A Diagnostic Tree Approach for Fault Cause Identification in the Attitude Control Subsystem of Satellites

Space and Earth observation programs demand stringent guarantees ensuring smooth and reliable operations of space vehicles and satellites. Due to unforeseen circumstances and naturally occurring faults, it is desired that a fault-diagnosis system be capable of detecting, isolating, identifying, or classifying faults in the system. Unfortunately, none of the existing fault-diagnosis methodologies alone can meet all the requirements of an ideal fault- diagnosis system due to the variety of fault types, their severity, and handling mechanisms. However, it is possible to overcome these shortcomings through the integration of different existing fault-diagnosis methodologies. In this paper, a novel learning-based, diagnostic-tree approach is proposed which complements and strengthens existing efficient fault detection mechanisms with an additional ability to classify different types of faults to effectively determine potential fault causes in a subsystem of a satellite. This extra capability serves as a semiautomatic diagnostic decision support aid to expert human operators at ground stations and enables them to determine fault causes and to take quick and efficient recovery/reconfiguration actions. The developed diagnosis/analysis procedure exploits a qualitative technique denoted as diagnostic tree (DX-tree) analysis as a diagnostic tool for fault cause analysis in the attitude control subsystem (ACS) of a satellite. DX-trees constructed by our proposed machine-learning-based automatic tree synthesis algorithm are demonstrated to be able to determine both known and unforeseen combinations of events leading to different fault scenarios generated through synthetic attitude control subsystem data of a satellite. Though the immediate application of our proposed approach would be at ground stations, the proposed technique has potential for being integrated with causal model-based diagnosis and recovery techniques for future autonomous space vehicle missions.     

High Range Resolution Profiles as Motion-Invariant Features for Moving Ground Targets Identification in SAR-Based Automatic Target Recognition

A quantitative model analysis is presented to justify the extraction of high range resolution (HRR) profiles from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images as motion-invariant features for identifying moving ground targets. A comparative study is conducted to assess the effectiveness in the identification process between using HRR profiles and SAR images as target signatures. The results indicate that HRR profiles are just as viable as SAR image for identification. Furthermore, a score-level multi-look fusion identification method has been investigated. It is found that a correct accurate identification rate of greater than 99 percent, a low false alarm rate, and a high level of identification confidence can be achieved, providing very robust performance.     

Secure wireless collection and distribution of commercial airplane health data

The introduction of wireless communication capabilities supporting transfer of sensor data and information on-board commercial airplanes as well as between airplanes and supporting ground systems has the potential to significantly improve the safety and efficiency of air travel. The benefits, however, come at the cost of information security vulnerabilities introduced by data networks. Regulatory institutions, including the FAA, are aware that security requirements for network-enabled airplanes must be fully identified. Therefore, this focuses on wireless airplane health monitoring and management, and contributes a security framework to identify threats and system requirements to mitigate these threats. We also present challenges and open problems in enabling secure use of wireless sensor networks for health monitoring and control of commercial airplanes.     

SVSS: Intelligent video surveillance system for aircraft

Safety and security are the most discussed topics in the aviation field. The latest security initiatives in the field of aviation propose [1I] the aircraft carriers to implement video surveillance within the aircraft at strategic locations. The current proposals allow the video surveillance data to be stored within the aircraft and monitored by one of the flight crew. The monitoring crew will be responsible for identifying the anomaly within the aircraft and take necessary preventive actions. With the introduction of additional technology within the aircraft, mere human perception may not be sufficient to make a decision. In this research work, the authors explore the possibility of implementing a smart video surveillance system (SVSS) within the aircraft that is tuned toward detecting the behavioral anomaly within the aircraft. The SVSS will generate security triggers when it detects an anomaly within the aircraft. These triggers could be combined with other triggers generated by different aircraft components (possible alarms from the flight crew, data traffic anomaly, or alarm generated by one of the avionics components) to provide a better understanding of the situation to the monitoring crew.     

