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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.

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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

Telemetry Tracking & Control (TT&C) - First TDRSS, then Commercial GEO & Big LEO and Now Through LEO

The advent of low earth orbit (LEO) commercial communication satellites provides an opportunity to dramatically reduce Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) costs of launch vehicles, Unpiloted Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Research Balloons and spacecraft by reducing or eliminating ground infrastructure. Personnel from the Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility (GSFC\WFF) have successfully used commercial Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Big LEO communications satellites for Long Duration Balloon Flight TT&C. The Flight Modem is a GSFC\WFF Advanced Range Technology initiative (ARTI) designed to streamline TT&C capability in the user community of these scientific data gathering platforms at low cost. Making use of existing LEO satellites and adapting and ruggedized commercially available components; two-way, over the horizon communications may be established with these vehicles at great savings due to reduced infrastructure. Initially planned as a means for permitting GPS data for tracking and recovery of sounding rocket and balloon payloads, expectations are that the bandwidth can soon be expanded to allow more comprehensive data transfer. The system architecture which integrates antennas, GPS receiver, commercial satellite packet data modem and a single board computer with custom software is described and technical challenges are discussed along with the plan for their resolution. A three-phase testing and development plan is outlined and the current results are reported. Results and status of ongoing flight tests on aircraft and sounding rockets are reported. Future applications on these platforms and the potential for satellite support are discussed along with an analysis of cost effectiveness of this method vs. other tracking and data transmission schemes.

Morgan, Dwayne R.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Direct Data Distribution From Low-Earth Orbit

NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) is developing the space and ground segment technologies necessary to demonstrate a direct data distribution (1)3) system for use in space-to-ground communication links from spacecraft in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to strategically located tracking ground terminals. The key space segment technologies include a K-band (19 GHz) MMIC-based transmit phased array antenna, and a multichannel bandwidth- and power-efficient digital encoder/modulate with an aggregate data rate of 622 Mb/s. Along with small (1.8 meter), low-cost tracking terminals on the ground, the D3 system enables affordable distribution of data to the end user or archive facility through interoperability with commercial terrestrial telecommunications networks. The D3 system is applicable to both government and commercial science and communications spacecraft in LEO. The features and benefits of the D3 system concept are described. Starting with typical orbital characteristics, a set of baseline requirements for representative applications is developed, including requirements for onboard storage and tracking terminals, and sample link budgets are presented. Characteristics of the transmit array antenna and digital encoder/modulator are described. The architecture and components of the tracking terminal are described, including technologies for the next generation terminal. Candidate flights of opportunity for risk mitigation and space demonstration of the D3 features are identified.

Budinger, James M.↗
NASA NTRS1970

A self-tuning filter

Self-tuning filter automatically adjusts its center frequency to track signal frequency. This permits the use of a filter with a bandwidth smaller than the range of input signal frequencies.

Deboo, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Discriminator aided phase lock acquisition for suppressed carrier signals

A discriminator aided technique for acquisition of phase lock to a suppressed carrier signal utilizes a Costas loop which is initially operated open loop and control voltage for its VCXO is derived from a phase detector that compares the VCXO to a reference frequency thus establishing coarse frequency resolution with the received signal. Then the Costas loop is closed with the low-pass filter of the channel having a bandwidth much greater (by a factor of about 10) than in the I channel so that a frequency discriminator effect results to aid carrier resolution. Finally, after carrier acquisition, the Q-channel filter of the Costas loop is switched to a bandwidth substantially equal to that of the I-channel for carrier tracking.

Carson, L. M.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Update of NASA's ocean colour activities

The NIMBUS-7 Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) status and processing are reviewed, and future American ocean color instruments are introduced. The CZCS is probably dead, but an attempt to restart it is planned. A wide field instrument for LANDSAT-6 and 7 (WIFS) and a wiskbroom imaging spectrometer (MODIS-T) for Columbus Polar Platforms are outlined. The WIFS and MODIS-T specifications are similar: 64 bands in the range 400 to 1030 nm, with 15 to 30 nm bandwidth; 1 km resolution from 850 km altitude; 64 km footprint along track; 1500 km scan across track; and 10 yr continuous operation life.

