Digital Commons Network^™

Buying Your First Horse, Patricia Evans, Jason Turner

All Current Publications

This publications gives information about evaluating a horse for purchase, age and experience of new owner, breed and sex of horse, intended use, care and housing, cost of ownership, locating the right horse, and trying it out.

Integrated Modeling Of Nitrate Contamination Of Groundwater In Agriculture-Dominated Watersheds, M. Almasri, Jagath J. Kaluarachchi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents and implements a framework for modeling the impact of land use practices and protection alternatives on nitrate pollution of groundwater in agricultural watersheds. The framework utilizes the national land cover database (NLCD) of the United State Geological Survey (USGS) grid and a geographic information system (GIS) to account for the spatial distribution of on-ground nitrogen sources and corresponding loadings. The framework employs a soil nitrogen dynamic model to estimate nitrate leaching to groundwater. These estimates were used in developing a groundwater nitrate fate and transport model. The framework considers both point and non-point sources of nitrogen across …

Usu Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes, September 17, 2007, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Parking Committee Report
• Graduate Council Report
• Honors Program Report
• PRPC Items
• Support of the President’s Signing of the Climate Commitment
• LEEDS Certification for all New Buildings

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, September 17, 2007, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Parking Committee Report
• Graduate Council Report
• Honors Program Report
• PRPC Items (see PRPC Agenda)
• Support of the President's Signing of the Climate Commitment
• LEEDS Certification for all New Buildings

Urban Particulate Matter Casues Er Stress And The Unfolded Protein Response In Human Lung Cells, T. L. Watterson, B. Hamilton, Randy S. Martin, R. A. Coulombe Jr.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Because of its presumed adverse health effects, particulate air pollution (PM) has received growing attention, but the cellular mechanisms by which PM exerts toxicity are not well elucidated. PM has been associated with early mortality from illnesses that share endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress as a mechanism of pathogenesis. In this study, we examined whether PM would induce the unfolded protein response (UPR) which is a cellular response to ER stress. Coarse (PM10) and fine (PM2.5) PM was collected from a single location in Northern Utah's Cache Valley during atmospheric inversions occurring in January 2002 and January 2003. Extracts of PM …

Effects Of Pm2.5 Collected From Cache Valley, Ut On Genes Associated With The Inflammatory Response In Human Lung Cells, T L. Watterson, J. Sorensen, Randy S. Martin, R. A. Coulombe Jr.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In January 2004, the normally picturesque Cache Valley in northern Utah made national headlines with the highest PM2.5 levels in the nation. Epidemiological studies linked exposure to particulate air pollution in other locations with stroke and Alzheimer's disease and to early mortality from all causes, cancer, and cardiopulmonary diseases. To determine potential effects of these particles on human health, human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) were cultured with PM2.5collected from various locations in the Cache Valley. These particles were slightly cytotoxic, but more potent than NH4NO3, the major chemical component of Cache Valley PM2.5. Gene expression analysis of PM2.5-exposed cells was …

Budget And Faculty Welfare Committee Minutes, August 28, 2007, Utah State University

Budget & Faculty Welfare Committee

• Introductions
• Discussion of J. Norton’s meeting
• Report from Employee Benefits Advisory Board (EBAB) from J. Norton
• Concerns

Spaceborne Fiber-Optic Data Bus: A Small Satellite Perspective, Dustin Rider, Fred Orlando

Small Satellite Conference

Small-satellite system developers are poised to benefit from yet another technology that was developed with large satellites in mind: standards-based, broadband, on-board payload data networks. Large and small remote-sensing satellite payloads are continuing to advance to higher data rates thereby significantly increasing the demands on on-board networks. The networked satellite payloads include combinations of components commonly found on small satellites: sensors, processors, formatters, storage devices (recorders), broadband downlinks and payload controllers. An effective data-handling network for either type of satellite must support real-time data, must be fault tolerant and must be able to withstand the rigorous conditions of launch as …

The Use Of Carrier Grade Linux In Space, Kevin Scharpf, Dave Bryan, Mike Anderson

