Instrumentation Commons^™

Development Of A Fluxgate Magnetometer Model, Eleonora Olsmats

Honors Theses and Capstones

As a part of the UNH SWFO-L1 mission to monitor space weather and the sun’s behavior, the fluxgate magnetometer is an important component to measure external magnetic fields. The basic principle of a fluxgate magnetometer is to detect changes in the ambient magnetic field by inducing a magnetic field in a ferromagnetic material via a drive winding. Each magnetometer is unique due to the ferromagnetic properties of the core material which can be seen in the hysteresis loop which is a relationship between the magnetic field strength (H) and the induced magnetic field (B). Measuring the hysteresis of a fluxgate …

Inferential Statistics And Information Theoretical Measures: An Approach To Interference Detection In Radio Astronomy, Morgan R. Dameron

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In a time when technology is rapidly growing, radio observatories are now able to expand their computational power to achieve higher receiver sensitivity power and a more flexible realtime computing approach to probe the universe for its composition and study new astronomical phenomena. This allows searches to go deeper into the universe, and results in the recording of massive quantities of observed data. At the same time, this increases the amount of radio frequency interference (RFI) found in the obtained observatory data. The high power of RFI easily masks the low power of extraterrestrial signals, making them hard to detect …

Pathfinding Fast Radio Bursts Localizations Using Very Long Baseline Interferometry, Pranav Rohit Sanghavi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration, bright radio transients of extragalactic origin. The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) telescope’s CHIME/FRB instrument and other radio telescopes across the globe have detected hundreds of FRBs. Their origins are a mystery. Precise localization within the host is critical to distinguish between progenitor models. This can be achieved through Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Until now, VLBI localizations have only been carried out in targeted follow-up observations of some repeating sources which comprise a small fraction of the FRBs.

For this work, an interferometric array of 6m dishes was constructed at the Green …

On The Mobility Of Small Aperture Telescopes For Initial Orbit Determination And Apparent Magnitude Derivation Of Low Earth Satellites, Jonathan Ian Hernandez

Master's Theses

Maintaining Space Domain Awareness (SDA) of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) requires effective methods of tracking and characterization. Optical measurements of these objects are generally sparse due to limited access intervals and high angular rates. Light pollution and geographic obstructions may also preclude consistent observations. However, a mobile small aperture telescope grants the ability to minimize such environmental effects, thereby increasing capture likelihoods for objects within this regime. By enhancing LEO satellite visibility in this way, extensive orbital and visual data are obtainable.

An 8-inch Meade LX200GPS telescope equipped with a Lumenera SKYnyx2-0M CCD camera comprises the system that …

Transform Based Approaches For The Detection Of Astrophysical Signals, Marwan Mahfud Alkhweldi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Development of new algorithms for the detection of isolated astrophysical pulses is of interest to radio astronomers. Both Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) and several Rotating Radio Transients (RRATs) were detected through the application of a single pulse search algorithm. The conventional approach to detect astronomical pulses requires an exhaustive search for the correct dispersion measure. Its accelerated versions involve signal processing in Fourier transform space.

In this dissertation, we present several new transform-based approaches for the detection and analysis of astrophysical signals with the latest being the most effective and advanced of all. It is implemented in several steps. First, …

Investigation On The Use Of Small Aperture Telescopes For Leo Satellite Orbit Determination, Luis R. Curiel Iii

Master's Theses

The following thesis regards the use of small aperture telescopes for space domain awareness efforts. The rapidly populating space domain was motivation for the development of a new operation scheme to conduct space domain awareness feasibility studies using small telescopes. Two 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes at the California Polytechnic State University and the Air Force Research Lab in Kirtland AFB, NM, in conjunction with a dedicated CCD camera and a commercial DSLR camera, were utilized to conduct optical observations on satellites in Earth orbit.