Yoder, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Precision Beam Pointing for Laser Communication System Using a CCD-based Tracker

Spatial acquisition and precision beam pointing functions are critical to spaceborne laser communication systems. A recent system study indicated that a single high bandwidth CCD detector can be used to perform both spatial acquisition and tracking functions. Compared to previous lasercom hardware design, the arrray tracking cocept offers reduced system complexity by reducing the number of optical elements in the design.

Laser↗
NASA NTRS2005

Bandwidth Efficient Modulation and Coding Techniques for NASA's Existing Ku/Ka-Band 225 MHz Wide Service

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has recently established the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) K-band Upgrade Project (TKUP), a project intended to enhance the TDRSS Ku-band and Ka-band Single Access Return 225 MHz (Ku/KaSAR-225) data service by adding the capability to process bandwidth efficient signal design and to replace the White Sand Complex (WSC) KSAR high data rate ground equipment and high rate switches which are nearing obsolescence. As a precursor to this project, a modulation and coding study was performed to identify signal structures which maximized the data rate through the Ku/KaSAR-225 channel, minimized the required customer EIRP and ensured acceptable hardware complexity on the customer platform. This paper presents the results and conclusions of the TKUP modulation and coding study.

Gioannini, Bryan↗
NASA NTRS2004

UAV-Based L-Band SAR with Precision Flight Path Control

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is currently implementing a reconfigurable polarimetric L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), specifically designed to acquire airborne repeat track interferometric (RTI) SAR data, also know as differential interferometric measurements. Differential interferometry can provide key displacement measurements, important for the scientific studies of Earthquakes and volcanoes. Using precision real-time GPS and a sensor controlled flight management system, the system will be able to fly predefined paths with great precision. The radar will be designed to operate on a UAV (Unmanned Arial Vehicle) but will initially be demonstrated on a minimally piloted vehicle (MPV), such as the Proteus build by Scaled Composites. The application requires control of the flight path to within a 10 meter tube to support repeat track and formation flying measurements. The design is fully polarimetric with an 80 MHz bandwidth (2 meter range resolution) and 16 kilometer range swath. The antenna is an electronically steered array to assure that the actual antenna pointing can be controlled independent of the wind direction and speed. The system will nominally operate at 45,000 ft. The program started out as a Instrument Incubator Project (IIP) funded by NASA Earth Science and Technology Office (ESTO).

flight control↗
NASA NTRS2005

Status of a UAVSAR designed for repeat pass interferometry for deformation measurements

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is currently implementing a reconfigurable polarimetric L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), specifically designed to acquire airborne repeat track interferometric (RTI) SAR data, also known as differential interferometric measurements. Differential interferometry can provide key deformation measurements, important for the scientific studies of Earthquakes and volcanoes. Using precision real-time GPS and a sensor controlled flight management system, the system will be able to fly predefined paths with great precision. The expected performance of the flight control system will constrain the flight path to be within a 10 m diameter tube about the desired flight track. The radar wilI be designed to operate on a UAV (Unpiloted Aria1 Vehicle) but will initially be demonstrated on a minimally piloted vehicle (MPV), such as the Proteus buitt by Scaled Composites or on a NASA Gulfstream III. The radar design is a fully polarimetric with an 80 MHz bandwidth (2 m range resolution) and 16 km range swath. The antenna is an electronically steered along track to assure that the actual antenna pointing can be controlled independent of the wind direction and speed. Other features supported by the antenna include an elevation monopulse option and a pulse-to-pulse resteering capability that will enable some novel modes of operation. The system will nominally operate at 45,000 ft (13800 m). The program began out as an Instrument Incubator Project (IIP) funded by NASA Earth Science and Technology Office (ESTO).

electronically scanned array↗
NASA NTRS1966

Optical superheterodyne receiver uses laser for local oscillator

Optical superheterodyne receiver uses a laser coupled to a frequency translator to supply both the incident signal and local oscillator signal and thus permit reception of amplitude modulated video bandwidth signals through the atmosphere. This receiver is useful in scientific propagation experiments, tracking experiments, and communication experiments.

