The technique is based on an initialization procedure which combines a priori probability density function (pdf) information with single measurement a posteriori pdf information in a manner which is more efficient than the EKF. Simulation results are presented which demonstrate the utility of the technique as compared with a previously offered modified gain EKF     

The Plasma and Suprathermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) Investigation on the STEREO Observatories

The Plasma and Suprathermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) investigation provides the in situ solar wind and low energy heliospheric ion measurements for the NASA Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory Mission, which consists of two spacecraft (STEREO-A, STEREO-B). PLASTIC-A and PLASTIC-B are identical. Each PLASTIC is a time-of-flight/energy mass spectrometer designed to determine the elemental composition, ionic charge states, and bulk flow parameters of major solar wind ions in the mass range from hydrogen to iron. PLASTIC has nearly complete angular coverage in the ecliptic plane and an energy range from ～0.3 to 80 keV/e, from which the distribution functions of suprathermal ions, including those ions created in pick-up and local shock acceleration processes, are also provided.     

Far ultraviolet imaging from the IMAGE spacecraft. 2. Wideband FUV imaging

The Far Ultraviolet Wideband Imaging Camera (WIC) complements the magnetospheric images taken by the IMAGE satellite instruments with simultaneous global maps of the terrestrial aurora. Thus, a primary requirement of WIC is to image the total intensity of the aurora in wavelength regions most representative of the auroral source and least contaminated by dayglow, have sufficient field of view to cover the entire polar region from spacecraft apogee and have resolution that is sufficient to resolve auroras on a scale of 1 to 2 latitude degrees. The instrument is sensitive in the spectral region from 140–190 nm. The WIC is mounted on the rotating IMAGE spacecraft viewing radially outward and has a field of view of 17° in the direction parallel to the spacecraft spin axis. Its field of view is 30° in the direction perpendicular to the spin axis, although only a 17°×17° image of the Earth is recorded. The optics was an all-reflective, inverted Cassegrain Burch camera using concentric optics with a small convex primary and a large concave secondary mirror. The mirrors were coated by a special multi-layer coating, which has low reflectivity in the visible and near UV region. The detector consists of a MCP-intensified CCD. The MCP is curved to accommodate the focal surface of the concentric optics. The phosphor of the image intensifier is deposited on a concave fiberoptic window, which is then coupled to the CCD with a fiberoptic taper. The camera head operates in a fast frame transfer mode with the CCD being read approximately 30 full frames (512×256 pixel) per second with an exposure time of 0.033 s. The image motion due to the satellite spin is minimal during such a short exposure. Each image is electronically distortion corrected using the look up table scheme. An offset is added to each memory address that is proportional to the image shift due to satellite rotation, and the charge signal is digitally summed in memory. On orbit, approximately 300 frames will be added to produce one WIC image in memory. The advantage of the electronic motion compensation and distortion correction is that it is extremely flexible, permitting several kinds of corrections including motions parallel and perpendicular to the predicted axis of rotation. The instrument was calibrated by applying ultraviolet light through a vacuum monochromator and measuring the absolute responsivity of the instrument. To obtain the data for the distortion look up table, the camera was turned through various angles and the input angles corresponding to a pixel matrix were recorded. It was found that the spectral response peaked at 150 nm and fell off in either direction. The equivalent aperture of the camera, including mirror reflectivities and effective photocathode quantum efficiency, is about 0.04 cm². Thus, a 100 Rayleigh aurora is expected to produce 23 equivalent counts per pixel per 10 s exposure at the peak of instrument response.     

Crossarray Beamforming with a Parametric Receiving Array and a Line Array

A beamforming technique involving cross correlation of the outputs of two directional arrays is investigated. The performance characteristics of the crossarray system are determined and related to the characteristics of the two individual arrays. It is found that the crossarray beam pattern is the average (in decibels) of the beam patterns of the individual arrays, and that the crossarray gain (rejection of spatially distributed noise) is 1.5 dB greater than the average (in decibels) of the individual array gains. The most interesting applications for this system may be those where the two arrays are quite different, as in the case of a parametric acoustic receiving array (PARRAY) and a broadside line array.     

