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At least 325 records · Page 18

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NASA NTRS1986

An exact solution for orbit view-periods from a station on a tri-axial ellipsoidal planet

This paper presents the concise exact solution for predicting view-periods to be observed from a masked or unmasked tracking station on a tri-axial ellipsoidal surface. The new exact approach expresses the azimuth and elevation angles of a spacecraft in terms of the station-centered geodetic topocentric coordinates in an elegantly concise manner. A simple and efficient algorithm is developed to avoid costly repetitive computations in searching for neighborhoods near the rise and set times of each satellite orbit for each station. Only one search for each orbit is necessary for each station. Sample results indicate that the use of an assumed spherical earth instead of an 'actual' tri-axial ellipsoidal earth could introduce an error up to a few minutes in a view-period prediction for circular orbits of low or medium altitude. For an elliptical orbit of high eccentricity and long period, the maximum error could be even larger. The analytic treatment and the efficient algorithm are designed for geocentric orbits, but they should be applicable to interplanetary trajectories by an appropriate coordinates transformation at each view-period calculation. This analysis can be accomplished only by not using the classical orbital elements.

Tang, C. C. H.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Preliminary estimates of radiosonde thermistor errors

It has been long realized that radiosonde temperature measurements are subject to errors, not the least of which is the effect of long- and short-wave radiation. Methods of adjusting the daytime temperatures to a nighttime equivalent temperature were developed a number of years ago, and are used by some analysis centers. Other than providing consistent observations for analysis this procedure does not provide a true correction. The literature discusses the problem of radiosonde temperature errors but it is not apparent what effort, if any, has been taken to quantify these errors. In order to quantify this radiation error, radiosondes containing multiple thermistors with different coatings were flown at Goddard Space Flight Center/Wallops Flight Facility. The coatings employed had different spectral characteristics and, therefore, different absorption and emissivity properties. Discrimination of the recorded temperatures enabled day and night correction values to be determined for the US standard white-coated rod thermistor. The correction magnitudes are given and a comparison of US measured temperatures before and after correction are compared with temperatures measured with the Vaisala radiosonde. The US and Vaisala radiosonde data are from the recently completed WMO International Radiosonde Intercomparison held at Wallops. The corrections are in the proper direction, day and night, and reduce day-night temperature differences to less than 0,5°C between surface and 30 hPa. The present uncorrected temperatures used with the Viz radiosonde have day-night differences that exceed 1°C at levels below 90 hPa. Additional measurements are planned to confirm these preliminary results and determine the solar elevation angle effect on the corrections. The technique used to obtain the corrections may also be used to recover a true 'absolute' value and might be considered a valuable contribution to the meteorological community for use as a reference instrument.

Temperature measurement↗

NASA NTRS1986

Remote sensing of tree attenuation at 870 MHz along simulated Earth-satellite paths

Tree attenuation at 870 MHz was studied using a helicopter as a source platform and a van with receiver and data acquisition instrumentation. Tree attenuation results were obtained with the van stationary and in motion to determine land mobile satellite systems link parameter requirements (expected fading due to roadside trees for mobile and stationary vehicles). Single tree attenuation results give worst case median fades as high as 15 dB although roadside tree values produce fades greater than 20 dB for small percentages of time. The cumulative fade distributions and their relative contributions as a function of path elevation angle, right side versus left side driving, and different road types are derived from the field measurements.

Vogel, W. J.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Noise propagation from a four-engine, propeller-driven airplane

A flight experiment was conducted to investigate the propagation of periodic low-frequency noise from a propeller-driven airplane. The test airplane was a large four-engine, propeller-driven airplane flown at altitudes from 15 to 500 m over the end of an 1800-m-long, 22-element microphone array. The acoustic data were reduced by a one-third octave-band analysis. The primary propagation quantities computed were lateral attenuation and ground effects, both of which become significant at shallow elevation angles. Scatter in the measured results largely obscured the physics of the low-frequency noise propagation. Variability of the noise source, up to 9.5 dB over a 2-sec interval, was the major contributor to the data scatter. The microphones mounted at ground level produced more consistent results with less scatter than those mounted 1.2 m above ground. The ground noise levels were found to be greater on the port side than on the starboard side.

