Sample records for attitude control method

  1. ISS Contingency Attitude Control Recovery Method for Loss of Automatic Thruster Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bedrossian, Nazareth; Bhatt, Sagar; Alaniz, Abran; McCants, Edward; Nguyen, Louis; Chamitoff, Greg

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, the attitude control issues associated with International Space Station (ISS) loss of automatic thruster control capability are discussed and methods for attitude control recovery are presented. This scenario was experienced recently during Shuttle mission STS-117 and ISS Stage 13A in June 2007 when the Russian GN&C computers, which command the ISS thrusters, failed. Without automatic propulsive attitude control, the ISS would not be able to regain attitude control after the Orbiter undocked. The core issues associated with recovering long-term attitude control using CMGs are described as well as the systems engineering analysis to identify recovery options. It is shown that the recovery method can be separated into a procedure for rate damping to a safe harbor gravity gradient stable orientation and a capability to maneuver the vehicle to the necessary initial conditions for long term attitude hold. A manual control option using Soyuz and Progress vehicle thrusters is investigated for rate damping and maneuvers. The issues with implementing such an option are presented and the key issue of closed-loop stability is addressed. A new non-propulsive alternative to thruster control, Zero Propellant Maneuver (ZPM) attitude control method is introduced and its rate damping and maneuver performance evaluated. It is shown that ZPM can meet the tight attitude and rate error tolerances needed for long term attitude control. A combination of manual thruster rate damping to a safe harbor attitude followed by a ZPM to Stage long term attitude control orientation was selected by the Anomaly Resolution Team as the alternate attitude control method for such a contingency.

  2. Experiments study on attitude coupling control method for flexible spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Jie; Li, Dongxu

    2018-06-01

    High pointing accuracy and stabilization are significant for spacecrafts to carry out Earth observing, laser communication and space exploration missions. However, when a spacecraft undergoes large angle maneuver, the excited elastic oscillation of flexible appendages, for instance, solar wing and onboard antenna, would downgrade the performance of the spacecraft platform. This paper proposes a coupling control method, which synthesizes the adaptive sliding mode controller and the positive position feedback (PPF) controller, to control the attitude and suppress the elastic vibration simultaneously. Because of its prominent performance for attitude tracking and stabilization, the proposed method is capable of slewing the flexible spacecraft with a large angle. Also, the method is robust to parametric uncertainties of the spacecraft model. Numerical simulations are carried out with a hub-plate system which undergoes a single-axis attitude maneuver. An attitude control testbed for the flexible spacecraft is established and experiments are conducted to validate the coupling control method. Both numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the method discussed above can effectively decrease the stabilization time and improve the attitude accuracy of the flexible spacecraft.

  3. Spacecraft methods and structures with enhanced attitude control that facilitates gyroscope substitutions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Li, Rongsheng (Inventor); Kurland, Jeffrey A. (Inventor); Dawson, Alec M. (Inventor); Wu, Yeong-Wei A. (Inventor); Uetrecht, David S. (Inventor)

    2004-01-01

    Methods and structures are provided that enhance attitude control during gyroscope substitutions by insuring that a spacecraft's attitude control system does not drive its absolute-attitude sensors out of their capture ranges. In a method embodiment, an operational process-noise covariance Q of a Kalman filter is temporarily replaced with a substantially greater interim process-noise covariance Q. This replacement increases the weight given to the most recent attitude measurements and hastens the reduction of attitude errors and gyroscope bias errors. The error effect of the substituted gyroscopes is reduced and the absolute-attitude sensors are not driven out of their capture range. In another method embodiment, this replacement is preceded by the temporary replacement of an operational measurement-noise variance R with a substantially larger interim measurement-noise variance R to reduce transients during the gyroscope substitutions.

  4. Modular design attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chichester, F. D.

    1982-01-01

    A hybrid multilevel linear quadratic regulator (ML-LQR) approach was developed and applied to the attitude control of models of the rotational dynamics of a prototype flexible spacecraft and of a typical space platform. Three axis rigid body flexible suspension models were developed for both the spacecraft and the space platform utilizing augmented body methods. Models of the spacecraft with hybrid ML-LQR attitude control and with LQR attitude control were simulated and their response with the two different types of control were compared.

  5. Adaptive mass expulsion attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rodden, John J. (Inventor); Stevens, Homer D. (Inventor); Carrou, Stephane (Inventor)

    2001-01-01

    An attitude control system and method operative with a thruster controls the attitude of a vehicle carrying the thruster, wherein the thruster has a valve enabling the formation of pulses of expelled gas from a source of compressed gas. Data of the attitude of the vehicle is gathered, wherein the vehicle is located within a force field tending to orient the vehicle in a first attitude different from a desired attitude. The attitude data is evaluated to determine a pattern of values of attitude of the vehicle in response to the gas pulses of the thruster and in response to the force field. The system and the method maintain the attitude within a predetermined band of values of attitude which includes the desired attitude. Computation circuitry establishes an optimal duration of each of the gas pulses based on the pattern of values of attitude, the optimal duration providing for a minimal number of opening and closure operations of the valve. The thruster is operated to provide gas pulses having the optimal duration.

  6. Students' Attitudes towards Control Methods in Computer-Assisted Instruction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hintze, Hanne; And Others

    1988-01-01

    Describes study designed to investigate dental students' attitudes toward computer-assisted teaching as applied in programs for oral radiology in Denmark. Programs using personal computers and slide projectors with varying degrees of learner and teacher control are described, and differences in attitudes between male and female students are…

  7. Spanish women's attitudes towards post-fertilization effects of birth control methods.

    PubMed

    Lopez-del Burgo, Cristina; Lopez-de Fez, Carmen Marina; Osorio, Alfonso; Guzmán, José Lopez; de Irala, Jokin

