SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Null seeking system uses two transponders located at selected points on dish to detect phase-front of received signal. One signal line has continuously variable phase shifter driven by reversible stepmotor. Each of two transponders on dish is a dipole with mixer crystal between elements. Crystal is driven, in turn, by 181.6MHz signal carried by miniature coaxial cable.
Various applications of an antiresonant ring, consisting of a beam splitter and a number of optical reflectors, are described. With a beam splitter having a transmission coefficient and a reflection coefficient, an optical beam incident on the beam splitter along a first axis is split into two components which circulate around the ring in opposite directions. They are recombined to reflect back the beam along the first axis, with none of the beam power being directed along a second axis. The ring can be part of the cavity of two otherwise independent lasers, with two separate laser mediums external to the ring, or with a multi-wavelength laser medium in the ring. The ring together with a second-harmonic generation crystal and a dispersive phase shifter in the ring can generate the second harmonic of an optical beam.
The potential uses and techniques for the shuttle spacelab Millimeter Wave Large Aperture Antenna Experiment (MWLAE) are documented. Potential uses are identified: applications to radio astronomy, the sensing of atmospheric turbulence by its effect on water vapor line emissions, and the monitoring of oil spills by multifrequency radiometry. IF combining is preferable to RF combining with respect to signal to noise ratio for communications receiving antennas of the size proposed for MWLAE. A design approach using arrays of subapertures is proposed to reduce the number of phase shifters and mixers for uses which require a filled aperture. Correlation radiometry and a scheme utilizing synchronous Dicke switches and IF combining are proposed as potential solutions.
A coaxial cylinder configuration is used to investigate the effect of corona impulses on the deterioration of electrical insulation. The corona currents flowing through the resistance develop a voltage which is fed to the measuring set-up. The value of this resistance is made equal to the surge impedance of the coaxial cylinder set up to prevent reflections. This instrumentation includes a phase shifter and Schmidt trigger and is designed to sample, measure, and display corona impulses occurring during any predetermined sampling period of a randomly selectable half cycle of the 60 Hz high voltage wave.
Unit divides power from single input among any 12 of 120 output terminals and redistributes it in 6 microseconds. Microwave current from coaxial line excites disk feeding many radial strip transmission lines. Built for use in electronically-steered S-band antenna, device also divides and switches energy among filters and phase shifters.
A method and apparatus for increasing the signal to noise ratio of a receiving facility for coherent frequency reception by arraying receiving systems using separate antennas for each, or one antenna for all systems are presented. One system is operated with a carrier tracking loop to provide a first local oscillator frequency for the first and all other systems arrayed, with individual tracking loops in all other systems operated at IF for tracking out any phase differences due to separate group delays using an adjustable phase shifter for a second reference to compensate for different group delays in the antenna and low noise amplifier of each of the other systems. The second IF output of all systems is summed into the first system. This technique may also be used when two systems are arrayed to an antenna designed for circular or linear polarization diversity reception to effectively provide the same signal to noise ratio for both polarized signal transmission channels that would result from matched polarization. An arrangement adapted to high rate telemetry reception is disclosed. With additional components, the same arrangement is adapted to provide low rate telemetry reception as well.
A J-band, space-fed transmissive array suitable to the constraints of space platform applications has been designed and an engineering model array has been fabricated and tested. Attention is given to the design of the aperture, radiating element, phase shifter module, and flatplate feed. Test results and performance are discussed with reference to gain, sidelobe level, and beamwidth as functions of frequency and scan angle.
A coherent optical spatial integration approach to ambiguity function generation is described. It uses one dimensional acousto-optic Bragg cells as input tranducers in conjunction with a space variant linear phase shifter, a passive optical element, to generate the two dimensional ambiguity function in one exposure. Results of a real time implementation of this system are shown.
Spacecraft array fed reflector antenna systems were assessed for particular application to a multiple fixed spot beam/multiple scanning spot beam system. Reflector optics systems are reviewed in addition to an investigation of the feasibility of the use of monolithic microwave integrated circuit power amplifiers and phase shifters in each element of the array feed.
Two algorithms are described which allow the plotting of individual points on a root locus diagram with or without time delay. The development was performed during the design of a continuous phase shifter used in the Baseband Antenna Combiner for the Deep Space Network (DSN). The algorithms, which are expected to be useful in similar DSN efforts, are simple enough to be implemented on a programmable pocket calculator. The coordinates of the open-loop zeros and poles, the gain constant K, and the time delay T are the data inputs.