Lucy, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Precise orbit determination of a geosynchronous satellite with differential very-long-baseline interferometry

The use of differential VLBI (DVLBI) to determine the orbit of a U.S. geosynchronous satellite with a position accuracy of a few meters is examined. DVLBI was employed to track the geosynchronous satellite DSCS-II; two observation channels with 2 MHz bandwidth each in a 2 GHz band were used to receive the telemetry signal of the satellite and quasar radio signals. The random observation, delay, station location, and quasar position errors are discussed. The correlation processing of the quasar and satellite signals is described. The accuracy of the estimated satellite position is evaluated using a covariance analysis. It is determined that the satellite position was estimated with an accuracy of about 4 m at the center of the observation arc. It is noted that the modeling error of the solar radiation pressure factor, ionospheric correction error, and observation error need to be corrected in order to provide more accurate orbit determinations.

Shiomi, Tadashi↗
NASA NTRS1993

On the performance of Trellis coded modulation with octal phase shift keying over the TDRSS channel

As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration moves into the 21st century with programs like Space Station Freedom, a manned mission to Mars, and the new Landsat mission, transmission demands on the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) will very likely exceed the available bandwidth. The Manual Lujan, Jr. Center for Space Telemetering and Telecommunications Systems (CSTTS) at New Mexico State University (NMSU) is studying techniques for increasing the data rate capabilities of TDRSS. These techniques include the use of advanced bandwidth efficient modulation formats to increase the data rate that can be sustained in a TDRSS transponder and the use of lossless bandwidth compression of the data to be transmitted to lower the data rate required from the user spacecraft. Based upon current technology the most promising bandwidth efficient modulation technique is Trellis Coded Modulation (TCM) operating with Octal Phase shift Keying (8PSK). Trellis Coded Modulation coding with 8PSK carrier modulation has the capability to increase the data rate which can be transmitted through the TDRSS spacecraft by a factor of 2 to 2.5 times that available with todays coded QPSK systems with only a small penalty in link performance relative to the existing systems. However, before NASA can safely employ TCM coding it is necessary to prove that this complex format can perform on the real TDRSS link as it does in labs and simulation studies. This proof-of-concept test over a live satellite channel was the objective of the construction and testing performed under this task of the NMSU NASA grant referenced above. In conjunction with NASA, NMSU's CSTTS has constructed a system to test a new candidate TDRSS modulation scheme, TCM 8PSK, that can enhance the information throughput of the TDRSS spacecraft. The test system for this project which was constructed over a period of 18 months by NMSU consisted of two racks of commercial and univeristy-designed and -built equipment. This project has included modifications of an existing White Sands Ground Terminal (WSGT) High Rate QPSK Demodulator to demodulate 8PSK as well as the construction of other support hardware. Also, two TCM codecs (coder/decoders) have been constructed to implement two levels of bandwidth efficiency. One was designed and built by the research team at NMSU while the other was created by the University of Notre Dame with the University of South Australia. The NMSU codec achieves a 2-to-1 increase in data rate per unit bandwidth with a coding gain relative to QPSK of about 3dB. The Notre Dame/South Australia codec achieves a 2.5-to-1 increase in data rate per unit of occupied bandwidth and a coding gain of about 2dB.

Osborne, William P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

On the Use of Subcarriers in Future Space Missions

In this paper, the use of residual carier techniques with no subcarrier (PCM/PM) will be advocated. It will be shown that the use of the PCM/PM technique under appropriate conditions will reap many advantages without sacrificing performance. Foremost amoung these advantages is the lower bandwidth, which can be extremely useful when antenna arraying is employed or when tracking multiple spacecraft signals within the field of view of a single antenna.

recidual carrier techniques tracking signals↗
NASA NTRS1974

The effect of simulator dynamics on pilot response

The effects of visual display dynamics on the altitude tracking performance of a subject in a fixed base flight simulator are considered. The subject, flying the linearized longitudinal equations of motion, attempts to maintain the same altitude as two airplanes positioned three hundred feet ahead, as in level formation flying. The horizon together with the two leading aircraft are represented symbolically on a CRT display. The subject's aircraft is disturbed by atmospheric turbulence. The data indicate a relationship between the bandwidth of the display dynamics and the short period characteristics of the simulated airplane. For an airplane with a relatively fast pitch response the presence of altitude display dynamics, with a bandwidth as high as five times the short period natural frequency, causes significant degradation of altitude tracking performance.

