Terminal guidance system

A terminal guidance system is described including a heading command subsystem and a glide-slope command subsystem which develop command signals for use in guiding an aircraft or other vehicle into a preselected heading and/or altitude at a terminal point. The heading command subsystem is responsive to certain input data and continuously develops command signals for use in directing the aircraft from a remote location to a terminal point so that upon arrival it has a preselected terminal heading. The glide-slope command subsystem is responsive to certain other input data and continuously develops command signals for use in controlling the rate of descent of the aircraft so that it will have a preselected altitude and glide-slope upon arrival at the terminal

Passenger ride quality response to an airborne simulator environment

The present study was done aboard a special aircraft able to effect translations through the center of gravity with a minimum of pitch and roll. The aircraft was driven through controlled motions by an on-board analog computer. The input signal was selectively filtered Gaussian noise whose power spectra approximated that of natural turbulence. This input, combined with the maneuvering capabilities of this aircraft, resulted in an extremely realistic simulation of turbulent flight. The test flights also included varying bank angles during turns. Subjects were chosen from among NASA Flight Research Center personnel. They were all volunteers, were given physical examinations, and were queried about their attitudes toward flying before final selection. In profile, they were representative of the general flying public. Data from this study include (1) a basis for comparison with previous commercial flights, that is, motion dominated by vertical acceleration, (2) extension to motion dominated by lateral acceleration, and (3) evaluation of various bank angles

Flight test evaluation of a separate surface attitude command control system on a Beech 99 airplane

A joint NASA/university/industry program was conducted to flight evaluate a potentially low cost separate surface implementation of attitude command in a Beech 99 airplane. Saturation of the separate surfaces was the primary cause of many problems during development. Six experienced professional pilots who made simulated instrument flight evaluations experienced improvements in airplane handling qualities in the presence of turbulence and a reduction in pilot workload. For ride quality, quantitative data show that the attitude command control system results in all cases of airplane motion being removed from the uncomfortable ride region

Development of systems and techniques for landing an aircraft using onboard television

A flight program was conducted to develop a landing technique with which a pilot could consistently and safely land a remotely piloted research vehicle (RPRV) without outside visual reference except through television. Otherwise, instrumentation was standard. Such factors as the selection of video parameters, the pilot's understanding of the television presentation, the pilot's ground cockpit environment, and the operational procedures for landing were considered. About 30 landings were necessary for a pilot to become sufficiently familiar and competent with the test aircraft to make powered approaches and landings with outside visual references only through television. When steep approaches and landings were made by remote control, the pilot's workload was extremely high. The test aircraft was used as a simulator for the F-15 RPRV, and as such was considered to be essential to the success of landing the F-15 RPRV

Magnetic hysteresis in young mid“ocean ridge basalts: Dominant cubic anisotropy?

Magnetic hysteresis data from young mid“ocean ridge basalts include samples with saturation remanence to saturation magnetization (Mrs/Ms) ratios greater than 0.5, the theoretical limit for an assemblage of single domain grains with uniaxial anisotropy. Under the usual assumption of dominant uniaxial anisotropy, the narrow single domain grain size distribution implied by these high Mrs/Ms values is difficult to reconcile with petrographic and remanence data that suggest the presence of larger multidomain grains. Dominant cubic anisotropy provides a plausible explanation for the high Mrs/Ms ratios, and if generally valid, requires reinterpretation of granulometric and domain state inferences made from hysteresis data

Development of optical data processing techniques applicable to detection and study of meteor trails

Development of coherent optical data processing techniques applicable to detection of meteor trails and examination of propertie

Singular values of some modular functions

We study the properties of special values of the modular functions obtained from Weierstrass P-function at imaginary quadratic points.Comment: 19 pages,corrected typo

Tandem concentrator solar cells with 30 percent (AMO) power conversion efficiency

Very high efficiency concentrator solar panels are envisioned as economical and reliable electrical power subsystems for space based platforms of the future. GaAs concentrator cells with very high efficiencies and good sub-bandgap transmissions can be fabricated on standard wafers. GaSb booster cell development is progressing very well; performance characteristics are still improving dramatically. Consistent GaAs/GaSb stacked cell AMO efficiencies greater than 30 percent are expected

Magnetic alteration of zero-age oceanic basalt

The youngest sampled submarine lava flow, which erupted June 1993 on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, provides the basis for a tight constraint on the initial or zero-age magnetization state of MORB. Detailed profiles of magnetic hysteresis parameters, Curie temperatures, and unblocking temperatures of NRM with respect to the chilled margin of a pillow fragment show evidence of significant oxidation, which preferentially affected the finest grain-size fraction and principal remanence carrier of the titanomagnetite magnetic mineralogy. The oxidation must have occurred during or immediately after initial cooling, implying that MORB is already appreciably magnetically altered before aging. Nevertheless, successful results of Thellier paleointensity experiments on the basalt sample lend support to the idea that crustal magnetization represented by MORB preserves a record of geomagnetic intensity variations that may be reflected in small-scale magnetic anomalies

Stick-Slip Motion and Phase Transition in a Block-Spring System

We study numerically stick slip motions in a model of blocks and springs being pulled slowly. The sliding friction is assumed to change dynamically with a state variable. The transition from steady sliding to stick-slip is subcritical in a single block and spring system. However, we find that the transition is continuous in a long chain of blocks and springs. The size distribution of stick-slip motions exhibits a power law at the critical point.Comment: 8 figure