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This Space Transportation System 7 (STS-7) Flight Feasibility Assessment (FFA) provides a base from which the various design, operation, and integration elements associated with Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-A can perform mission planning and analysis. The STS-7 FFA identifies conflicts, issues, and concerns associated with the integrated flight design requirements and constraints.
Methods of determining satellite orbit and attitude parameters are considered. The Goddard Trajectory Determination System, the Global Positioning System, and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites are among the satellite navigation systems discussed. Satellite perturbation theory, orbit/attitude determination using landmark data, and star measurements are also covered.
The satellite time transfer terminal design concept for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) and the application of the time signal in autonomously operated spacecraft clock are presented. Some pertinent TDRSS parameters and corrections for the propagation delay measurement as well as the time code used to transfer the time signal are given.
Operational concerns and preliminary solution alternatives related to elevating the inertial upper stage/tracking and data relay satellite (IUS/TDRS) with a failed orbiter vernier reaction control system (VRCS) are presented. Problems arise from the combination of TDRS thermal constraints and tilt table constraints (the primary reaction control system (PRCS) cannot be used to hold attitude while the tilt table is being elevated), and the problems are compounded by the minimum PRCS attitude deadband. The potential solution options are affected by the launch window, flight profile, crew procedures, vehicle capability and constraints, and flight rules.
The Advanced High Resolution Radiometer, Mod 2 (AVHRR/2) is a modification of the original AVHRR (AVHRR/1) to expand the number of channels from four to five and provide additional sensing in the infrared region. A comparison of the spectral regions employed in the two instruments is given. Three of the channels are the same on both instruments. The difference in instruments is in the long wave IR region where a single channel was replaced by two channels. The modification from AVHRR/1 to AVHRR/2 was done with a minimum of changes. The areas of change are highlighted and the modifications by module are summarized. It is seen that the primary changes are in the relay optics and in the cooler. In this development program only two models are involved. The first model, the Optical Test Model was constructed and tested to prove the performance and structural integrity of the optical system and the modified cooler. The second model constructed is the Protoflight. Only the areas of the AVHRR/2 which were modified from the AVHRR/1 design are discussed.
The Networks Consolidation Program (NCP) goals were defined to include the planning, designing, and implementing of a single network of ground tracking stations. The proposed consolidated network is to make use of facilities that are now included in the Goddard Ground Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network as well as the existing JPL Deep Space Network. These facilities are to be combined and modified to provide a consolidated network capable of supporting the set of planetary and Highly Elliptical Earth Orbiter missions that are planned for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System era. The history of activities and events that led to the decision to consolidate the NASA ground tracking and data networks are traced. A summary of the management and planning activities that have taken place at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center, and at the NASA Headquarters Office of Space Tracking and Data Systems, with respect to the NCP, from the time of decision in October 1979 to the present, are discussed.
A brief review of the research accomplishments by NASA in meeting the needs of the space program for precise time in satellite tracking is presented. As a major user of precise time signals for clock synchronization of NASA's worldwide satellite tracking networks, the agency provided much of the necessary impetus for the development of stable frequency sources and time synchronization technology. The precision in time required for both satellite tracking and space science experiments has increased at a rate of about 1 order of magnitude per decade from 1 ms in the 1950's to 100 microsec during the Apollo era in the 1960's to 10 microsec in the 1970's. In the 1980's, when the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) comes into operation, satellite timing requirements will be extended to 1 microsec and below. These requirements are needed for spacecraft autonomy and data packeting which are now in active planning stages.
A 20 to 50 year interstellar precursor mission extending 400 to 1000 AU from the solar system is outlined as a means of bringing out and solving engineering problems inherent in a star mission, and of studying the heliopause, the interstellar medium, and cosmic rays outside the heliosphere. Solar or laser sailing combined with a 500 kWe nuclear-electric propulsion system using fission would achieve a heliocentric excess velocity of 100km/s for the 32,000 kg spacecraft having a Shuttle derivative as a launch vehicle, and containing a Pluto flyby or separate orbiter powered by radioiosotope thermoelectric generators. X-band transmission using 40 w of power, a 15 m diameter spacecraft antenna and a 100 m receiving antenna on earth and providing 100 b/s is proposed, but a rate of 2 to 4 kb/s via 500 to 1000 w of power using the K-band and a 300 m diameter receiving antenna located on an Orbiting Deep Space Relay Station is also considered.
Power-limited communication links may be susceptible to significant degradation if intentional or unintentional pulsed high level radio frequency interference (RFI) is present. Pulsed RFI is, in fact, of current interest to NASA in studies relating to its Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The present paper examines the impact of pulsed RFI on the error probability performance of a power-limited satellite communication link: the assumed modulation scheme is PN coded binary PSK. The composite effects of thermal noise, pulsed CW and pulsed Gaussian noise are analyzed, where RFI arrivals are assumed to follow Poisson statistics. Under the assumption that the satellite repeater is ideal and that integrate and dump filtering is employed at the ground receiver, an exact error probability expression and associated approximations are derived. Computed results are generated using an arbitrarily specified RFI model.
