Spacecraft telecommunications system mass estimates

Mass is the most important limiting parameter for present-day planetary spacecraft design, In fact, the entire design can be characterized by mass. The more efficient the design of the spacecraft, the less mass will be required. The communications system is an essential and integral part of planetary spacecraft. A study is presented of the mass attributable to the communications system for spacecraft designs used in recent missions in an attempt to help guide future design considerations and research and development efforts. The basic approach is to examine the spacecraft by subsystem and allocate a portion of each subsystem to telecommunications. Conceptually, this is to divide the spacecraft into two parts, telecommunications and nontelecommunications. In this way, it is clear what the mass attributable to the communications system is. The percentage of mass is calculated using the actual masses of the spacecraft parts, except in the case of CRAF. In that case, estimated masses are used since the spacecraft was not yet built. The results show that the portion of the spacecraft attributable to telecommunications is substantial. The mass fraction for Voyager, Galileo, and CRAF (Mariner Mark 2) is 34, 19, and 18 percent, respectively. The large reduction of telecommunications mass from Voyager to Galileo is mainly due to the use of a deployable antenna instead of the solid antenna on Voyager

Argentina soybean yield model

A model based on multiple regression was developed to estimate soybean yields for the country of Argentina. A meteorological data set was obtained for the country by averaging data for stations within the soybean growing area. Predictor variables for the model were derived from monthly total precipitation and monthly average temperature. A trend variable was included for the years 1969 to 1978 since an increasing trend in yields due to technology was observed between these years

Argentina wheat yield model

Five models based on multiple regression were developed to estimate wheat yields for the five wheat growing provinces of Argentina. Meteorological data sets were obtained for each province by averaging data for stations within each province. Predictor variables for the models were derived from monthly total precipitation, average monthly mean temperature, and average monthly maximum temperature. Buenos Aires was the only province for which a trend variable was included because of increasing trend in yield due to technology from 1950 to 1963

Brazil soybean yield covariance model

A model based on multiple regression was developed to estimate soybean yields for the seven soybean-growing states of Brazil. The meteorological data of these seven states were pooled and the years 1975 to 1980 were used to model since there was no technological trend in the yields during these years. Predictor variables were derived from monthly total precipitation and monthly average temperature

Argentina corn yield model

A model based on multiple regression was developed to estimate corn yields for the country of Argentina. A meteorological data set was obtained for the country by averaging data for stations within the corn-growing area. Predictor variables for the model were derived from monthly total precipitation, average monthly mean temperature, and average monthly maximum temperature. A trend variable was included for the years 1965 to 1980 since an increasing trend in yields due to technology was observed between these years

Brazil wheat yield covariance model

A model based on multiple regression was developed to estimate wheat yields for the wheat growing states of Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, and Santa Catarina in Brazil. The meteorological data of these three states were pooled and the years 1972 to 1979 were used to develop the model since there was no technological trend in the yields during these years. Predictor variables were derived from monthly total precipitation, average monthly mean temperature, and average monthly maximum temperature

Flight comparison of the transonic agility of the F-111A airplane and the F-111 supercritical wing airplane

A flight research program was conducted to investigate the improvements in maneuverability of an F-111A airplane equipped with a supercritical wing. In this configuration the aircraft is known as the F-111 TACT (transonic aircraft technology) airplane. The variable-wing-sweep feature permitted an evaluation of the supercritical wing in many configurations. The primary emphasis was placed on the transonic Mach number region, which is considered to be the principal air combat arena for fighter aircraft. An agility study was undertaken to assess the maneuverability of the F-111A aircraft with a supercritical wing at both design and off-design conditions. The evaluation included an assessment of aerodynamic and maneuver performance in conjunction with an evaluation of precision controllability during tailchase gunsight tracking tasks

Donor hematopoietic progenitor cells in nonmyeloablated rat recipients of allogeneic bone marrow and liver grafts

