High temperature lens construction Patent

Lens assembly for solar furnace or solar simulato

Application of double-averaged equations of satellite motion to a lunar orbiter

Application of double-averaged equations of artificial satellite motion to lunar orbite

High-temperature mixer development

High temperature mixer development - Heat and mechanical load tests conducted on mockup of solar simulator mixe

Methods of averages expansions for artificial satellite applications

Formulas derived for averaged potential in artificial satellite theor

Lunar orbiter data analysis

Large Doppler residuals near pericynthion found in lunar orbiter tracking dat

The theory of long-term behavior of artificial satellite orbits due to third-body perturbations

Third-body perturbation effects on satellite orbit reduced to nonlinear system requiring elliptic integral

All sky pointing attitude control system

In a strapped-down gyroscope space vehicle attitude control system, a method and apparatus are provided for gyro drift and input axis misalignment error compensation employing a sun and a star tracker and preselected vehicle calibration maneuvers. The outputs of two-axis strapped-down gyroscopes nominally aligned with the optical axis of the sun and star trackers are measured to provide gyro drift calibration, roll, pitch and yaw axis scale factors and values corresponding to the degree of nonorthogonality between the roll axis and the pitch and yaw gyro input axes and the nonorthogonality of the roll and pitch axes relative to the yaw axis. The vehicle is then rolled and yawed through precomputed angles as modified by the calibrated data stored in a digital computer, and acquires a target without recourse to external references

ASCIE: An integrated experiment to study CSI in large segmented optical systems

A description of the advanced structures/control integrated experiment (ASCIE) experimental setup, a generic test bed for several essential technologies was presented. In particular its multi-input, multi-output, non-collocated control system and its complex structural dynamics, characteristic of large segmented systems make it an ideal test bed for Control-Structure Interaction (CSI) experiments. The high accuracy of its measurement system will make it possible to investigate the dynamics of microvibrations and its implication for the CSI phenomenon

The AIROscope pointing and stabilization system

The AIROscope pointing and stabilization system is described. The system is configured with three gimbal axes and rate integrating gyro stabilization to provide a stable platform for infrared astronomy. Error signals for on and off-axis pointing are derived from a video sensor which also drives a ground station display. Other features of the system include direct drive torque motors and electronic suspension damping. Results of analysis and simulations used to design the control loops, and a pointing error analysis are presented

Design optimization of high-performance electrodynamic actuators for use in a cryogenically cooled telescope

An analysis and optimization of a mirror-actuator system for large excursion/high-frequency chopping is developed. The results of this analysis, combined with laboratory measurements of a prototype actuator operating at cryogenic temperatures, allow performance predictions to be made for a real system utilizing this technology