8,451 research outputs found
Spacecraft-spacecraft very long baseline interferometry. Part 1: Error modeling and observable accuracy
In Part 1 of this two-part article, an error budget is presented for Earth-based delta differential one-way range (delta DOR) measurements between two spacecraft. Such observations, made between a planetary orbiter (or lander) and another spacecraft approaching that planet, would provide a powerful target-relative angular tracking data type for approach navigation. Accuracies of better than 5 nrad should be possible for a pair of spacecraft with 8.4-GHz downlinks, incorporating 40-MHz DOR tone spacings, while accuracies approaching 1 nrad will be possible if the spacecraft incorporate 32-GHz downlinks with DOR tone spacing on the order of 250 MHz; these accuracies will be available for the last few weeks or months of planetary approach for typical Earth-Mars trajectories. Operational advantages of this data type are discussed, and ground system requirements needed to enable spacecraft-spacecraft delta DOR observations are outlined. This tracking technique could be demonstrated during the final approach phase of the Mars '94 mission, using Mars Observer as the in-orbit reference spacecraft, if the Russian spacecraft includes an 8.4-GHz downlink incorporating DOR tones. Part 2 of this article will present an analysis of predicted targeting accuracy for this scenario
Flight craft Patent
Designing spacecraft for flight into space, atmospheric reentry, and landing at selected site
Turbulent transport measurements with a laser Doppler velocimeter
The power spectrum of phototube current from a laser Doppler velocimeter operating in the heterodyne mode has been computed. The spectrum is obtained in terms of the space time correlation function of the fluid. The spectral width and shape predicted by the theory are in agreement with experiment. For normal operating parameters the time average spectrum contains information only for times shorter than the Lagrangian integral time scale of the turbulence. To examine the long time behavior, one must use either extremely small scattering angles, much longer wavelength radiation or a different mode of signal analysis, e.g., FM detection
The goldstone real-time connected element interferometer
Connected element interferometry (CEI) is a technique of observing a celestial radio source at two spatially separated antennas and then interfering the received signals to extract the relative phase of the signal at the two antennas. The high precision of the resulting phase delay data type can provide an accurate determination of the angular position of the radio source relative to the baseline vector between the two stations. This article describes a recently developed connected element interferometer on a 21-km baseline between two antennas at the Deep Space Network's Goldstone, California, tracking complex. Fiber-optic links are used to transmit the data to a common site for processing. The system incorporates a real-time correlator to process these data in real time. The architecture of the system is described, and observational data are presented to characterize the potential performance of such a system. The real-time processing capability offers potential advantages in terms of increased reliability and improved delivery of navigational data for time-critical operations. Angular accuracies of 50-100 nrad are achievable on this baseline
Factors Affecting Interannual Movements of Snowy Plovers
We studied the interannual movements of 361 individually color-banded adult Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) at Great Salt Lake, Utah from 1990 to 1993. In northern Utah, Snowy Plovers nested in a dynamic environment; suitable breeding habitat declined by 50% at two study areas in four years. Male Snowy Plovers were more site faithful than females; 40% of males exhibited fidelity compared with 26% of females (P \u3c 0.01). However, as the amount of available suitable nesting habitat declined, male site fidelity diminished, whereas female fidelity remained relatively constant. We found strong evidence that female site fidelity was affected by nesting success in the previous year. Females that nested unsuccessfully were less likely than successful females to exhibit site fidelity the following year; males did not exhibit this nest-success bias. In addition, unsuccessful females breeding at sites with high densities of nests tended to disperse the following year, whereas male site fidelity did not appear to be affected by either a study site\u27s overall nesting success the previous year or a study site\u27s nest density the previous year. Female avoidance of areas with high densities of nests may be an antipredator strategy. Snowy Plovers in northern Utah have biparental incubation duties, but only males care for broods. Familiarity with brood-rearing areas was one plausible explanation for male-biased fidelity. However, we could not eliminate an alternative hypothesis that both focal study sites represented scarce breeding areas due to the presence of freshwater, and male Snowy Plovers preferred to use the same areas rather than disperse. We propose that more landscape-level studies are needed to address questions concerning local and regional movement patterns
Quantum transport in noncentrosymmetric superconductors and thermodynamics of ferromagnetic superconductors
We consider a general Hamiltonian describing coexistence of itinerant
ferromagnetism, spin-orbit coupling and mixed spin-singlet/triplet
superconducting pairing in the context of mean-field theory. The Hamiltonian is
diagonalized and exact eigenvalues are obtained, thus allowing us to write down
the coupled gap equations for the different order parameters. Our results may
then be applied to any model describing coexistence of any combination of these
three phenomena. As a specific application of our results, we consider
tunneling between a normal metal and a noncentrosymmetric superconductor with
mixed singlet and triplet gaps. The conductance spectrum reveals information
about these gaps in addition to how the influence of spin-orbit coupling is
manifested. We also consider the coexistence of itinerant ferromagnetism and
triplet superconductivity as a model for recently discovered ferromagnetic
superconductors. The coupled gap equations are solved self-consistently, and we
study the conditions necessary to obtain the coexistent regime of
ferromagnetism and superconductivity. Analytical expressions are presented for
the order parameters, and we provide an analysis of the free energy to identify
the preferred system state. Moreover, we make specific predictions concerning
the heat capacity for a ferromagnetic superconductor. In particular, we report
a nonuniversal relative jump in the specific heat, depending on the
magnetization of the system, at the uppermost superconducting phase transition.
[Shortened abstract due to arXiv submission.]Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures (high quality figures available in published
version). Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Development and Validation of Spatially Explicit Habitat Models for Cavity-nesting Birds in Fishlake National Forest, Utah
The ability of USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and analysis (FIA) generated spatial products to increase the predictive accuracy of spatially explicit, macroscale habitat models was examined for nest-site selection by cavity-nesting birds in Fishlake National Forest, Utah. One FIA-derived variable (percent basal area of aspen trees) was significant in the habitat model; however, the incorporation of FIA stand structure information did not increase model accuracy. Cavity-nesting birds respond strongly to nest-tree attributes unable to be modeled spatially for this study. Future modeling efforts should focus on larger taxa (e.g., ungulates) and richness/diversity studies
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