The RadioAstron project: Measurements and analysis of basic parameters of space telescope in flight in 2011–2013

The results of a large number of the antenna radiometric measurements at bands of 92, 18, 6.2, 1.35, and 1.7-1.2 cm are presented by the data of the standard telemetry system of the Spektr-R spacecraft. Both special sessions of calibration object observations in the mode of a single space radio telescope (SRT) operation and numerous observations of researched sources in the mode of the ground-space interferometer were used. The obtained results agree with the first results of Kardashev et al. (2013), i.e., within 10–15% at bands of 92, 18, and 6.2 cm and 20–25% at the band of 1.35 cm. In the main, the measurements for the eight subbands at wavelengths of 1.7-1.2 cm indicate a monotonic increase in the spectral system equivalent flux density (SEFD) of noise radiation with a frequency consistent with the calculated estimates for the discussed model. The sensitivity of the ground-space interferometer for the five subbands at wavelengths from 1.35 to 1.7 cm can be higher by a factor of 1.5, and for the three subbands from 1.35 to 1.2 cm lower by a factor of 1.5 than at the band of 1.35 cm. The SRT contribution to the interferometer sensitivity proportional to the square root of SEFD is close to the design one at the bands of 92 and 18 cm and decreases the design sensitivity approximately by a factor of 1.5 and 2 at the bands of 6.2 and 1.35 cm, respectively. These differences of implemented values from the design ones were not significantly affected the scientific program implementation.     

Optimization of the centrifugal impeller flow passage in high-speed pumps

Based on the jet-vortex model for flow passage hydrodynamics in a high-speed centrifugal pump with the open-type impeller, we present the calculated relations for design and optimization of the experimentally verified pump design parameters.     

Isolated generating periodic solutions to the Beletsky equation

We study degeneracies in families of periodic solutions to the Beletsky equation which correspond to intersections of three manifolds of these solutions: the symmetric, the asymmetric, and the manifold belonging to one of the integrable cases, i.e., e = 0 or μ = 0. We obtain equations for these isolated solutions, which allow us to compute them with an arbitrary precision. It is shown that additional degeneracies take place at some of these solutions. The method we use is applicable to a wide class of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) depending on parameters.     

Formation of large-scale vortices in shear flows of the lower atmosphere of the earth in the region of tropical latitudes

The paper is devoted to studying the mechanisms of formation of cyclones in the Earth’s atmosphere with the help of numerical modeling using the complete system of gas-dynamic equations. The results of modeling have shown that cyclones can appear in horizontal stratified shear flows of warm and wet air masses with horizontal direction of gradients of the wind velocity components as a result of small disturbances of pressure which can be produced by Rossby waves.     

在轨任务规划的新型开发方法

作为未来航天器智能化的发展方向,在轨任务规划的实现是一项涉及多个领域知识的复杂软件工程问题,需要与之匹配的先进开发方法。本文基于动态语言和嵌入式操作系统,提出了一种在轨任务规划的开发方法;从需求出发,调研了一组适用于在轨任务规划应用的开源基础库,涉及航天器任务规划、地理信息数据库、地图投影、坐标变换、几何拓扑关系求解、线性规划等多个方面;将这些领域的典型开源库作为中间件移植到高性能星载计算机和嵌入式操作系统上,并进行了功能测试。本文的工作能给后续在轨任务规划系统的设计和实现提供启发和帮助。     

Features of rotational motion of a spacecraft descending in the Martian atmosphere

Angular motion at atmospheric entry is studied in the paper for a spacecraft with a bi-harmonic moment characteristic. Special attention is given to the case when the spacecraft possesses two stable balanced positions, and, hence, it can oscillate in dense atmospheric layers in the ranges of small or large angles of attack. The averaged equations of spacecraft motion are derived, which allow one to increase the speed of calculations by several orders of magnitude. A real example is presented, which concerns a spacecraft specially designed for descending in the Martian atmosphere.     

The 3-D Heliosphere from the Ulysses and ACE Solar Wind Ion Composition Experiments

The source region of solar wind plasma is observed to be directly reflected in the compositional pattern of both elemental and charge state compositions. Slow solar wind associated with streamers shows higher freeze-in temperatures and larger FIP enhancements than coronal hole associated wind. Also, the variability of virtually all compositional parameters is much higher for slow solar wind compared to coronal hole associated wind. We show that these compositional patterns persist even though stream-stream interactions complicate the identification based on in situ plasma parameters. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Some regularities in the relationship of limb coronal mass ejections with eruptive prominences and post-eruptive arcades

A positive correlation is shown to exist between the angular sizes (in the sky plane) of eruptive prominences and/or post-eruptive arcades and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) associated with them. New regularities are found that characterize the relationship between the latitude of eruptive prominences (post-eruptive arcades) and the latitude position of CMEs associated with them in the field of view of a coronagraph. An interpretation of these regularities is given.     

Investigation into impact of tropical cyclones on the ionosphere using GPS sounding and NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis data

Ionospheric response to tropical cyclones (TCs) was estimated experimentally on the example of three powerful cyclones – KATRINA (23–31 August 2005), RITA (18–26 September 2005), and WILMA (15–25 October 2005). These TCs were active near the USA Atlantic coast. Investigation was based on Total Electron Content (TEC) data from the international network of two-frequency ground-based GPS receivers and the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis data. We studied the spatial–temporal dynamics of wave TEC disturbances over two periods of ranges (02–20 min and 20–60 min). To select the ionospheric disturbances which were most likely to be associated with the cyclones, maps of TEC disturbances were compared with those of meteorological parameters.     

Development of wireless strain-gauge measurement system for structural tests

A wireless sensor system for data acquisition and processing during structural and fatigue tests is considered. A prototype of wireless strain-gauge measurement system is used in fatigue tests of a utility helicopter’s main rotor hub. The setup of the test rig and software are described.