Ozone mini-hole observation over the Balkan Peninsula in March 2005

Areas with dimensions of 1000–3000 km in which the total ozone content (TOC) decreases fast are called ozone mini-holes. They are generated mainly dynamically in two ways, either by poor-ozone air mass transport from the tropics to higher latitudes by planetary wave activity or, they are connected with strong adiabatic uplifting of the tropopause height. An ozone mini-hole, generated by the second mechanism, was observed over the Balkan Peninsula on 19/21 March 2005. In the middle of March, the polar vortex was strongly disturbed by Rossby waves, reaching up to the lower stratosphere. Warming episodes over a geographical area, covering the Barents Sea and the Polar Sea north from Central Siberia, displaced a polar vortex fragment extremely southwards. However, the vorticity was weak and the stratospheric temperatures did not reach low values, providing conditions for ozone chemical destruction via heterogenic reactions. At the same time, a Rossby wave ridge was located below the European polar fragment. In the period from 13 to 19 March, the thermal tropopause over Sofia was uplifted almost by 3 km. Ozone distributions observed by the SCIAMACHY instrument on 18–21 March show a fast TOC decrease westwards from Ireland, which was moving eastwards during the next days, increasing the area in which the ozone content decreased. On 20/21 March low ozone content was observed above the Stara Zagora (42°N, 25°E) ground-based station by means of the GASCOD instrument, using DOAS technique. The TOMS Earth probe instrument detected 237 DU over Sofia. This is a record low March value from the beginning of the TOMS instrument measurements in 1978. In March/April the ozone distribution was characterized by its mean annual maximum of 360 DU at 42°N.     

Even–odd cycle parity in complexity of hemispheric sunspot activity

We have used the Lempel–Ziv measure to describe the complexity in sunspot activity during the solar cycles 18–23. In particular, we examined the time series of daily sunspot numbers in the northern and southern hemispheres in each of the six cycles and calculated the Lempel–Ziv complexity (LZC) value for each time series. Our results indicate that in the even cycles, the LZC values of the sunspot numbers in the two hemispheres are very close to each other, whereas in the odd cycles they differ significantly between the two hemispheres. We also find that within each hemisphere the LZC varies from cycle to cycle. This even–odd cycle parity reflects the variations in inter-hemispheric strengths of the solar magnetic field leading to different temporal distributions of sunspots in the two hemispheres. The degree of complexity may influence the predictability of sunspot activity in the two hemispheres during the various cycles. Although the physical implication of the results is not clear, these results may stimulate new ideas into modeling the complex dynamics of the solar dynamo.     

Development of simultaneous imaging polarimeter for asteroids

We are currently developing a polarimeter to study surface physical properties of asteroids. To enhance polarimetric accuracy and observational efficiency, we newly devised the polarimeter whose measurements can provide the two Stokes parameters Q and U, simultaneously. The test-observations of the prototype polarimeter have been carried out in December 2003 and January 2004, mounted on the 101 cm telescope at Bisei Astronomical Observatory, Okayama, Japan. In the observations, unpolarized and polarized standard stars were observed to measure an instrumental polarization and its uncertainty. As a result, an instrumental polarization of 5.06 ± 0.18% has been measured.     

Statistical properties of the most powerful solar and heliospheric disturbances

We present and discuss here the first version of a data base of extreme solar and heliospheric events. The data base contains now 87 extreme events mostly since 1940. An event is classified as extreme if one of the three critical parameters passed a lower limit. The critical parameters were the X-ray flux (parameter R), solar proton flux (parameter S) and geomagnetic disturbance level (parameter G). We find that the five strongest extreme events based on four variables (X-rays SEP, Dst, Ap) are completely separate except for the October 2003 event which is one the five most extreme events according to SEP, Dst and Ap. This underlines the special character of the October 2003 event, making it unique within 35 years. We also find that the events based on R and G are rather separate, indicating that the location of even extreme flares on the solar disk is important for geomagnetic effects. We also find that S = 3 events are not extreme in the same sense as R > 3 and G > 3 events, while S = 5 events are missing so far. This suggests that it might be useful to rescale the classification of SEP fluxes.     

The brief history of experimental research of cosmic ray variations in Yakutia

Some unknown historical facts of cosmic ray studies in the north-east of the former Soviet Union related to the Yakutsk scientific group are reported for the benefit of the international scientific community. It focuses on the founders of Yu.G. Shafer Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Aeronomy of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. A chronology of measurements of cosmic ray intensity variations since 1949 in Yakutia (Sakha Republic; NE Siberia) is given. In particular, for the first time the data of the first solar cosmic ray event registered at Yakutsk (GLE04), with a small ionization chamber S-2 (volume: 20 L) are presented. Moreover, the data of the large ionization chamber ASK-1 (volume: 950 L) for the 1953–2003 period useful for specialists in the field of cosmic ray variations are also shown.     

Cosmic rays at High Mountain Observatories

The worldwide distribution of High Mountain Observatories provides a unique opportunity for performing contemporary measurements under different geomagnetic/altitude conditions and for collecting long-term data series. In this context, the history and some activities performed at two historical Research Stations are summarized: Chacaltaya Laboratory (Bolivia) and the Testa Grigia Research Station (Italy).