Willshire, William L., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Models of weather effects on noise temperature and attenuation for Ka- and X-band telemetry performance analysis

Models that show the effects of weather on noise temperature and attenuation of deep space telemetry signals received by the Deep Space Network (DSN) at Ka- and X-band (32 and 8.5 GHz) are developed. These models were used to compare the performance of telemetry links at these two frequencies. The models build on an earlier 1982 model that used three months of water vapor radiometer measurements (31.4 GHz) at Goldstone, augmented with one year of radiosonde measurements made at Edwards Air Force Base. This 1986 model accounts for annual variations of rainfall and extends to a model for Canberra, Australia, and Madrid, Spain. The results show, for example, that at Ka-band, 30 degrees elevation angle, Goldstone weather adds less than 23 + or - 2 K to the system temperature 80% of the time, while Canberra or Madrid weather adds less than 32 + or - 5 K 80% of the time. At X-band, the comparable numbers are 5.1 + or - 0.2 K and 5.7 + or - 0.4 K. A simple analysis shows a substantial telemetry system signal-to-noise ratio advantage when operating at Ka-band compared to X-band.

Slobin, S. D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Beam waveguides in the Deep Space Network

A beam waveguide is a mechanism for guiding electromagnetic radiation from one part of an antenna to another through a series of reflectors. Appropriate placement of reflectors on an antenna allows a beam to be guided around the elevation axis and/or below the alidade. The beam waveguide permits placement of all electronics in a room on the alidade below the elevation axis, or below the alidade; feed horn covers to be protected from the weather; and feed electronics to be in spacious rooms rather than in crowded cones, and always level rather than tipping with change in elevation angle. These factors can lead to lower costs in implementation such as Ka-band, better antenna performance at X-band, more efficient and stable performance of transmitters and receivers, and lower maintenance and operating costs. Studies are underway to determine methods for converting the major antennas of the Deep Space Network (DSN) to beam waveguide operations by 1995.

Clauss, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1987

DSS 43 antenna gain analysis for Voyager Uranus encounter: 8.45-GHz radio science data correction

A malfunction of the Deep Space Network (DSN) 64-meter antenna in Australia forced the antenna to operate with a mispositioned subreflector during the Voyager Uranus encounter period (January 24, 1986). Because of changing main reflector shape and quadripod position as a function of elevation angle, the antenna gain and pointing were not as expected, and the 8.45 GHz received signal level changed during the pass. The study described here used the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (GTD) analysis to determine actual antenna gain and pointing during that period in an attempt to reconstruct the radio science data. It is found that the 1.4 dB of signal variation can be accounted for by antenna geometry changes and pointing error. Suggested modifications to the values measured during the pass are presented. Additionally, an extremely useful tool for the analysis of gravity deformed reflectors was developed for use in future antenna design and analysis projects.

Slobin, S. D.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Response of some Thematic Mapper band ratios to variation in soil water content

Bidirectional reflectance to nadir in the reflective TM bands and the 1.15-1.3-micron band was measured in the laboratory as moisture content was varied in ten soils. Stronger absorption by water in TM5 and TM7 was expected to cause ratios of other bands to TM5 and TM7 to increase with water content, but in most cases these ratios were constant or decreased at low to intermediate water content and increased only at high moisture levels. Because these ratios were found to decrease as illumination elevation angle decreased, it was suggested that increased roughness resulting from the methods of moistening and mixing the soil may have tended to counteract the expected ratio increases.

