A bioreactor system for the nitrogen loop in a Controlled Ecological Life Support System.

As space missions become longer in duration, the need to recycle waste into useful compounds rises dramatically. This problem can be addressed by the development of Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) (i.e., Engineered Closed/Controlled Eco-Systems (ECCES)), consisting of human and plant modules. One of the waste streams leaving the human module is urine. In addition to the reclamation of water from urine, recovery of the nitrogen is important because it is an essential nutrient for the plant module. A 3-step biological process for the recycling of nitrogenous waste (urea) is proposed. A packed-bed bioreactor system for this purpose was modeled, and the issues of reaction step segregation, reactor type and volume, support particle size, and pressure drop were addressed. Based on minimization of volume, a bioreactor system consisting of a plug flow immobilized urease reactor, a completely mixed flow immobilized cell reactor to convert ammonia to nitrite, and a plug flow immobilized cell reactor to produce nitrate from nitrite is recommended. It is apparent that this 3-step bioprocess meets the requirements for space applications.     

关于Nielsen数的注记

通过构造基本群的正规子群，得到有限复迭空间和自映射的提升。并定义了NL数，指出用NL数可以估算自映射的Nielsen数。     

Ten years of Arianespace

This article celebrates the tenth birthday of Europe's satellite launch corporation. It was born at a time when expendable launch vehicles were widely believed to be redundant, but has confounded its critics to become the leader in the world commercial satellite launch market. The author notes the milestones on Arianespace's path, and expresses confidence in its ability to the growing competitive challenge of the 1990s.     

A SAR processor based on two-dimensional FFT codes

A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processor approach based on two-dimensional fast Fourier transform (FFT) codes coupled with an asymptotic evaluation of the unit response function is presented. For the latter, no approximation is made to the distance function, so that the full range of geometric aberrations is analytically considered, enabling an effective reference filter to be designed. The two-dimensional FFTs were designed as to run on computers of very limited memory: the required FFT is computed by means of FFTs of lower order. Two FFT codes were considered: one is faster and allows full or reduced (quick look or multilook) resolution performance to be obtained easily; the second is slower but allows the use of a space-varying filter and/or investigations on limited portions (zoom) of the image. Both codes are suited to parallel processing, e.g. by a transputer net. A full discussion on computer memory and time requirements is presented as well as first examples of image processing results     

Further study of the Pencil-MUSIC algorithm

For finding 2-D angles and polarizations of waves arriving at a rectangular array of crossed dipoles, the Pencil-MUSIC method can achieve the near optimum performance with much less computational burden than the MUSIC (multiple signal classification). Following an angle-only ESPRIT (estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques) method, an angle-only Pencil-MUSIC can be easily formulated which is far more accurate than the former especially in the coherent case. The angle-only Pencil-MUSIC is analyzed and compared with the original Pencil-MUSIC. The new version sacrifices the polarization estimation to achieve about 8 times more efficient computation The accuracy of the new version seems no more than 4 times worse in terms of estimation deviation     

Interstellar grains in the solar system: Requirements for an analysis

We discuss present knowledge about interstellar dust grains in the heliosphere in order to give goals for future investigations. As far as the identification of the interstellar flux from brightness observations is concerned we calculate the influence of interstellar dust entering the solar system on the Zodiacal light and Zodiacal emission brightness. In case of the Zodiacal light produced by the scattering of solar radiation, the brightness from interstellar dust within the solar system is not detectable within the limits of present observations. In the case of the thermal emission a distinction of the brightness from the interstellar dust component may be possible. This would be especially interesting for an analysis of the overall spatial distribution of the interstellar flux in the solar system. As far as the identification of the interstellar flux from impact experiments is concerned, parameters like the impact direction are essential. Since the interstellar dust flux is modified in the outer solar system already, it is helpful to probe its variation with increasing distance from the Sun in interstellar upstream direction.     

Dose equivalent, absorbed dose and charge spectrum investigation in low Earth orbit.

