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At least 1,495 records · Page 83

A simple dead-reckoning navigational system

Simple navigation system is designed for vehicles operating in remote locations where it is not feasible to transport extensive equipment. System consists of four main components: directional gyrocompass to establish inertial direction; odometer to measure distance; signal processor to combine measured distance and direction; and sun compass to determine initial direction.

Walls, B. F.↗

A guide to onboard checkout. Volume 1: Guidance, navigation and control

The results are presented of a study of onboard checkout techniques, as they relate to space station subsystems, as a guide to those who may need to implement onboard checkout in similar subsystems. Guidance, navigation, and control subsystems, and their reliability and failure analyses are presented. Software and testing procedures are also given.

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Guidance and navigation requirements for unmanned flyby and swingby missions to the outer planets. Volume 1: Summary report

Unmanned spacecraft missions to the outer planets are of current interest to planetary scientists, and are being studied for the post 1970 time period. Flyby, entry and orbiter missions are all being considered using both direct and planetary swingby trajectory modes. The navigation and guidance requirements for a variety of missions to the outer planets and comets including both the three and four planet Grand Tours, are summarized.

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Flammability control in the oxygen environment of the Apollo guidance and navigation equipment

The Apollo guidance and navigation (G&N) equipment test program, the redesign philosophy, and the actual equipment modifications that were used to limit burn rates in an environment of 100 percent oxygen at pressures of 6.2 and 16 psia are described. The major approach was a serious basic review of the real function of the nonmetallic materials of concern. The result of this review was that the materials could be replaced, eliminated, or covered by nonflammable metallic materials. Although several low-flammability nonmetallic materials were investigated, the direct approach of cover, eliminate, or replace generally proved to be quicker and more effective.

Holley, M. D.↗

Application of new radio tracking data types to critical spacecraft navigation problems

Earth-based radio tracking data types are considered, which involve simultaneous or nearly simultaneous spacecraft tracking from widely separated tracking stations. These data types are conventional tracking instrumentation analogs of the very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) of radio astronomy-hence the name quasi-VLBI. A preliminary analysis of quasi-VLBI is presented using simplified tracking data models. The results of accuracy analyses are presented for a representative mission, Viking 1975. The results indicate that, contingent on projected tracking system accuracy, quasi-VLBI can be expected to significantly improve navigation performance over that expected from conventional tracking data types.

Ondrasik, V. J.↗

Dynamic errors in strapdown inertial navigation systems

Motion-induced errors in strapdown inertial navigation systems are discussed. The errors generated in single-degree-of-freedom gyros and accelerometers are treated in great detail. These sensor errors are related to errors at the system level and common pulse rebalance techniques are compared. Since instrument single transmission characteristics are found to be important, describing function analysis is applied to nonlinear pulse torqued inertial sensor loops, and the results are compared with simulations. Two means for reducing motion-induced errors are explored: (1) selection of inertial sensor parameters, and (2) active error compensation by measuring the environment, computing the errors generated, and correcting for them.

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Inertial navigation system using three TDF gyroscopic sensors not jointly mounted on a stable platform

An inertial navigation system is described and analyzed based on two two-degree-of-freedom Schuler-gyropendulums and one two-degree-of-freedom azimuth gyro. The three sensors, each base motion isolated about its two input axes, are mounted on a common base, strapped down to the vehicle. The up and down pointing spin vectors of the two properly tuned gyropendulums track the vertical and indicate physically their velocity with respect to inertial space. The spin vector of the azimuth gyro is pointing northerly parallel to the earth axis. The system can be made self-aligning on a stationary base. If external measurements for the north direction and the vertical are available, initial disturbance torques can be measured and easily biased out. The error analysis shows that the system is practicable with today's technology.

Stieler, B.↗

Space shuttle guidance, navigation and control design equations, volume 1

Revised documentation is presented pertaining to the computation requirements for guidance, navigation, and control of the space shuttle orbiter vehicle. Separate sections cover the following areas; (1) reference documents, (2) GN and C system description, (3) GN and C software functional requirements, and (4) coordinate systems and transformations.

