Generating requirements for complex embedded systems using State Analysis

It has become clear that spacecraft system complexity is reaching a threshold where customary methods of control are no longer affordable or sufficiently reliable. At the heart of this problem are the conventional approaches to systems and software engineering based on subsystem-level functional decomposition, which fail to scale in the tangled web of interactions typically encountered in complex spacecraft designs. Furthermore, there is a fundamental gap between the requirements on software specified by systems engineers and the implementation of these requirements by software engineers. Software engineers must perform the translation of requirements into software code, hoping to accurately capture the systems engineer's understanding of the system behavior, which is not always explicitly specified. This gap opens up the possibility for misinterpretation of the systems engineer's intent, potentially leading to software errors. This problem is addressed by a systems engineering methodology called State Analysis, which provides a process for capturing system and software requirements in the form of explicit models. This paper describes how requirements for complex aerospace systems can be developed using State Analysis, using representative spacecraft examples.     

载人航天可靠性与空间环境试验

文章通过对国外载人航天事故统计,分析各种空间环境条件对航天器及航天员的影响,阐述了空间环境试验对提高载人航天可靠性的重要意义,提出为了提高载人航天的可靠性,应进行充分和严格的空间环境模拟试验。     

振动对空间光通信系统误码率影响的分析

在空间光通信系统中，由于卫星平台的振动，使得光发射机发生振动，从而对通信系统的误码率产生影响，本文针对光射光束为高斯光束时，振动对误码率的影响问题进行研究。结果表明，在振动时不仅振幅影响着误码率，而且波长也对误码率有影响，但通信距离对误码率的影响不大，一般可以忽略。     

磁粉探伤机周向电流单片微机控制器的研制

本文介绍一种新型磁粉探伤机周向电流的单片计算机控制器，文中详细介绍控制器的控制原理，结构，控制程序。该控制器对周向电流采用闭环控制，直接设定磁化电流，可保证电流稳定，电流设定值和实际电流值相差小于１０％，控制器还具有了出错检测，自动退磁功能。     

空天飞机的计算流体力学分析

本文分析了空天飞机空气动力学的特点和计算流体力学在发展空天飞机中的作用,讨论了发展空天飞机对计算流体力学的要求。强调了计算流体力学、地面试验和飞行试验应该相互结合成一个整体。在这基础上,探讨了利用地面试验对计算程序进行“确认”、“校准”和“鉴定”以及鉴定计算程序对地面试验的要求。本文还从计算方法、外流、进气道流动、喷管流动、燃烧室流动等方面,综述了空天飞机计算流体力学分析的最近进展和尚待解决的问题。最后对发展我国空天飞机计算流体力学提出了建议。     

Comments on the Communication and Data Problems Associated with a Mars Trip During a Conjunction Phase

The analysis and comments presented in this paper are meant to establish the general communication parameters associated with Martian flyby probes and with lander and manned vehicles. Fundamental data transfer problems are reviewed to define comparisons and trends of tradeoffs for future studies. Selected focal points are based upon the long propagation path length, with inherent time delays, and the high noise produced by the sun. These problems are magnified because large quantities of data must be obtained to satisfy the needs of the scientific community and the curiosity of an interested public. A comparison of two communication systems is provided: the microwave spectrum and the optical spectrum, as represented by the microwaves at 2.3 GHz and the laser at 6328 ?. A method of cost effectiveness or value received from space missions (a criterion of power input for data quantity received) is also presented.     

Checkout: A Changing Technology

On-board/in-flight checkout of future aerospace systems will necessitate a fundamental departure from today's design and checkout activities. The interrelationship of checkout, incorporated into prime vehicular functions, man as a subsystem, and standardization Of hardware/software must be considered as a functional and integral entity if the efforts of today's long-range planning are to become tomorrow's reality. This paper will describe future systems checkout, maintenance and support considerations, and actions and tentative measures necessary for implementation. The realization of the implementation of these concepts into functional elements will depend, accurately and economically, upon the degree of government perceptiveness and the extent of industrial support.     

Advanced Development of ESG Strapdown Navigation Systems

The fundamental problem of inertial navigation, double integration of acceleration to obtain position, is defined and discussed. Mechanizations of both space-stable and local-vertical platform systems are exhibited. The synthesis problem for an electrically suspended gyro (ESG) strapdown system is defined and discussed: readout, readout errors due to vehicle motion, synchronization of readout with system computer, alignment, correction and calibration for mass unbalance drift, and digital mechanization. Alignment, calibration, and acceleration measurement are also discussed. Sources of error involved in the electronic gimbaling including those peculiar to strapdown configuration are discussed and compared to mechanically gimbaled systems. Advanced developments required in the component and systems areas are listed, and it is shown that such development will lead to reduced complexity, higher accuracy, and increased reliability and utility for inertial systems.     

Recent developments in micrometeoroid simulation

In the first part the state of the art of the most advanced micrometeoroid simulation techniques is reviewed. Then a new accelerator is described, which was developed jointly by the Technische Universität München and the N.A.S.A. George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. Finally the use of this new technique is indicated for basic research in fields other than astronautics.     

Microgravity effects on water supply and substrate properties in porous matrix root support systems.

The control of water content and water movement in granular substrate-based plant root systems in microgravity is a complex problem. Improper water and oxygen delivery to plant roots has delayed studies of the effects of microgravity on plant development and the use of plants in physical and mental life support systems. Our international effort (USA, Russia and Bulgaria) has upgraded the plant growth facilities on the Mir Orbital Station (OS) and used them to study the full life cycle of plants. The Bulgarian-Russian-developed Svet Space Greenhouse (SG) system was upgraded on the Mir OS in 1996. The US developed Gas Exchange Measurement System (GEMS) greatly extends the range of environmental parameters monitored. The Svet-GEMS complex was used to grow a fully developed wheat crop during 1996. The growth rate and development of these plants compared well with earth grown plants indicating that the root zone water and oxygen stresses that have limited plant development in previous long-duration experiments have been overcome. However, management of the root environment during this experiment involved several significant changes in control settings as the relationship between the water delivery system, water status sensors, and the substrate changed during the growth cycles.