Honeywell's Compact, Wide-angle Uv-visible Imaging Sensor

Honeywell is currently developing the Earth Reference Attitude Determination System (ERADS). ERADS determines attitude by imaging the entire Earth's limb and a ring of the adjacent star field in the 2800-3000 A band of the ultraviolet. This is achieved through the use of a highly nonconventional optical system, an intensifier tube, and a mega-element CCD array. The optics image a 30 degree region in the center of the field, and an outer region typically from 128 to 148 degrees, which can be adjusted up to 180 degrees. Because of the design employed, the illumination at the outer edge of the field is only some 15 percent below that at the center, in contrast to the drastic rolloffs encountered in conventional wide-angle sensors. The outer diameter of the sensor is only 3 in; the volume and weight of the entire system, including processor, are 1000 cc and 6 kg, respectively

Renewable energy in the City of Rockingham: Lark Hill Regional Sporting Complex wind turbine feasibility study

The City of Rockingham has long been considering alternative energy options. A number of these options were documented in a report produced by Murdoch internship student Rebecca Tilbrook in 2004(Tilbrook 2004). One such option detailed the investigation of siting a wind turbine at the then proposed Lark Hill Regional Sporting Complex. Further to the work of Tilbrook, Council officers O’Neill, Strano and Ricci sought the Council’s endorsement to investigate the feasibility of construction of a wind turbine in the City of Rockingham for power generation and/or educational purposes. This endorsement was appealed for in the July 2008 General Council Meeting and was approved. In light of this decision, a Murdoch University internship student was contracted to undertake this study and provide the findings to Council. This report continues on from the work initiated by Tilbrook to determine the feasibility of siting a wind turbine at the Lark Hill Regional Sporting Complex. The findings of this report indicate that a number of sites would be suitable for the installation of a small wind turbine (100kW). An energy audit was the first investigation conducted to determine the feasibility of siting a wind turbine within the Lark Hill Regional Sporting Complex. Once the energy audit was complete, a wind resource assessment was undertaken to predict the wind climate at the proposed sites. Finally, a number of small wind turbines were compared and contrasted in terms of technical and financial performance. The key outcomes of the internship included the conduct of a feasibility study that Council could use to determine the suitability of installing a wind turbine at the Lark Hill Regional Sporting Complex. This feasibility study was conducted and the results have been put forward for review by the Council at the November 2008 ordinary Council meeting

SPACES - An Integrated Software Approach for Attitude Determination, Control and Pointing Systems Analysis

The recent success of the Pegasus small satellite launch system by Orbital Sciences Corporation foreshadows radical changes to the satellite industry comparable to those which occurred in the computer industry when personal computers became commercially available alternatives to mainframes. In order to support low cost, fixed price contracts for small commercial satellites, engineering design cycles for satellites and satellite subsystems will have to be shortened, and accomplished with fewer staff to meet more stringent cost and schedule goals. To accomplish this, better design tools must be made available which will allow the mission analysis, requirements analysis, and other systems engineering tasks to be accomplished in an integrated software environment by a systems engineer. The Satellite Pointing and Attitude Control Engineering System (SPACES) is a software package developed as part of an integrated toolset by Honeywell Satellite Systems Operation to meet the need for altitude determination, control and navigation subsystems requirements analysis. SPACES is specifically designed to support initial mission analysis, pointing and tracking system requirements, as well as ACDNS sensor and actuator analyses. The approach used in SPACES was to take advantage of the state-of-the-art in user interface technology to provide a integrated system preliminary design tool that is easy to use with graphically oriented output that can handle a large class of satellite missions without requiring software modification

Mixed Quantum/Classical Calculations of Total and Differential Elastic and Rotationally Inelastic Scattering Cross Sections for Light and Heavy Reduced Masses in a Broad Range of Collision Energies

The mixed quantum/classical theory (MQCT) for rotationally inelastic scattering developed recently [A. Semenov and D. Babikov, J. Chem. Phys.139, 174108 (2013)] is benchmarked against the full quantum calculations for two molecular systems: He + H2 and Na + N2. This allows testing new method in the cases of light and reasonably heavy reduced masses, for small and large rotational quanta, in a broad range of collision energies and rotational excitations. The resultant collision cross sections vary through ten-orders of magnitude range of values. Both inelastic and elastic channels are considered, as well as differential (over scattering angle) cross sections. In many cases results of the mixed quantum/classical method are hard to distinguish from the full quantum results. In less favorable cases (light masses, larger quanta, and small collision energies) some deviations are observed but, even in the worst cases, they are within 25% or so. The method is computationally cheap and particularly accurate at higher energies, heavier masses, and larger densities of states. At these conditions MQCT represents a useful alternative to the standard full-quantum scattering theory