Weener, E. F.↗
NASA NTRS2006

UAVSAR: A New NASA Airborne SAR System for Science and Technology Research

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is currently building a reconfigurable, polarimetric L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), specifically designed to acquire airborne repeat track SAR data for differential interferometric measurements. Differentian interferometry can provide key deformation measurements, important for studies of earthquakes, volcanoes and other dynamically changing phenomena. Using precision real-time GPS and a sensor controlled flight management system, the system will be able to fly predefined paths with great precision. The expected performance of the flight control system will constrain the flight path to be within a 10 m diameter tube about the desired flight track. The radar will be designed to be operable on a UAV (Unpiloted Aria1 Vehicle) but will initially be demonstrated on a NASA Gulfstream III. The radar will be fully polarimetric, with a range bandwidth of 80 MHz (2 m range resolution), and will support a 16 km range swath. The antenna will be electronically steered along track to assure that the antenna beam can be directed independently, regardless of the wind direction and speed. Other features supported by the antenna include elevation monopulse and pulse-to-pulse re-steering capabilities that will enable some novel modes of operation. The system will nominally operate at 45,000 ft (13800 m). The program began as an Instrument Incubator Project (IIP) funded by NASA Earth Science and Technology Office (ESTO).

synthetic aperture radar (SAR)↗
NASA NTRS1976

A bandwidth-compressive modulation system

The phrase 'bandwidth-compressive modulation' means that the compression is achieved not by removing redundancy from the data (data compression), but rather by modulating the carrier phase and amplitude with blocks of data bits. The modulation described here is quadrature amplitude shift keying (QASK), a logical extension of quadrature phase shift keying, (QPSK, or quadriphase). QASK is a cost-effective form of combined phase-and-amplitude modulation. That is, n-bit QASK, like most phase-amplitude forms of modulation, requires considerably less transmitter power than comparably performing n-PSK, while among the class of all n-bit phase-modulation types, n-bit QASK performs nearly optimally but requires the least circuit complexity. A simple, unique microwave transmitter is described which provides high-rate QASK modulation with 4:1 bandwidth compression. A suppressed carrier multiple-loop QASK receiver provides the necessary phase tracking, automatic gain control (AGC), and symbol timing.

Smith, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Soft mounted momentum compensated pointing system for the Space Shuttle Orbiter

This paper describes a potential pointing and tracking system for the Space Shuttle with possible future application to Space Station. In order to accomplish high precision pointing and tracking (at rates up to 2 deg/s) in the expected disturbance environment, a high bandwidth gimbaled pointing system is required. A soft-mounted, momentum-compensated gimbal system is suggested for this role. A momentum-compensated system is inertially reacting, decoupling the control system dynamics from the basebody structural dynamics. This allows a soft isolation stage to be added between the basebody and the articulation stage, which attenuates high frequency disturbances. In this paper, three configurations are examined: a hard-mounted system, a passive soft-mounted system, and an active soft-mounted system. Analysis demonstrates that the soft-mounted systems have superior disturbance-rejection properties. The active soft mount allows reduction of the isolation stiffness to zero, and so obtains the highest level of performance.

Sirlin, Samuel W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Prelaunch performance of the NASA altimeter for the TOPEX/POSEIDON project

Validation of in-orbit performance has demonstrated the ability of satellite radar altimetry to measure mesoscale absolute dynamic sea surface topography and to measure the variation in the general circulation on the largest spatial scales. Measurements of basin scale mean circulation, however, have been corrupted by system inaccuracies. The TOPEX/POSEIDON radar altimeter satellite applies recent advances in remote sensing instrumentation to reduce long wavelength measurement errors to dramatically lower levels. The TOPEX altimeter measures the range to the ocean surface with 2-cm precision and accuracy through the use of both Ku- and C-band radars, a high pulse repetition frequency, an agile tracker, and absolute internal height calibration. Dual pulse bandwidths for both frequencies make it possible to quickly acquire the surface and begin tracking after crossing the land/ocean boundary. This paper presents the altimeter requirements and the elements of the altimeter design that have resulted in meeting these requirements. Prelaunch test data, based on the use of a Radar Altimeter System Evaluator to simulate the backscatter from the ocean surface, are presented to demonstrate that the TOPEX altimeter will meet these requirements and provide the data necessary to the understanding of basin scale mean circulation.

Marth, Paul C.↗