Controlling spacecraft by means of solar radiation

The possibility of using solar sails in Earth orbit is investigated. The characteristic parameters of a solar sail consisting of six spheres attached by mutually orthogonal long rods are estimated.     

Proposed Method for Instrument Landing of Aircraft Using Combined Radio and Inertial Guidance

The introduction of a satisfactory instrument landing system making use of existing ILAS radio systems would be of great economic value to the airline industry, and to other aeronautical activities requiring flying under low-visibility weather conditions. It is the purpose of this correspondence to indicate a possible solution to this problem of many years' standing, and to comment on the use of existing facilities as the basis for this solution.     

Harnessing functional food strategies for the health challenges of space travel—Fermented soy for astronaut nutrition

Astronauts face numerous health challenges during long-duration space missions, including diminished immunity, bone loss and increased risk of radiation-induced carcinogenesis. Changes in the intestinal flora of astronauts may contribute to these problems. Soy-based fermented food products could provide a nutritional strategy to help alleviate these challenges by incorporating beneficial lactic acid bacteria, while reaping the benefits of soy isoflavones. We carried out strain selection for the development of soy ferments, selecting strains of lactic acid bacteria showing the most effective growth and fermentation ability in soy milk (Streptococcus thermophilus ST5, Bifidobacterium longum R0175 and Lactobacillus helveticus R0052). Immunomodulatory bioactivity of selected ferments was assessed using an in vitro challenge system with human intestinal epithelial and macrophage cell lines, and selected ferments show the ability to down-regulate production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-8 following challenge with tumour necrosis factor-alpha. The impact of fermentation on vitamin B1 and B6 levels and on isoflavone biotransformation to agluconic forms was also assessed, with strain variation-dependent biotransformation ability detected. Overall this suggests that probiotic bacteria can be successfully utilized to develop soy-based fermented products targeted against health problems associated with long-term space travel.     

Theory of Scalloping Amplitude Errors in Standard VOR Bearing Indications

A rigorous theory is developed for the course scalloping amplitudes observed in the bearing indications of an airborne standard VOR receiver in the presence of multipath signals. The VOR transmitting antenna pattern characteristics, the scattering properties of the multipath source, and the effects of ground reflection are all built into the theory so that their combined effects on the scalloping may be quantitatively investigated. The analysis assumes that the VOR receiver characteristics are ideal.     

Estimating matched filter amplitude probability functions byfailure rate analysis

Performance analysis of echolocation systems requires knowledge of the probability density function (pdf) or cumulative distribution function (cdf) of a matched filter output. A method is presented to estimate these and other probability functions from data by estimating the failure rate function, a function employed in reliability theory. The method can also be used to derive approximations to closed-form probability functions. The method is demonstrated using experimental sonar and radar clutter data and a closed-form radar clutter model     

Ship-mounted satellite tracking antenna with fuzzy logic control

A robust satellite tracking antenna is designed to cope with the sensor imprecision and the highly noisy sea environment. Fuzzy logic is utilized for the controller imprecision and the highly noisy sea environment. Fuzzy logic is utilized for the controller design as well as inaccurate data interpretation. The fuzzy-rule based controller eliminates the need to model the nonlinear and noisy ship-mounted antenna system. With Global Positioning System and the tracking controller the antenna can be brought to a neighborhood of the desired orientation. Spiral search with signal power feedback can then servo the antenna to the true orientation. Computer simulations and antenna experiments verify our design is indeed robust and effective     

Identification of Rotating Assembly Inertial and Bearing Parameters

The problem of estimating the state of a turbopump rotating assembly and identifying unknown products of inertia and unknown bearing parameters is considered. A linearized, extended Kalman filtering approach has been used and found to be successful for both state estimation and parameter identification in an inherently nonlinear problem. The input data was simulated Bently test data which was obtained from a verified 12-dimensional state-space model and was compared with real Bently test data obtained from NASA. The results prove the feasibility of using this model and this type of test data to obtain the hidden parameters of a typical turbopump rotating assembly. This method should lead to improved performance by allowing improved balancing of the rotor and giving improved knowledge of the bearing reactions.     

Design of Truncated Sequential Tests for Rapidly Fading Radar Targets

Curves and equations are presented from which the exact performance of truncated sequential tests can be determined for one important case: the biased square-law detector for the detection of rapidly fading targets. The method of generating functions is used to derive probability distributions for sample size. It is shown how these probability distributions can be used to determine truncation errors and the effects of multiple-resolution elements. Sample calculations are performed to determine the effects of a particular truncation procedure.