Gravitation and celestial mechanics investigations with Galileo

The gravitation and celestial mechanics investigations during the cruise phase and Orbiter phase of the Galileo mission depend on Doppler and ranging measurements generated by the Deep Space Network (DSN) at its three spacecraft tracking sites in California, Australia, and Spain. Other investigations which also rely on DSN data, and which like ours fall under the general discipline of spacecraft radio science, are described in a companion paper by Howard et al. (1992). We group our investigations into four broad categories as follows: (1) the determination of the gravity fields of Jupiter and its four major satellites during the orbital tour, (2) a search for gravitational radiation as evidenced by perturbations to the coherent Doppler link between the spacecraft and Earth, (3) the mathematical modeling, and by implication tests, of general relativistic effects on the Doppler and ranging data during both cruise and orbiter phases, and (4) an improvement in the ephemeris of Jupiter by means of spacecraft ranging during the Orbiter phase. The gravity fields are accessible because of their effects on the spacecraft motion, determined primarily from the Doppler data. For the Galilean satellites we will determine second degree and order gravity harmonics that will yield new information on the central condensation and likely composition of material within these giant satellites (Hubbard and Anderson, 1978). The search for gravitational radiation is being conducted in cruise for periods of 40 days centered around solar opposition. During these times the radio link is least affected by scintillations introduced by solar plasma. Our sensitivity to the amplitude of sinusoidal signals approaches 10^-15 in a band of gravitational frequencies between 10^-4 and 10^-3 Hz, by far the best sensitivity obtained in this band to date. In addition to the primary objectives of our investigations, we discuss two secondary objectives: the determination of a range fix on Venus during the flyby on 10 February, 1990, and the determination of the Earth's mass (GM) from the two Earth gravity assists, EGA1 in December 1990 and EGA2 in December 1992.     

Ion-acoustic waves in unmagnetized collisionless weakly relativistic plasma of warm-ion and isothermal-electron using time-fractional KdV equation

Collisionless unmagnetized plasma consisting of a mixture of warm ion-fluid and isothermal-electron is considered, assuming that the ion flow velocity has a weak relativistic effect. The reductive perturbation method has been employed to derive the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation for small – but finite-amplitude electrostatic ion-acoustic waves in this plasma. The semi-inverse method and Agrawal’s method lead to the Euler–Lagrange equation that leads to the time fractional KdV equation. The variational-iteration method given by He is used to solve the derived time fractional KdV equation. The calculations show that the fractional order may play the same rule of higher order dissipation in KdV equation to modulate the soliton wave amplitude in the plasma system. The results of the present investigation may be applicable to some plasma environments, such as space-plasmas, laser-plasma interaction, plasma sheet boundary layer of the earth’s magnetosphere, solar atmosphere and interplanetary space.     

The Solar Dynamo

Observations relevant to current models of the solar dynamo are presented, with emphasis on the history of solar magnetic activity and on the location and nature of the solar tachocline. The problems encountered when direct numerical simulation is used to analyse the solar cycle are discussed, and recent progress is reviewed. Mean field dynamo theory is still the basis of most theories of the solar dynamo, so a discussion of its fundamental principles and its underlying assumptions is given. The role of magnetic helicity is discussed. Some of the most popular models based on mean field theory are reviewed briefly. Dynamo models based on severe truncations of the full MHD equations are discussed.     

The Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) Instruments Aboard the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) Spacecraft

This paper describes the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) instruments aboard the RBSP spacecraft from an instrumentation and engineering point of view. There are four magnetic spectrometers aboard each of the two spacecraft, one low-energy unit (20–240 keV), two medium-energy units (80–1200 keV), and a high-energy unit (800–4800 keV). The high unit also contains a proton telescope (55 keV–20 MeV). The magnetic spectrometers focus electrons within a selected energy pass band upon a focal plane of several silicon detectors where pulse-height analysis is used to determine if the energy of the incident electron is appropriate for the electron momentum selected by the magnet. Thus each event is a two-parameter analysis, an approach leading to a greatly reduced background. The physics of these instruments are described in detail followed by the engineering implementation. The data outputs are described, and examples of the calibration results and early flight data presented.     

Inertially fixed pitch stabilization of satellites by solar radiation pressure

Utilization of solar radiation pressure to stabilize the pitch attitude of an unsymmetrical satellite along an inertially-fixed orientation is investigated. A controller employing two rotatable highly reflective control surfaces is proposed and a control strategy involving both nominal and feedback controls is synthesized. Accounting for the apparent annual motion of the Sun, the validity of the concept throughout the year is established through a stability analysis of the system. The influence of the Earth's shadow on the controller performance is also analyzed. The speed of response as well as the pointing accuracy capabilities of the system appear to be quite acceptable for long-life scientific missions.     

Radioisotope-powered free-piston Stirling engine for space applications

The paper presents a preliminary conceptual design of a 2kW(e) autonomous power system consisting of a radioisotopic heat source, free-piston Stirling engine, reciprocating induction generator and a space radiator. The proposed design features a direct thermal interfacing of the Pu-238 heat source with the Stirling engine head, low heat losses during normal operation, and provides an auxiliary/emergency cooling system in the case of the engine failure of stopping. The Stirling engine is of the free-displacer, free-piston type invented by Beale and uses helium as the working fluid. The engine piston is integrated with the armature of a simple linear alternator which is used for electric generation. Waste heat is rejected by a four-finned space radiator sized for a geosynchronous orbit. Specific power and efficiency of the Stirling isotope power system are compared with the present and predicted performance of other power conversion systems suitable for the same power range.