    2010-07-01

    Some methods of family planning, such as oral contraceptives, emergency pill or intrauterine device, may occasionally work after fertilization. These effects may be important to some women. We explored Spanish women's attitudes towards contraceptive choices that may have occasional post-fertilization mechanisms of action. Cross-sectional study in a Spanish representative sample of 848 potentially fertile women, aged 18-49. Data were collected using a 30-item questionnaire about family planning. Logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with women's attitudes towards post-fertilization effects. The majority of women were married, had completed high school and had at least one child. Forty-five percent of women would not consider using a method that may work after fertilization and 57% would not consider using one that may work after implantation. Forty-eight percent of the sample would stop using a method if they learned that it sometimes works after fertilization, increasing to 63% when referring to a method that sometimes works after implantation. Women who believe that human life begins at fertilization, those who believe it is important to distinguish between spontaneous and induced embryo losses and women who report having a religion were less likely to consider the use of a method with some post-fertilization effects. The possibility of post-fertilization effects may influence Spanish women's choice of a family planning method. Information about mechanisms of action of birth control methods should be disclosed to women so that they can make informed choices. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Alternative Attitude Commanding and Control for Precise Spacecraft Landing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Singh, Gurkirpal

    2004-01-01

    A report proposes an alternative method of control for precision landing on a remote planet. In the traditional method, the attitude of a spacecraft is required to track a commanded translational acceleration vector, which is generated at each time step by solving a two-point boundary value problem. No requirement of continuity is imposed on the acceleration. The translational acceleration does not necessarily vary smoothly. Tracking of a non-smooth acceleration causes the vehicle attitude to exhibit undesirable transients and poor pointing stability behavior. In the alternative method, the two-point boundary value problem is not solved at each time step. A smooth reference position profile is computed. The profile is recomputed only when the control errors get sufficiently large. The nominal attitude is still required to track the smooth reference acceleration command. A steering logic is proposed that controls the position and velocity errors about the reference profile by perturbing the attitude slightly about the nominal attitude. The overall pointing behavior is therefore smooth, greatly reducing the degree of pointing instability.

  9. Methods of fertility control in cats: Owner, breeder and veterinarian behavior and attitudes.

    PubMed

    Murray, Jane K; Mosteller, Jill R; Loberg, Jenny M; Andersson, Maria; Benka, Valerie A W

    2015-09-01

    Fertility control is important for population management of owned and unowned cats, provides health benefits at the individual level and can reduce unwanted sexually dimorphic behaviors such as roaming, aggression, spraying and calling. This article reviews the available evidence regarding European and American veterinarian, owner and pedigree cat breeder attitudes toward both surgical sterilization and non-surgical fertility control. It additionally presents new data on veterinarians' and pedigree cat breeders' use of, and attitudes toward, alternative modalities of fertility control. Within the United States and Europe, the proportion of cats reported to be sterilized varies widely. Published estimates range from 27-93% for owned cats and 2-5% for cats trapped as part of a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program. In some regions and populations of cats, non-surgical fertility control is also used. Social context, cultural norms, individual preferences, economic considerations, legislation and professional organizations may all influence fertility control decisions for cats. Particularly in Europe, a limited number of non-surgical temporary contraceptives are available for cats; these include products with regulatory approval for cats as well as some used 'off label'. Non-surgical methods remove the risk of complications related to surgery and offer potential to treat more animals in less time and at lower cost; they may also appeal to pedigree cat breeders seeking temporary contraception. However, concerns over efficacy, delivery methods, target species safety, duration and side effects exist with current non-surgical options. Research is under way to develop new methods to control fertility in cats without surgery. US and European veterinarians place high value on three perceived benefits of surgical sterilization: permanence, behavioral benefits and health benefits. Non-surgical options will likely need to share these benefits to be widely accepted by the veterinary

  10. Predicted torque equilibrium attitude utilization for Space Station attitude control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kumar, Renjith R.; Heck, Michael L.; Robertson, Brent P.

    1990-01-01

    An approximate knowledge of the torque equilibrium attitude (TEA) is shown to improve the performance of a control moment gyroscope (CMG) momentum management/attitude control law for Space Station Freedom. The linearized equations of motion are used in conjunction with a state transformation to obtain a control law which uses full state feedback and the predicted TEA to minimize both attitude excursions and CMG peak and secular momentum. The TEA can be computationally determined either by observing the steady state attitude of a 'controlled' spacecraft using arbitrary initial attitude, or by simulating a fixed attitude spacecraft flying in desired orbit subject to realistic environmental disturbance models.

  11. Noise screen for attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rodden, John J. (Inventor); Stevens, Homer D. (Inventor); Hong, David P. (Inventor); Hirschberg, Philip C. (Inventor)

    2002-01-01

    An attitude control system comprising a controller and a noise screen device coupled to the controller. The controller is adapted to control an attitude of a vehicle carrying an actuator system that is adapted to pulse in metered bursts in order to generate a control torque to control the attitude of the vehicle in response to a control pulse. The noise screen device is adapted to generate a noise screen signal in response to the control pulse that is generated when an input attitude error signal exceeds a predetermined deadband attitude level. The noise screen signal comprises a decaying offset signal that when combined with the attitude error input signal results in a net attitude error input signal away from the predetermined deadband level to reduce further control pulse generation.

  12. Linearizing feedforward/feedback attitude control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Paielli, Russell A.; Bach, Ralph E.

    1991-01-01

    An approach to attitude control theory is introduced in which a linear form is postulated for the closed-loop rotation error dynamics, then the exact control law required to realize it is derived. The nonminimal (four-component) quaternion form is used to attitude because it is globally nonsingular, but the minimal (three-component) quaternion form is used for attitude error because it has no nonlinear constraints to prevent the rotational error dynamics from being linearized, and the definition of the attitude error is based on quaternion algebra. This approach produces an attitude control law that linearizes the closed-loop rotational error dynamics exactly, without any attitude singularities, even if the control errors become large.

  13. Seasat-A attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Weiss, R.; Rodden, J. J.; Hendricks, R. J.

    1977-01-01

    The Seasat-A attitude control system controls the attitude of the satellite system during injection into final circular orbit after Atlas boost, during orbit adjust and trim phases, and throughout the 3-year mission. Ascent and injection guidance and attitude control are provided by the Agena spacecraft with a gyrocompassed mass expulsion system. On-orbit attitude control functions are performed by a system that has its functional roots in the gravity-gradient momentum bias technology. The paper discusses hardware, control laws, and simulation results.

  14. Nonlinear feedback model attitude control using CCD in magnetic suspension system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lin, CHIN-E.; Hou, Ann-San

    1994-01-01

    A model attitude control system for a CCD camera magnetic suspension system is studied in this paper. In a recent work, a position and attitude sensing method was proposed. From this result, model position and attitude of a magnetic suspension system can be detected by generating digital outputs. Based on this achievement, a control system design using nonlinear feedback techniques for magnetic suspended model attitude control is proposed.

