In-orbit assessment of laser retro-reflector efficiency onboard high orbiting satellites

The navigation and geodetic satellites that orbit the Earth at altitudes of approximately 20,000 km are tracked routinely by many of the Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) stations of the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS). In order to meet increasing demands on SLR stations for daytime and nighttime observations, any new mission needs to ensure a strong return signal so that the target is easily acquirable. The ILRS has therefore set a minimum effective cross-section of 100 million square metres for the on-board laser retro-reflector arrays (LRAs) and further recommends the use of ‘uncoated’ cubes in the arrays. Given the large number of GNSS satellites that are currently supported by SLR, it is informative to make an assessment of the relative efficiencies of the various LRAs employed. This paper uses the laser ranging observations themselves to deduce and then compare the efficiencies of the LRAs on the COMPASS-M1 navigation satellite, two satellites from the GPS and three from the GLONASS constellations, the two GIOVE test satellites from the upcoming Galileo constellation, the two Etalon geodetic spheres and the geosynchronous communications test satellite, ETS-8. All the LRAs on this set of satellites employ back-coated retro-reflector cubes, except those on the COMPASS-M1 and ETS-8 vehicles which are uncoated. A measure of return signal strength, and thus of LRA-efficiency, is calculated using the laser-range full-rate data archive from 2007 to 2010, scaled to remove the effects of variations in satellite range, atmospheric attenuation and retro-reflector target total surface area. Observations from five SLR stations are used in this study; they are Herstmonceux (UK), Yarragadee (Australia), Monument Peak and McDonald (USA) and Wettzell (Germany). Careful consideration is given to the treatment of the observations from each station in order to take account of local working practices and system upgrades. The results show that the uncoated retro-reflector cubes offer significant improvements in efficiency.     

Mining Spatial Associations with Limited Sensory Information

Abstract

Human navigation in an unknown environment requires an understanding of the spatial relationships of the terrain. For example, a soldier who is on a reconnaissance mission in a new city needs to “know” the spatial layout of the surroundings with high confidence. Oftentimes, this understanding must be acquired within a very short amount of time and with limited sensory inputs. The soldier would benefit from a digital avatar that draws inferences about the spatial layout of the city based on an initial set of observations and guides the soldier either in further exploring the environment or in making decisions based on these inferences. In this paper, we present and evaluate an inductive approach to learning spatial associations using sensory data that is available from the simulation environment of a computer game, Unreal Tournament. We study two kinds of spatial relationships between nodes on a level of a game map: nodes that are placed near each other to satisfy some spatial requirement and nodes that are placed near each other to satisfy the design preferences of a level architect. We show that we can infer both kinds of relationships using an association rule mining algorithm. Furthermore, we show how to use an ontology to distinguish between these relationships in order to discover different types of spatial arrangements on a specific map. We discuss how the inferred associations can be used to control an avatar that makes recommendations for navigating unexplored areas on a map. We conclude with some thoughts on the applicability of our methods to scenarios in the real world, beyond the simulation environment of a game, and on how the learned associations can be represented and queried by a simple question-answer type system.     

新疆高等教育发展与经济增长关系的协整分析

文章利用新疆1980-2010年数据，对高等教育发展与经济增长之间的关系进行研究，建立协整方程和误差修正模型，进行了格兰杰因果关系检验，得出的主要结论是：新疆经济增长和高等教育规模之间存在长期的协整关系；且经济增长对高等教育规模是单向格兰杰因果关系。在此分析的基础上，提出新疆高等教育与经济可持续发展的对策建议。     

试论现代图书馆开展网络资源导航服务

计算机科学技术飞速发展，网络资源丰富杂乱，纸质资源捉襟见肘，通过阐述现代图书馆开展网络资源导航的必要性和可能性，找到现代图书馆的定位和方向，最后阐述现代图书馆开展网络资源导航的意义和价值。     

LabWindows/CVI环境下调用Word文档的实现方法

目的介绍一种在Labwindows/CVI环境下调用Word的实现方法;方法结合具体的实例,实现对Word文档的调用;结果该方法可以按照规定的格式自动生成Word文档;结论提高了软件的效率和自动化程度。     

试验数据管理系统的需求与实现

现在的工程试验产生大量的试验数据,而这些试验数据在储存和使用中存在着大量的问题。试验数据管理系统(TDM)通过梳理和优化试验流程,可以提高试验数据的利用率。     

Issues of geologically-focused situational awareness in robotic planetary missions: Lessons from an analogue mission at Mistastin Lake impact structure,Labrador, Canada

Remote robotic data provides different information than that obtained from immersion in the field. This significantly affects the geological situational awareness experienced by members of a mission control science team. In order to optimize science return from planetary robotic missions, these limitations must be understood and their effects mitigated to fully leverage the field experience of scientists at mission control.     

指数分布基于多重定数截尾样本中异常数据的检验

讨论多重定数截尾指数型寿命数据,对同时存在异常大数据和异常小数据的情形给出了检验方法,得到了检验异常数据的判别标准,最后以一实例说明其应用.     

Satellite and ground detection of very dense smoke clouds produced on the islands of the Paraná river delta that affected a large region in Central Argentina

Intense fires were produced on the Paraná river delta islands, Argentina, during most part of 2008, by a combination of an exceptionally dry period and the farmers’ use of a fire land-cleaning technique. In April 2008, those fires significantly affected the nearby regions and their inhabitants, from Rosario city to Buenos Aires mega-city. In this work we present satellite as well as ground Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 550 nm data obtained during the propagation of pollution clouds to the central zone of Argentina. The highest value (1.18) was registered at Buenos Aires by atmospheric remote sensing, using the satellite instrument MODIS/Terra on April 18th 2008 at 10:35 local time (= UT − 3 h). On the same day, ground air quality detectors also measured in this city the highest Total Suspended Particle (TSP) value of the month, 2.02 mg/m³. The AOD(550) daily variation at Rosario Astronomical Observatory, which is located near the Paraná riverside, was derived by combining solar ultraviolet erythemal irradiance data (measured with a YES biometre) with model calculations. On April 25th 2008, from 12:00 to 15:30 local time, a rather high and constant AOD(550) value was registered, with a mean value of (0.90 ± 0.21). Cities located on the side of the Rosario–Buenos Aires highway (San Nicolás, Baradero and San Pedro) were also affected, showing a mean AOD(550) between the Rosario and Buenos Aires values. The particulate matter was collected with gridded samplers placed on the Paraná river islands as well as at the Rosario Observatory. They were analysed with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and mainly showed a biological origin. Even if normally large particles travel small distances from the source, organic aerosol in the range of 40–100 μm and complex asymmetric structures were registered several kilometres away from the aerosol sources on the islands. Another event of intense UV index attenuation (98.6%) occurred on September 18th 2008, due to very dense smoke clouds that extended over the Rosario area for several hours. The clouds were driven away from the fires by East–northeast and East–southeast winds. The minimum value of this index measured around noon allows to derive a maximum AOD(550)_max = (3.65 ± 0.90) at 12:45 local time. Soot clouds extended over the Paraná river, transporting Burned Biomass Debris (BBD) that deposited on Rosario. In particular, burned leaves and small branches with dimensions of 1–20 cm were collected. The mean (BBD) particles deposited on the ground from 7:00 to 19:00 local time were (0.92 ± 0.20) BBD/(m² h).     

公共选修课教学策略的优化整合——以古诗词欣赏为例

采用教学原理,从教学准备、主要教学行为、课堂管理行为、教学评价四个方面对公共选修课课堂教学策略进行优化整合,为公共选修课设计出一套切实可行的课堂教学策略。