Successful deployment of commercial ATE to an Air Force I-level (back-shop) repair facility

In today's world of constrained budgets, one of the problems the military faces is the challenge of trying to maintain organic maintenance capabilities. Historically, the US Air Force has desired to achieve an autonomous capability to maintain the equipment it uses. This has been achieved, traditionally, by setting-up three levels of maintenance: organizational; intermediate (back-shop); and depot. The I-level back-shops often utilize militarized automatic test equipment (ATE) and test program sets (TPSs) to test today's complex aircraft line replaceable units (LRUs). And even though this is still a cost-effective maintenance philosophy, it has become costly to develop militarized ATE. The Department of Defense (DoD) has been very active in trying to reduce the total ownership cost of ATE in the government inventory. One approach is to utilize commercial, instead of Mil-Spec, ATE. However, utilizing commercial ATE at an USAF back-shop is not without its tradeoffs and challenges as it represents a significant deviation from the way the USAF maintenance squadrons are accustomed to "doing business." This paper documents the current success story of replacing the legacy C-17 I-level ATE with a commercial ATE.     

Anti-aircraft artillery simulator

Air defense systems protect land and maritime resources from air attack. Depending on the regional characteristics and type of conflicting forces, air defense threats vary considerably. In regional conflicts, where forces with similar capabilities are involved and no air-superiority can be achieved, the role of air defense systems becomes critical. In combat terrains containing mountains (in mainland or in small islands), the man-operated or computer-controlled (using passive sensors) anti-aircraft artillery can be highly effective. The simulator presented in this work aims to exploit the capabilities provided by current commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) communication and multimedia technologies for providing a training environment that improves the personnel capability for effective use of man-controlled anti-aircraft weapons.     

On the physical state in the narrow-line region of the classical Seyfert galaxy NGC 7469

Based on the spectrophotometric data, by decomposition of the observed continuum, the power - law continuum characteristics of the central source are obtained. The behaviour of both electron temperature T_e and density n_e in the Narrow - Line Region (NLR) of NGC 7469 is discussed on the thermal and ionization equilibria calculations. T_e in NLR of the Sy1 galaxies are higher than the Sy2 ones, and the possible explanation is the lack of the dense (n_e 10¹⁰ cm⁻³) zone close to the central source in the Sy2 galaxies.     

X-rays from the first massive black holes

X-ray studies of high-redshift (z > 4) active galaxies have advanced substantially over the past few years, largely due to results from the new generation of X-ray observatories. As of this writing X-ray emission has been detected from nearly 60 high-redshift active galaxies. This paper reviews the observational results and their implications for models of the first massive black holes, and it discusses future prospects for the field.     

Optical sensors for monitoring and control of plant growth systems.

Optical chemical sensors have been developed for monitoring several parameters relevant to plant growth systems. These sensors utilize porous polymer and porous glass as the sensing element, and optical fiber input/output lines connected to a custom optoelectronic interface. Present in the sensing element are immobilized colorimetric indicators, which react with the analyte to be sensed. This reaction results in a change in the optical properties of the sensor. These sensors are particularly suited to in-situ monitoring of nutrient solution parameters and atmospheric trace contaminants in life support and plant growth systems. Sensors for monitoring pH, ammonia, and ethylene will be discussed.     

Integrated Avionics: Watershed in Systems Development

For aeronautical weapon systems now entering development, avionics will equal or surpass airframe, propulsion, and weapons in establishing system effectiveness, both in terms of mission accomplishment and in terms of reliability, availability, supportability, and life cycle cost. Emerging technologies created the opportunity to satisfy demanding operational needs and to provide the means to upgrade systems against an evolving threat. This requires, however, basic changes in the skills, design methods, and constraints applied to avionics development. This paper highlights trends in avionics technology and systems and suggests some of the new ground rules which must be imposed to realize their full potential. Avionics considerations must be a central element of system development from the very outset, and the process of conceptual planning and program estimation must take the new realities of avionics into account.     

Minitact gyroscope-the low cost alternative

The allure of the solid state optical gyros is being challenged by the invention of a new spinning mass device, providing superior low noise drift performance, high reliability at a very low cost. The Minitact is a unique two axis gyroscope advancing the technology of spinning mass devices to set new low cost standards. Minitact provides all the low noise performance benefits of tuned rotor gyroscopes without the vagaries of fixture suspension systems. The Minitact design integrates together the advantages of a spherical hydrodynamic gas bearing and a three axis permanent magnet DC commutated, motor and torquer, into miniature two aids gyroscope with a dynamic range of greater than 10^-7. The design is described and performance data presented illustrating the capability of this low cost next generation rate gyroscope. The Minitact is the result of Integrated Product Development (IPD) and Design to Unit Production Cost (DTUPC) design processes and is expected to become the tactical performance benchmark     

Dosimetric investigations on Mars-96 mission.

The dosimetric experiments Dose-M and Liulin as part of the more complex French-German-Bulgarian-Russian experiments for the investigation of the radiation environment for Mars-96 mission are described. The experiments will be realized with dosemeter-radiometer instruments, measuring absorbed dose in semiconductor detectors and the particle flux. Two detectors will be mounted on board the Mars-96 orbiter. Another detector will be on the guiderope of the Mars-96 Aerostate station. The scientific aims of Dose-M and Liulin experiments are: Analysis of the absorbed dose and the flux on the path and around Mars behind different shielding. Study of the shielding characteristics of the Martian atmosphere from galactic and solar cosmic rays including solar proton events. Together with the French gamma-spectrometer and the German neutron detectors the investigation of the radiation environment on the surface of Mars and in the atmosphere up to 4000 m altitude will be conducted.     

Hydrologic appraisal of rivers plan-form at confluence zone — A case study using Landsat MSS data

In river systems confluences and bifurcations are typical features whose effects are largely dependent on the specific characteristics of the rivers involved. The study makes an attempt to analyse the planform configuration at the confluence zone of the Wainganga and Khobragadi rivers in the central part of India. The data used are the Landsat MSS CCT data of date 17.12.1972 for scene 154-046 and black and white aerial photographs of November, 1969. Supervised method of classification using maximum likelihood classification method is employed. The study confirms that the discharge and sediment transport in the individual rivers constitute the dominating factors in the changes of planform geometry at a confluence. The usefulness of the Landsat MSS data and digital analysis techniques. for generating the necessary data inputs for the study is also validated.