Shuttle/GPSPAC experimentation study

The utilization is discussed of the GPSPAC, which is presently being developed to be used on the low altitude host vehicle (LAHV), for possible use in the shuttle avionics system to evaluate shuttle/GPS navigation performance. Analysis and tradeoffs of the shuttle/GPS link, shuttle signal interface requirements, oscillator tradeoffs and GPSPAC mechanical modifications for shuttle are included. Only the on-orbit utilization of GPSPAC for the shuttle is discussed. Other phases are briefly touched upon. Recommendations are provided for using the present GPSPAC and the changes required to perform shuttle on-orbit navigation

Development of a silver-zinc battery system

Summary report is described of historical documentation and detailed design data for development of silver-zinc battery for use on Surveyor spacecraft. Electrical and physical characteristics of battery models are included, along with data on qualification, acceptance, solar-thermal-vacuum, mission simulation testing, and actual flight performance

Tangent power sums and their applications

For integer $m, p,$ we study tangent power sum $\sum^m_{k=1}\tan^{2p}\frac{\pi k}{2m+1}.$ We prove that, for every $m, p,$ it is integer, and, for a fixed p, it is a polynomial in $m$ of degree $2p.$ We give recurrent, asymptotical and explicit formulas for these polynomials and indicate their connections with Newman's digit sums in base $2m.$Comment: 14 pages. Addition of reference: A.M. and I.M. Yaglom (1953

Scaling laws for soliton pulse compression by cascaded quadratic nonlinearities

We present a detailed study of soliton compression of ultra-short pulses based on phase-mismatched second-harmonic generation (\textit{i.e.}, the cascaded quadratic nonlinearity) in bulk quadratic nonlinear media. The single-cycle propagation equations in the temporal domain including higher-order nonlinear terms are presented. The balance between the quadratic (SHG) and the cubic (Kerr) nonlinearity plays a crucial role: we define an effective soliton number -- related to the difference between the SHG and the Kerr soliton numbers -- and show that it has to be larger than unity for successful pulse compression to take place. This requires that the phase mismatch be below a critical level, which is high in a material where the quadratic nonlinearity dominates over the cubic Kerr nonlinearity. Through extensive numerical simulations we find dimensionless scaling laws, expressed through the effective soliton number, which control the behaviour of the compressed pulses. These laws hold in the stationary regime, in which group-velocity mismatch effects are small, and they are similar to the ones observed for fiber soliton compressors. The numerical simulations indicate that clean compressed pulses below two optical cycles can be achieved in a $\beta$-barium borate crystal at appropriate wavelengths, even for picosecond input pulses.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, resubmitted version, to appear in October issue of J. Opt. Soc. Am. B. Substantially revised, updated mode

Advanced flight control system study

The architecture, requirements, and system elements of an ultrareliable, advanced flight control system are described. The basic criteria are functional reliability of 10 to the minus 10 power/hour of flight and only 6 month scheduled maintenance. A distributed system architecture is described, including a multiplexed communication system, reliable bus controller, the use of skewed sensor arrays, and actuator interfaces. Test bed and flight evaluation program are proposed

The correspondence between small-scale coronal structures and the evolving solar magnetic field

Solar coronal bright points, first identified in soft X-rays as X-ray Bright Points (XBPs), are compact, short lived and associated with small bipolar magnetic flux. Contradictory studies have suggested that XBPs are either a primary signature of the emerging flux spectrum of the quiet Sun, or that they are representative of the disappearance of pre-existing flux. Results are presented using coordinated data obtained during recent X-ray sounding rocket flights on 15 August and 11 December 1987 to determine the correspondence of XBPs with time-series, ground based observations of evolving bipolar magnetic structures, He-I dark points, and the network. The results are consistent with the view that coronal bright points are more likely to be associated with the annihilation of pre-existing flux than with emerging flux