Chromosome instability of HPRT-mutant subclones induced by ionising radiation of various LET.

The induction of HPRT-mutations and survival of Chinese hamster cells (line B11ii-FAF28, clone 431) were studied after irradiation by 4He and 12C-ions of various LET (20-360 keV/micrometers), produced by the U-200 heavy ion accelerator. The RBE increases with LET up to the maximum at 100-200 keV/micrometers and then decreases. Cytogenetic analysis was performed on the HPRT-mutant subclones selected from unirradiated Chinese hamster V-79 cells and from HPRT-mutant subclones that arose after exposure to gamma-rays, 1 GeV protons and 14N-ions (LET-77 keV/micrometers), produced by the synchrophasotron and the U-400M heavy ion accelerator. Slow growing mutant subclones were observed. The cytogenetic properties of individual clones were highly heterogeneous and chromosome instability was observed in both spontaneous and radiation-induced mutants. Chromosome instability was highest among spontaneous mutants and decreased with increasing LET.     

Design of the TRIO system-on-chip for aerospace

Several design and testing aspects of the TRIO smart sensor data acquisition chip, developed by JHU/APL for NASA spacecraft applications are presented. TRIO includes a 10 bit self-corrected analog-to-digital converter (ADC), 16/32 analog inputs, a front end multiplexer with selectable aquisition time, a current source, memory, serial and parallel bus, and control logic. So far TRIO is used in many missions including Contour, Messenger, Stereo, Pluto, and the generic JPL X2000 spacecraft bus.     

Controlled solar sail transfers into the near-sun orbits

We present results of numerical simulations of trajectories of a space probe with a flat solar sail which moves from a circular Earth orbit to near-Sun regions. We consider the upper limit of the sail temperature as the basic restriction. We also examine the planar (ecliptic) solar sail transfer with gravity-assist flybys around planets.     

Perestroika and glasnost in the soviet space programme A personal view

For many years the world-famous Kettering Group of amateur satellite observers have confounded many more ‘official’ organization with their accucary in tracking Soviet space launches. In this article the group's founder, Geoffrey E. Perry, MBE, presents his personal perspective on current developments in the Soviet space programme. The USSR's increased openness about non-sensitive issues is to be welcomed, he concludes, but the Kettering Group has work to do yet.     

Next generation test support systems for the aircraft life cycle

The objective of this paper is to present the experience of EADS in using a common test support system for integration and qualification testing, aircraft ground equipment (AGE), in-service software maintenance facilities (ISMF) and ground crew training. EADS uses its test support system AIDASS (Advanced Integrated Data Acquisition and Stimulation System) in different phases of the aircraft life cycle. AIDASS is comprised of a real-time front-end system and a standard PC for the user interface. The EADS test support system is used in almost all phases of the aircraft life cycle, for instance, for integration and verification testing, as aircraft ground equipment, for in-service software maintenance and training of ground crews. This test support system is used for the software maintenance in the TORNADO program at different airforces in Europe. The airforces also share test setups with industry     

Analysis of queuing behavior of automatic ESM systems

Radar electronic support measures (ESM) systems detect active emitters in a given area and determine their identities and bearings. The high arrival rate of radar pulses in dense emitter environments demands fast automatic processing of arriving pulses so that the ESM system can fulfill its functions properly in real time. Yet, the performance analysis of automatic ESM system in real life Is difficult since both pulse arrivals and widths can be specified only probabilistically. The success of queuing theory in many applications such as computer communication networks and flow-control has encouraged designers to utilize queuing theory in qualifying and judging the performance of automatic ESM systems in dense emitter environments. The queuing behavior of these systems is analytically evaluated under different service disciplines and elaborate computer simulations validate the results. The analysis involves statistical modeling of arrival and departure processes as well as distribution of service times. It permits estimating the blocking probability due to high arrival rates of intercepted radar pulses or due to limited speed of the deinterleaver processor. Queuing analysis is shown to be quite useful to quantitatively assess tradeoffs in ESM systems design     

Time-dependent thermal X-ray afterglows from GRBS

Time-dependent thermal X-ray spectra are calculated from physically plausible conditions around GRB. It is shown that account for time-dependent ionization processes strongly affects the observed spectra of hot rarefied plasma. These calculations may provide an alternative explanation to the observed X-ray lines of early GRBs afterglows (such as GRB 011211). Our technique will allow one to obtain independent constraints on the GRB collimation angle and on the clumpiness of circumstellar matter.     

The Fine Structure of the AKR Electromagnetic Field as Measured by the Interball-2 Satellite

The fine structure of the Auroral Kilometric Radiation (AKR) is studied using multicomponent measurements of the electric component of the electromagnetic field in the frequency band 4 kHz–1 MHz (the POLRAD experiment onboard the INTERBALL-2 satellite). Special attention is paid to the measurements near the source of the AKR: under conditions when the lower boundary of the emission range descended sufficiently low, down to the local gyrofrequency of electrons. From the analysis of the electric field structure the conclusion is drawn that the bulk of the AKR power is carried by the signal component fast variable in time and frequency (flickering component). The power of a constant component (continuum) is lower by at least an order of magnitude. During strong bursts of the AKR, the relative contribution of the flickering component increases. The spatial structure of the zone of generation has at least three characteristic scales along and across the magnetic field.     

Aperture error mitigation via local-state estimation for frequency-based emitter location

This paper considers the problem of locating a stationary coherent emitter via a single moving platform making frequency measurements in the presence of aperture state uncertainty. It is shown that the estimated emitter location is most sensitive to the receiving aperture velocity uncertainty. The required aperture velocity accuracy is determined through a noninfinitesimal perturbation analysis. A solution to location accuracy enhancement with a minimal hardware addition is attempted. It is shown that this can be achieved by mounting a high-resolution tri-axis microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer at the aperture to measure its velocity, which can deviate significantly from that estimated by the on-board navigation system. The Doppler shifts of the GPS signal carrier frequency, whenever it can be acquired through the aperture, are also considered as a way to aid the aperture velocity measurement. A decentralized, federated processing method for the aperture velocity estimate referenced at the aperture, integrating all measurement data, is presented. An upper bound for the error of aperture velocity estimate is derived. The potential for significant accuracy enhancement for emitter location is demonstrated.