Verification test results of Apollo stabilization and control systems during undocked operations

The results are presented of analysis and simulation testing of both the Skylark 1 reaction control system digital autopilot (RCS DAP) and the thrust vector control (TVC) autopilot for use during the undocked portions of the Apollo/Soyuz Test Project Mission. The RCS DAP testing was performed using the Skylab Functional Simulator (SLFS), a digital computer program capable of simulating the Apollo and Skylab autopilots along with vehicle dynamics including bending and sloshing. The model is used to simulate three-axis automatic maneuvers along with pilot controlled manual maneuvers using the RCS DAP. The TVC autopilot was tested in two parts. A classical stability analysis was performed on the vehicle considering the effects of structural bending and sloshing when under control of the TVC autopilot. The time response of the TVC autopilot was tested using the SLFS. Results indicate that adequate performance stability margins can be expected for the CSM/DM configuration when under the control of the Apollo control systems tested

Characteristics of Participants Enrolled in a Brief Motivational Enhancement for Smokers

Daily smoking is associated with elevated blood pressure, CO toxicity, and impaired pulmonary lung functioning. The benefits of successful smoking cessation are readily apparent, given the health improvements associated with cessation, as well as the reduction of secondhand smoke to which nonsmoking coworkers and family members are exposed. Previous literature indicates that providing personalized information to smokers (versus general base rates) without engaging in confrontational pressure to quit smoking, leads to increased interest in quitting smoking and willingness to enter smoking cessation programs. The goal of this study was to examine the pre-treatment characteristics of the smokers entering a brief motivational enhancement intervention based on personally tailored health feedback. Participants (N = 28) were 88.2% Caucasian, 59% male, and were an average of 23.0 years of age. On average, they smoked 20.08 cigarettes per day (CPD), for a mean of 6.6 years, a mean Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) score of 4.7, and obtained a mean breath carbon monoxide (CO) reading of 19.1 ppm. Smoking related adverse health outcomes were predictive of stages of change (SOC) motivation to quit smoking. Implication for cessation programs are discussed

The Status of School Reform in Pennsylvania Career and Technology Schools: Systemic Issues

The purpose of this study was to investigate the issues and implementation of high school reform efforts in the 81 career and technology schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The specific areas that were examined were those identified in the research as contributing to high school reform efforts of secondary schools. The researcher developed four research questions that guided the study. Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical Administrators (PACTA) aided the researcher in reaching directors of the 81 career and technology schools in the commonwealth via e-mail. The e-mail asked directors to complete an electronic survey concerning high school reform issues with their sending school districts. Seventy-one of a possible eighty-one directors completed the survey. The results of the completed survey were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative analysis. The statistical outline includes discussions of correlation, central themes found and percentages.The results of this study indicated that there is an overwhelming lack of communications between career and technology schools and their sending school districts. The researcher also found that comprehensive career and technology schools are more actively engaged in high school reform efforts than shared-time career and technology schools.By surveying a statistically significant number of career and technology school directors about the reform efforts of their schools, this study provides a clear road map for improvement in the overall high school reform efforts. This road map suggests Pennsylvania policymakers and school administrators need to make collaboration and communication a top priority to ensure that all students are provided the same high quality education regardless, of whether they chose career and technology or traditional academic education

Advanced Extravehicular Protective Systems (AEPS) study

A description is given of life support subsystem concepts for advanced extravehicular protective systems (AEPS) intended for use on future orbital, lunar surface, and Mars surface missions in the late 1970's and 1980's. Primary interest was centered around the thermal control and carbon dioxide control subsystems because they offer the greatest potential for total weight savings. Emphasis was placed on the generation of regenerable subsystem concepts; however, partially regenerable and expendable concepts were also considered. Previously conceived and developed subsystem concepts were included in the study. Concepts were evaluated on the basis of subsystem weight and volume, and subsystem contribution to parent vehicle weight and volume, which included spares, regeneration equipment, expendables, expandables storage penalty, power penalty, and process heating or cooling penalty. Results are presented showing total weight and volume penalty as a function of total mission extravehicular activity (EVA) hours, and showing EVA weight and volume as a function of EVA duration. Subsystem concepts are recommended for each life support function, and secondary concepts which should be developed are also identified

Computer simulation of radiation damage in gallium arsenide

A version of the binary-collision simulation code MARLOWE was used to study the spatial characteristics of radiation damage in proton and electron irradiated gallium arsenide. Comparisons made with the experimental results proved to be encouraging

Low altitude temperature and humidity profile data for application to aircraft noise propagation

A data search of the weather statistics from 11 widely dispersed geographical locations within the continental United States was conducted. The sites, located long both sea-coasts and in the interior, span the northern, southern, and middle latitudes. The weather statistics, retrieved from the records of these 11 sites, consist of two daily observations taken over a 10-year period. The data were sorted with respect to precipitation and surface winds and classified into temperature intervals of 5 C and relative humidity intervals of 10 percent for the lower 1400 meters of the atmosphere. These data were assembled in a statistical format and further classified into altitude increments of 200 meters. The data are presented as sets of tables for each site by season of the year and include both daily observations

Regenerable thermal control and carbon dioxide control techniques for use in advanced extravehicular protective systems

The most promising closed CO2 control concept identified by this study is the solid pellet, Mg(OH2)2 system. Two promising approaches to closed thermal control were identified. The AHS system uses modular fusible heat sinks, with a contingency evaporative mode, to allow maximum EVA mobility. The AHS/refrigerator top-off subsystem requires an umbilical to minimize expendables, but less EVA time is used to operate the system, since there is no requirement to change modules. Both of these subsystems are thought to be practical solutions to the problem of providing closed heat rejection for an EVA system

The Isometries of Low-Energy Heterotic M-Theory

We study the effective D=4, N=1 supergravity description of five-dimensional heterotic M-theory in the presence of an M5 brane, and derive the Killing vectors and isometry group for the Kahler moduli-space metric. The group is found to be a non-semisimple maximal parabolic subgroup of Sp(4,R), containing a non-trivial SL(2,R) factor. The underlying moduli-space is then naturally realised as the group space Sp(4,R)/U(2), but equipped with a nonhomogeneous metric that is invariant only under that maximal parabolic group. This nonhomogeneous metric space can also be derived via field truncations and identifications performed on Sp(8,R)/U(4) with its standard homogeneous metric. In a companion paper we use these symmetries to derive new cosmological solutions from known ones.Comment: 11 pages, 1 table; two foonotes added, minor corrections to conten

Noise characteristics of the O-1 airplane and some approaches to noise reduction

A brief study of the O-1A airplane to determine possible means for reducing the aircraft aural detection distance was conducted. This effort involved measuring the noise signature of the basic airplane, devising methods to attenuate the noise, and then estimating the effect of several selected modifications on the aural detection distance of the aircraft. A relatively simple modification utilizing a 6.5 ft diameter, six-blade propeller and including a muffler having a volume of 0.725 cu ft is indicated to reduce the aural detection distance of the O-1 aircraft from about 6 miles at an altitude of 1,000 ft and 2 to 3 miles at an altitude of 300 ft to approximately half these values. The flyover noise data suggest that routing the exhaust stacks up and over the wing would provide immediate noise reduction of about 5 dB with an attendant reduction in detection distance. Furthermore, all these studies confirm the work of other investigators that the 1/3 octave band (center frequency=125 cps) is the most critical in reducing aural detection distance

Research approaches to alleviation of airport-community noise

Airport-community noise reduction problem