Long-term evolution of Galileo operational orbits by canonical perturbation theory

Galileo operational orbits are slightly affected by the 3 to 5 tesseral resonance, an effect that can be much more important in the case of disposal orbits. Proceeding by canonical perturbation theory we show that the part of the long-term Hamiltonian corresponding to the non-centralities of the Earth's gravitational potential can be replaced by an intermediary that shows the pendulum dynamics of the 3 to 5 tesseral resonance problem. Inclusion of lunisolar perturbations requires a semi-analytical integration, which is compared with the corresponding results from the well-established Draper Semi-analytical Satellite Theory.     

Surreal estate: addressing the issue of ‘Immovable Property Rights on the Moon’

At a time when scientific and commercial interest in the Moon is being reinvigorated it is becoming fashionable for ordinary individuals to ‘buy’ plots on the lunar surface, with the ‘vendors’ arguing that an absence of specific prohibition of individual private activity in space makes such action legal. It is therefore time for the legal community to address this situation by investigating just how legal such activity is—and bringing their findings to the attention of governments. This can be done through an examination of the relationship between national law and international space law, of the provisions of international space law—especially Article 2 of the Outer Space Treaty—and by answering any claims to private ownership of immovable property. Aside from the fact that individuals appear to be being duped, the pursuit of property claims on the Moon could impede future activities aimed at benefiting society.     

Cell biology of plant gravity sensing.

The debate about whether gravity sensing relies upon statoliths (amyloplasts that sediment) has intensified with recent findings of gravitropism in starchless mutants and of claims of hydrostatic gravity sensing. Starch and significant plastid sedimentation are not necessary for reduced sensing in mutant roots, but plastids might function here if there were a specialized receptor for plastid mass e.g. in the ER. Alternatively, components in addition to amyloplasts might provide mass for sensing. The nucleus is dense and its position is regulated, but no direct data exist for its role in sensing. If the weight of the protoplast functioned in sensing, why would there be specific cytological specializations favoring sedimentation rather than cell mass? Gravity has multiple effects on plants in addition to gravitropism. There may be more than one mechanism of gravity sensing.     

Calculations and observations of solar particle enhancements to the radiation environment at aircraft altitudes.

Solar particle events can give greatly enhanced radiation at aircraft altitudes, but are both difficult to predict and to calculate retrospectively. This enhanced radiation can give significant dose to aircrew and greatly increase the rate of single event effects in avionics. Validation of calculations is required but only very few events have been measured in flight. The CREAM detector on Concorde detected the event of 29 September 1989 and also four periods of enhancement during the events of 19-24 October 1989. Instantaneous rates were enhanced by up to a factor ten compared with quiet-time cosmic rays, while flight-averages were enhanced by up to a factor six. Calculations are described for increases in radiation at aircraft altitudes using solar particle spectra in conjunction with Monte Carlo radiation transport codes. In order to obtain solar particle spectra with sufficient accuracy over the required energy range it is necessary to combine space data with measurements from a wide range of geomagnetically dispersed, ground-level neutron monitors. Such spectra have been obtained for 29 September 1989 and 24 October 1989 and these are used to calculate enhancements that are compared with the data from CREAM on Concorde. The effect of cut-off rigidity suppression by geomagnetic activity is shown to be significant. For the largest event on record on 23 February 1956, there are no space data but there are data from a number of ground-level cosmic-ray detectors. Predictions for all events show very steep dependencies on both latitude and altitude. At high latitude and altitude (17 km) calculated increases with respect to cosmic rays are a factor 70 and 500 respectively for 29 September 1989 and 23 February 1956. The levels of radiation for high latitude, subsonic routes are calculated, using London to Los Angeles as an example, and can exceed 1 mSv, which is significantly higher than for Concorde routes from Europe to New York. The sensitivity of the calculations to spectral fitting, geomagnetic activity and other assumptions demonstrates the requirement for widespread carriage of radiation monitors on aircraft.     

Top-level modeling of an ALS system utilizing object-oriented techniques.

The possible configuration of an Advanced Life Support (ALS) System capable of supporting human life for long-term space missions continues to evolve as researchers investigate potential technologies and configurations. To facilitate the decision process the development of acceptable, flexible, and dynamic mathematical computer modeling tools capable of system level analysis is desirable. Object-oriented techniques have been adopted to develop a dynamic top-level model of an ALS system.This approach has several advantages; among these, object-oriented abstractions of systems are inherently modular in architecture. Thus, models can initially be somewhat simplistic, while allowing for adjustments and improvements. In addition, by coding the model in Java, the model can be implemented via the World Wide Web, greatly encouraging the utilization of the model. Systems analysis is further enabled with the utilization of a readily available backend database containing information supporting the model. The subsystem models of the ALS system model include Crew, Biomass Production, Waste Processing and Resource Recovery, Food Processing and Nutrition, and the Interconnecting Space. Each subsystem model and an overall model have been developed. Presented here is the procedure utilized to develop the modeling tool, the vision of the modeling tool, and the current focus for each of the subsystem models.     

