Electronics systems test laboratory testing of shuttle communications systems

Shuttle communications and tracking systems space to space and space to ground compatibility and performance evaluations are conducted in the NASA Johnson Space Center Electronics Systems Test Laboratory (ESTL). This evaluation is accomplished through systems verification/certification tests using orbiter communications hardware in conjunction with other shuttle communications and tracking external elements to evaluate end to end system compatibility and to verify/certify that overall system performance meets program requirements before manned flight usage. In this role, the ESTL serves as a multielement major ground test facility. The ESTL capability and program concept are discussed. The system test philosophy for the complex communications channels is described in terms of the major phases. Results of space to space and space to ground systems tests are presented. Several examples of the ESTL's unique capabilities to locate and help resolve potential problems are discussed in detail

Tailor-made tests for goodness of fit to semiparametric hypotheses

We introduce a new framework for constructing tests of general semiparametric hypotheses which have nontrivial power on the $n^{-1/2}$ scale in every direction, and can be tailored to put substantial power on alternatives of importance. The approach is based on combining test statistics based on stochastic processes of score statistics with bootstrap critical values.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009053606000000137 in the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Standard environmental testing practices

Manual on procedural requirements for performing certain environmental tests on space flight equipment provides information for test equipment designers, quality control and production engineers. Contents of manual are summarized

Resonance enhanced turbulent transport

The effect of oscillatory shear flows on turbulent transport of passive scalar fields is studied by numerical computations based on the results provided by E. Kim [Physics of Plasmas 13, 022308 (2006)] . Turbulent diffusion is found to depend crucially on the competition between suppression due to shearing and enhancement due to resonances, depending on the characteristic time and length scales of shear flow and turbulence. Enhancements in transport occur for turbulence with finite memory time either due to Doppler or parametric resonances. Scalings of turbulence amplitude and transport are provided in different parameter spaces. The results suggest that oscillatory shear flows are not only less efficient in regulating turbulence, but also can enhance the value of turbulent diffusion, accelerating turbulent transport

Global analysis of muon decay measurements

We have performed a global analysis of muon decay measurements to establish model-independent limits on the space-time structure of the muon decay matrix element. We find limits on the scalar, vector and tensor coupling of right- and left-handed muons to right- and left-handed electrons. The limits on those terms that involve the decay of right-handed muons to left-handed electrons are more restrictive than in previous global analyses, while the limits on the other non-standard model interactions are comparable. The value of the Michel parameter eta found in the global analysis is -0.0036 \pm 0.0069, slightly more precise than the value found in a more restrictive analysis of a recent measurement. This has implications for the Fermi coupling constant G_F.Comment: 5 pages, 3 table