Evidence that far-infrared radiation promotes growth of Xenopus laevis

In most ectotherms, environmental temperature has differential effects on growth and differentiation. For example, amphibian size at maturity decreases with increasing temperature. To address how radiant heat in the form of far-infrared radiation (FIR) may affect development of the aquatic ectotherm Xenopus laevis, we continuously irradiated swimming larvae as they developed into young adults. Here we report evidence that FIR promotes growth of these organisms in an aqueous environment.     

Trajectories of in-plane periodic solutions of tethered satellite system projected on van der Pol planes

In this paper, in-plane periodic solutions for a dumbbell model in elliptic orbits are searched using bifurcation, and their trajectories are projected on the van der Pol planes. The trajectories projected on the van der Pol plane will be employed as a tool to predict when the control of delayed feedback control will need to act to maintain the periodic motions.     

AMF phasing—A precise control of the ignition timing of AKM for reduction of the injection error

This paper deals with a new concept, named “AMF Phasing”, which intends to minimize the effect of injection error that would result during apogee motor firing (AMF) of the spinning spacecraft. The characteristic of velocity increment error is derived analytically, based on the disturbed spinning motion during AMF. In order to precisely estimate the amount of fuel required for post-AMF orbital correction maneuvers, a probability model is proposed which estimates the total injection error probability combining the dominant error factors, i.e. pre-AMF attitude determination error and velocity increment error during AMF.It is shown that a substantial saving in fuel normally consumed for post-AMF can be expected, when the resultant velocity increment error contribution, which otherwise would be randomly directed in inertial space, is controlled so that it appears in the direction of local right ascension by igniting AKM at the proper instant (AMF Phasing). The procedure for AMF phasing, using a Sun pulse as a reference signal for the ignition timing is described in this paper. It was actually applied for GMS-2, Japan's second Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (HIMAWARI-II). The HIMAWARI-II post-AMF orbit determination shows that AMF Phasing worked successfully and it is concluded that a substantial fuel saving was achieved.     

Sounding rocket experiment of bare electrodynamic tether system

An overview of a sounding rocket, S-520-25th, project on space tether technology experiment is presented. The project is prepared by an international research group consisting of Japanese, European, American, and Australian researchers. The sounding rocket will be assembled by the ISAS/JAXA and will be launched in the summer of 2009. The sounding rocket mission includes two engineering experiments and two scientific experiments. These experiments consist of the deployment of bare electrodynamic tape tether in space, a quick ignition test of hollow cathode system in space, the demonstration of bare electrodynamic tether system in space, and the test of the OML (orbital-motion-limit) current collection theory.     

Optimization of fault-tolerant thruster configurations for satellite control

The fault tolerance of spacecraft actuators significantly affects the reliability of satellites and the likelihood of successful missions. To enhance the fault tolerance of the actuators, this study derives optimal fault-tolerant configurations of fixed thrusters that maximize the controllability of a fully-actuated or underactuated satellite. The proposed method optimizes thrust and torque directions generated by the thrusters. Thus a cost function in terms of the thruster locations and directions is defined as the summation of the generated control forces and torques with respect to the body-fixed frame. The optimal configuration is obtained by the successive use of an energy potential method that is motivated by Thomson’s problem. Some numerical examples are provided that show the effectiveness of the proposed formulation and optimization method.     

Study on variable-shape supersonic inlets and missiles with MRD device

This paper proposes a new aerodynamic device, which was designated multi-row-disk (MRD). This device has a cone and stabilizer disks being arranged in the axial direction. This device can arbitrarily change its aerodynamic characteristics by translating stabilizer disks. In the first part of this paper, the effect of several nose shape configurations including the MRD device on the aerodynamic characteristics is reported. By increasing the number of stabilizer disks, zero-lift drag and induced drag can be reduced. It was also found that putting cavities on the conical surface is effective for improving longitudinal static stability. In the second part, the effect of cavity flow instability on pressure and strain oscillation is reported. We drew the design criterion that the configuration of stabilizer disks should be determined not to couple the 1st mode with pressure oscillation frequency, which can be predicted with Rossiter's formula.     

Reconnection and Waves: A Review with a Perspective

This review is intended to help prepare a new stage of wave studies in the context of magnetic reconnection. Various results that have accumulated would not let the two-dimensional, steady and laminar magnetic reconnection to remain as the standard model. Emphasis on three-dimensional, temporally varying, and turbulent effects is growing and this fact tells that the effects of waves in various frequency ranges deserve further attention in the context of magnetic reconnection. In this review, by setting a perspective, selected recent topics are reviewed and the ways in which these can be viewed as the stepping stones towards a new research horizon of magnetic reconnection are discussed.     

Calculation and fitting of boundaries between elliptic and hyperbolic singularities of pyramid-type control moment gyros

There exists a singularity problem in control moment gyros (CMGs). CMG singularities are classified into two types: hyperbolic and elliptic. Several gimbal steering control methods have been presented to avoid CMG singularities. Hyperbolic singularities can be avoided by null motion, but elliptic singularities cannot. The existing steering control methods are rarely designed by explicitly taking the singularity type into account. In order to effectively avoid elliptic singularities by perturbing gimbal angles, it is desirable to calculate and record the boundaries between elliptic and hyperbolic singularities in advance so that the determined boundaries can be utilized for developing model predictive steering control. To this end, the boundaries between elliptic and hyperbolic singularities of CMGs are calculated and represented in the form of fitted curves. Several numerical examples are presented to determine the perturbation gimbal angles for avoiding elliptic singularities without using singular value decomposition.     

Evidence that far-infrared radiation promotes growth of Xenopus laevis.

In most ectotherms, environmental temperature has differential effects on growth and differentiation. For example, amphibian size at maturity decreases with increasing temperature. To address how radiant heat in the form of far-infrared radiation (FIR) may affect development of the aquatic ectotherm Xenopus laevis, we continuously irradiated swimming larvae as they developed into young adults. Here we report evidence that FIR promotes growth of these organisms in an aqueous environment.