Gravitational experiments on a solar probe mission: Scientific objectives and technology considerations

The concept of a solar impact probe (either solar plunger or sun grazer) led to the initiation of a NASA study at JPL in 1978 on the engineering and scientific feasibility of a Solar Probe Mission, named Starprobe, in which a spacecraft is placed in a high eccentricity orbit with a perihelion near 4 solar radii. The Starprobe study showed that the concept was feasible and in fact preliminary mission and spacecraft designs were developed. In the early stages of the Solar Probe studies the emphasis was placed on gravitational science, but by the time of a workshop at Caltech in May 1978 (Neugebauer and Davies, 1978) there was about an equal division of interest between heliospheric physics and gravitation. The last of the gravitational studies for Solar Probe was conducted at JPL in 1983. Since that time, the Committee on Solar and Space Physics (CSSP) of the National Academy of Sciences has recommended the pursuit of a focused mission, featuring fields and particles instrumentation and emphasizing studies of the solar wind source region. Such a solar probe mission is currently listed as the 1994 Major New Star candidate. In the remainder of this review, the unique gravitational science that can be accomplished with a solar probe mission is reviewed. In addition the technology issues that were identified in 1980 by the ad hoc working group for Gravity and Relativity Science are addressed

Earth Flyby Anomalies

In a reference frame fixed to the solar system's center of mass, a satellite's energy will change as it is deflected by a planet. But a number of satellites flying by Earth have also experienced energy changes in the Earth-centered frame -- and that's a mystery.Comment: 5 pagea 3 figure

Seeking a solution of the Pioneer Anomaly

The 1972 and 1973 launched Pioneer 10 and 11 were the first missions to explore the outer solar system. They achieved stunning breakthroughs in deep-space exploration. But around 1980 an unmodeled force of \sim 8 \times 10^{-8} cm/s^2, directed approximately towards the Sun, appeared in the tracking data. It later was unambiguously verified as not being an artifact. The origin remains unknown (although radiant heat remains a likely cause). Increasing effort has gone into understanding this anomaly. We review the situation and describe programs to resolve the issue.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, invited talk at the Fourth Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, 8-11 Aug. 2007, held at Indiana Universit

Lessons Learned from the Pioneers 10/11 for a Mission to Test the Pioneer Anomaly

Analysis of the radio-metric tracking data from the Pioneer 10/11 spacecraft at distances between 20--70 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun has consistently indicated the presence of an anomalous, small, constant Doppler frequency drift. The drift is a blue-shift, uniformly changing with rate a_t = (2.92 +/- 0.44) x 10^(-18) s/s^2. It can also be interpreted as a constant acceleration of a_P = (8.74 +/- 1.33) x 10^(-8) cm/s^2 directed towards the Sun. Although it is suspected that there is a systematic origin to the effect, none has been found. As a result, the nature of this anomaly has become of growing interest. Here we discuss the details of our recent investigation focusing on the effects both external to and internal to the spacecraft, as well as those due to modeling and computational techniques. We review some of the mechanisms proposed to explain the anomaly and show their inability to account for the observed behavior of the anomaly. We also present lessons learned from this investigation for a potential deep-space experiment that will reveal the origin of the discovered anomaly and also will characterize its properties with an accuracy of at least two orders of magnitude below the anomaly's size. A number of critical requirements and design considerations for such a mission are outlined and addressed.Comment: 11 pages, invited talk given at ``35th COSPAR Scientific Assebly,'' July 18-24, 2004, Paris, Franc

VALUE OF ULTRASOUND-BASED PREDICTIONS OF CARCASS QUALITY GRADE

This paper addresses the quality and value of data derived from ultrasound technology. It attempts to determine whether or not ultrasound is a strong enough predictor of beef carcass quality grade to be an economical tool used to improve the current state of the beef industry.Marketing,

A Mission to Test the Pioneer Anomaly

Analysis of the radio tracking data from the Pioneer 10/11 spacecraft has consistently indicated the presence of an anomalous small Doppler frequency drift. The drift can be interpreted as being due to a constant acceleration of a_P= (8.74 +/- 1.33) x 10^{-8} cm/s^2 directed towards the Sun. Although it is suspected that there is a systematic origin to the effect, none has been found. The nature of this anomaly has become of growing interest in the fields of relativistic cosmology, astro- and gravitational physics as well as in the areas of spacecraft design and high-precision navigation. We present a concept for a designated deep-space mission to test the discovered anomaly. A number of critical requirements and design considerations for such a mission are outlined and addressed.Comment: Final changes for publication. Honorable Mention, 2002 Gravity Research Foundation Essay

Impact of the Ethanol Boom on Livestock and Dairy Industries: What Are They Going to Eat?

Increased demand for corn for ethanol production has helped push grain prices to record levels. This has increased livestock production costs, and producers have responded with changes to production systems. This paper explores the degree to which costs can be mitigated with alternative feeds, the effect this might have on physical performance, and the impact of alternative feeds on the competitive position of different species.cattle feeding, corn, cost of production, ethanol, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q12, Q13,

Potential Impact of Country-of-Origin Labeling on Beef Industry Structure

International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries,

Factors Influencing Marketing Margins in Cattle and Beef Markets

Livestock Production/Industries,