The MethaneSAT Mission

The MethaneSAT mission is expected to launch in Q4 of 2022 with a primary goal of providing systematic monitoring of methane emissions from regions accounting for more than 80% of global oil and gas production. High precision measurements from the sensor will allow quantification and mapping of essentially all methane emissions from these regions and identify the location of major point sources and quantify those methane emissions. MethaneSAT has a wide observing swath (~200km), high spatial resolution (~100m x400m), low detection threshold (~2pbb @ 1.5 km2), and targeting capability up to 40° off nadir, enabling it to fill a critical data and observing gap in obtaining quantitative measurements of methane emissions that can be detected by current and planned satellites that either focus on point sources or map the globe. MethaneSAT data will be publicly available and will provide companies, countries and the civil society at-large, the capability to quantify total methane emissions over time and map where they occur, resulting in improved capacity to manage, and reduce those emissions. The science and policy objectives were used to derive the mission architecture that consists of a single space craft in a sun-synchronous low-Earth orbit with agility to meet the frequent site revisit requirements through off-nadir pointing. MethaneSAT consists of two spectrometers, one covering 1249 – 1305nm wavelengths for Oxygen detection and one covering 1605 –1683 nm wavelengths for Methane and Carbon Dioxide retrievals, with 0.1 nm spectral sampling and 0.3 nm spectral resolution. MethaneSAT strongly leverages Ball Aerospace’s heritage designs and spectrometer technologies developed for Landsat, Ozone Mapping & Profiler Suite (OMPS), and the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring Pollution (TEMPO)/Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) instruments, with new designs developed a s necessary to meet mission needs. MethaneSAT is packaged into a SmallSat and will launch as a secondary payload on a Falcon 9 rocket

Ground Testing a LWIR Imaging Radiometer for an Upcoming Smallsat Mission

The Compact Infrared Radiometer in Space (CIRiS) mission is envisioned as a calibration laboratory in space to test source viewing order and timing. Furthermore, it demonstrates the use of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes as a very high emissivity source and an uncooled microbolometer. Due to the focus on instrument calibration, this program spends a significant amount of time in the thermal vacuum chamber to attain a good quality ground calibration. The resulting test plan is presented, along with the plan as implemented, and several lessons learned from the process

Visual Network Analysis of Dynamic Metabolic Pathways

Abstract. We extend our previous work on the exploration of static metabolic networks to evolving, and therefore dynamic, pathways. We apply our visualization software to data from a simulation of early metabolism. Thereby, we show that our technique allows us to test and argue for or against different scenarios for the evolution of metabolic pathways. This supports a profound and efficient analysis of the structure and properties of the generated metabolic networks and its underlying components, while giving the user a vivid impression of the dynamics of the system. The analysis process is inspired by Ben Shneiderman’s mantra of information visualization. For the overview, user-defined diagrams give insight into topological changes of the graph as well as changes in the attribute set associated with the participating enzymes, substances and reactions. This way, “interesting features” in time as well as in space can be recognized. A linked view implementation enables the navigation into more detailed layers of perspective for in-depth analysis of individual network configuration

Comparing online campaigning: The evolution of interactive campaigning from Royal to Obama to Hollande

© 2016 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.Studies of election campaigning from a comparative perspective have a long history; this study approaches the topic through a most-similar regime perspective to explore the ebb and flow of innovations in digital campaigning between presidential campaigns in France and the United States. The hype surrounding the 2008 Obama campaign overshadowed innovations in France the previous year, while the 2011 contest gained little serious academic attention. Using a well-established content analysis methodology the research explains the strategic design of the digital dimension of the campaigns of the leading candidates (Sarkozy and Royal in 2007, Obama and McCain in 2008, Hollande and Sarkozy in 2011, and Obama and Romney in 2012). The research then assesses the strategic contribution of each feature using schematics for understanding the flow of communication, as well as the strategy employed by each candidate. The key findings are that the campaigns are becoming more interactive, with the citizens increasingly more able to enter into conversations with the campaign teams, however interactivity when it happens is carefully controlled. Largely, however, there is a strong similarity masked by the sophistication of US contests. Despite the advances in communication technology and the social trends they have instigated, campaign communication remains top-down and digital technologies are used to gather data and push supporters towards activism than creating an inclusive space for the co-creation that cyberoptimists argued would revitalise the structures of democracy

An Evaluation of Ballute Entry Systems for Lunar Return Missions

AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference August 2006, Keystone, CO.This study investigates the advantages and feasibility of using ballutes for Earth entry at lunar return velocities. Using analysis methods suitable for conceptual design and assuming a CEV type entry vehicle, multiple entry strategies were investigated. Entries that jettison the ballute after achieving low Earth orbit conditions were shown to reduce heating rates to within reusable thermal protection system limits. Deceleration was mitigated to approximately four g's when a moderate amount of lift was applied subsequent to ballute jettison. Primary ballute size drivers are the thermal limitations and areal densities of the ballute material. Performance requirements for both of those metrics were generated over a range of total ballute system masses. Lastly, preliminary investigation of a lower mass cargo variant of the CEV allowed for additional reduction of ballute system mass. However, ballute system mass as a percentage of the total entry mass was shown to be relatively independent of the entry mass

The common ABCA4 variant p.Asn1868ile shows nonpenetrance and variable expression of stargardt disease when present in trans with severe variants

PURPOSE. To assess the occurrence and the disease expression of the common p.Asn1868Ile variant in patients with Stargardt disease (STGD1) harboring known, monoallelic causal ABCA4 variants. METHODS. The coding and noncoding regions of ABCA4 were sequenced in 67 and 63 STGD1 probands respectively, harboring monoallelic ABCA4 variants. In case p.Asn1868Ile was detected, segregation analysis was performed whenever possible. Probands and affected siblings harboring p.Asn1868Ile without additional variants in cis were clinically evaluated retrospe

Preliminary Design of a New Hybrid and Technology Innovative Suborbital Vehicle for Space Tourism

The general enthusiasm aroused by space tourism combined with the great technological achievement of Scaled Composites with the SpaceShipOne in 2004 initiated a new era: suborbital space tourism. As of today, most of the vehicles have been designed for performance, combining the most advanced technologies from both aeronautics and astronautics. Nevertheless, in order to become viable, vehicles must be safe enough to carry paying passengers and they must match the increasing demand. Thus, the implementation of a new design process based on adapted requirements led to a new vehicle. The latter is mainly powered by newly designed hybrid rocket engines but it also makes use of turbofans for the first segment of the climb and a safe powered landing. It takes-off and lands horizontally and is able to carry up to eight passengers and two pilots to an altitude of 109 km. The micro-gravity experienced by the passengers lasts approximately 4 minutes while the maximum load factor is reduced to 3.3 g in order to improve the passenger experience