Effects of microgravity on muscular explosive power of the lower limbs in humans

The maximal explosive power of the lower limbs of one astronaut has been measured before launch, and 2, 6 and 11 days after re-entry from 31 days on the MIR Station (EUROMIR '94). The subject, sitting on the carriage-seat of a Multipurpose Ergometer-Dynamometer (MED) constructed ad hoc in our laboratory, pushed maximally with both feet on two force platforms (knees angle 110 degrees). The carriage was free to move backwards on two rails inclined 20 degrees upwards. The force (F) of the lower limbs and the speed of the carriage (v) were recorded and the instantaneous mechanical power (w) was calculated as w = F * v. The average value of the mechanical power (w max) throughout the explosive effort was then obtained. The overall duration of the push was on the average about 0.3 s. It was observed that, at day R+2, mean force, maximal velocity, maximal power (mean and peak), maximal acceleration and overall mechanical work, were all reduced between 60 and 80% of pre-flight values. However, the recovery was remarkably fast, since all these parameters attained about 90% of pre-flight values by day R+11.     

Optimising filtering of two-line element sets to increase re-entry prediction accuracy for GTO objects

Predicting re-entry epoch of space objects enables managing the risk to ground population. Predictions are particularly difficult for objects in highly-elliptical orbits, and important for objects with components that can survive re-entry, e.g. rocket bodies (R/Bs). This paper presents a methodology to filter two-line element sets (TLEs) to facilitate accurate re-entry prediction of such objects. Difficulties in using TLEs for precise analyses are highlighted and a set of filters that identifies erroneous element sets is developed. The filter settings are optimised using an artificially generated TLE time series. Optimisation results are verified on real TLEs by analysing the automatically found outliers for exemplar R/Bs. Based on a study of 96 historical re-entries, it is shown that TLE filtering is necessary on all orbital elements that are being used in a given analysis in order to avoid considerably inaccurate results.     

Implementation of an ESA delta-DOR capability

This paper describes the implementation of delta-DOR (delta-differential one-way ranging) receivers within the ESA Deep Space ground station network. Delta-DOR provides very accurate plane-of-sky measurements of spacecraft position which complement existing line-of-sight ranging and Doppler measurements. We discuss how this technique has been adapted and implemented at the two ESA deep-space ground stations using existing equipment and infrastructure. These new capabilities were added by writing new software modules for the standard ESA digital receiver (the intermediate frequency modem system—IFMS). With these upgrades the receiver has the ability to record accurately timetagged signals from up to eight IF sub-channels. These sub-channels can have bandwidths of 50 kHz–2 MHz with a sample quantization of 1–16 bits per component. The IF samples are stored locally for subsequent retrieval over a WAN by the correlator facility at ESOC.     

CME dynamics using coronagraph and interplanetary ejecta data

In this work, we present a study of the coronal mass ejection (CME) dynamics using LASCO coronagraph observations combined with in-situ ACE plasma and magnetic field data, covering a continuous period of time from January 1997 to April 2001, complemented by few extreme events observed in 2001 and 2003. We show, for the first time, that the CME expansion speed correlates very well with the travel time to 1 AU of the interplanetary ejecta (or ICMEs) associated with the CMEs, as well as with their preceding shocks. The events analyzed in this work are a subset of the events studied in Schwenn et al. (2005), from which only the CMEs associated with interplanetary ejecta (ICMEs) were selected. Three models to predict CME travel time to Earth, two proposed by Gopalswamy et al. (2001) and one by Schwenn et al. (2005), were used to characterize the dynamical behavior of this set of events. Extreme events occurred in 2001 and 2003 were used to test the prediction capability of the models regarding CMEs with very high LASCO C3 speeds.     

The knowledge of knots: an interdisciplinary literature review

ABSTRACT

Knots can be found and used in a variety of situations in the 3D world, such as in vines, in the DNA, polymer chains, electrical wires, in mountaineering, seamanship and when ropes or other flexible objects are involved for exerting forces and holding objects in place. Research on knots as topological entities has contributed with a number of findings, not only of interest to pure mathematics, but also to statistical mechanics, quantum physics, genetics, and chemistry. Yet, the cognitive (or algorithmic) aspects involved in the act of tying a knot are a largely uncharted territory. This paper presents a review of the literature related to the investigation of knots from the topological, physical, cognitive and computational (including robotics) standpoints, aiming at bridging the gap between pure mathematical work on knot theory and macroscopic physical knots, with an eye to applications and modeling.