Particle intensity, dose equivalent and absorbed dose have been measured on board the space shuttle Endeavour during STS-108 in December 2001 by Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS). The dose estimates are based on very accurate measurements of recoils produced in CR-39 by cosmic ray primary and secondary protons and heavier nuclei and by secondary neutrons. The corresponding LET spectra were used to determine dose equivalent and absorbed dose values. Estimates of the total flux of Z > or = 2 nuclei have been undertaken and a preliminary charge spectrum was measured. Some comparisons are made with preliminary data obtained on STS-105 (ISS Expedition) and other missions using CR-39 detectors.     

A model grid for the spectral analysis of X-ray emission in young Type Ia supernova remnants

We address a new set of models for the spectral analysis of the X-ray emission from young, ejecta-dominated Type Ia supernova remnants. These models are based on hydrodynamic simulations of the interaction between Type Ia supernova explosion models and the surrounding ambient medium, coupled to self-consistent ionization and electron heating calculations in the shocked supernova ejecta, and the generation of synthetic spectra with an appropriate spectral code. The details are provided elsewhere, but in this paper we concentrate on a specific class of Type Ia explosion models (delayed detonations), commenting on the differences that arise between their synthetic X-ray spectra under a variety of conditions.     

GPS based onboard and onground orbit operations for small satellites

In extension to common applications such as groundtrack displays and antenna steering, the SGP4 orbit model is proposed for operational orbit determination in small satellite missions. SGP4 is an analytical orbit model for Low-Earth orbiting satellites that is widely used for the propagation of NORAD twoline elements. Twoline elements may hence be generated completely independent of NORAD. Their use as exclusive source of orbital information simplifies the operations concept and reduces mission costs through the extensive use of existing low-cost mission support software. Due to small computer resource requirements of 8–10kByte, the SGP4 model may also be applied for onboard orbit computations making use of e.g. a 80186 processor, thus ensuring full compatibility of ground-based and onboard operations. The proposed approach is particularly suited in combination with a space-borne GPS receiver, were the C/A-code navigation solutions are treated as measurements that are adjusted in a least-squares sense using the SGP4 model. As consequence, inherent drawbacks of the pure navigation solutions such as data gaps and scatter as well as limited velocity accuracy are avoided, while the operational navigation activities are kept at a minimum. The feasibility of the concept is illustrated based on real GPS navigation data from the TOPEX/Poseidon and the MIR space station with an inherent data quality of 50–100 m. It is shown that 3 hours of data within a 4 day period are sufficient to keep the position error within 4 km, that is considered sufficient for most applications.     

Century scale solar variability imprinted in the 44Ti activity in meteorites.

The measurements of gamma-activity of the 44Ti (T1/2 = 66.6 years) produced by spallation reaction of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) in Alfianello, Olivenza, Rio Negro, Dhajala and Torino meteorites, which fell in the time interval 1883 AD (Alfianello)-1988 AD (Torino), show a century scale modulation, connected to long-term solar-wind flux variations in the interplanetary space. The variation of the 44Ti activity with the time of fall of meteorites is qualitatively consistent with the Gleissberg solar cycle, but the amplitude is three-four times higher than expected (about 5%) for GCR flux modulated by solar activity, as determined solely by the sunspot number. The cosmogenic 44Ti is a suitable radioisotope for this investigation, but its activity in meteorites is very low. We performed these measurements in the underground low level counting station of Monte dei Cappuccini in Torino, by means of a big hyperpure Ge crystal (approximately 2 kg) in selective coincidence with a heavy NaI (T1) scintillation detector (approximately 28 kg). This system allows a reliable and non destructive measurement of 44Ti (44Sc) in meteorites of 200-1200 g in weight. The background is about 1 count per day in the gamma-peak at 1157 keV of 44Sc in equilibrium with its parent 44Ti. The high stability of the performance allows long-lasting runs (approximately 10(7) s) in order to attain results with a standard deviation up to about 10%.