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A computer program called PICATT is reported, which stands for picture attitude determination. Described are the particular satellite to which this technique of attitude determination has been applied, the method of solution, and the results that have been attained using the PICATT program.
A method is presented for determining the free vibration characteristics of a rotating blade having nonuniform spanwise properties and cantilever boundary conditions. The equations which govern the coupled flapwise, chordwise, and torsional motion of such a blade are solved using an integrating matrix method. By expressing the equations of motion and matrix notation, utilizing the integrating matrix as an operator, and applying the boundary conditions, the equations are formulated into an eigenvalue problem whose solutions may be determined by conventional methods. Computer results are compared with experimental data.
A flight test method to determine the level flight performance of propeller driven aircraft is reported that measures the amount of power it takes to overcome a known increment of added drag to maintain steady state flight conditions to determine overall drag and propeller efficiency of a general aviation aircraft.
A modified maximum likelihood estimation (MMLE) technique which included a provision for including a priori information about unknown parameters was used to determine the aerodynamic derivatives of the Lockheed JetStar airplane. Two hundred sixty-five maneuvers were performed with the JetStar airplane, which was modified to include direct lift controls, to obtain lateral-directional and longitudinal derivatives. Data were obtained at altitudes of 3048 meters, 6096 meters, and 9144 meters (10,000 feet, 20,000 feet, and 30,000 feet) and over an angle of attack range from approximately 3 deg to 13 deg and a Mach number range from 0.25 to 0.75. Side force generators were installed and tested in 87 maneuvers to determine their effectiveness and their effect on the other derivatives. Lateral-directional data for four flight conditions were analyzed without using a priori information to assess the effect of this feature on the results. The MMLE method generally gave consistent (repeatable) estimates of the derivatives, with the exception of the rolling moment due to yaw rate, which showed large variances.
The author has identified the following significant results. Research results include a method for determining the reflectivities of natural areas from ERTS data taking into account sun angle and atmospheric effects on the radiance seen by the satellite sensor. Ground truth spectral signature data for various types of scenes, including ground with and without annuals, and various shrubs were collected. Large areas of varnished desert pavement are visible and mappable on ERTS and high altitude aircraft imagery. A large scale and a small scale vegetation pattern were found to be correlated with presence of desert pavement. A comparison of radiometric data with video recordings shows quantitatively that for most areas of desert vegetation, soils are the most influential factor in determining the signature of a scene. Additive and subtractive image processing techniques were applied in the dark room to enhance vegetational aspects of ERTS.
A study was conducted to investigate several problems related to methodology and design of experiments to obtain human comfort response to vertical sinusoidal vibration. Specifically, the studies were directed to the determination of (1) the adequacy of frequency averaging of vibration data to obtain discomfort predictors, (2) the effect of practice on subject ratings, (3) the effect of the demographic factors of age, sex, and weight, and (4) the relative importance of seat and floor vibrations in the determination of measurement and criteria specification location. Results indicate that accurate prediction of discomfort requires knowledge of both the acceleration level and frequency content of the vibration stimuli. More importantly, the prediction of discomfort was shown to be equally good based upon either floor accelerations or seat accelerations. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the discomfort levels in different seats resulting from similar vibratory imputs were equal. Therefore, it was recommended that criteria specifications and acceleration measurements be made at the floor location. The results also indicated that practice did not systematically influence discomfort responses nor did the demographic factors of age, weight, and sex contribute to the discomfort response variation.
Determining air motions by tracking humidity patterns in isentropic layers was investigated. Upper-air rawinsonde data from the NSSL network and from the AVE-II pilot experiment were used to simulate temperature and humidity profile data that will eventually be available from geosynchronous satellites. Polynomial surfaces that move with time were fitted to the mixing-ratio values of the different isentropic layers. The velocity components of the polynomial surfaces are part of the coefficients that are determined in order to give an optimum fitting of the data. In the mid-troposphere, the derived humidity motions were in good agreement with the winds measured by rawinsondes so long as there were few or no clouds and the lapse rate was relatively stable. In the lower troposphere, the humidity motions were unreliable primarily because of nonadiabatic processes and unstable lapse rates. In the upper troposphere, the humidity amounts were too low to be measured with sufficient accuracy to give reliable results. However, it appears that humidity motions could be used to provide mid-tropospheric wind data over large regions of the globe.
Development of the Precision Attitude Determination System (PADS) focused chiefly on the two-axis gimballed star tracker and electronics design improved from that of Precision Pointing Control System (PPCS), and application of the improved tracker for PADS at geosynchronous altitude. System design, system analysis, software design, and hardware design activities are reported. The system design encompasses the PADS configuration, system performance characteristics, component design summaries, and interface considerations. The PADS design and performance analysis includes error analysis, performance analysis via attitude determination simulation, and star tracker servo design analysis. The design of the star tracker and electronics are discussed. Sensor electronics schematics are included. A detailed characterization of the application software algorithms and computer requirements is provided.
By a generalization of the Joukowski method, a procedure is developed for effecting localized modifications of airfoil shapes and for determining graphically the resultant changes in the pressure distribution. The application of the procedure to the determination of the pressure distribution over airfoils of original design is demonstrated. Formulas for the lift, the moment, and the aerodynamic center are also given.