Cox, K. J.↗

Space shuttle guidance, navigation and control design equations. Volume 3: Orbital operations

Revised specifications are presented of the equations necessary to perform the guidance, navigation, and control onboard computation functions for the space shuttle orbiter vehicle. The orbital operations covered include: (1) orbital coast, (2) orbital powered flight, (3) rendezvous mission phase, (4) station keeping mission phase, (5) docking and undocking, and (6) docked operations.

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Skylab experimental performance evaluation manual. Appendix O: Experiment T002 manual navigation sightings (MSFC)

A series of analyses for Experiment T002, Navigation Sightings (MSFC), to be used for evaluating the performance of the Skylab corollary experiments under preflight, inflight, and post-flight conditions are presented. Experiment contingency plan workaround procedure and malfunction analyses are presented in order to assist in making the experiment operationally successful.

Purushotham, K. S.↗

Astrodynamics. Volume 1 - Orbit determination, space navigation, celestial mechanics.

Essential navigational, physical, and mathematical problems of space exploration are covered. The introductory chapters dealing with conic sections, orientation, and the integration of the two-body problem are followed by an introduction to orbit determination and design. Systems of units and constants, as well as ephemerides, representations, reference systems, and data are then dealt with. A detailed attention is given to rendezvous problems and to differential processes in observational orbit correction, and in rendezvous or guidance correction. Finally, the Laplacian methods for determining preliminary orbits, and the orbit methods of Lagrange, Gauss, and Gibbs are reviewed.

Herrick, S.↗

Two new landmark navigation methods.

Two new methods for navigation on the land are reported. Both methods make use of landmarks which are in sight but whose positions are not known. Only angle measurements are needed. Although the methods were intended for guiding a Lunar Roving Vehicle as it travels on the lunar surface, they may also find applications on other planets as well as on earth. Besides the mathematical details, two examples are also included to demonstrate the correctness of the method.

Hung, J. C.↗

Navigation requirements for rendezvous with the satellites of Mars.

Navigation aspects of a rendezvous mission to Deimos (the outer satellite of Mars) were examined using a modified Viking Monte Carlo error analysis program. Rendezvous is initiated by two-impulse transfer from an observation orbit cotangent with the orbit of Deimos. Television sightings of the satellite against a star background will allow a 20 km closest approach radius (R99) 99% of the time. This is well within the 100 km range of the terminal rendezvous radar. An additional delta-V capability of about 100 m/sec (above the nominal) must be allocated to account for the statistical nature of the mission. This delta-V requirement was found to be very sensitive to the level of satellite ephemeris error and maneuver execution error. The R99 on the other hand, is sensitive to the in-orbit DSN error and the maneuver execution error.

Satin, A. L.↗

Spectral factorization in periodically time-varying systems and application to navigation problems.

Spectral factorization has been used previously to derive the steady-state solution of Kalman filtering equations without iteration for constant coefficient systems. The present work extends the spectral factorization algorithm to time-varying systems having periodic coefficient matrices for cases of both discrete and continuous systems. Time-consuming, expensive iterations of sequential covariance equations are not required to reach the final solution since this is an algebraic algorithm employing existing eigenvalue, eigenvector subroutines. The computer program incorporating the algorithm is suitable for sensitivity studies in formulating navigation and guidance strategies of low-thrust interplanetary missions. The determination of an optimum tracking pattern from an earth station is examined as an example.

Nishimura, T.↗

Flight evaluation of three-dimensional area navigation for jet transport noise abatement.

The NASA, working with American Airlines, has completed the first phase of research to evaluate the operational feasibility of two-segment approaches for noise abatement. For these tests, area navigation was used to establish the upper glide slope and an ILS was used to establish the lower. The flight director was modified to provide command information during the entire approach. Twenty-eight pilots representing the airlines, professional pilot associations, FAA, and NASA participated. With an ILS approach for comparison, the procedure gave a noise reduction of 18 EPNdB at the outer marker and 8 EPNdB 1.1 n. mi. from touchdown.

Denery, D. G.↗