  15. Attitude Dynamics and Control of Solar Sails

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sperber, Evan

    Solar sails are space vehicles that rely on solar radiation pressure in order to generate forces for thrust and attitude control torques. They exhibit characteristics such as large moments of inertia, fragility of various system components, and long mission durations that make attitude control a particularly difficult engineering problem. Thrust vector control (TVC) is a family of sailcraft attitude control techniques that is on a short list of strategies thought to be suitable for the primary attitude control of solar sails. Every sailcraft TVC device functions by manipulating the relative locations of the composite mass center (cm) of the sailcraft and the center of pressure (cp) of at least one of its reflectors. Relative displacement of these two points results in body torques that can be used to steer the sailcraft. This dissertation presents a strategy for the large-angle reorientation of a sailcraft using TVC. Two forms of TVC, namely the panel and ballast mass translation methods are well represented in the literature, while rigorous studies regarding a third form, gimballed mass rotation, are conspicuously absent. The gimballed mass method is physically realized by placing a ballast mass, commonly the sailcraft's scientific payload, at the tip of a gimballed boom that has its base fixed at some point on the sailcraft. A TVC algorithm will then strategically manipulate the payload boom's gimbal angles, thereby changing the projection of the sailcraft cm in the plane of the sail. This research demonstrates effective three-axis attitude control of a model sailcraft using numerical simulation of its nonlinear equations of motion. The particular TVC algorithm developed herein involves two phases---the first phase selects appropriate gimbal rates with the objective that the sailcraft be placed in the neighborhood of its target orientation. It was discovered, however that concomitantly minimizing attitude error as well as residual body rate was not possible using

  16. Application Number 3: Using Tethers for Attitude Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Muller, R. M.

    1985-01-01

    Past application of the gravity gradient concept to satellite attitude control produced attitude stabilities of from 1 to 10 degrees. The satellite members were rigigly interconnected and any motion in one part of the satellite would cause motion in all members. This experience has restricted gravity gradient stabilization to applications that need attitude stability no better than 1 degree. A gravity gradient technique that combines the flexible tether with an active control that will allow control stability much better than 1 degree is proposed. This could give gravity gradient stabilization much broader application. In fact, for a large structure like a space station, it may become the preferred method. Two possible ways of demonstrating the techniques using the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) tether to control the attitude of the shuttle are proposed. Then a possible space station tether configuration is shown that could be used to control the initial station. It is then shown how the technique can be extended to the control of space stations of virtually any size.

  17. Attitude orientation control for a spinning satellite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frost, Gerald

    The Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Space Systems Division, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are currently involved in litigation with Hughes Aircraft Company over the alledged infringement of the 'Williams patent,' which describes a method for attitude control of a spin-stabilized vehicle. Summarized here is pre-1960 RAND work on this subject and information obtained from RAND personnel knowledgeable on this subject. It was concluded that there is no RAND documentation that directly parallels the 'Williams patent' concept. Also, the TIROS II magnetic torque attitude control method is reviewed. The TIROS II meteorological satellite, launched on November 23, 1960, incorporated a magnetic actuation system for spin axis orientation control. The activation system was ground controlled to orient the satellite spin axis to obtain the desired pointing direction for optical and infrared sensor subsystems.

  18. Global finite-time attitude consensus tracking control for a group of rigid spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Penghua

    2017-10-01

    The problem of finite-time attitude consensus for multiple rigid spacecraft with a leader-follower architecture is investigated in this paper. To achieve the finite-time attitude consensus, at the first step, a distributed finite-time convergent observer is proposed for each follower to estimate the leader's attitude in a finite time. Then based on the terminal sliding mode control method, a new finite-time attitude tracking controller is designed such that the leader's attitude can be tracked in a finite time. Finally, a finite-time observer-based distributed control strategy is proposed. It is shown that the attitude consensus can be achieved in a finite time under the proposed controller. Simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  19. Attitude dynamics and control of a spacecraft using shifting mass distribution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahn, Young Tae

    Spacecraft need specific attitude control methods that depend on the mission type or special tasks. The dynamics and the attitude control of a spacecraft with a shifting mass distribution within the system are examined. The behavior and use of conventional attitude control actuators are widely developed and performing at the present time. However, the advantage of a shifting mass distribution concept can complement spacecraft attitude control, save mass, and extend a satellite's life. This can be adopted in practice by moving mass from one tank to another, similar to what an airplane does to balance weight. Using this shifting mass distribution concept, in conjunction with other attitude control devices, can augment the three-axis attitude control process. Shifting mass involves changing the center-of-mass of the system, and/or changing the moments of inertia of the system, which then ultimately can change the attitude behavior of the system. This dissertation consists of two parts. First, the equations of motion for the shifting mass concept (also known as morphing) are developed. They are tested for their effects on attitude control by showing how shifting the mass changes the spacecraft's attitude behavior. Second, a method for optimal mass redistribution is shown using a combinatorial optimization theory under constraints. It closes with a simple example demonstrating an optimal reconfiguration. The procedure of optimal reconfiguration from one mass distribution to another to accomplish attitude control has been demonstrated for several simple examples. Mass shifting could work as an attitude controller for fine-tuning attitude behavior in small satellites. Various constraints can be applied for different situations, such as no mass shift between two tanks connected by a failed pipe or total amount of shifted mass per pipe being set for the time optimum solution. Euler angle changes influenced by the mass reconfiguration are accomplished while stability

  20. Attitude and vibration control of a large flexible space-based antenna

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Joshi, S. M.

    1982-01-01

    Control systems synthesis is considered for controlling the rigid body attitude and elastic motion of a large deployable space-based antenna. Two methods for control systems synthesis are considered. The first method utilizes the stability and robustness properties of the controller consisting of torque actuators and collocated attitude and rate sensors. The second method is based on the linear-quadratic-Gaussian control theory. A combination of the two methods, which results in a two level hierarchical control system, is also briefly discussed. The performance of the controllers is analyzed by computing the variances of pointing errors, feed misalignment errors and surface contour errors in the presence of sensor and actuator noise.

