Software replacement of test module adapters for depot instrumentation due to obsolescence

Depot-level automatic test equipment has been used over the years by various facets of both the government and commercial industry. Over time, the instrumentation used in the depot will need to be repaired or replaced and, oftentimes, the older instruments are no longer serviceable or manufactured. This paper discusses how to replace the obsolete instrument and its associated hardware. Test module adapter with a software module and driver that allows compatibility between the original test executive and the modern instrument without re-hosting existing test program sets. Systems & Electronics, Inc. has implemented this procedure for a digitizer and precision DC power supply on a depot that utilizes the IEEE-488 general purpose interface bus (GPIB) for communication between the control computer and instrumentation.     

Cloudiness over the Eastern Equatorial Pacific for summer 1983 from geostationary satellite data

The extraordinary El-Nino event of 1982–83 started to fade out in the late spring of 1983. However the sea surface temperature of the Eastern Equatorial Pacific still remained warmer than normal in the following summer. To investigate the characteristics of this late transition phase of the 1982–83 El-Nino, the GOES-West satellite data of July and August of 1983 are analyzed. The outgoing longwave radiation field and the distribution of cloudiness, which was derived by using a new threshold technique, are obtained. The longwave radiation field is compared to monthly average climatic indices commonly used at the Climatic Analysis Center. The results of cloud analysis showed some interesting features during the decaying phase of the 1982–83 El-Nino. The diurnal variation of cloudiness indicates that total cloud amounts decrease from 8 GMT to 20 GMT over most of the area. This overall study demonstrates preliminary results of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project of the World Climate Research Program.     

Human Factors R&D Requirements for Future Aerospace Cockpit Systems

Cockpits are rapidly changing from dedicated instruments to multifunction displays, integrated controls, and computer controlled subsystems. Solid-state displays, voice recognition, and artificial intelligence are just a few of the emerging technologies that will help the pilot perform his mission in the future. Early investigations involving mission analysis, sensor data, software development, and evaluations will be required to insure total integration. These new technologies will require extensive human factors research in the areas of anthropometry, displays, controls, human/computer interface, automation, and workload assessment to support the integration process. This research will help provide weapons systems that have increased survivability and reduced pilot workload. This paper addresses some of the human factors research that will be needed to help develop future cockpit systems. It also reviews the basic evolution of the crew station and some of the emerging technologies that will drive human factors research in the 1990s. In the past, crew systems were designed to provide each aircraft function with a corresponding instrument display, such as airspeed indicator, altimeter, attitude direction indicator, vertical velocity indicator, etc. The bulk of the information had to be integrated by the pilot. Present systems are in a state of transition. We are rapidly moving from individual instruments to multifunction displays. The C-17, HH-60, F-15E, B-1B, F-111D, and F-16C/D aircraft use multifunction, cathode-ray tube displays, some of which are color. Another trend is the continued increase in the use of integrated controls.     

Identification Techniques for SARSAT Signals

A process for the identification of emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signals related to search and rescue satellite-aided tracking (SARSAT) is presented. The ELT identification process is particularly important in order to increase the probability of detection and eliminate sources of interference from the data set. A set of ELT signal parameters is introduced and methods for estimating these parameters are developed. A theoretical analysis and performance evaluation of these methods is provided.     

Chemical protection against ionizing radiation.

Some of the problems related to chemical protection against ionizing radiation are discussed with emphasis on: definition, classification, degree of protection, mechanisms of action and toxicity. Results on the biological response modifyers (BRMs) and on the combination of nontoxic (i.e. low) doses of sulphydryl radioprotectors and BRMs are presented.     

Instrumentation for investigation of the depth-dose distribution by the Liulin-5 instrument of a human phantom on the Russian segment of ISS for estimation of the radiation risk during long term space flights.

Described is the Liulin-5 experiment and instrumentation, developed for investigation of the space radiation doses depth distribution in a human phantom on the Russian Segment of the International Space Station (ISS). Liulin-5 experiment is a part of the international project MATROSHKA-R on ISS. The experiment MATROSHKA-R is aimed to study the depth dose distribution at the sites of critical organs of the human body, using models of human body-anthropomorphic and spherical tissue-equivalent phantoms. The aim of Liulin-5 experiment is long term (4-5 years) investigation of the radiation environment dynamics inside the spherical tissue-equivalent phantom, mounted in different places of the Russian Segment of ISS. Energy deposition spectra, linear energy transfer spectra, flux and dose rates for protons and the biologically-relevant heavy ion components of the galactic cosmic radiation will be measured simultaneously with near real time resolution at different depths of the phantom by a telescope of silicon detectors. Data obtained together with data from other active and passive dosimeters will be used to estimate the radiation risk to the crewmembers, verify the models of radiation environment in low Earth orbit, validate body transport model and correlate organ level dose to skin dose. Presented are the test results of the prototype unit. The spherical phantom will be flown on the ISS in 2004 year and Liulin-5 experiment is planned for 2005 year.     