Small Satellite Conference

The telecommunications industry is embracing Linux as a means of providing high-availability, high-reliability systems. Realizing that proprietary systems have tremendous development and support costs, the push for commercial-off-the-shelf solutions that provide greater than 5-Nines reliability (no more than 5 minutes of downtime/ year) is a major industry focus. The carrier grade efforts encapsulate an entire ecosystem of hardware standards for interconnection, monitoring and control as well as the software to support it. This paper examines the current state of the art in carrier grade Linux software solutions, such as those put forth by standards organizations like the Linux Foundation and …

Model-Based Anomaly Management For Small Spacecraft Missions, Christopher Kitts, Richard Rasay

Small Satellite Conference

Space missions produce value through the production of mission data products and services. In doing so, however, significant resources are expended in order to maintain system health and to manage anomalies as they occur. These tasks are costly in terms of the expertise, personnel, and time required to detect, diagnose and resolve problems. Our recent work in model-based reasoning (MBR) techniques has demonstrated the applicability of this technology to the small satellite domain. MBR uses fundamental design knowledge of a system in order to compute reasoning conjectures relating to the existence of symptoms, diagnosis estimates, and resolution control actions. In …

Distributed Plug-And-Play Software Architecture, Christopher Monaco, Mark Reid

Small Satellite Conference

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) developed a flight software system which has been used for multiple NASA missions. One fundamental component of this software system is a centralized command executive that has been successfully demonstrated on four ongoing missions: Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED), MErcury Surface Space ENvironment GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER), New Horizons, and most recently Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO). Through the development and operations of these missions, developers and operations personnel gained a significant amount of experience with this flight software system. This system provides all of the command capabilities required to …

A Database Centered Approach To Satellite Engineering Data Storage, Access, And Display, Patrick Cruce, Bryce Roberts, Manfred Bester, Timothy Quinn

Small Satellite Conference

Many of the tools available today for processing and displaying engineering telemetry data of small satellite missions are limited by a real-time software design. Data access is often accomplished via sequential (linear) search, and interfaces are constrained to snap screen shots or batch processing views. To promote greater accessibility and improve data retention, we have developed the Berkeley Trending and Plotting System (BTAPS). BTAPS is a general purpose software suite that provides a record of all spacecraft engineering data over the course of the mission via a MYSQL 5.0 database and includes an interface to generate multiple simultaneous time ordered …

Plug-And-Play For Creating “Instant” Gn&C Solutions, Jane Hansen, Jon Pollack, Paul Graven, Yegor Plam

Small Satellite Conference

Small satellites provide an excellent, near-term platform for demonstrating a responsive capability highlighting missions that necessitate quick launch, quick operational capability, with an attendant, very short development schedule. To achieve this rapid response capability, there is the implication that spacecraft will need to embrace the PC-based concept of Plug-and-Play (PnP), where the user plugs a device into a USB socket, invoking the operating system to find the correct driver, configure the system parameters, and seamlessly makes the device an available resource. Creating a truly modular, PnP spacecraft capability will stretch the industry, particularly in terms of developing guidance, navigation and …

A Model-Based Toolset For Supporting Rapid Integration And Verification Of Spacecraft Electronics , Anand Madhusoodanan, Brandon Eames

Small Satellite Conference

Recent trends in small spacecraft design seek to leverage the principles of modularity and component-level decoupling to facilitate rapid system integration. In this paper, we examine a tool-based approach to support the design and verification of rapidly integrated small spacecraft systems. Most existing approaches to rapid systems integration support device interfacing and integration at runtime, at the expense of added system hardware and software to perform configuration management. Often, rapidly integrated systems need system configuration facilities only once, when all devices are “plugged in.” Once all the devices have been discovered and integrated, the logic that performs these activities is …

Preliminary Design Of The Electrical Power Subsystem For The European Student Moon Orbiter Mission, Steve Ulrich, Jean-François Veilleux, François Corbin