  1. Propellantless Attitude Control of Solar Sail Technology Utilizing Reflective Control Devices

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Munday, Jeremy

    2016-01-01

    Solar sails offer an opportunity for a CubeSatscale, propellant-free spacecraft technology that enables long-term and long-distance missions not possible with traditional methods. Solar sails operate using the transfer of linear momentum from photons of sunlight reflected from the surface of the sail. To propel the spacecraft, no mechanically moving parts, thrusters, or propellant are needed. However, attitude control, or orientation, is still performed using traditional methods involving reaction wheels and propellant ejection, which severely limit mission lifetime. For example, the current state of the art solutions employed by upcoming missions couple solar sails with a state of the art propellant ejection gas system. Here, the use of the gas thruster has limited the lifetime of the mission. To solve the limited mission lifetime problem, the Propellantless Attitude Control of Solar Sail Technology Utilizing Reflective Control Devices project team is working on propellantless attitude control using thin layers of material, an optical film, electrically switchable from transparent to reflective. The technology is based on a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), which allows this switch upon application of a voltage. This technology removes the need for propellant, which reduces weight and cost while improving performance and lifetime.

  2. Spacecraft attitude control using neuro-fuzzy approximation of the optimal controllers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Sung-Woo; Park, Sang-Young; Park, Chandeok

    2016-01-01

    In this study, a neuro-fuzzy controller (NFC) was developed for spacecraft attitude control to mitigate large computational load of the state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) controller. The NFC was developed by training a neuro-fuzzy network to approximate the SDRE controller. The stability of the NFC was numerically verified using a Lyapunov-based method, and the performance of the controller was analyzed in terms of approximation ability, steady-state error, cost, and execution time. The simulations and test results indicate that the developed NFC efficiently approximates the SDRE controller, with asymptotic stability in a bounded region of angular velocity encompassing the operational range of rapid-attitude maneuvers. In addition, it was shown that an approximated optimal feedback controller can be designed successfully through neuro-fuzzy approximation of the optimal open-loop controller.

  3. Spacecraft attitude and velocity control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Paluszek, Michael A. (Inventor); Piper, Jr., George E. (Inventor)

    1992-01-01

    A spacecraft attitude and/or velocity control system includes a controller which responds to at least attitude errors to produce command signals representing a force vector F and a torque vector T, each having three orthogonal components, which represent the forces and torques which are to be generated by the thrusters. The thrusters may include magnetic torquer or reaction wheels. Six difference equations are generated, three having the form ##EQU1## where a.sub.j is the maximum torque which the j.sup.th thruster can produce, b.sub.j is the maximum force which the j.sup.th thruster can produce, and .alpha..sub.j is a variable representing the throttling factor of the j.sup.th thruster, which may range from zero to unity. The six equations are summed to produce a single scalar equation relating variables .alpha..sub.j to a performance index Z: ##EQU2## Those values of .alpha. which maximize the value of Z are determined by a method for solving linear equations, such as a linear programming method. The Simplex method may be used. The values of .alpha..sub.j are applied to control the corresponding thrusters.

  4. Women's attitudes towards mechanisms of action of birth control methods: a cross-sectional study in five European countries.

    PubMed

    Lopez-del Burgo, Cristina; Mikolajczyk, Rafael T; Osorio, Alfonso; Errasti, Tania; de Irala, Jokin

    2013-11-01

    To assess women's attitudes towards the mechanisms of action of birth control methods. When addressing women's knowledge of and attitudes towards birth control methods, researchers frequently focus on side effects, effectiveness or correct use. Women's opinions about mechanisms of action have been much less investigated, and research is usually concentrated on the EC pill. Cross-sectional study. Women, aged 18-49, from Germany, France, the UK, Sweden and Romania were randomly selected (n = 1137). They were asked whether they would use a method that may work after fertilisation or after implantation and whether they would continue using it after learning it may have such effects. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the influence of certain characteristics on women's attitudes. Almost half of women in Romania and Germany would not use methods with postfertilisation effects, while the lowest percentages were found in Sweden and in France. Regarding methods with postimplantation effects, higher percentages were found in all the countries. Highly educated women and those using a highly effective method were more likely to use methods with postfertilisation effects. On the contrary, married women, those who stated that human life begins at fertilisation and women with middle/high religiosity were less likely to consider using methods that may act after fertilisation. One-third of European women reported that they would not consider using a method that may have postfertilisation effects. Given that postfertilisation effects may not be acceptable to some women, informing them of which methods may have these effects is essential to obtaining complete informed consent and to promoting women's autonomy. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Low drag attitude control for Skylab orbital lifetime extension

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Glaese, J. R.; Kennel, H. F.

    1981-01-01

    In the fall of 1977 it was determined that Skylab had started to tumble and that the original orbit lifetime predictions were much too optimistic. A decision had to be made whether to accept an early uncontrolled reentry with its inherent risks or try to attempt to control Skylab to a lower drag attitude in the hope that there was enough time to develop a Teleoperator Retrieval System, bring it up on the Space Shuttle and then decide whether to boost Skylab to a higher longer life orbit or to reenter it in a controlled fashion. The end-on-velocity (EOVV) control method is documented, which was successfully applied for about half a year to keep Skylab in a low drag attitude with the aid of the control moment gyros and a minimal expenditure of attitude control gas.

  6. Enhanced Attitude Control Experiment for SSTI Lewis Spacecraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maghami, Peoman G.

    1997-01-01

    The enhanced attitude control system experiment is a technology demonstration experiment on the NASA's small spacecraft technology initiative program's Lewis spacecraft to evaluate advanced attitude control strategies. The purpose of the enhanced attitude control system experiment is to evaluate the feasibility of designing and implementing robust multi-input/multi-output attitude control strategies for enhanced pointing performance of spacecraft to improve the quality of the measurements of the science instruments. Different control design strategies based on modern and robust control theories are being considered for the enhanced attitude control system experiment. This paper describes the experiment as well as the design and synthesis of a mixed H(sub 2)/H(sub infinity) controller for attitude control. The control synthesis uses a nonlinear programming technique to tune the controller parameters and impose robustness and performance constraints. Simulations are carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed attitude control design strategy. Introduction

  7. Velocity-free attitude coordinated tracking control for spacecraft formation flying.

    PubMed

    Hu, Qinglei; Zhang, Jian; Zhang, Youmin

    2018-02-01

    This article investigates the velocity-free attitude coordinated tracking control scheme for a group of spacecraft with the assumption that the angular velocities of the formation members are not available in control feedback. Initially, an angular velocity observer is constructed based on each individual's attitude quarternion. Then, the distributed attitude coordinated control law is designed by using the observed states, in which adaptive control method is adopted to handle the external disturbances. Stability of the overall closed-loop system is analyzed theoretically, which shows the system trajectory converges to a small set around origin with fast convergence rate. Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate fast convergence and improved tracking performance of the proposed control strategy. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Precision tethered satellite attitude control. Ph.D. Thesis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kline-Schoder, Robert J.

