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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Atmospheric Turbulence Scintillation Effects On Wavefront Tilt Estimation, James A. Louthain Dec 1997

Atmospheric Turbulence Scintillation Effects On Wavefront Tilt Estimation, James A. Louthain

Theses and Dissertations

A new atmospheric turbulence screen generator is developed for use in performance calculations of adaptive optics systems valid over a wide range of atmospheric turbulence parameters. The screen generator accounts for diffraction effects caused by weak turbulence and incorporates the phase, amplitude, and cross statistics of the perturbed optical field. The wavefront's phase and amplitude perturbations are taken from the correlation functions developed by Lee and Harp and the cross correlation of the phase and amplitude derived in this thesis. The screen generator uses a modal representation to perform a Fourier series expansion of the wavefront phase and amplitude over …


Requirements, Design And Prototype Of A Virtual User Interface For The Afit Virtual Spaceplane, John M. Lewis Dec 1997

Requirements, Design And Prototype Of A Virtual User Interface For The Afit Virtual Spaceplane, John M. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force is evaluating the feasibility of designing a military spaceplane capable of accomplishing military objectives from a low earth orbit and atmospheric flight regimes. Current efforts are involved in determining the scientific, operational, and budgetary constraints associated with this concept. This thesis looks at the exploration of new interface techniques associated with the design of a virtual spaceplane and is a subset of the overall virtual spaceplane effort which will assist researchers in determining the feasibility of a military spaceplane. Interface techniques are integrated into a virtual user interface that is designed to accommodate expected operations …


A Validation Of The Parameterized Real-Time Ionospheric Specification Model (Prism) Version 1.7b, Shawn D. Filby Nov 1997

A Validation Of The Parameterized Real-Time Ionospheric Specification Model (Prism) Version 1.7b, Shawn D. Filby

Theses and Dissertations

The most current version of the Parameterized Real-time Ionospheric Specification Model (PRISM), version 1.7b, was validated using Digital Ionospheric Sounding System (DISS) measurements of F2 layer critical frequency (foF2) and F2 peak electron density height (hmF2) as the "ground truth." PRISM was executed, first, with no real-time input parameter and, second, with Global Positioning System (GPS) Total Electron Content (TEC) measurements as the sole real-time parameter. Hourly values of hmF2 and foF2 over 123 days in 1994-1996 (solar minimum conditions) and covering three seasons (equinox, summer solstice, and winter solstice) were compared for Wallops Island, Virginia, and Point Arguello, California, …


An Atmospheric Sensitivity And Validation Study Of The Variable Terrain Radio Parabolic Equation Model (Vtrpe), Matthew K. Doggett Mar 1997

An Atmospheric Sensitivity And Validation Study Of The Variable Terrain Radio Parabolic Equation Model (Vtrpe), Matthew K. Doggett

Theses and Dissertations

The Variable Terrain Radio Parabolic Equation (VTRPE) computer model is a powerful and flexible program that provides calculations of the radar propagation conditions of the atmosphere. It is limited however, by the accuracy and resolution of the input data. This study quantifies the sensitivity of the VTRPE model to the accuracy and resolution of the atmospheric parameters that go into it. Also, two case studies are examined to test the utility of VTRPE in operational use. The sensitivity to measurements of pressure, temperature, and humidity was found to be dependent on the meteorological environment. In standard and subrefractive environments, average …


Automatic Digital Processing For Calibration Data Of Open Skies Treaty Sensors, Donna D. Keating Mar 1997

Automatic Digital Processing For Calibration Data Of Open Skies Treaty Sensors, Donna D. Keating

Theses and Dissertations

The Open Skies Treaty provides guidelines allowing participants to fly in air space over other participants' countries to monitor strategic military placement and development. The treaty restricts the ground size of the smallest detail recorded by these aerial imaging systems to any size larger than 30 cm. This restriction is enforced by placing a lower limit on the altitude at which a participating aircraft can fly and it is computed as the value of Hmin. Current techniques rely on human photographic interpreters to select the value of Hmin for every calibration pass and is very resource intensive. The Open Skies …