Small Satellite Conference

The European Student Moon Orbiter (ESMO) spacecraft is a student-built mini satellite being designed for a mission to the Moon. Designing and launching mini satellites are becoming a current trend in the space sector since they provide an economic way to perform innovative scientific experiments and in-flight demonstration of novel space technologies. The generation, storage, control and distribution of the electrical power in a mini satellite represents unique challenges to the power engineer since the mass and volume restrictions are very stringent. Regardless of these problems, every subsystem and payload equipment must be operated within their specified voltage band whenever …

A Flight-Proven 2.4ghz Ism Band Cots Communications System For Small Satellites, Ignacio Mas, Christopher Kitts

Small Satellite Conference

A communications system operating in the 2.4GHz ISM unlicensed band was developed for GeneSat-1, an innovative technology demonstration mission intended to validate the use of research quality instrumentation for in situ biological research and processing. As a key underlying mission-enabling technology, and responding to a lowcost, quick turn-around philosophy, this communications system is based on commercial-of-the-shelf components not originally intended for space flight. The system utilizes a frequency hopping spread spectrum technique widely used in wireless phones, Internet hubs and other devices. This approach provided exceptional benefits relevant to small satellite missions: low cost, highly integrated hardware resulting in small …

Billikensat-Ii: The First Bio-Fuel Cell Test Platform For Space , Sanjay Jayaram, Darren Pais, Sonia Hernez, Paul Lemon, Nathaniel Clark, Benjamin Corrado, Brian Vitale, Justin Kerber, Elena Nogales, Jorge Moya, Robert Arechaderra

Small Satellite Conference

Saint Louis University’s Space Systems Research Laboratory has designed and built an earth orbiting student project called BillikenSat-II that will carry a payload to test a Bio-Fuel Cell experiment. This satellite conforms to the CubeSat standard and is a pico-class satellite weighing a maximum of 1 kg and having dimensions of 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm. The satellite is to be launched on a converted Russian ICBM via the DNEPR program, in coordination with California Polytechnic and State University (CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, CA) at a launch date to be determined. This paper will describe BillikenSat II’s …

Flight Results From The Genesat-1 Biological Microsatellite Mission, Christopher Kitts, Karolyn Ronzano, Richard Rasay, Ignacio Mas, Phelps Williams, Paul Mahacek, Giovanni Minelli, John Hines, Elwood Agasid, Charlie Friedericks, Matthew Piccini, Macarena Parra, Linda Timucin, C. Beasley, Mike Henschke, Ed Luzzi, Nghia Mai, Mike Mcintyre, Robert Ricks, David Squires, Chris Storment, John Tucker, Bruce Yost, Greg Defouw, Antonio Ricco

Small Satellite Conference

The mission of the GeneSat-1 technology demonstration spacecraft is to validate the use of research-quality instrumentation for in situ biological research and processing. To execute this mission, the GeneSat-1 satellite was launched on December 16, 2006 from Wallops Flight Facility as a secondary payload off of a Minotaur launch vehicle. During the first week of operation, the core biological growth test was successfully executed, and by the end of the first month of operation all primary science and engineering test objectives had been successfully performed. In its current phase of operation, a variety of secondary technology characterizations tests are being …

Space Validation Of The Inertial Stellar Compass, T. Brady, S. Buckley, M. Leammukda

Small Satellite Conference

Draper’s Inertial Stellar Compass (ISC) is a real-time, miniature, low power stellar inertial attitude determination system, composed of a wide field-of-view active pixel sensor (APS) star camera and a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gyro assembly, with associated processing and power electronics. The integrated APS and MEMS gyro technologies provide a 3-axis attitude determination system with accuracy better than 0.1 degree at very low power and mass. The attitude knowledge provided by the ISC is applicable to a wide range of space missions that may include the use of highly maneuverable, stabilized, or even tumbling spacecraft. Under the guidance of NASA’s New …

Appliqué Sensor Interface Module: An Enabling Technology For Space Plug-And-Play Systems, Jeffrey Scott, James Lyke, Patrick Mcguirk, Mark Shaw, Don Fronterhouse