Atmospheric dynamics in the "Laboratory Biosphere" with wheat and sweet potato crops.

Laboratory Biosphere is a 40-m3 closed life system equipped with 12,000 W of high pressure sodium lamps over planting beds with 5.37 m2 of soil. Atmospheric composition changes due to photosynthetic fixation of carbon dioxide and corresponding production of oxygen or the reverse, respiration, are observed in short timeframes, e.g., hourly. To focus on inherent characteristics of the crop as distinct from its area or the volume of the chamber, we report fixation and respiration rates in mmol h-1 m-2 of planted area. An 85-day crop of USU Apogee wheat under a 16-h lighted/8-h dark regime peaked in fixation rate at about 100 mmol h-1 m-2 approximately 24 days after planting. Light intensity was about 840 micromoles m-2 s-1. Dark respiration peaked at about 31 mmol h-1 m-2 at the same time. Thereafter, both fixation and respiration declined toward zero as harvest time approached. A residual soil respiration rate of about 1.9 mmol h-1 m-2 was observed in the dark closed chamber for 100 days after the harvest. A 126-day crop of Tuskegee TU-82-155 sweet potato behaved quite differently. Under a 680 micromoles m-2 s-1, 18-h lighted/6-h dark regime, fixation during lighted hours rose to a plateau ranging from about 27 to 48 mmol h-1 m-2 after 42 days and dark respiration settled into a range of 12-23 mmol h-1 m-2. These rates continued unabated until the harvest at 126 days, suggesting that tuber biomass production might have continued at about the same rate for some time beyond the harvest time that was exercised in this experiment. In both experiments CO2 levels were allowed to range widely from a few hundred to about 3000 ppm, which permitted observation of fixation rates both at varying CO2 concentrations and at each number of days after planting. This enables plotting the fixation rate as a function of both variables. Understanding the atmospheric dynamics of individual crops will be essential for design and atmospheric management of more complex CELSS which integrate the simultaneous growth of several crops as in a sustainable remote life support system.     

Novel sensor technology for monitoring and control of critical plant nutrient parameters.

A novel dielectric sensor technology has been developed for monitoring and control of plant nutrient delivery systems as part of NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) program. A unique measurement phenomenon was discovered in which the electrostatic field is shunted to a third terminal of the sensor, resulting in a much greater sensitivity to changes in the complex dielectric properties of the nutrient solution. Based on this phenomenon, a small, flexible, thin-film shunting dielectric sensor (SDS) was designed to provide low-frequency, non-invasive measurement of both the thickness and nutrient concentration of the layer of solution on a plant growth surface. Test results indicate a sensitivity of +/- 0.05mm in layer thickness while characterization of the ability to measure nutrient concentration continues. The development plan for this sensor is presented and other applications are discussed.     

Avionics cost of ownership

The cost of ownership of avionics includes not only the development and acquisition cost, but also the yearly operating and support (O and S) (maintenance) cost of hardware, software, and support equipment. This paper presents an avionics cost of ownership methodology developed for USAF, its data sources, and business metrics computed for USAF decision makers as we move toward operating avionics as a business. The business model is used to determine which existing avionics are candidates for replacement with new technology and to prioritize the replacements. These avionics are often used on multiple aircraft types which necessitates analysis of the causes of the high cost of ownership on each type. Databases are used to document the processing functions, data flow, and constraints of the item being analyzed. These constraints include physical, environmental, electrical, and data interfaces. Databases containing alternatives are evaluated against standard mission scenarios for aircraft utilizing these high cost avionics to determine their impact on performance, O and S costs, and mission effectiveness. The results of the foregoing analyses steps are then used in life cycle cost analyses which consider different retrofit scenarios for each alternative for each aircraft type against the avionics being analyzed for replacement. The alternatives are prioritized and a risk analysis performed considering technical, schedule, and cost growth risks. The avionics cost of ownership methodology described in this paper processes data from USAF maintenance organizations. This has revealed the very large expenditures being made to support highly unreliable avionics. These methods can be applied to all military and commercial aircraft systems to determine not only the cost of ownership of existing systems, but also the cost of ownership of new systems when they are retrofit