Balloon support systems performance for the cosmic rays energetics and mass mission

The Ballooncraft Support Systems were developed by NASA Wallops Flight Facility for use on ULDB class balloon missions. The support systems have now flown two missions supporting the Cosmic Rays Energetics and Mass (CREAM) experiment. The first, CREAM I, flown in December 2004, was for a record breaking 41 days, 21 h, and the second flight flown in December 2005, was for 28 days, 9 h. These support systems provide CREAM with power, telecommunications, command, and data handling including flight computers, mechanical structures, thermal management, and attitude control to help ensure a successful scientific mission. This paper addresses the performance and success of these support systems over the two missions.     

What is System Wide Information Management (SWIM)?

System wide information management (SWIM) has been identified by the FAA as a key enabler for the next generation air traffic system (NGATS). Boeing has been working with the FAA since 2004 to define the role of SWIM within the framework of the existing and envisioned set of national airspace system (NAS) communications systems and air traffic operations. SWIM, as an information management infrastructure, in effect creates a "system of systems" of existing (and new) systems (or software applications, or simply applications) interacting through SWIM services. Describing SWIM in such a context is only fruitful when adopting the point of view of each person based on their role and perspective of airspace operations, be they a user, an application developed, or a SWIM implemented. This paper describes the current vision of SWIM from multiple viewpoints (operational, functional, physical) in an attempt to provide a broad perspective of SWIM to a technical audience of mixed backgrounds     

Computational methods for the HZETRN code.

Asymptotic expansion has been used to simplify the transport of high charge and energy ions for broad beam applications in the laboratory and space. The solution of the lowest order asymptotic term is then related to a Green's function for energy loss and straggling coupled to nuclear attenuation providing the lowest order term in a rapidly converging Neumann series for which higher order collisions terms are related to the fragmentation events including energy dispersion and downshift. The first and second Neumann corrections were evaluated numerically as a standard for further analytic approximation. The first Neumann correction is accurately evaluated over the saddle point whose width is determined by the energy dispersion and located at the downshifted ion collision energy. Introduction of the first Neumann correction leads to significant simplification of the second correction term allowing application of the mean value theorem and a second saddle point approximation. The regular dependence of the second correction spectral dependence lends hope to simple approximation to higher corrections. At sufficiently high energy nuclear cross-section variations are small allowing non-perturbative methods to all orders and renormalization of the second corrections allow accurate evaluation of the full Neumann series.     

A parametric study of space radiation exposures to critical body organs for low earth orbit missions.

The geomagnetically-trapped and galactic cosmic radiation environments are two of the major sources of naturally-occurring space radiation exposure to astronauts in low earth orbit. The exposure is dependent primarily on altitude, spacecraft shielding, crew stay-times, and solar cycle effects for a 28.5 deg orbital inclination. Based on Space Shuttle experience, the calculated results of a parametric study are presented for several mission scenarios using a computerized anatomical man model and are compared with the NASA crew exposure limits for several critical body organs.     

A prospectus for automatic target recognition

Aspects of autorecognition technology are discussed. The following topics are covered: The context and role of automatic target recognition (ATR), sensors and ATR systems, generic shape discrimination, countermeasures, and current capabilities. The authors conclude that the material supports a very favorable assessment of the power and importance of emerging ATR technology     

Who is who in Algol-land ?- Part I -

We computed the evolution through case A mass transfer for 8 systems with mass of the primary equal to 3 and 5 M₀, mass ratios 0.7 and 0.9, and different periods. To this we added similar results from Packet (1988) for M_i = 9 M₀, q_i = 0.6, P_i = 1.62 d.During the mass transfer two competing mechanisms in the gainer decide on the evolution of the system: the rejuvenation of this star as the increasing convective core mixes fresh hydrogen into the inner regions, and the acceleration of nuclear burning, responding to the increasing mass.In all the cases the net result is a faster decrease of the central hydrogen content compared to the mass losing star. The secondary fills its own critical Roche lobe and reversed mass transfer starts.From our results and those of Nakamura and Nakamura (1984), we find that reversed mass transfer occurs after core hydrogen burning of the secondary (case A₁B₂) approximately for periods larger than 1 d (M_1i = 3 M₀) to 2 d (M_1i = 13.4 M₀). For smaller periods this happens before the gainer ends its core hydrogen burning (case A₁A₂).     