Cell inactivation, repair and mutation induction in bacteria after heavy ion exposure: results from experiments at accelerators and in space.

To understand the mechanisms of accelerated heavy ions on biological matter, the responses of spores of B. subtilis to this structured high LET radiation was investigated applying two different approaches. 1) By the use of the Biostack concept, the inactivation probability as a function of radial distance to single particles' trajectory (i.e. impact parameter) was determined in space experiments as well as at accelerators using low fluences of heavy ions. It was found that spores can survive even a central hit and that the effective range of inactivation extends far beyond impact parameters where inactivation by delta-ray dose would be effective. Concerning the space experiment, the inactivation cross section exceeds those from comparable accelerator experiments by roughly a factor of 20. 2) From fluence effect curves, cross sections for inactivation and mutation induction, and the efficiency of repair processes were determined. They are influenced by the ions characteristics in a complex manner. According to dependence on LET, at least 3 LET ranges can be differentiated: A low LET range (app. < 200 keV/micrometers), where cross sections for inactivation and mutation induction follow a common curve for different ions and where repair processes are effective; an intermediate LET range of the so-called saturation cross section with negligible mutagenic and repair efficiency; and a high LET range (>1000 keV/micrometers) where the biological endpoints are majorly dependent on atomic mass and energy of the ion under consideration.     

Utilization of white potatoes in CELSS.

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) have a strong potential as a useful crop species in a functioning CELSS. The cultivar Denali has produced 37.5 g m-2 d-1 when grown for 132 days with the first 40 days under a 12-h photoperiod and a light:dark temperature cycle of 20 degrees C:16 degrees C, and then 92 days under continuous irradiance and a temperature of 16 degrees C. Irradiance was at 725 micromoles m-2 s-1 PPF and carbon dioxide at 1000 micromoles mol-1. The dried tubers had 82% carbohydrates, 9% protein and 0.6% fat. Other studies have shown that carbon dioxide supplementation (1000 micromoles mol-1) is of significant benefit under 12-h irradiance but less benefit under 24 h irradiance. Irradiance cycles of 60 minutes light and 30 minutes dark caused a reduction of more than 50% in tuber weight compared to cycles of 16 h light and 8 h dark. A diurnal temperature change of 22 degrees C for the 12-h light period to 14 degrees C during the 12-h dark period gave increased yields of 30% and 10% for two separate cultivars, compared with plants grown under a constant 18 degrees C temperature. Cultivar screening under continuous irradiance and elevated temperatures (28 degrees C) for 8 weeks of growth indicated that the cvs Haig, Denali, Atlantic, Desiree and Rutt had the best potential for tolerance to these conditions. Harvesting of tubers from plants at weekly intervals, beginning at 8 weeks after planting, did not increase yield over a single final harvest. Spacing of plants on 0.055 centers produced greater yield per m2 than spacing at 0.11 or 0.22 m2. Plants maintained 0.33 meters apart (0.111 m2 per plant) in beds produced the same yields when separated by dividers in the root matrix as when no separation was made.     

Transient Nonstationary Behavior of a Delay Line Discriminator

The development of numerical methods for studying the transient nonstationary behavior of a delay line discriminator is presented. Expressions are developed for the mean and the variance of the output noise process. For the cases where the output is stationary, power density spectra are found.     

The effect of radiation on the long term productivity of a plant based CELSS.

Mutations occur at a higher rate in space than under terrestrial conditions, primarily due to an increase in radiation levels. These mutations may effect the productivity of plants found in a controlled ecological life support system (CELSS). Computer simulations of plants with different ploidies, modes of reproduction, lethality thresholds, viability thresholds and susceptibilities to radiation induced mutations were performed under space normal and solar flare conditions. These simulations identified plant characteristics that would enable plants to retain high productivities over time in a CELSS.