The work function determinations of candidate materials for low temperature (1400 K) thermionics through vacuum emission tests are discussed. Two systems, a vacuum emission test vehicle and a thermionic emission microscope are used for emission measurements. Some nickel and cobalt based super alloys were preliminarily examined. High temperature physical properties and corrosion behavior of some super alloy candidates are presented. The corrosion behavior of sodium is of particular interest since topping cycles might use sodium heat transfer loops. A Marchuk tube was designed for plasma discharge studies with the carbide and possibly some super alloy samples. A series of metal carbides and other alloys were fabricated and tested in a special high temperature mass spectrometer. This information coupled with work function determinations was evaluated in an attempt to learn how electron bonding occurs in transition alloys.
A general geometric theory of spacecraft attitude determination from external reference direction sensors was presented. Outputs of different sensors are reduced to two kinds of basic directional measurements. Errors in these measurement equations are studied in detail. The partial derivatives of measurements with respect to the spacecraft orbit, the spacecraft attitude, and the error parameters form the basis for all orbit and attitude determination schemes and error analysis programs and are presented in a series of tables. The question of attitude observability is studied with the introduction of a graphical construction which provides a great deal of physical insight. The result is applied to the attitude observability of the IMP-8 spacecraft.
A system for an orbital antenna, operated at a synchronous altitude, to scan an area of a celestial body is disclosed. The antenna means comprises modules which are operated by a steering signal in a repetitive function for providing a scanning beam over the area. The scanning covers the entire area in a pattern and the azimuth of the scanning beam is transmitted to a control station on the celestial body simultaneous with signals from an activated ground beacon on the celestial body. The azimuth of the control station relative to the antenna is known and the location of the ground beacon is readily determined from the azimuth determinations.
It is anticipated that global orbital accuracies of 10 meters will be required for future earth observatory missions. Results are presented of a study of the LANDSAT-1 orbit to determine position accuracies obtainable today so as to assess what future advancements are necessary to meet a 10-meter goal. Accuracies of 50 meters were determined to be achievable now from two-day tracking arcs. One-half-day arcs yield accuracies of about 30 meters. The dominant error source was found to be geopotential model uncertainty. All other systematic errors produced less than 10 meters total position error.
Aerosol-size distributions were determined remotely using an airborne scanning photometer. This instrument consists of a sunshade, optics, and a large-dynamic-range photodetector-amplifier system that scans about the vertical, recording both the direct attenuated solar beam and the diffuse sky radiance in the almucantar of the sun at an effective wavelength of 0.54 micron. Inversion of the measured radiances determined aerosol radii from approximately 0.2 to 8.0 microns. Data were taken during flights over western Lake Superior and southwestern Wisconsin. Inverted aerosol-size distributions are compared with results obtained by other methods.
Ground measurements of solar radiation are too sparse to determine important mesoscale differences that can be of major significance in solar power station locations. Cloud images in the visual spectrum from the SMS/GOES geostationary satellites are used to determine the hourly distribution of sunshine on a mesoscale in the continental United States excluding Alaska. Cloud coverage and density as a function of time of day and season are considered through the use of digital data processing techniques. Low density cirrus clouds are less detrimental to solar energy collection than other types; and clouds in the morning and evening are less detrimental than those during midday hours of maximum insolation. The seasonal geographic distributions of sunshine are converted to Langleys of solar radiation received at the earth's surface through the use of transform equations developed from long-term measurements of these two parameters at 18 widely distributed stations. The high correlation between measurements of sunshine and radiation makes this possible. The output product will be maps showing the geographic distribution of total solar radiation on the mesoscale which is received at the earth's surface during each season.
The transfer function matrix is obtained for a three-input and three-output model of minimum sensors and actuators for the attitude control system of flexible spacecraft, and a method is described for determining the poles and zeros of this transfer function. Three cases are considered: (1) the actuators and the sensors are all attached to the primary body, (2) the actuators are on the primary body and the sensors are on the sub-body, and (3) the actuators are on the sub-body and the sensors are on the primary body. The zero-determination problem is shown to reduce to eigenvalue calculations of a matrix which is constructed from the inertial and modal matrices in a simple fashion.
A method is presented for determining solar insolation at the earth's surface using satellite broadband visible radiance and cloud imagery data, along with conventional in situ measurements. Conventional measurements are used to both tune satellite measurements and to develop empirical relationships between satellite observations and surface solar insolation. Cloudiness is the primary modulator of sunshine. The satellite measurements as applied in this method consider cloudiness both explicitly and implicitly in determining surface solar insolation at space scales smaller than the conventional pyranometer network.
Numerical solutions of the governing equations of motion of a liquid squeeze film damped forced vibration system were carried out to examine the feasibility of using a liquid squeeze film to cushion and protect large structures, such as buildings, located in areas of high seismic activity. The mathematical model used was that for a single degree of freedom squeeze film damped spring mass system. The input disturbance was simulated by curve fitting actual seismic data with an eleventh order Lagranging polynomial technique. Only the normal component of the seismic input was considered. The nonlinear, nonhomogeneous governing differential equation of motion was solved numerically to determine the transmissibility over a wide range of physical parameters using a fourth-order Runge-Kutta technique. It is determined that a liquid squeeze film used as a damping agent in a spring-mass system can significantly reduce the response amplitude for a seismic input disturbance.