Subcellular components of the amphibian egg: insights provided by gravitational studies.

Most cytoplasmic regions of fertilized amphibian eggs move with respect to the gravity vector in experimentally gravity oriented eggs. The pattern and extent of this movement varies among different batches of eggs. This variation in apparent cytoplasmic viscosity (or, conversely, cytoplasmic mobility) can be correlated with variations in subsequent morphogenesis of experimental, gravitationally manipulated eggs. Therefore, the proper interpretation of gravity experiments with amphibian eggs requires that one understand the subcellular basis for this variation on cytoplasmic mobility. Variation in the packing of the major cytoplasmic organelle, the yolk platelets, or the organization and amount of cytoskeletal components may explain the variation in cytoplasmic mobility. Evidence is presented that the variation in yolk volume density (fraction of total cytoplasmic volume occupied by yolk platelets) does not account for the variation in cytoplasmic mobility in Xenopus laevis eggs. Experimental evidence from cold-shocked inverted eggs indicates that microtubules may be involved in determining cytoplasmic mobility. However, quantitative evidence that the microtubule levels and state of the microtubules (polymerized vs. non-polymerized) in the whole Xenopus laevis egg does not correlate directly with cytoplasmic mobility is presented. The apparent conflict these data represent regarding the role of the cytoskeleton in determining cytoplasmic mobility is discussed.     

The effect of total solar eclipse of October 3, 2005, on the total electron content over Europe

GPS observations from EUREF permanent GPS network were used to observe the response of TEC (Total Electron Content) to the total solar eclipse on October 3, 2005, under quiet geomagnetic conditions of the daytime ionosphere. The effect of the eclipse was detected in diurnal variations and more distinctly in the variations of TEC along individual satellite passes. The trough-like variations with a gradual decrease and followed by an increase of TEC at the time of the eclipse were observed over a large region. The depression of TEC amounted to 3–4 TECU. The maximum depression was observed over all stations located at the maximum path of the solar eclipse. The delay of a minimum level of TEC with respect to the maximum phase of the eclipse was about 20–30 min.     

Non-LTE analysis of a new pulsating PG 1159-type central star detected in the ROSAT XRT all sky survey

We summarize the analysis of a new PG 1159 star, i.e., a hydrogen deficient pre-white dwarf detected in the ROSAT XRT all sky survey /1/. The X-ray source RX J2117.1+3412 is relatively faint (≈0.33 cnt s⁻¹) and was selected for optical identification on the basis of its extreme X-ray softness. With V = 13.2, the counterpart of the X-ray source is in the optical the second brightest member of the PG1159 class. CCD imagery reveals that the star is surrounded by an old highly excited planetary nebula of faint surface brightness. Optical line profiles of HeII, CIV, and OVI and the overall optical and ROSAT PSPC (0.1–2.4 keV) energy distributions are compared to predictions of NLTE model atmospheres. We find an excellent agreement between the atmospheric parameters derived from optical and soft X-ray data. The effective temperature of the star is extremely high (150,000 K). Abundances of He, C and O are found to be consistent with those derived in other PG1159 stars whereas the surface gravity is significantly smaller in RXJ2117.1+3412. New optical spectra presented here show the presence of ultra-high excitation lines of O VIII.     

Error Covariance Analysis of a Karhunen-Loeve Collocation Estimator

An error covariance analysis of a two-dimensional gravity compensation technique (KLC) employing a Karhunen-Loeve gravity disturbance model and the linear least-square collocation algorithm for its estimation is presented, without actually using any data. Its performance is compared with another gravity compensation technique (KLE), whose error covariance analysis was previously presented by Gupta. From the mismodeling analysis, KLC appears to be superior to KLE.