Satellites were imaged during August 2019, and from January 2020 to March 2020, resulting in the collection …

Telescope Parallel Actuator Mount: Control And Testing, Samuel S. Artho-Bentz

Master's Theses

This thesis approaches the task of designing a control system for the Parallel Actuator Mount developed by Dr. John Ridgely and Mr. Garrett Gudgel. It aims to create a base framework that directly controls the telescope and can be expanded to accept external command. It incorporates lower priced components and develops more easily approachable software with great functionality. An open-loop method for velocity control is established. Developing repeatable tests is a major focus. Testing finds the control methods developed result in velocity error of less than 5% and position error of less than 1.5% despite several mechanical issues and inaccuracies. …

A Rotating Aperture Mask For Small Telescopes, Edward L. Foley

Master's Theses

Observing the dynamic interaction between stars and their close stellar neighbors is key to establishing the stars’ orbits, masses, and other properties. Our ability to visually discriminate nearby stars is limited by the power of our telescopes, posing a challenge to astronomers at small observatories that contribute to binary star surveys. Masks placed at the telescope aperture promise to augment the resolving power of telescopes of all sizes, but many of these masks must be manually and repetitively reoriented about the optical axis to achieve their full benefits. This paper introduces a design concept for a mask rotation mechanism that …

High Dynamic Range Optical Devices And Applications., Elijah Robert Jensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Much of what we know about fundamental physical law and the universe derives from observations and measurements using optical methods. The passive use of the electromagnetic spectrum can be the best way of studying physical phenomenon in general with minimal disturbance of the system in the process. While for many applications ambient visible light is sufficient, light outside of the visible range may convey more information. The signals of interest are also often a small fraction of the background, and their changes occur on time scales so quickly that they are visually imperceptible. This thesis reports techniques and technologies developed …

Near Earth Space Object Detection Utilizing Parallax As Multi-Hypothesis Test Criterion, Joseph C. Tompkins

Theses and Dissertations

The US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) operated Space Surveillance Network (SSN) is tasked with Space Situational Awareness (SSA) for the US military. This system is made up of Electro-Optic sensors such as the Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) and Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) as well as RADAR based sensors such as the Space Fence. While Lockheed Martin’s Space Fence is very adept at detecting & tracking objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) below 3000 Km in height [1], gaps remain in the tracking of Resident Space Objects (RSO’s) in Geosynchronous Orbits (GEO) due to limitations associated with the implementation of …

Alternative Mission Concepts For The Exploration Of Outer Planets Using Small Satellite Swarms, Andrew Gene Blocher

Master's Theses

Interplanetary space exploration has thus far consisted of single, expensive spacecraft missions. Mission costs are particularly high on missions to the outer planets and while invaluable, finite budgets limit our ability to perform extensive and frequent investigations of the planets. Planetary systems such as Jupiter and Saturn provide extremely complex exploration environments with numerous targets of interest. Exploring these targets in addition to the main planet requires multiple fly-bys and long mission timelines. In LEO, CubeSats have changed the exploration paradigm, offering a fast and low cost alternative to traditional space vehicles. This new mission development philosophy has the potential …

Thermal Evolution Of Moon, Arshdeep Singh Gill

Master's Theses

In August, 2014 three experiments were conducted using infrared systems deployed at White Mountain Research center, CA. The data was acquired for the whole month of August. Teams of 3-4 students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Santa Barbara were stationed at the research center for 2-3 days to operate the equipment. The three experiments were:(1) creating spatial-temporal time series of lunar surface temperatures;(2) identifying atmospheric meteor trails;(3) search for meteor impacts on the Moon surface. Out of the three this thesis focusses on experiment 1 and the results from this experiment could also help with the other …

High Power Optically Pumped Semiconductor Lasers For Sodium Guidestar Applications, Shawn W. Hackett

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

Optically pumped semiconductor lasers (OPSLs) are shown to provide a much more compact and less expensive source for illumination of the sodium layer of the mesosphere for use as a sodium laser guidestar via single and two photon excitation schemes. This represents a revolution in laser guidestar technology as the cost, size, and power requirements for a laser guidestar system are shown to have been decreased by an order of magnitude with guidestar performance shown to be similar to previous sources. Sodium laser guidestar sources for broadband simultaneous illumination of multiple lines are developed and simulated. Simulations are then compared …

Development And Demonstration Of A Field-Deployable Fast Chromotomographic Imager, Daniel C. O'Dell

Theses and Dissertations

A field deployable hyperspectral imager utilizing chromotomography (CT), with a direct vision prism (DVP) as the dispersive element, has been constructed at AFIT. This research is focused on the development and demonstration of the CT imager. An overview of hyperspectral imaging, chromotomography, a synopsis of reconstruction algorithms, and other CT instruments are given. The importance of component alignment, instrument calibration, and exact prism angular position data are discussed. A simplistic \shift and add" reconstruction algorithm was utilized for this research. Although limited in its ability to reconstruct a spatially and spectrally diverse scene, the algorithm was adequate for the testing …