    1990-01-01

    Tethered spacecraft possess unique dynamic characteristics which make them advantageous for certain classes of experiments. One use for which tethers are particularly well suited is to provide an isolated platform for spaceborne observatories. The advantages of tethering a pointing platform 1 or 2 km from a space shuttle or space station are that, compared to placing the observatory on the parent spacecraft, vibrational disturbances are attenuated and contamination is eliminated. In practice, all satellites have some requirement on the attitude control of the spacecraft, and tethered satellites are no exception. It has previously been shown that conventional means of performing attitude control for tethered satellites are insufficient for any mission with pointing requirements more stringent than about 1 deg. This is due mainly to the relatively large force applied by the tether to the spacecraft. A particularly effective method of implementing attitude control for tethered satellites is to use this tether tension force to generate control torques by moving the tether attach point relative to the subsatellite center of mass. A demonstration of this attitude control technique on an astrophysical pointing platform has been proposed for a space shuttle flight test project and is referred to as the Kinetic Isolation Tether Experiment (KITE).

  9. Event-triggered attitude control of spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Baolin; Shen, Qiang; Cao, Xibin

    2018-02-01

    The problem of spacecraft attitude stabilization control system with limited communication and external disturbances is investigated based on an event-triggered control scheme. In the proposed scheme, information of attitude and control torque only need to be transmitted at some discrete triggered times when a defined measurement error exceeds a state-dependent threshold. The proposed control scheme not only guarantees that spacecraft attitude control errors converge toward a small invariant set containing the origin, but also ensures that there is no accumulation of triggering instants. The performance of the proposed control scheme is demonstrated through numerical simulation.

  10. Disturbance observer-based fuzzy control for flexible spacecraft combined attitude & sun tracking system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chak, Yew-Chung; Varatharajoo, Renuganth; Razoumny, Yury

    2017-04-01

    This paper investigates the combined attitude and sun-tracking control problem in the presence of external disturbances and internal disturbances, caused by flexible appendages. A new method based on Pythagorean trigonometric identity is proposed to drive the solar arrays. Using the control input and attitude output, a disturbance observer is developed to estimate the lumped disturbances consisting of the external and internal disturbances, and then compensated by the disturbance observer-based controller via a feed-forward control. The stability analysis demonstrates that the desired attitude trajectories are followed even in the presence of external disturbance and internal flexible modes. The main features of the proposed control scheme are that it can be designed separately and incorporated into the baseline controller to form the observer-based control system, and the combined attitude and sun-tracking control is achieved without the conventional attitude actuators. The attitude and sun-tracking performance using the proposed strategy is evaluated and validated through numerical simulations. The proposed control solution can serve as a fail-safe measure in case of failure of the conventional attitude actuator, which triggered by automatic reconfiguration of the attitude control components.

  11. Anti-sway control of tethered satellite systems using attitude control of the main satellite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yousefian, Peyman; Salarieh, Hassan

    2015-06-01

    In this study a new method is introduced to suppress libration of a tethered satellite system (TSS). It benefits from coupling between satellites and tether libration dynamics. The control concept uses the main satellite attitude maneuvers to suppress librational motion of the tether, and the main satellite's actuators for attitude control are used as the only actuation in the system. The study considers planar motion of a two body TSS system in a circular orbit and it is assumed that the tether's motion will not change it. Governing dynamic equations of motion are derived using the extended Lagrange method. Controllability of the system around the equilibrium state is studied and a linear LQG controller is designed to regulate libration of the system. Tether tension and satellite attitude are assumed as only measurable outputs of the system. The Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is used to estimate states of the system to be used as feedback to the controller. The designed controller and observer are implemented to the nonlinear plant and simulations demonstrate that the controller lead to reduction of the tether libration propoerly. By the way, because the controller is linear, it is applicable only at low amplitudes in the vicinity of equilibrium point. To reach global stability, a nonlinear controller is demanded.

  12. Attitude tracking control of flexible spacecraft with large amplitude slosh

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deng, Mingle; Yue, Baozeng

    2017-12-01

    This paper is focused on attitude tracking control of a spacecraft that is equipped with flexible appendage and partially filled liquid propellant tank. The large amplitude liquid slosh is included by using a moving pulsating ball model that is further improved to estimate the settling location of liquid in microgravity or a zero-g environment. The flexible appendage is modelled as a three-dimensional Bernoulli-Euler beam, and the assumed modal method is employed. A hybrid controller that combines sliding mode control with an adaptive algorithm is designed for spacecraft to perform attitude tracking. The proposed controller has proved to be asymptotically stable. A nonlinear model for the overall coupled system including spacecraft attitude dynamics, liquid slosh, structural vibration and control action is established. Numerical simulation results are presented to show the dynamic behaviors of the coupled system and to verify the effectiveness of the control approach when the spacecraft undergoes the disturbance produced by large amplitude slosh and appendage vibration. Lastly, the designed adaptive algorithm is found to be effective to improve the precision of attitude tracking.