Musick, H. Brad↗

NASA NTRS1987

Atomic oxygen in the lower thermosphere

The 63-micron line due to thermospheric atomic oxygen O(P-3), using a far-infrared spectrometer on a balloon platform at 37 km altitude over Palestine, TX, on June 20, 1983. From measurements of the equivalent width of this line at two elevation angles, a weak angular dependence is found: the equivalent width increases by a factor of 1.5 + or - 0.3 as the angle decreases from +30 deg to +1 deg. Since the optical depth of the O(P-3) line is large, the measured line intensity cannot be directly converted to a column abundance. Instead, the measurements are interpreted in terms of radiative transfer through a 16-layer atmosphere extending to 200 km. A model atmosphere for summer at 30 deg N, with an exospheric temperature of 1300 K, including an assumed daytime atomic oxygen abundance profile constructed from recent chemical and dynamical models and a water vapor abundance profile constructed from recent experimental and model results is used. For this assumed O(P-3) vertical profile shape a multiplicative scaling factor of 0.8, with an altitude-dependent uncertainty is determined. In the best-determined layer the uncertainty in the multiplier is + or - 0.2 at 119 km. The model-dependent peak atomic oxygen density is 3.6 (+ or - 1.9) x 10 to the 11th/cu cm at an altitude of about 101 km.

Lin, Florence J.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Roadside tree attenuation measurements at UHF for land mobile satellite systems

Tree attenuation results at 870 MHz are described for experiments conducted in October 1985 and March 1986 in Central Maryland. These experiments employed a helicopter as a source platform and a van with receiver and data acquisition instrumentation. Tree attenuation results were obtained for the cases in which the van was stationary and in motion. The experiments were performed for the purpose of providing the designers of planned land mobile satellite systems with important elements in the determination of link parameter requirements; namely, the expected fading statistics due to roadside trees for both mobile and stationary vehicles. Single tree attenuation results gave worst case median fades as high as 15 dB although roadside tree values were noted to produce fades in excess of 20 dB for small percentages of time. The cumulative fade distributions and their relative contributions as a function of path elevation angle, right side versus left side driving, and different road types are derived from the field measurements. Upon comparing the attenuations from bare deciduous trees (March 1986) with those due to trees in full foliage (October 1985), the increase in dB attenuations were, in general, less than 25 percent for the dynamic cases, and less than 40 percent for the worst case static configuration. This result demonstrates that the dominant fading is caused by the wooded tree branches as opposed to the leaves on these branches. The tail end of the observed fade distributions was observed to follow lognormal distributions with respect to dB attenuation.

Goldhirsh, Julius↗

NASA NTRS1988

Seventy-meter antenna performance predictions: GTD analysis compared with traditional ray-tracing methods

A comparative analysis was performed, using both the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (GTD) and traditional pathlength error analysis techniques, for predicting RF antenna gain performance and pointing corrections. The NASA/JPL 70 meter antenna with its shaped surface was analyzed for gravity loading over the range of elevation angles. Also analyzed were the effects of lateral and axial displacements of the subreflector. Significant differences were noted between the predictions of the two methods, in the effect of subreflector displacements, and in the optimal subreflector positions to focus a gravity-deformed main reflector. The results are of relevance to future design procedure.

Schredder, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Space communication link propagation data for selected cities within the multiple beam and steerable antenna coverage areas of the advanced communications technology satellite

Rain attenuation propagation data for 68 cities within the coverage area of the multiple beam and steerable antennas of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) are presented. These data provide the necessary data base for purposes of communication link power budgeting and rain attenuation mitigation controller design. These propagation parameters are derived by applying the ACTS Rain Attenuation Prediction Model to these 68 locations. The propagation parameters enumerated in tabular form for each location are as follows: (1) physical description of the link and location (e.g., latitude, longitude, antenna elevation angle, etc.), link availability versus attenuation margin (also in graphical form), fading time across fade depths of 3, 5, 8, and 15 dB versus fade duration, and required fade control response time for controller availabilities of 99.999, 99.99, 99.9, and 99 percent versus sub-threshold attenuation levels. The data for these specific locations can be taken to be representative of regions near these locations.

Manning, Robert M.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Propagation effects by roadside trees measured at UHF and L-band for mobile satellite systems

Propagation field tests were performed in Central Maryland and involved a helicopter and mobile van as the source and receiving platforms, respectively. Tests were implemented at both UHF (870 MHz) and L-band (1.5 GHz) during a period in which the trees were in full blossom and contained maximum moisture. Cumulative fade distributions were determined from the data for various fixed elevation angles, side of the road driving, and road types for both worst and best case path geometries and for overall average road conditions.

