Observation of the interstellar helium cone by the NOZOMI spacecraft

‘The Japanese Mars probe, NOZOMI, is staying in the interplanetary space (1–1.5 AU) until its Mars’ orbit insertion scheduled in early 2004. Every 16 months on this interplanetary orbit the spacecraft crosses around 1 AU the ‘gravitational focusing cone’ of the interstellar helium, which are penetrating into the inner heliosphere under the solar gravity. During the first crossing of the cone in the season of March–May 2000, we observed these helium particles after the solar wind pickup process with an E/q type ion detector aboard NOZOMI. We have estimated the original temperature of the interstellar helium as 11 000 K. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mixed H/sub 2//H/sub /spl infin// filtering for uncertain systems with regional pole assignment

The mixed H/sub 2//H/sub /spl infin// filtering problem for uncertain linear continuous-time systems with regional pole assignment is considered. The purpose of the problem is to design an uncertainty-independent filter such that, for all admissible parameter uncertainties, the following filtering requirements are simultaneously satisfied: 1) the filtering process is asymptotically stable; 2) the poles of the filtering matrix are located inside a prescribed region that compasses the vertical strips, horizontal strips, disks, or conic sectors; 3) both the H/sub 2/ norm and the H/sub /spl infin// norm on the respective transfer functions are not more than the specified upper bound constraints. We establish a general framework to solve the addressed multiobjective filtering problem completely. In particular, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the solvability of the problem in terms of a set of feasible linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). An illustrative example is given to illustrate the design procedures and performances of the proposed method.     

Attitude Determination from Vector Observations: Quaternion Estimation

Two recursive estimation algorithms, which use pairs of measured vectors to yield minimum variance estimates of the quaternion of rotation, are presented. The nonlinear relations between the direction cosine matrix and the quaternion are linearized, and a variant of the extended Kalman filter is used to estimate the difference between the quaternion and its estimate. With each measurement this estimate is updated and added to the whole quaternion estimate. This operation constitutes a full state reset in the estimation process. Filter tuning is needed to obtain a converging filter. The second algorithm presented uses the normality property of the quaternion of rotation to obtain, in a straightforward design, a filter which converges, with a smaller error, to a normal quaternion. This algorithm changes the state but not the covariance computation of the original algorithm and implies only a partial reset. Results of Monte-Carlo simulation runs are presented which demonstrate the superiority of the normalized quaternion.     

Solution and performance analysis of geolocation by TDOA

One method of geolocation is based on measuring the time difference of arrivals (TDOAs) of a signal received by three or four geostationary satellites. The received signals are cross-correlated to determine the TDOAs and a set of nonlinear equations are solved to produce the location estimate. An exact solution for the transmitter position is derived for the three or four receiver cases. Extension of the solution method to more receivers is straightforward. An analysis of the performance of the system is given, together with expressions for predicting the localization mean-square errors (MSEs) and bias, and the Cramer-Rao bound. Both precision in TDOA measurements and the relative geometry between receivers and transmitter affect the localization accuracy. The geometric factors act as multipliers to the TDOA variance in the bias and MSE formulae. A study of the dependency of the geometric factors on transmitter position and satellite spacings are provided, as well as simulation results     

Multiple model PMHT and its application to the benchmark radar tracking problem

The probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracker (PMHT) uses the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to solve the measurement-origin uncertainty problem. Here, we explore some of its variants for maneuvering targets and in particular discuss the multiple model PMHT. We apply this PMHT to the six "typical" tracking scenarios given in the second benchmark problem from W. D. Blair and G. A. Watson (1998). The manner in which the PMHT is used to track the targets and to manage radar allocation is discussed, and the results compared with those of the interacting multiple model probabilistic data association filter (IMM/PDAF) and IMM/MHT (multiple hypothesis tracker). The PMHT works well: its performance lies between those of the IMM/PDAF and IMM/MHT both in terms of tracking performance and computational load.     

热斑对涡轮二级静叶热负荷影响的实验和数值研究

采用以氦气比拟热斑的实验方法和三维非定常数值计算研究了两级涡轮入口处的热斑对二级静叶通道的影响。结果发现,热斑对二级静叶通道内的热负荷分布具有明显影响:在径向的分布集中于50%叶高以下,在叶栅进口和出口附近,热量集中于下端壁,并随径向高度增加减少;在周向有明显不均匀性;端壁二次流对热斑分布有很大影响。     

Bearings-only tracking of maneuvering targets using abatch-recursive estimator

We present a new batch-recursive estimator for tracking maneuvering targets from bearings-only measurements in clutter (i.e., for low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) targets), Standard recursive estimators like the extended Kalman Iter (EKF) suffer from poor convergence and erratic behavior due to the lack of initial target range information, On the other hand, batch estimators cannot handle target maneuvers. In order to rectify these shortcomings, we combine the batch maximum likelihood-probabilistic data association (ML-PDA) estimator with the recursive interacting multiple model (IMM) estimator with probabilistic data association (PDA) to result in better track initialization as well as track maintenance results in the presence of clutter. It is also demonstrated how the batch-recursive estimator can be used for adaptive decisions for ownship maneuvers based on the target state estimation to enhance the target observability. The tracking algorithm is shown to be effective for targets with 8 dB SNR     

Experiments on aeronautical satellite communications using ETS-Vsatellite

The world's first aeronautical satellite communication experiments, conducted at L-band frequencies using a commercial aircraft, are described. An airborne antenna with electronically steerable beam and communication equipment was installed in a B-747F freighter flying over transoceanic flight routes. The satellite used in these experiments is the Engineering Test Satellite-Five (ETS-V). During the test period, various experiments, such as antenna pattern measurements, transmission performances, and voice quality evaluation were conducted. As the airborne antenna is the key component for the aeronautical satellite communication system, emphasis has been placed on antenna characteristics. Its performance is found to be closely related to the fading characteristics in low-elevation areas and to transmission error performance     

A New FET-Bipolar Combinational Power Semiconductor Switch

A novel FET-BJT combinational transistor configuration is proposed and demonstrated using discrete devices. This new transistor features fast switching, very simple drive requirement, elimination of reverse bias second breakdown, and good utilization of semiconductor chip area. Initial results indicate that power hybrid construction of the device is essential to enhance the current rating of the device.