  13. Remote Spacecraft Attitude Control by Coulomb Charging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stevenson, Daan

    The possibility of inter-spacecraft collisions is a serious concern at Geosynchronous altitudes, where many high-value assets operate in proximity to countless debris objects whose orbits experience no natural means of decay. The ability to rendezvous with these derelict satellites would enable active debris removal by servicing or repositioning missions, but docking procedures are generally inhibited by the large rotational momenta of uncontrolled satellites. Therefore, a contactless means of reducing the rotation rate of objects in the space environment is desired. This dissertation investigates the viability of Coulomb charging to achieve such remote spacecraft attitude control. If a servicing craft imposes absolute electric potentials on a nearby nonspherical debris object, it will impart electrostatic torques that can be used to gradually arrest the object's rotation. In order to simulate the relative motion of charged spacecraft with complex geometries, accurate but rapid knowledge of the Coulomb interactions is required. To this end, a new electrostatic force model called the Multi-Sphere Method (MSM) is developed. All aspects of the Coulomb de-spin concept are extensively analyzed and simulated using a system with simplified geometries and one dimensional rotation. First, appropriate control algorithms are developed to ensure that the nonlinear Coulomb torques arrest the rotation with guaranteed stability. Moreover, the complex interaction of the spacecraft with the plasma environment and charge control beams is modeled to determine what hardware requirements are necessary to achieve the desired electric potential levels. Lastly, the attitude dynamics and feedback control development is validated experimentally using a scaled down terrestrial testbed. High voltage power supplies control the potential on two nearby conductors, a stationary sphere and a freely rotating cylinder. The nonlinear feedback control algorithms developed above are implemented to

  14. Energy management and attitude control for spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Costic, Bret Thomas

    2001-07-01

    This PhD dissertation describes the design and implementation of various control strategies centered around spacecraft applications: (i) an attitude control system for spacecraft, (ii) flywheels used for combined attitude and energy tracking, and (iii) an adaptive autobalancing control algorithm. The theory found in each of these sections is demonstrated through simulation or experimental results. An introduction to each of these three primary chapters can be found in chapter one. The main problem addressed in the second chapter is the quaternion-based, attitude tracking control of rigid spacecraft without angular velocity measurements and in the presence of an unknown inertia matrix. As a stepping-stone, an adaptive, full-state feedback controller that compensates for parametric uncertainty while ensuring asymptotic attitude tracking errors is designed. The adaptive, full-state feedback controller is then redesigned such that the need for angular velocity measurements is eliminated. The proposed adaptive, output feedback controller ensures asymptotic attitude tracking. This work uses a four-parameter representation of the spacecraft attitude that does not exhibit singular orientations as in the case of the previous three-parameter representation-based results. To the best of my knowledge, this represents the first solution to the adaptive, output feedback, attitude tracking control problem for the quaternion representation. Simulation results are included to illustrate the performance of the proposed output feedback control strategy. The third chapter is devoted to the use of multiple flywheels that integrate the energy storage and attitude control functions in space vehicles. This concept, which is referred to as an Integrated Energy Management and Attitude Control (IEMAC) system, reduces the space vehicle bus mass, volume, cost, and maintenance requirements while maintaining or improving the space vehicle performance. To this end, two nonlinear IEMAC strategies

  15. Position and attitude tracking control for a quadrotor UAV.

    PubMed

    Xiong, Jing-Jing; Zheng, En-Hui

    2014-05-01

    A synthesis control method is proposed to perform the position and attitude tracking control of the dynamical model of a small quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), where the dynamical model is underactuated, highly-coupled and nonlinear. Firstly, the dynamical model is divided into a fully actuated subsystem and an underactuated subsystem. Secondly, a controller of the fully actuated subsystem is designed through a novel robust terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) algorithm, which is utilized to guarantee all state variables converge to their desired values in short time, the convergence time is so small that the state variables are acted as time invariants in the underactuated subsystem, and, a controller of the underactuated subsystem is designed via sliding mode control (SMC), in addition, the stabilities of the subsystems are demonstrated by Lyapunov theory, respectively. Lastly, in order to demonstrate the robustness of the proposed control method, the aerodynamic forces and moments and air drag taken as external disturbances are taken into account, the obtained simulation results show that the synthesis control method has good performance in terms of position and attitude tracking when faced with external disturbances. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. [Development of knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire on prevention and control of occupational diseases].

    PubMed

    Gao, Yuan; Feng, Yuchao; Wang, Min; Su, Yiwei; Li, Yanhua; Wang, Zhi; Tang, Shihao

    2015-04-01

    To develop the knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire on the prevention and control of occupational diseases for occupational groups, and to provide a convenient and effective tool for the survey of knowledge, attitude, and behavior on the prevention and control of occupational diseases in occupational groups and the evaluation of intervention effect. The initial questionnaire which was evaluated by the experts was used to carry out a pre-survey in Guangzhou, China. The survey results were statistically analyzed by t test, identification index method, correlation analysis, and Cronbach's a coefficient method. And then the questionnaire was further modified, and the content of the questionnaire was determined finally. After modification, there were 18 items on knowledge, 16 items on attitude, and 12 items on behavior in the "Knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire on the prevention and control of occupational diseases for enterprise managers"; there were 19 items on knowledge, 10 items on attitude, and 11 items on behavior in the "Knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire on the prevention and control of occupational diseases for workers". The knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire on the prevention and control of occupational diseases for occupational groups is developed successfully, and it is a convenient and effective tool for the survey of knowledge, attitude, and behavior on the prevention and control of occupational diseases in occupational groups and the evaluation of intervention effect.

  17. Attitude Control Propulsion Components, Volume 1

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1974-01-01

    Effort was made to include as much engineering information on each component as possible, consistent with usefulness and catalog size limitations. The contents of this catalog contain components which were qualified for use with spacecraft monopropellant hydrazine and inert gas attitude control systems. Thrust ranges up to 44.5 N (10.0 lbf) for hydrazine and inert gas sytems were considered. Additionally, some components qualified for uses other than spacecraft attitude control are included because they are suitable for use in attitude controls systems.

  18. Instrument Attitude Precision Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Juang, Jer-Nan

    2004-01-01

    A novel approach is presented in this paper to analyze attitude precision and control for an instrument gimbaled to a spacecraft subject to an internal disturbance caused by a moving component inside the instrument. Nonlinear differential equations of motion for some sample cases are derived and solved analytically to gain insight into the influence of the disturbance on the attitude pointing error. A simple control law is developed to eliminate the instrument pointing error caused by the internal disturbance. Several cases are presented to demonstrate and verify the concept presented in this paper.