Background. Although the persistence of multilineage microchimerism in recipients of long-surviving organ transplants implies engraftment of migratory pluripotent donor stem cells, the ultimate localization in the recipient of these cells has not been determined in any species. Methods. Progenitor cells were demonstrated in the bone marrow and nonparenchymal liver cells of naive rats and in Brown Norway (BN) recipients of Lewis (LEW) allografts by semiquantitative colony-forming unit in culture (CFU-C) assays. The LEW allografts of bone marrow cells (BMC) (2.5xl08), orthotopic livers, or heterotopic hearts (abdominal site) were transplanted under a 2-week course of daily tacrolimus, with additional single doses on days 20 and 27. Donor CFU-C colonies were distinguished from recipient colonies in the allografts and recipient bone marrow with a donor-specific MHC class II monoclonal antibody. The proportions of donor and recipient colonies were estimated from a standard curve created by LEW and BN bone marrow mixtures of known concentrations. Results. After the BMC infusions, 5-10% of the CFU-C in the bone marrow of BN recipients were of the LEW phenotype at 14, 30, and 60 days after transplantation. At 100 days, however, donor CFU-C could no longer be found at this site. The pattern of LEW CFU-C in the bone marrow of BN liver recipients up to 60 days was similar to that in recipients of 2.5 x 108 BMC, although the donor colonies were only 1/20 to 1/200 as numerous. This was expected, because the progenitor cells in the passenger leukocytes of a single liver are equivalent to those in 1-5x106 BMC. Using a liquid CFU-C assay, donor progenitor cells were demonstrated among the nonparenchymal cells of liver allografts up to 100 days. In contrast, after heart transplantation, donor CFU-C could not be identified in the recipient bone marrow, even at 14 days. Conclusion. Under effective immunosuppression, allogeneic hematopoietic progenitors compete effectively with host cells for initial engraftment in the bone marrow of noncytoablated recipients, but disappear from this location between 60 and 100 days after transplantation, coincident with the shift of donor leukocyte chimerism from the lymphoid to the nonlymphoid compartment that we previously have observed in this model. It is possible that the syngeneic parenchymal environment of the liver allografts constitutes a privileged site for persistent progenitor donor cells

Correlative Spectral Analysis of Gamma-Ray Bursts using Swift-BAT and GLAST-GBM

We discuss the preliminary results of spectral analysis simulations involving anticipated correlated multi-wavelength observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) using Swift's Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope's (GLAST) Burst Monitor (GLAST-GBM), resulting in joint spectral fits, including characteristic photon energy (Epeak) values, for a conservative annual estimate of ~30 GRBs. The addition of BAT's spectral response will (i) complement in-orbit calibration efforts of GBM's detector response matrices, (ii) augment GLAST's low energy sensitivity by increasing the ~20-100 keV effective area, (iii) facilitate ground-based follow-up efforts of GLAST GRBs by increasing GBM's source localization precision, and (iv) help identify a subset of non-triggered GRBs discovered via off-line GBM data analysis. Such multi-wavelength correlative analyses, which have been demonstrated by successful joint-spectral fits of Swift-BAT GRBs with other higher energy detectors such as Konus-WIND and Suzaku-WAM, would enable the study of broad-band spectral and temporal evolution of prompt GRB emission over three energy decades, thus potentially increasing the science return without placing additional demands upon mission resources throughout their contemporaneous orbital tenure over the next decade.Comment: 5 pages. Adapted from a contribution to the Proceedings of the 2008 Nanjing GRB Conference. Edited by Y. F. Huang, Z. G. Dai and B. Zhan

Epeak estimator for Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope

We report a correlation based on a spectral simulation study of the prompt emission spectra of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT). The correlation is between the Epeak energy, which is the peak energy in the \nu F_\nu spectrum, and the photon index (\Gamma) derived from a simple power-law model. The Epeak - \Gamma relation, assuming the typical smoothly broken power-law spectrum of GRBs, is \log Epeak = 3.258 - 0.829\Gamma (1.3 < \Gamma < 2.3). We take into account not only a range of Epeak energies and fluences, but also distributions for both the low-energy photon index and the high-energy photon index in the smoothly broken power-law model. The distribution of burst durations in the BAT GRB sample is also included in the simulation. Our correlation is consistent with the index observed by BAT and Epeak measured by the BAT, and by other GRB instruments. Since about 85% of GRBs observed by the BAT are acceptably fit with the simple power-law model because of the relatively narrow energy range of the BAT, this relationship can be used to estimate Epeak when it is located within the BAT energy range.Comment: 27 pages, 31 figures, accepted for publication in Ap