Small Satellite Conference

One approach to addressing the aggressive demands of the Operationally Responsive Space mission has been the development of the Space Plug-and-Play Avionics (SPA) architecture. The SPA architecture enables the rapid development of space systems through the assembly of self-describing components. The automation inherent in the SPA concept makes it possible to build systems in a fraction of the time by reducing human-induced interface errors, one of the key factors resulting in costly developmental delays. One of the key enablers of this paradigm shift is the Appliqué Sensor Interface Module (ASIM). Just as a USB interface chip makes it possible to …

Five Years Orbit Experience Of A Small Satellite Hyperspectral Imaging Mission, Mike Cutter, Martin Sweeting

Small Satellite Conference

This paper will summarise the results of a hyperspectral imaging mission that has now completed more than five years in orbit and is providing a wealth of data to Users across the world. The mission has demonstrated, fairly conclusively, that such sophisticated payloads can be implemented successfully on a small satellite platform. The instrument being flown is the Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS) developed within the Optical Payload Group (OPG) of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. The instrument is flying on PROBA, a small agile satellite, which was launched in October 2001. The platform provides pointing in both across-track and …

Space Technology 5 – A Successful Micro-Satellite Constellation Mission , Candace Carlisle, Evan Webb

Small Satellite Conference

The Space Technology 5 (ST5) constellation of three micro-satellites was launched March 22, 2006. During the three-month flight demonstration phase, the ST5 team validated key technologies that will make future low-cost micro-sat constellations possible, demonstrated operability concepts for future micro-sat science constellation missions, and demonstrated the utility of a micro-satellite constellation to perform research-quality science. The ST5 mission was successfully completed in June 2006, demonstrating high-quality science and technology validation results.

Early Results Of The Multi-Application Survivable Tether (Mast) Space Tether Experiment, Robert Hoyt, Nestor Voronka., Tyrel Newton, Ian Barnes, Jack Shepherd, S. Scott Frank, Jeff Slostad, Belgacem Jaroux, Robert Twiggs

Small Satellite Conference

The Multi-Application Survivable Tether (MAST) Experiment utilizes three tethered picosatellites to study the survivability of space tether structures and materials in the low Earth orbit environment. The MAST picosatellites initially deployed as a single body from a CubeSat PPOD deployer were designed to subsequently deploy a 1,000 meter long multi-line "Hoytether" between two of the picosatellites. The third picosatellite will then slowly crawl up and down the tether photographing it and transmitting the pictures to a ground station. Analysis of these photographs will provide data on how the micrometeoroid and orbital debris environment damage the tether structure. Additionally, each of …

Tacsat-2: A Story Of Survival, Charles Finley, Neal Peck

Small Satellite Conference

With the launch of TacSat-2, the Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) program has its first on-orbit asset and the ORS community finally gets an opportunity to transition from talking about the benefits of responsive space to demonstrating them. TacSat-2, however, is far from a pure ORS spacecraft and its relevance and utility is far from restricted to the ORS arena. The spacecraft that became TacSat-2 had its origins in a formation flying program called TechSat-21. Though the TechSat-21 program was cancelled, much of the basic spacecraft design survived and reemerged under the name of Roadrunner. Roadrunner was supposed to demonstrate how …

Tuusat-1a: The First Academic Microsatellite Developed By Universities In Taiwan, Zuu-Chang Hong, Huan-Jung Lin, Yu-Kai Chen, Tain-Sou Tsay, R.C. Lee, Roy Chaoming Hsu, Chen-Joe Fong, Chung-Hsien Lin

Small Satellite Conference

This paper describes the mission and current design results of Taiwan Universities-United SATellite NO.1A (TUUSAT-1A), which is a student microsatellite developed by a conjunct program of several universities in Taiwan. The mission goal of TUUSA-1A, according to the priority, includes two CMOS cameras of 1.3 million pixels for Earth imaging, one GPS receiver for orbital determination, and the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for space qualification. The TUUSAT-1A main body is cube-shaped with size of 25 x 25 x 25 cm3 and weight of 26.4 kg. It is expected to be launched into a circular orbit with 500 km altitude and …