  19. Three-axis attitude control by two-step rotations using only magnetic torquers in a low Earth orbit near the magnetic equator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Inamori, Takaya; Otsuki, Kensuke; Sugawara, Yoshiki; Saisutjarit, Phongsatorn; Nakasuka, Shinichi

    2016-11-01

    This study proposes a novel method for three-axis attitude control using only magnetic torquers (MTQs). Previously, MTQs have been utilized for attitude control in many low Earth orbit satellites. Although MTQs are useful for achieving attitude control at low cost and high reliability without the need for propellant, these electromagnetic coils cannot be used to generate an attitude control torque about the geomagnetic field vector. Thus, conventional attitude control methods using MTQs assume the magnetic field changes in an orbital period so that the satellite can generate a required attitude control torque after waiting for a change in the magnetic field direction. However, in a near magnetic equatorial orbit, the magnetic field does not change in an inertial reference frame. Thus, satellites cannot generate a required attitude control torque in a single orbital period with only MTQs. This study proposes a method for achieving a rotation about the geomagnetic field vector by generating a torque that is perpendicular to it. First, this study shows that the three-axis attitude control using only MTQs is feasible with a two-step rotation. Then, the study proposes a method for controlling the attitude with the two-step rotation using a PD controller. Finally, the proposed method is assessed by examining the results of numerical simulations.

  20. Experimental study on line-of-sight (LOS) attitude control using control moment gyros under micro-gravity environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kojima, Hirohisa; Hiraiwa, Kana; Yoshimura, Yasuhiro

    2018-02-01

    This paper presents the results of line-of-sight (LOS) attitude control using control moment gyros under a micro-gravity environment generated by parabolic flight. The W-Z parameters are used to describe the spacecraft attitude. In order to stabilize the current LOS to the target LOS, backstepping-based feedback control is considered using the W-Z parameters. Numerical simulations and experiments under a micro-gravity environment are carried out, and their results are compared in order to validate the proposed control methods.

  1. Verification of Spin Magnetic Attitude Control System using air-bearing-based attitude control simulator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ousaloo, H. S.; Nodeh, M. T.; Mehrabian, R.

    2016-09-01

    This paper accomplishes one goal and it was to verify and to validate a Spin Magnetic Attitude Control System (SMACS) program and to perform Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) air-bearing experiments. A study of a closed-loop magnetic spin controller is presented using only magnetic rods as actuators. The magnetic spin rate control approach is able to perform spin rate control and it is verified with an Attitude Control System (ACS) air-bearing MATLAB® SIMULINK® model and a hardware-embedded LABVIEW® algorithm that controls the spin rate of the test platform on a spherical air bearing table. The SIMULINK® model includes dynamic model of air-bearing, its disturbances, actuator emulation and the time delays caused by on-board calculations. The air-bearing simulator is employed to develop, improve, and carry out objective tests of magnetic torque rods and spin rate control algorithm in the experimental framework and to provide a more realistic demonstration of expected performance of attitude control as compared with software-based architectures. Six sets of two torque rods are used as actuators for the SMACS. It is implemented and simulated to fulfill mission requirement including spin the satellite up to 12 degs-1 around the z-axis. These techniques are documented for the full nonlinear equations of motion of the system and the performances of these techniques are compared in several simulations.

  2. Attitude control with realization of linear error dynamics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Paielli, Russell A.; Bach, Ralph E.

    1993-01-01

    An attitude control law is derived to realize linear unforced error dynamics with the attitude error defined in terms of rotation group algebra (rather than vector algebra). Euler parameters are used in the rotational dynamics model because they are globally nonsingular, but only the minimal three Euler parameters are used in the error dynamics model because they have no nonlinear mathematical constraints to prevent the realization of linear error dynamics. The control law is singular only when the attitude error angle is exactly pi rad about any eigenaxis, and a simple intuitive modification at the singularity allows the control law to be used globally. The forced error dynamics are nonlinear but stable. Numerical simulation tests show that the control law performs robustly for both initial attitude acquisition and attitude control.

  3. Three-Axis Attitude Control of Solar Sails Utilising Reflectivity Control Devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Theodorou, Theodoros

    Solar sails are spacecraft that utilise the Solar Radiation Pressure, the force generated by impinging photons, to propel themselves. Conventional actuators are not suitable for controlling the attitude of solar sails therefore specific attitude control methods have been devised to tackle this. One of these methods is to change the centre of pressure with respect to the center of mass thus creating a torque. Reflectivity Control Devices (RCDs) have been proposed and successfully used to change the centre of pressure. Current methods that utilise RCDs have control authority over two axis only with no ability to control the torque about the normal of the sail surface. This thesis extends the state of the art and demonstrates 3-axis control by generating arbitrary torque vectors within a convex polyhedron. Two different RCD materials are considered, transmission and diffusion technologies both compatible with the proposed concept. A number of metrics have been developed which facilitate the comparison of different sail configurations. One of these metics is the sun map which is a graphic representation of the sun angles for which control authority is maintained. An iterative design process is presented which makes use of the metrics developed and aids in the design of a sail which meets the mission requirements and constraints. Moreover, the effects of different parameters on the performance of the proposed control concept are discussed. For example it is shown that by alternating the angle between the edge and middle RCDs the control authority increases. The concept's scalability has been investigated and a hybrid control scheme has been devised which makes use of both RCDs and reaction wheels. The RCDs are complemented by the reaction wheels to achieve higher slew rates while in turn the RCDs desaturate the reaction wheels. Finally, a number of simulations are conducted to verify the validity of the proposed concept.

  4. Solar Sail Attitude Control Performance Comparison

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bladt, Jeff J.; Lawrence, Dale A.

    2005-01-01

    Performance of two solar sail attitude control implementations is evaluated. One implementation employs four articulated reflective vanes located at the periphery of the sail assembly to generate control torque about all three axes. A second attitude control configuration uses mass on a gimbaled boom to alter the center-of-mass location relative to the center-of-pressure producing roll and pitch torque along with a pair of articulated control vanes for yaw control. Command generation algorithms employ linearized dynamics with a feedback inversion loop to map desired vehicle attitude control torque into vane and/or gimbal articulation angle commands. We investigate the impact on actuator deflection angle behavior due to variations in how the Jacobian matrix is incorporated into the feedback inversion loop. Additionally, we compare how well each implementation tracks a commanded thrust profile, which has been generated to follow an orbit trajectory from the sun-earth L1 point to a sub-L1 station.

