Synergies between plant research conducted for terrestrial and for space purposes.

During the past 10 years, the main part of CELSS studies has concerned the exploration of limits of plant productivity. Very high yields were obtained in continuous and high lighting, without reaching any limit. Concepts of mineral nutrition were renewed. CELSS activities now induce a development in the techniques of image processing applied to plants in order to follow the growth, to detect stresses or diseases or to pilot harvesting robots. Notable efforts concern the development of sensors, the study of trace contaminants and the micro-organisms monitoring. In parallel, several instruments for plant culture in closed Systems were developed. The advantages of closure are emphasised in comparison with open flow systems. The concept of Artificial Ecosystems developed for space research is more and more taken into account by the scientific community. It is considered as a new tool to study basic and applied problems related to ecology and not especially concerned with space research.     

Radar into the next millennium

The 1999 Radar Conference banquet address, in which an attempt is made to predict future developments in radar, is presented     

ULM battery technology review and applications update

The Ultra Low Maintenance (ULM) battery technology and its historical performance validation programs are reviewed. Recent military flight test programs are discussed and the growing lists of both military and commercial aircraft flying ULM batteries are presented     

Synthesizing the control system of a small gliding unmanned aerial vehicle with high-aspect ratio wing

In this paper, we consider a problem of synthesizing the control system of a small gliding (unpowered) aerial vehicle (GAV) with a high-aspect ratio wing (?? ?? 10). This wing makes it possible to increase significantly the flight range and improve the maneuvering characteristics of the aerial vehicle itself.     

Analysis of nonlinear deformation and stability of reinforced elliptic cylindrical shells under bending with internal pressure

A finite element statement of solving problems on stability of reinforced elliptic cylindrical shells taking into account momentness and nonlinearity of their subcritical stress strain state is presented. The explicit expressions for displacements of noncircular cylindrical shell elements as rigid bodies are determined by integrating the equations obtained by equating the components of linear strains to zero. These expressions were used to construct the form functions for an efficient quadrilateral finite element of natural curvature. An efficient numerical algorithm of nonlinear deformation and stability of shells was developed. The stability of reinforced elliptic cylindrical shells under combined loading by bending moment, transverse boundary force and internal pressure is analyzed. We also examine how the critical loads are affected by the strain nonlinearity and ellipticity of shell deformation at the subcritical stage.     

Analysis of shells of revolution under axisymmetrical loading using the quadrature method

To complete study [1], the procedure of applying the numerical quadrature method to analyzing the shells of revolution under axisymmetrical loading is presented.     

Limits of flanging process feasibility to create thin-wall conical shells

In this paper, a process of flanging to create thin-walled axisymmetrical shells with the shape of truncated cone is analyzed. Also presented are some dependences that make it possible to determine the relative depth of a formed piece at the given piece-blank thickness ratio.     

Biomedical problems of EVA support during manned space flight to Mars

Current projects of manned missions to Mars are aimed to their realization in the second-third decades of this century. The purpose of this paper is to determine and review the main biomedical problems, that require a first and foremost decision for safety support of extravehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crewmembers of the Mars expedition. To a number of such problems the authors of the paper attribute a creation of adequate EVA equipment intended, first, for assembly of interplanetary spacecraft on the Earth orbit, performance of maintenance operations and scientific researches on the external surface of spacecraft during interplanetary flight and, secondly, for work on the Mars surface. New generation of space suits with low weight, high mobility and acceptable risk of decompression sickness must be as a central component of EVA equipment. The program for preparation to a Mars expedition also has to include special investigations in order to design the means and methods for a reliable protection of crew against space radiation, to elaborate the approach to medical monitoring and primary medical care during autonomous space mission, to maintain good health condition of crewmembers during EVA under the Mars gravity (0.38 g) after super long-term flight in weightlessness.     

Considerations for the Short-Term Stability of Frequency Multipliers

The effects of frequency multiplication circuits on the short-term stability of an oscillator system are analyzed. The short-term stability of real components such as varactor multipliers are compared to the short-term stability of an ?ideal? frequency multiplier which maintains the stability of the basic oscillator. In addition, it is shown that positive feedback like that used in a synchronized oscillator, while useful for tracking, degrades short-term stability.     

Sampled-Data Control System Analysis Using the Poisson Summation Rule

A technique is presented which simplifies the analysis of sampled-data control systems. The use of a finite-term approximation to the Poisson summation rule, in conjunction with digital computer evaluation, is presented as a good alternative to use of the Z transform whenever frequency-domain analysis is required. The Poisson summation rule is reviewed and its application to sampled-data system analysis is discussed. The form of the computer program used in the analysis is presented, along with a design criterion to evaluate the accuracy of the technique. A detailed example of a typical application is presented.