Located in a narrow canyon 15 km west of Boulder, Colorado, the Sunset pulsed Doppler radar was the first radar designed and constructed specifically as a VHF ST radar. The antenna system is a phased array of coaxial-colinear dopoles with computer-controlled phase shifters for each line of dipoles. It operates at a frequency of 40.475 MHz and a wavelength of 7.41M. Peak transmitter power is 100 kW. Aperture efficiency is 0.58 and resistive loss is 0.30 for its 3600 sq m area. The practical steering rate is 1 record/minute/position to any arbitrary antenna beam position. The first clear-air turbulence echoes and wind velocity measurements were obtained in 1974. Significant accomplishments are listed.
The transceiver (TR) module of a middle and upper atmospheric radar is described. The TR module used in the radar is mainly composed of two units: a mixer (MIX unit) and a power amplifier (PA unit). The former generates the RF wave for transmission and converts the received echo to the IF signal. A 41.5-MHz local signal fed to mixers passes through a digitally controlled 8-bit phase shifter which can change its value up to 1,000 times in a second, so that the MU radar has the ability to steer its antenna direction quickly and flexibly. The MIX unit also contains a buffer amplifier and a gate for the transmitting signal and preamplifier for the received one whose noise figure is less than 5 dB. The PA unit amplifies the RF signal supplied from the MIX unit up to 63.7 dBm (2350 W), and feeds it to the crossed Yagi antenna.
A mobile VHF Doppler system was developed. The electronic part is installed in a 20 ft container and tested using a special log periodic aerial to illuminate the 300 m dish. The system was extended by designing a mobile phased antenna array with finally 576 Yagi elements. The grouping of the single Yagis, the system of transmission lines, the phase shifters, the power splitters and the T/R switch are described. Results from the first two campaigns and a survey of future programs demonstrating the flexibility of this mobile system are summarized.
Several antenna design concepts, operating at UHF (821 to 825 MHz transmit and 866 to 870 MHz receive bands), with gain ranging between 6 and 12 dBic, that are suitable for land mobile vehicles are presented. The antennas may be used within CONUS and ALASKA to communicate to and from a geosynchronous satellite. Depending on the type of steering mechanism, the antennas are broken down into three categories; (1) electronically scanned arrays with phase shifters, (2) electronically switched arrays with switchable power dividers/combiners, and (3) mechanically steered arrays. The operating characteristics of two of these design concepts, one a conformal antenna with electronic beam steering and the other a nonconformal design with mechanical steering, were evaluated with regard to two and three satellite system. Cost estimates of various antenna concepts were made and plotted against their overall gain performance.
Antenna designs applicable to future satellite mobile vehicle communications are examined. Microstrip disk, quadrifilar helix, cylindrical microstrip, and inverted V and U crossed-dipole low gain antennas (3-5 dBic) that provide omnidirectional coverage are described. Diagrams of medium gain antenna (9-12 dBic) concepts are presented; the antennas are classified into three types: (1) electronically steered with digital phase shifters; (2) electronically switched with switchable power divider/combiner; and (3) mechanically steered with motor. The operating characteristics of a conformal antenna with electronic beam steering and a nonconformal design with mechanical steering are evaluated with respect to isolation levels in a multiple satellite system. Vehicle antenna pointing systems and antenna system costs are investigated.
All of the existing radar systems fully dedicated to clear-air radar studies use some type of phased-array antennas. The effects of beam-steering techniques including feed networks and phase shifters; sidelobe control; ground-clutter suppression; low altitude coverage; arrays with integrated radiating elements and feed networks; analysis of coaxial-collinear antennas; use of arrays with multiple beams; and array testing and measure on structural design of the antenna are discussed.
The present discussion of the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) hardware design, subsystem functional design, and interfaces with the NASA Space Shuttle, gives attention to antenna characteristics and to instrument performance parameter characteristics in the C- and L-bands. The SIR-C antenna is a dual-frequency, dual-polarization distributed array antenna whose distribution of transmit/receive modules improves the system noise figure and eliminates the need for a single, high-power RF source. Phase shifters for individual subarrays allow electronic beam steering in elevation and azimuth.
Flat, compact antenna made of stripline elements aimed at fixed elevation angle but steered electronically in azimuth. Design simplified by maintaining fixed elevation and relying on width of beam to cover desired elevation range. Need for phase shifter at each radiating element eliminated by arranging elements in circles and feeding through stripline disks called "R-KR lenses". Used in Mobile/Satellite Service, antenna mounted on top of vehicle on Earth and used to keep transmitted and received antenna beams aimed approximately toward communication satellite.