Position Location from Sensors with Position Uncertainty

A statistical analysis of a mixed-mode position-location system with sensors position uncertainty is described. Expressions for the maximum likelihood estimator and its error statistics, under ?small errors? assumption, are derived.     

An Optimally Integrated Track Recovery System for Aerial Bathymetry

An airborne system has been developed for charting shallow coastal and inland waters. The primary components of this system are an aerial survey camera, a profiling laser radar, an analytical stereo plotter, and a multisensor track recovery system (TRS). The TRS comprises a gimbaled inertial navigation system and a number of auxiliary sensors which acquire redundant position and attitude information. The sensor data are combined postmission using a U-D factorized Kalman filter and modified Bryson-Frazier smoother to compute accurate estimates of the orientation parameters of the survey camera at the times of film exposure. These parameters are used to position each overlapping pair of photographs on the analytical plotter to form a stereo image and corresonding analytical stereomodel from which water depth measurements are made. Flight trial results demonstrate that the TRS can achieve radial position and attitude accuracies which exceed 1 m and 2 arcmin root mean square (rms), respectively, and that this level of performance is sufficient to enable water depth measurements to be made to an accuracy of better than 0.65 m (rms).     

Solar and stellar seismology

This article reviews solar and stellar seismology, with emphasis on the enormous progress which has been made recently in the observation and understanding of solar p-modes. Precision measurements of p-mode frequencies and frequency splittings allow a greater understanding of the structure of the solar interior, while p-mode amplitudes and linewidths shed light on the mode excitation mechanism, which is probably stochastic excitation by turbulent convection. The prospects for making similar measurements on other stars are also discussed.     

Space Station atmospheric monitoring systems.

A technology assessment study on atmospheric monitoring systems was performed by Battelle Columbus Division for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's John F. Kennedy Space Center under Contract No. NAS 10-11033. In this assessment, the objective was to identify, analyze, and recommend systems to sample and measure Space Station atmospheric contaminants and identify where additional research and technology advancements were required. To achieve this objective, it was necessary to define atmospheric monitoring requirements and to assess the state of the art and advanced technology and systems for technical and operational compatibility with monitoring goals. Three technical tasks were defined to support these needs: Definition of Monitoring Requirements, Assessment of Sampling and Analytical Technology, and Technology Screening and Recommendations. Based on the analysis, the principal candidates recommended for development at the Space Station's initial operational capability were: (1) long-path Fourier transform infrared for rapid detection of high-risk contamination incidences, and (2) gas chromatography/mass spectrometry utilizing mass selective detection (or ion-trap) technologies for detailed monitoring of extended crew exposure to low level (ppbv) contamination. The development of a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry/matrix isolation-Fourier transform infrared system was recommended as part of the long range program of upgrading Space Station trace-contaminant monitoring needs.     

Autoignition of fuel-oxidizer mixtures in microgravity

The paper examines the limitations of quasi-steady autoignition theory in providing information needed for the characterization of autoignition temperature fields. Time-dependent autoignition theory is then utilized to examine the autoignition behavior of a reactive system where both wall catalysis and gas phase kinetic rates are significant. It is found that a diverse range of space-time temperature-composition-pressure histories is possible, depending on the system's thermo-kinetic characteristics.     

Investigations of gravity effect on crystal growth. Achievements and prospects

Studies of growth of semiconductors and some other materials in microgravity are reviewed over the past 2 or 3 years.     

Accessing NASA technology with the World Wide Web

NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) began using the World Wide Web (WWW) in the summer of 1993, becoming the first NASA installation to provide a center-wide home page. This coincided with a reorganization of LaRC to provide a more concentrated focus on technology transfer to both aerospace and non-aerospace industry. Use of WWW and NCSA Mosaic not only provides automated information dissemination, but also allows for the implementation, evolution and integration of many technology transfer and technology awareness applications. This paper describes several of these innovative applications, including the on-line presentation of the entire Technology Opportunities Showcase (TOPS), an industrial partnering showcase that exists on the Web long after the actual 3-day event ended. The NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS) provides uniform access to many logically similar, yet physically distributed NASA report servers. WWW is also the foundation of the Langley Software Server (LSS), an experimental software distribution system which will distribute LaRC-developed software. In addition to the more formal technology distribution projects, WWW has been successful in connecting people with technologies and people with other people     

Design for testability for future digital avionics systems

The authors describe an integrated testing approach called the Maintenance and Diagnostic System (MADS), which was developed for digital avionics systems using VHSIC and semicustom devices. Mission/operational requirements dictate high availability with capability to detect 98% of all faults and isolate 90% of these faults to a line replacement module (LRM) or 95% of the faults to two LRMs. MADS achieves these goals by defining a module maintenance node (MMN) chip set for each LRM in the system and the design for testability concepts for hardware. The MMN aids parallel, high-speed testing of LRMs, isolating the fault(s) to a module/chip level while incurring less than 10% overhead. It uses the concepts of scan set design, pseudorandom test vector generation, output response compression, and separate scan set loops to test the SSI-MSI logic on the LRM. It also stores interim test results and run-time fault information to isolate the hard-to-reproduce failures and performs verification of interchip and intermodule wiring     

Liquid phase sintering of tungsten composites in space: Results of tests performed in Texus

Tungsten-nickel-iron composites are commersially fabricated from powders by liquid phase sintering. They consist of almost spherical tungsten particles in a matrix of nickel-iron-tungsten. A way to contribute to the understanding of the sintering mechanism and the mechanical properties is to study composites with a low amount of tungsten particles. Depending on the great difference in density between the particles and the matrix, this can only be done under microgravity. A primary sintering test of the tungsten composite was done in space using the Texus 10 modul. Prealloys were fabricated from metal powder mixtures, which were hot isostatic pressed. Liquid phase sintering of the two tungsten composites under microgravity has shown that the particles are evenly distributed and that no segregation occured due to convection. Despite an uneven distribution of the particles in the preformed specimens and the short melting period the patricle distribution has become even. Compared to short time sintering tests made on four alloys in the laboratory, the growth and separation of the particles was fast.