A New Algorithm for Strapped-Down Inertial Navigation

When a whole-number digital computer, rather than an incremental digital computer, is used to solve the strapped-down inertial navigation computational problem, the approximate direct solution of the direction-cosines matrix equation is no longer the optimal algorithm. The Euler parameters are demonstrated to afford improved accuracy and reduced computation time when used in an appropriate algorithm. A new method of classifying the transformation errors is developed and used.     

Lunar international science coordination/calibration targets (L-ISCT)

Eight lunar areas, each ∼200 km in diameter, are identified as targets for coordinated science and instrument calibration for the orbital missions soon to be flown. Instrument teams from SELENE, Chang’E, Chandrayaan-1, and LRO are encouraged to participate in a coordinated activity of early-release data that will improve calibration and validation of data across independent and diverse instruments. The targets are representative of important lunar terrains and geologic processes and thus will also provide a broad introduction to lunar science for new investigators. We briefly identify additional cross-calibration issues for instruments that produce time series data rather than maps.     

Thermal Noise in Amplitude Comparison Monopulse Systems

In this paper we consider the problem of estimation of angle of arrival in an Amplitude Comparison Monopulse antenna arrangement with the explicit inclusion of internally generated thermal, i.e., receiver, noise as an interference to the desired measurement. A pulsed type radar is assumed, and an ideal (i.e., point) radar target is postulated. This latter restriction is made so that consideration of the effects of target scintillation, glint, or other external random phenomena can be excluded from our treatment of the problem. In this context, a maximum likelihood analysis is made to determine the form of the estimate of angle of arrival, and the probability density function (pdf) of this quantity is computed. The form of the estimate is found to be a ratio of Gaussian variables quite like that used in conventional monopulse signal processing. The pdf obtained for the estimate is believed to be new, and it serves to emphasize the bias and indeterminate variance effects associated with this type of nonlinear signal processing. Some useful approximations to the pdf are discussed, and a unit of precision for the estimate is defined.     

Retrieval of a wind profile from the Galileo Probe telemetry signal

Ultrastable oscillators onboard the Galileo Probe and Orbiter will permit very accurate determinations of the frequency of the Probe's telemetry signal as the Probe descends from a pressure level of several hundred mb to a level of about 20 bars. Analysis of the time-varying frequency can provide, in principle, a unique and important definition of the vertical profile of the zonal wind speed in the Jovian atmosphere. In this paper, we develop a protocol for retrieving the zonal wind profile from the Doppler shift of the measured frequency; assess the impact of a wide range of error sources on the accuracy of the retrieved wind profile; and perform a number of simulations to illustrate our technique and to assess the likely accuracy of the retrieval.Because of unavoidably large uncertainties in the absolute frequencies of the oscillators, we use time-differenced frequencies in our analysis. Nevertheless, it is possible to recover absolute wind speeds as well as wind shears, since the Orbiter/Probe geometry changes significantly during the Probe relay link. We begin with the full relativistic Doppler shift equation. Through the use of power series expansions and a basis function representation of the wind profiles, we reduce the basic equation to a set of linear equations that can be solved with standard linear least-squares techniques.There are a very large number of instrumental and environmental factors that can introduce errors into the measured signal or to the recovery of zonal winds from the data. We provide estimates of the magnitudes of all these error sources and consider the degree to which they may be reduced by a posteriori information as well as the results of calibration tests. The most important error source is the a posteriori uncertainty in the Probe's entry longitude. The accuracy of the retrieved winds is also limited by errors in the Probe's descent velocity, as obtained from atmospheric parameters measured by several Probe experiments, and in the a posteriori knowledge of secular drifts in the oscillators' frequencies during the relay link, due, for example, to aging and radiation damage.Our simulations indicate that zonal winds may be retrieved from the Doppler data to an accuracy of several m s^-1. Therefore, it may be possible to discriminate among alternative models for the basic drive of the zonal winds, since they differ significantly in the implied zonal wind profile.     

US–Russian cooperation in human spaceflight: assessing the impacts

How far the broad security, political and economic goals behind the USA's invitation to Russia to participate in the International Space Station have been achieved is assessed in this synthesis of the views of a range of experts in Russian affairs and US foreign and national security policy. The article covers the impacts of cooperation on the Russian aerospace industrial base, on nonproliferation issues and on overall US–Russian relations. Various themes are identified—such as Russian ambivalence over embracing Western norms—and while the experts agreed on certain subjects, there was no overall unanimity.     

Scheduling algorithms for rapid imaging using agile Cubesat constellations

Distributed Space Missions such as formation flight and constellations, are being recognized as important Earth Observation solutions to increase measurement samples over space and time. Cubesats are increasing in size (27U, ～40?kg in development) with increasing capabilities to host imager payloads. Given the precise attitude control systems emerging in the commercial market, Cubesats now have the ability to slew and capture images within short notice. We propose a modular framework that combines orbital mechanics, attitude control and scheduling optimization to plan the time-varying, full-body orientation of agile Cubesats in a constellation such that they maximize the number of observed images and observation time, within the constraints of Cubesat hardware specifications. The attitude control strategy combines bang-bang and PD control, with constraints such as power consumption, response time, and stability factored into the optimality computations and a possible extension to PID control to account for disturbances. Schedule optimization is performed using dynamic programming with two levels of heuristics, verified and improved upon using mixed integer linear programming. The automated scheduler is expected to run on ground station resources and the resultant schedules uplinked to the satellites for execution, however it can be adapted for onboard scheduling, contingent on Cubesat hardware and software upgrades. The framework is generalizable over small steerable spacecraft, sensor specifications, imaging objectives and regions of interest, and is demonstrated using multiple 20?kg satellites in Low Earth Orbit for two case studies – rapid imaging of Landsat’s land and coastal images and extended imaging of global, warm water coral reefs. The proposed algorithm captures up to 161% more Landsat images than nadir-pointing sensors with the same field of view, on a 2-satellite constellation over a 12-h simulation. Integer programming was able to verify that optimality of the dynamic programming solution for single satellites was within 10%, and find up to 5% more optimal solutions. The optimality gap for constellations was found to be 22% at worst, but the dynamic programming schedules were found at nearly four orders of magnitude better computational speed than integer programming. The algorithm can include cloud cover predictions, ground downlink windows or any other spatial, temporal or angular constraints into the orbital module and be integrated into planning tools for agile constellations.     

The Next Big Things for Top-market BizAv OEMs

<正>AS OEM's display their flagship ultra-longrange, purpose-built business jetsspecifically Bombardier's Global 7500,Gulfstream's G650ER, and Dassault's Falcon 8X-this week at EBACE 2019, speculation stoked by the manufacturers themselves abounds on what comes next.When Gulfstream's flagship G650 entered service in December 2012, the Savannah airframer decisively seized the mantle of largest dedicated business jet. That was reinforced when the 7,500-nm-range G650ER variant joined its line     

新技术正在推动飞机喷涂技术创新

当前各种技术创新正在带动周边产业升级发展,如复合材料在新型飞机的占比越来越高、自动化在航空制造业的应用范围日益扩大等,正在推动着飞机的喷涂技术升级。但由于飞机尺寸较大等因素,自动化机器人喷漆很难在售后服务市场中得到广泛应用。相比之下,紫外线(UV)喷涂技术有望成为下一代喷涂技术升级的热点。