The Most Accurate And Stable Space-Borne Thermometers –Formosat-3/Cosmic Constellation , Chung-Huei Vicky Chu, Shan-Kuo Yang, Chen-Joe Fong, Nick Yen, Tie-Yue Liu, Way-Jin Chen, Dean Hawes, Yuei-An Liou, Bill Kuo

Small Satellite Conference

The FORMOSAT-3 mission, also known as COSMIC, Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate, is the third major project of the FORMOSAT series implemented by the National SPace Organization (NSPO) in Taiwan. This is a collaborative effort between NSPO and University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in the US. The six satellites were launched by a single Minotaur launch vehicle on April 15, 2006. The retrieved Radio Occultation (RO) data has been published on line since shortly after the satellite in-orbit check out. Having completed verification and validation, the science community is satisfied with the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC data and calls …

A Novel Satellite Concept “Panel Extension Satellite (Petsat)” Consisting Of Plug-In, Modular, Functional Panels , Shinichi Nakasuka, Hironori Sahara, Yoshiki Sugawara, Takeshi Morimoto, Kanichi Koyama, Hideaki Kikuchi, Takanori Okada, Hidenori Tanaka, Shinichi Sato, Chisato Kobayashi

Small Satellite Conference

A novel concept of satellite design, named "PETSAT," is proposed in this paper. In this concept, a satellite is made of several "Functional Panels" such as "Communication panel," "Attitude control panel," "Thruster panel," and “Mission Panel,” each of which has a special dedicated function. By connecting these panels by reliable connection mechanism in "plug-in" fashion, the total integrated system as a whole has a satellite function. Various combinations of functional panels, (for example, one communication panel + three attitude control panels + two thruster panels, etc.) provide flexibility to deal with various mission requirements, even though the basic panels are …

The Nasa Arc Small Spacecraft Division, Peter Klupar, John Hines, B. Yost

Small Satellite Conference

As the utility and usefulness of small spacecraft are being demonstrated in orbit by NASA and other organizations and academia, it is becoming clear that small spacecraft can and should have a large roll in the exploration of the solar system. The various benefits associated with small platforms include low cost, frequent missions, and by virtue of those features, repeatable and evolutionary missions. This paper describes the motivation for establishing a dedicated function within the NASA Ames Research Center to pursue and implement multiple missions with small, inexpensive spacecraft, and outlines some future trends and directions of the Small Spacecraft …

Lunar Exploration Communications Relay Microsatellite , Paul Kolodziejski, Steve Knowles, Kauser Dar, Eric Wetzel

Small Satellite Conference

In 2005 Andrews Space, Inc. completed some preliminary microsatellite design work for a NASA Cislunar flight experiment known as Micro-X. This paper describes a low-risk satellite design option that leverages the work completed under the Micro-X contract and addresses NASA's near-term Robotic Lunar Exploration Program (RLEP) Objectives. Specifically, this paper describes enhancements to the Micro-X design that includes additional communication and data relay technologies with the Lunar Robotic Orbiter as a pathfinder for a mission to the Lunar South Pole. This Andrews conceptual design is known as the Lunar Advanced Relay Satellite (LARS).

Department Of Defense (Dod) Space Test Program (Stp) Payload Design Criteria For The Stp Standard Interface Vehicle (Siv) , Chris Badgett, Mike Marlow, Hallie Walden, Mike Pierce

Small Satellite Conference

The Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW) of the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) is midway through the development of a new means of spaceflight access for the science and technology (S&T) community. The goal is to make available to the entire space community a standard spacecraft (SC) to payload (PL) interface on which to base PL designs and enable access to space in a shorter timeframe, with less cost and reduced risk. Rather than designing a unique SC for each payload; the STP Standard Interface Vehicle (SIV) is a recurrent SC bus with adaptable interfaces to accommodate a …