X-ray emission from the planetary nebula NGC 1360

The EXOSAT observatory has detected the nucleus of NGC 1360 in four photometric energy bands. The data rules out that the emission is from blackbody origin. Initial fits made with LTE model atmosphere spectra require the presence of highly ionized Oxygen and Neon in the stellar atmosphere.     

The changing face of the European space sector: the policies of Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom

The current international economic and technical climate has caused changes in the European space sector such that Italy is now struggling to maintain third place in the European hierarchy, the Franco-German relationship has become less dominant, while the UK is becoming more open towards European cooperation. This article analyses the current policies of Germany, the UK and Italy and examines their operating methods. The author speculates on the outlook for these countries in the next 10 years: neither the UK, nor Italy looks set to become a major player and German policy will depend on the success of its upcoming strategic plan. All these countries, and France, however, will need to engage in intensive bilateral consultations if they wish to compete in worldwide markets.     

Total electron content at low latitudes and its comparison with the IRI90

We used total electron content (TEC) data measured by Faraday rotation technique over Cachoeira Paulista (22.5°S, 45°W), in Brazil, to study the TEC variations with the solar flux at 10.7 cm (F10.7) and to compare the results with the IRI90 predictions. The data were divided into summer, equinox and winter. During the analysed period F10.7 varied from 66 up to 330. Our data shows that the observed TEC at 1600 LT (around the diurnal maximum) and at 0500 LT (around the diurnal minimum) increases with F10.7 until saturation is reached which occurs at F10.7≈210 to 220 for equinox and summer, and at F10.7≈180 for winter months. Comparison with the IRI90 predictions shows that IRI overestimates the TEC at 0500 LT for all solar flux values. At 1600 LT, IRI overestimates the observed TEC for low solar flux but underestimates it for high solar flux values.     

引信目标RCS理论算法的发展及应用

论述了引信近场雷达散射截面(RCS)计算的特殊性及难点，同时介绍了计算引信目标RCS的多种高频理论预估方法，着重比较了物理光学面元法与几何光学法，并讨论了其他一些理论方法的特点。通过某型导弹的应用实例，指出了引信目标模型在雷达引信目标系统仿真中的重要作用。     

辐射换热条件下空间薄壁圆管结构瞬态温度场、热变形有限元分析

对航天结构中常见的辐射换热条件下的空间薄壁圆管结构，构造了一种用于非线性瞬态温度计算的傅立叶－有限单元。圆管温度沿杆长用有限元离散，沿周向分布展成三角函数。圆管温度单元每个结点包含平均温度、余弦和正弦分布温度幅三个自由度，并且在每个时间步内实现了平均温度增量与沿截面温差增量的解耦。在结构热变形分析时圆管单元节点上既承受温度轴力，又承受截面温差导致的热弯矩。采用这种单元对非线性换热条件下的复杂空间结构进行离散可以较准确地反映结构的温度场与热变形。经与前人的解析解和三维有限元结果的验证，证明该单元是可靠的。对太阳能帆板梁与空间抛物面天线的热－结构分析说明这种新单元的应用价值。     

Model-based orientation-independent 3-D machine vision techniques

Orientation-dependent techniques for the identification of a three-dimensional (3-D) object by a machine vision system are represented in parts. In the first part, the data consist of intensity images of polyhedral objects obtained by a single camera, while in the second part, the data consist of range images of curved objects obtained by a laser scanner. In both cases, the attributed graph representation of the 3-D object surface is used to drive the respective algorithm. In this representation, a graph node represents a surface path and a link, the adjacency between two patches. The attributes assigned to nodes are moment invariants of the corresponding face for polyhedral objects. For range images, the Gaussian curvature is used as a segmentation criterion for providing symbolic shape attributes. Identification is achieved by an efficient graph-matching algorithm used to match the graph obtained from the data to a subgraph of one of the model graphs stored in the computer memory