Effect of spectral distribution of energetic electrons on wave-particle interaction and precipitated energy input

The precipitated energy flux as affected by the presence of parallel electric field and geomagnetic field distortions have been obtained using a complete kinetic treatment of pitch angle scattering by whistler waves. Four different energy spectra have been used to show that the precipitated energy flux depends on the spectral details of the interacting electron ensemble.     

Optimal control of the Shuttle-Tethered-Subsatellite system

Alternate control laws based on an application of the linear regulator problem are developed for possible use in the operation of the Shuttle-Tethered-Subsatellite system. Control is assumed to be provided only by modulating the tension level in the tether as a function of the difference between actual and commanded tether line length, length rate, in (orbital) plane swing angle and swing angle rate. Necessary and sufficient conditions for stability of the (linear) system motion in the vicinity of its nominal local vertical orientation are developed. By proper selection of the state and control penalty matrices it is possible to obtain faster responses with no increase in maximum power levels for use in station keeping when compared with alternate control strategies. The weighting matrices are adjusted in a piecewise adaptive manner to provide control law gains in order to achieve a smooth deployment history. Successful retrievel is dependent mainly on the initial conditions and the rate at which the commanded length is reduced.     

Stability of Gyro with Harmonic Nonlinearity in Spinning Vehicle

A stability analysis of a single-axis rate gyroscope mounted in a space vehicle which is spinning with uncertain angular velocity ?z about the spin axis of the gyro is presented. The complete nonlinear equation of motion, which includes the fundamental and second harmonic nonlinear terms, arising due to ?z, is considered. For time-varying ?z(t), using the circle criterion, it is shown that the gimbal motion is globally asymptotically stable if the Nyquist plot of the linear transfer function of the gyro lies in the interior of a certain disk. For the case of uncertain constant ?z, using the Lyapunov approach, conditions for global asymptotic stability (GAS) and asymptotic stability are derived. Stable regions in parameter space of the gyro and state space are obtained. Analytical relations for the selection of gyro parameters are derived.