Goldhirsh, Julius↗

NASA NTRS1988

Propagation effects on spread-spectrum mobile satellite systems

In contrast to the situation at L-band, wide bandwidths of 500 MHz or more have been allocated for mobile satellite service at frequencies between 20 and 50 GHz. These broad bandwidths are well suited for the use of spread-spectrum. Certain system considerations about the use of such high frequencies for mobile satellite service are mentioned first, and attention is then given to propagation effects on high-frequency broad-band systems. Attenuation due to rain is a constant at 20 to 50 MHz, but would not be a serious problem if outages occurring for one to three percent of the time, depending on location, are considered to be acceptable. Clear air absorption becomes a significant factor above 40 GHz, but should not exceed 2 dB at a 10 degree elevation angle and frequencies below 40 GHz. Spread-spectrum provides a form of frequency diversity that helps to minimize the effects of multipath.

Flock, Warren L.↗

NASA NTRS1988

MSAT-X electronically steered phased array antenna system

A low profile electronically steered phased array was successfully developed for the Mobile Satellite Experiment Program (MSAT-X). The newly invented cavity-backed printed crossed-slot was used as the radiating element. The choice of this element was based on its low elevation angle gain coverage and low profile. A nineteen-way radial type unequal power divider and eighteen three-bit diode phase shifters constitute the beamformer module which is used to scan the beams electronically. A complete hybrid mode pointing system was also developed. The major features of the antenna system are broad coverage, low profile, and fast acquisition and tracking performance, even under fading conditions. Excellent intersatellite isolation (better than 26 dB) was realized, which will provide good quality mobile satellite communication in the future.

Chung, H. H.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Techniques of ground-truth measurements of desert-scrub structure

Inversion of remote sensing data taken over a desert scrub surface in Texas with a multidirectionally viewing field radiometer, PARABOLA, yields the value of 0.12 for the protrusion parameter, s, (the projection on a vertical plane of plants per unit area) if isotropy (Lambert law) is assumed for the underlying soil. However, a significantly higher value of s, in the range 0.15 to 0.20, can be inferred if the soil is assumed anisotropic. It is concluded that in remote sensing of sparse vegetation, it is important to know the reflectance characteristics of the underlying soil. Other techniques that can be used to infer desert scrub vegetation structure include various photographic techniques, and measurements of reflected radiance from zenith for a range of solar elevation angles on a clear day.

Ottermann, J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Fade measurements at L-band and UHF in mountainous terrain for land mobile satellite systems

Fading results related to land mobile satellite communications at L-band (1502 MHz) and UHF (870 MHz) are described. These results were derived from an experiment performed in a series of canyon passes in the Boulder, Colorado region of the US. The experimental configuration involved a helicopter as the source platform, which maintained a relatively fixed geometry with a mobile van containing the receiver and data-acquisition system. An unobstructed line of sight between the radiating sources and the receiving van was, for the most part, also maintained. In this configuration, the dominant mechanism causing signal fading (or enhancement) is a result of multipath. The resulting fade distributions demonstrated that at the 1 percent and 5 percent levels, 5.5- and 2.6-dB fades were on the average exceeded at L-band and 4.8- and 2.4-dB at UHF, respectively, for a path elevation angle of 45 deg. The canyon results as compared with previous roadside-tree-shadowing results demonstrate that the deciding factor dictating fade margin for future land mobile satellite systems is tree shadowing rather than fades caused by multipath.

Vogel, Wolfhard J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Spain 31-GHz observations of sky brightness temperatures

A water vapor radiometer was deployed at DSS 63 for 3 months of sky brightness temperature measurements at 31 GHz. An exceedance plot was derived from this data showing the fraction of time that 31 GHz 30 degree elevation angle brightness temperature exceeds specified values. The 5 percent exceedance statistics occurs at 75 K, compared with 70 K in Australia.

Gary, B. L.↗