Planetary radio astronomy experiment for Voyager missions

The planetary radio astronomy experiment will measure radio spectra of planetary emissions in the range 1.2 kHz to 40.5 MHz. These emissions result from wave-particle-plasma interactions in the magnetospheres and ionospheres of the planets. At Jupiter, they are strongly modulated by the Galilean satellite Io.As the spacecraft leave the Earth's vicinity, we will observe terrestrial kilometric radiation, and for the first time, determine its polarization (RH and LH power separately). At the giant planets, the source of radio emission at low frequencies is not understood, but will be defined through comparison of the radio emission data with other particles and fields experiments aboard Voyager, as well as with optical data. Since, for Jupiter, as for the Earth, the radio data quite probably relate to particle precipitation, and to magnetic field strength and orientation in the polar ionosphere, we hope to be able to elucidate some characteristics of Jupiter auroras.Together with the plasma wave experiment, and possibly several optical experiments, our data can demonstrate the existence of lightning on the giant planets and on the satellite Titan, should it exist. Finally, the Voyager missions occur near maximum of the sunspot cycle. Solar outburst types can be identified through the radio measurements; when the spacecraft are on the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth we can identify solar flare-related events otherwise invisible on the Earth.     

The APT on the Polar Orbiting Weather Satellites

The receipt of the Pioneer Award has given me a chance to look back over my professional life and the opportunity to take stock of how I helped shape a small part of the world. While I hope this process entertains my contemporaries, more importantly, I hope it stimulates those that are engaged in actively shaping the present. To describe the need for automatic picture transmission (APT), I must retrace the historical development of meteorological satellites. The idea for weather observations from a satellite originated with a small group of meteorologists at the U.S. Army Signal Corps Research and Development Lab. at Ft. Monmouth, N.J., and resulted in the design of Vanguard II. The Tiros and TOS series of satellites, and the design of Nimbus, followed soon thereafter. However, a faster picture dissemination than was available at that time was needed, and it was this necessity that sparked the development of APT. Nimbus was originally intended to be an operational system, but the advent of simpler, less costly stabilization systems made the Tiros evolution the clear winner. The geosynchronous weather satellites started nearly a decade later and evolved from the NASA Application Technology Satellite (ATS) series. All three systems, existing polar orbiting weather satellites, APT, and geosynchronous weather satellites, have changed meteorology and the reliability of weather forecasting profoundly.     

Ulysses out-of-ecliptic observations of “27-day” variations in high energy cosmic ray intensity

We report the discovery that for latitudes above 40°S, the observed recurring modulation of cosmic rays and anomalous nuclei occurs without the detection byUlysses of the solar wind velocity and magnetic field recurring enhancements that have, heretofore at lower latitudes, defined corotating interaction regions—i.e., the mechanism producing the recurring intensity variations >40°S appears to be located beyond the radial range ofUlysses.     

Comparison of ≳40 keV Electron Events at High and Low Heliolatitudes: Ulysses/HI-SCALE and ACE/EPAM

We have performed a joint survey of anisotropic ≳40 keV electron events from August 1997 to September 2000 using the matched detectors on the Ulysses (ULS)/HI-SCALE and the ACE/EPAM instruments. A computer algorithm selected events with strong, statistically significant pitch-angle anisotropies. Electron pitch-angle distributions at ACE (∼1 AU) are often ‘beams’ that are strongly collimated along the local interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). These flare-associated impulsive injections can display rapid rise times (∼15 min) and slower decays, or more irregular intensity histories. At ULS, the electron intensities are lower and the time histories smoother, but strong anisotropies are still observable, indicating direct, nearly field-aligned propagation outward from the Sun. We focus on four event periods, selected from the survey, during times when the angle between the footpoints of the IMF lines intersecting ACE and ULS is small. These events span three full years and cover a wide range of distances and heliographic latitudes. We found one reasonably good association between impulsive electron events at ACE and ULS, and two events with small field-aligned gradients. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mars Global Surveyor Observations of Solar Wind Magnetic Field Draping Around Mars

We examine the magnetic field in the martian magnetosheath due to solar wind draping. Mars Global Surveyor provided 3-D vector magnetic field measurements at a large range of altitudes, local times, and solar zenith angles as the spacecraft orbit evolved. We choose orbits with very clean signatures of draping to establish the nominal morphology of the magnetic field lines at local times of near-subsolar and near-terminator. Next, using a compilation of data from Mars Global Surveyor, we determine the average magnetic field morphology in the martian magnetosheath due to the solar wind interaction. The topology of the field is as expected from previous observations and predictions. The magnetic field magnitude peaks at low altitude and noon magnetic local time and decreases away from that point. The magnetic field has an inclination from the local horizontal of 5.6° on average in the dayside magnetosheath and 12.5° on the nightside. The inclination angle is closest to zero at noon magnetic local time and low altitude. It increases both upward and to later local times. The magnetic field in the induced magnetotail flares out from the Mars—Sun direction by 21°. Finally, we compare the observations to gasdynamic model predictions and find that the shocked solar wind flow in the martian magnetosheath can be treated as a gasdynamic flow with the magnetic pileup boundary as the inner boundary to the flow.