Attitude analysis of the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) yaw turn anomaly

The July 2 Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) hydrazine thruster-controlled yaw inversion maneuver resulted in a 2.1 deg/sec attitude spin. This mode continued for 150 minutes until the spacecraft was inertially despun using the hydrazine thrusters. The spacecraft remained in a low-rate Y-axis spin of .06 deg/sec for 3 hours until the B-DOT control mode was activated. After 5 hours in this mode, the spacecraft Y-axis was aligned to the orbit normal, and the spacecraft was commanded to the mission mode of attitude control. This work presents the experience of real-time attitude determination support following analysis using the playback telemetry tape recorded for 7 hours from the start of the attitude control anomaly

Is Science the Enemy? Turf Wars in the School of Arts OR Sciences

Explorer Cafe Presentation, La Salle University, April 2, 2014 Viewable at Prezi.com at: http://prezi.com/mqoj42if2mpe/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=cop

Evaluation of ERBE scanner pointing accuracy based upon a coastline detection algorithm

Measurements from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanning radiometers must be accurately located at the top of the Earth's atmosphere for proper interpretation of derived longwave and shortwave components of the Earth radiation field. The accuracy of the location calculations is affected by the orbit characteristics and attitude control systems of the three spacecraft, ERBS, NOAA-9, and NOAA-10. A technique was developed which makes use of the longwave scanner measurements to detect the thermal gradients at the boundaries of ocean and land masses. By analyzing many such coastline boundaries, estimates of the overall accuracy of the scanner measurement location calculations have been derived for the three satellites. The resulting measurement location errors are found to be smaller than the resolution of the radiometers, and this accuracy is well within the required location knowledge for useful science analysis of the ERBE scanner data

A theoretical study of the conversion of gas phase methanediol to formaldehyde

Methanediol, or methylene glycol, is a product of the liquid phase reaction of water and formaldehyde and is a predicted interstellar grain surface species. Detection of this molecule in a hot core environment would advance the understanding of complex organic chemistry in the interstellar medium, but its laboratory spectroscopic characterization is a prerequisite for such observational searches. This theoretical study investigates the unimolecular decomposition of methanediol, specifically the thermodynamic and kinetic stability of the molecule under typical laboratory and interstellar conditions. Methanediol was found to be thermodynamically stable at temperatures of <100 K, which is the characteristic temperature range for interstellar grain mantles. The infinite-pressure RRKM unimolecular decomposition rate was found to be <10^(−18) s^(−1) at 300 K, indicating gas phase kinetic stability for typical laboratory and hot core temperatures. Therefore, both laboratory studies of and observational searches for this molecule should be feasible

Mission description and in-flight operations of ERBE instruments on ERBS and NOAA 9 spacecraft, November 1984 - January 1986

Instruments of the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) are operating on three different Earth orbiting spacecrafts: the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), NOAA-9, and NOAA-10. An overview is presented of the ERBE mission, in-orbit environments, and instrument design and operational features. An overview of science data processing and validation procedures is also presented. In-flight operations are described for the ERBE instruments aboard the ERBS and NOAA-9. Calibration and other operational procedures are described, and operational and instrument housekeeping data are presented and discussed

Mission description and in-flight operations of ERBE instruments on ERBS, NOAA 9, and NOAA 10 spacecraft

Instruments of the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) are operating on three different Earth-orbiting spacecraft. The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) is operated by NASA, and NOAA 9 and NOAA 10 weather satellites are operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This paper is the second in a series that describes the ERBE mission, and data processing and validation procedures. This paper describes the spacecraft and instrument operations for the second full year of in-orbit operations, which extend from February 1986 through January 1987. Validation and archival of radiation measurements made by ERBE instruments during this second year of operation were completed in July 1991. This period includes the only time, November 1986 through January 1987, during which all ERBE instruments aboard the ERBE, NOAA 9, and NOAA 10 spacecraft were simultaneously operational. This paper covers normal and special operations of the spacecraft and instruments, operational anomalies, and the responses of the instruments to in-orbit and seasonal variations in the solar environment

Repeated Testing Sessions and Scholastic Aptitude in College Students’ Metacognitive Accuracy

We performed three experiments to examine the effects of repeated study–judgement–test sessions on metacognitive monitoring, and to see if better students (those with higher Scholastic Aptitude Test or SAT scores) outperform low SAT students. In all experiments, mean metacognitive accuracy (bias scores and Gamma correlations) did improve with practice. Most improvement involved students’ ability to predict which items would not be recalled later. In addition, students with high SAT scores recalled more items, were less overconfident, and adjusted their predictions more effectively. Thus, high SAT students may be able to adjust their metacognitive monitoring effectively without feedback, but low SAT students appear unlikely to do so. Educators may need to devise more explicit techniques to help low SAT students improve their metacognitive monitoring during the course of a semester

Widespread Changes in the Posttranscriptional Landscape at the Drosophila Oocyte-to-Embryo Transition

The oocyte-to-embryo transition marks the onset of development. The initial phase of this profound change from the differentiated oocyte to the totipotent embryo occurs in the absence of both transcription and mRNA degradation. Here we combine global polysome profiling, ribosome-footprint profiling, and quantitative mass spectrometry in a comprehensive approach to delineate the translational and proteomic changes that occur during this important transition in Drosophila. Our results show that PNG kinase is a critical regulator of the extensive changes in the translatome, acting uniquely at this developmental window. Analysis of the proteome in png mutants provided insights into the contributions of translation to changes in protein levels, revealing a compensatory dynamic between translation and protein turnover during proteome remodeling at the return to totipotency. The proteome changes additionally suggested regulators of meiosis and early embryogenesis, including the conserved H3K4 demethylase LID, which we demonstrated is required during this period despite transcriptional inactivity.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant GM39341

Possible Applications of Surface Electromagnetic Waves to Measure Absorption Coefficients

We Show that Surface Electromagnetic Waves Can Probably Be Used to Measure the Absorption Coefficients of Materials overlaying Metals. the Proposed Experimental Method is Illustrated in the Infrared Frequency Range using Water, Teflon, and Polyethylene as Sample Materials