Ultraviolet Three Axis Attitude Sensor

It is becoming increasingly obvious that satellite bus technologies, which have been developed for traditional larger satellite platforms, are not always suitable for use with smallsats. This is due to the intrinsic limitations in size, weight, available power, and cost associated with the latter. The problem is particularly obvious for attitude reference sensors of both the earth and star viewing type. In response to the lack of suitable sensors for this purpose, Honeywell is developing a system that determines three axis attitude through ultraviolet imaging of the earth\u27s limb and adjacent stars. A non-conventional wide angle optics assembly and intensified CCD array are utilized for this purpose. Because of the intrinsic stability of the features being observed and the large number of pixels on which the scene is imaged, it should be possible to obtain accuracies on the order of .05 degrees with a very small and lightweight sensor configuration

Development of Honeywell\u27s Earth Reference Attitude Determination System (ERADS)

In 1992 Honeywell began development of Earth Reference Attitude Determination System (ERADS), a very small low cost/power/weight attitude reference system designed for small satellite applications. We undertook this development because it appeared to us that small satellites require significantly smaller, lighter, and lower cost attitude reference systems than are currently available. ERADS was conceived as a single, strapdown, three axis sensor that would image the entire Earth\u27s limb in the ultraviolet. The spectral band was selected because it provided feature stability comparable to what is seen in the infrared along with sensor cost and weight characteristic of visible sensors. Although an Earth reference sensor was originally envisioned, it became evident that the ultraviolet was an excellent spectral band to observe stars as well, providing a providing a combined star/sun/Earth sensing capability in a single package. As a result, the current system can provide both three axis attitude and autonomous navigation data from a single solid-state sensor. A prototype sensor was fabricated in late 1992. In order to meet the weight and field of view requirements a highly innovative optical and detector assembly was developed. The optical assembly through the CCD has a volume smaller than a coke can and weighs less than a pound. The associated electronics, including an embedded R3000 processor, occupies two 8x10 inch boards. The system was originally designed to provide three axis accuracy of .05°. Subsequent evaluations indicated that a .02° accuracy can be obtained. In 1993 the optical system has been modified to be more compatible with typical satellite real estate priorities. The field of view has been extended to provide a clear 30° area in the center in addition to the original annular field. These modifications will make it easier to integrate ERADS with satellites and will also improve performance. The resulting sensor package now has a configuration more closely approximated by a tuna can. A processor design incorporating high density interconnect technology is being developed which will greatly reduce the weight and dimensions. The resulting package should fit within the tuna can envelope. As the system has evolved, it has become clear that better accuracy can be obtained by relying more heavily on stars for attitude determination, and using the earth limb data primarily for navigation purposes. The combination of earth and star sensing in a single small package should serve to further reduce the burdens of attitude determination for smallsats. The processor section of ERADS is scheduled for a flight test in 1994. The entire system is under consideration for an experiment on another 1994 flight

Observation of the Dynamic Beta Effect at CESR with CLEO

Using the silicon strip detector of the CLEO experiment operating at the Cornell Electron-positron Storage Ring (CESR), we have observed that the horizontal size of the luminous region decreases in the presence of the beam-beam interaction from what is expected without the beam-beam interaction. The dependence on the bunch current agrees with the prediction of the dynamic beta effect. This is the first direct observation of the effect.Comment: 9 page uuencoded postscript file, postscritp file also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Universality of Thermodynamic Constants Governing Biological Growth Rates

Background: Mathematical models exist that quantify the effect of temperature on poikilotherm growth rate. One family of such models assumes a single rate-limiting ‘master reaction ’ using terms describing the temperature-dependent denaturation of the reaction’s enzyme. We consider whether such a model can describe growth in each domain of life. Methodology/Principal Findings: A new model based on this assumption and using a hierarchical Bayesian approach fits simultaneously 95 data sets for temperature-related growth rates of diverse microorganisms from all three domains of life, Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. Remarkably, the model produces credible estimates of fundamental thermodynamic parameters describing protein thermal stability predicted over 20 years ago. Conclusions/Significance: The analysis lends support to the concept of universal thermodynamic limits to microbial growth rate dictated by protein thermal stability that in turn govern biological rates. This suggests that the thermal stability of proteins is a unifying property in the evolution and adaptation of life on earth. The fundamental nature of this conclusion has importance for many fields of study including microbiology, protein chemistry, thermal biology, and ecological theory including, for example, the influence of the vast microbial biomass and activity in the biosphere that is poorly described in current climate models