The paper considers data acquisition and projected applications of the Landsat-D observations. The Landsat-D system will use communication satellites to relay sensor measurements in near-real time to ground data processing facilities. Other improvements result from advanced capabilities of the Thematic Mapper (TM) over those of the Multispectral Scanner Subsystem which include: (1) better spatial resolution; (2) narrower spectral bands in the 0.5 to 0.9 micron region and new bands covering regions from 0.45 to 2.35 microns; and (3) better radiometric resolution. These improvements in spatial, spectral, and radiometric resolution are expected to enhance the satellite applicability in agriculture, forest and rangeland, water, and land use.
A communication satellite with a multiple-beam antenna and onboard signal processing is considered for use in a 'message-switched' data relay system. The signal processor may incorporate demodulation, routing, storage, and remodulation of the data. A system user model is established and key functional elements for the signal processing are identified. With the throughput and delay requirements as the controlled variables, the hardware complexity, operational discipline, occupied bandwidth, and overall user end-to-end cost are estimated for (1) random-access packet switching; and (2) reservation-access packet switching. Other aspects of this network (eg, the adaptability to channel switched traffic requirements) are examined. For the given requirements and constraints, the reservation system appears to be the most attractive protocol.
Consideration is given to such topics as new opportunities for international ventures in space, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, the commercial potential for the Space Shuttle, and approaches to the financing of space ventures. Also considered are Japanese space activities and the European role in the Space Transportation System.
The design, in-orbit operation and projected performance of the Space Telescope are discussed. The telescope will be in a moderately low earth orbit and communicate with the earth through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite and directly for a few minutes each orbit. The optical system contains a 2.4-m mirror in a standard Cassegrain configuration, with four axial instrument positions and one radial and a fine guidance sensor which will allow the maintenance of telescope pointing during an observation to seven thousandths of an arcsec. The satellite will be launched by the Space Shuttle, and is capable of being serviced in space or recaptured and brought back to earth for more extensive modifications. The telescope employs a fairly standard Ritchey-Chretian optical design with a primary field of view of 18 arcmin and good mirror reflection of wavelengths from 1100 A to 1 mm. Image quality will be very insensitive to wavelength, with image size on the order of 0.04 arcsec. Instruments to be carried on the first launch include a guidance system for astrometry, a wide-field and planetary camera, a faint object camera, a high resolution spectrograph, a faint object spectrograph and a high-speed photometer.
The present air transport system is expected to continue until the turn of the century, but significant technological advances will have been incorporated into the existing aircraft. With a few exceptions, such as the SST, the development of all-new transports will be inhibited by economic constraints. The outlook for advanced transport aircraft concepts in the 21st century indicates new vehicles may be developed, such as air cushion landing gears, away from the airport; flatbed transports, at the airport; and aerial relay transports, in the air. Some of the new technologies and vehicle configurations are discussed, and their impact on aircraft maintenance, airport runways, taxiways, and cargo loading facilities is examined.
An investigation was performed to determine the feasibility of using a two plate model to approximate the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) in orbit propagation, taking into account the effects of solar radiation pressure. The two plate model comprises one plate which always points to the Earth, and the other which is hinged to an axis normal to the orbital plane and is always rotated so that its normal makes a minimum angle with the direction of the sun. The results indicate that it is sufficient to take three parameters, the areas of the two plates and the reflectivity of the Earth pointing plate, to achieve an accuracy of one meter during a 24 hour orbit propagation.
Estimation techniques for onboard orbit determination using Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) data are investigated. The two user satellite orbits studied are similar to Landsat-D (near-circular, 700 kilometers altitude, near-polar inclination). The following estimation algorithms are identified as candidates for use in autonomous navigation: (1) the extended Kalman filter with process noise, (2) the EKF with consider parameters, (3) the sequential Kalman filter with consider parameters, and (4) the batch least-squares differential correction technique. The candidate estimators are evaluated with respect to their performance with both baseline and worst TDRSS measurement errors and tracking configurations.
The control system achieves beam forming by adjusting the phases of the individual transmitters onboard the solar power satellite. To specify the correct amount of adjustments, the phases of the power beams from each individual transmitter arriving at the rectanna center are measured, the appropriate corrections determined, and then relayed to the satellite. The functional operation of the ground based phase control concept is summarized. The key issues examined were: measurement waveform design and selection; phase measurement pilot reference design and selection; uplink phase corrections command link format and design; and system synchronization techniques.
A method is described where a propeller driven, hydrazine powered aircraft is remotely piloted through rarefied atmosphere of a selected planet, including the planet Earth. It is employed as a communication platform for a telemetry system provided for relaying information relating to features characterizing the surface of the planet.