  5. Adaptive control applied to Space Station attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lam, Quang M.; Chipman, Richard; Hu, Tsay-Hsin G.; Holmes, Eric B.; Sunkel, John

    1992-01-01

    This paper presents an adaptive control approach to enhance the performance of current attitude control system used by the Space Station Freedom. The proposed control law was developed based on the direct adaptive control or model reference adaptive control scheme. Performance comparisons, subject to inertia variation, of the adaptive controller and the fixed-gain linear quadratic regulator currently implemented for the Space Station are conducted. Both the fixed-gain and the adaptive gain controllers are able to maintain the Station stability for inertia variations of up to 35 percent. However, when a 50 percent inertia variation is applied to the Station, only the adaptive controller is able to maintain the Station attitude.

  6. An Evaluation of Attitude-Independent Magnetometer-Bias Determination Methods

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hashmall, J. A.; Deutschmann, Julie

    1996-01-01

    Although several algorithms now exist for determining three-axis magnetometer (TAM) biases without the use of attitude data, there are few studies on the effectiveness of these methods, especially in comparison with attitude dependent methods. This paper presents the results of a comparison of three attitude independent methods and an attitude dependent method for computing TAM biases. The comparisons are based on in-flight data from the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO). The effectiveness of an algorithm is measured by the accuracy of attitudes computed using biases determined with that algorithm. The attitude accuracies are determined by comparison with known, extremely accurate, star-tracker-based attitudes. In addition, the effect of knowledge of calibration parameters other than the biases on the effectiveness of all bias determination methods is examined.

  7. Adaptive Jacobian Fuzzy Attitude Control for Flexible Spacecraft Combined Attitude and Sun Tracking System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chak, Yew-Chung; Varatharajoo, Renuganth

    2016-07-01

    Many spacecraft attitude control systems today use reaction wheels to deliver precise torques to achieve three-axis attitude stabilization. However, irrecoverable mechanical failure of reaction wheels could potentially lead to mission interruption or total loss. The electrically-powered Solar Array Drive Assemblies (SADA) are usually installed in the pitch axis which rotate the solar arrays to track the Sun, can produce torques to compensate for the pitch-axis wheel failure. In addition, the attitude control of a flexible spacecraft poses a difficult problem. These difficulties include the strong nonlinear coupled dynamics between the rigid hub and flexible solar arrays, and the imprecisely known system parameters, such as inertia matrix, damping ratios, and flexible mode frequencies. In order to overcome these drawbacks, the adaptive Jacobian tracking fuzzy control is proposed for the combined attitude and sun-tracking control problem of a flexible spacecraft during attitude maneuvers in this work. For the adaptation of kinematic and dynamic uncertainties, the proposed scheme uses an adaptive sliding vector based on estimated attitude velocity via approximate Jacobian matrix. The unknown nonlinearities are approximated by deriving the fuzzy models with a set of linguistic If-Then rules using the idea of sector nonlinearity and local approximation in fuzzy partition spaces. The uncertain parameters of the estimated nonlinearities and the Jacobian matrix are being adjusted online by an adaptive law to realize feedback control. The attitude of the spacecraft can be directly controlled with the Jacobian feedback control when the attitude pointing trajectory is designed with respect to the spacecraft coordinate frame itself. A significant feature of this work is that the proposed adaptive Jacobian tracking scheme will result in not only the convergence of angular position and angular velocity tracking errors, but also the convergence of estimated angular velocity to

  8. Coupled attitude-orbit dynamics and control for an electric sail in a heliocentric transfer mission.

    PubMed

    Huo, Mingying; Zhao, Jun; Xie, Shaobiao; Qi, Naiming

    2015-01-01

    The paper discusses the coupled attitude-orbit dynamics and control of an electric-sail-based spacecraft in a heliocentric transfer mission. The mathematical model characterizing the propulsive thrust is first described as a function of the orbital radius and the sail angle. Since the solar wind dynamic pressure acceleration is induced by the sail attitude, the orbital and attitude dynamics of electric sails are coupled, and are discussed together. Based on the coupled equations, the flight control is investigated, wherein the orbital control is studied in an optimal framework via a hybrid optimization method and the attitude controller is designed based on feedback linearization control. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy, a transfer problem from Earth to Mars is considered. The numerical results show that the proposed strategy can control the coupled system very well, and a small control torque can control both the attitude and orbit. The study in this paper will contribute to the theory study and application of electric sail.

  9. Micropulsed Plasma Thrusters for Attitude Control of a Low-Earth-Orbiting CubeSat

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gatsonis, Nikolaos A.; Lu, Ye; Blandino, John; Demetriou, Michael A.; Paschalidis, Nicholas

    2016-01-01

    This study presents a 3-Unit CubeSat design with commercial-off-the-shelf hardware, Teflon-fueled micropulsed plasma thrusters, and an attitude determination and control approach. The micropulsed plasma thruster is sized by the impulse bit and pulse frequency required for continuous compensation of expected maximum disturbance torques at altitudes between 400 and 1000 km, as well as to perform stabilization of up to 20 deg /s and slew maneuvers of up to 180 deg. The study involves realistic power constraints anticipated on the 3-Unit CubeSat. Attitude estimation is implemented using the q method for static attitude determination of the quaternion using pairs of the spacecraft-sun and magnetic-field vectors. The quaternion estimate and the gyroscope measurements are used with an extended Kalman filter to obtain the attitude estimates. Proportional-derivative control algorithms use the static attitude estimates in order to calculate the torque required to compensate for the disturbance torques and to achieve specified stabilization and slewing maneuvers or combinations. The controller includes a thruster-allocation method, which determines the optimal utilization of the available thrusters and introduces redundancy in case of failure. Simulation results are presented for a 3-Unit CubeSat under detumbling, pointing, and pointing and spinning scenarios, as well as comparisons between the thruster-allocation and the paired-firing methods under thruster failure.

  10. Crew exploration vehicle (CEV) attitude control using a neural-immunology/memory network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weng, Liguo; Xia, Min; Wang, Wei; Liu, Qingshan

    2015-01-01

    This paper addresses the problem of the crew exploration vehicle (CEV) attitude control. CEVs are NASA's next-generation human spaceflight vehicles, and they use reaction control system (RCS) jet engines for attitude adjustment, which calls for control algorithms for firing the small propulsion engines mounted on vehicles. In this work, the resultant CEV dynamics combines both actuation and attitude dynamics. Therefore, it is highly nonlinear and even coupled with significant uncertainties. To cope with this situation, a neural-immunology/memory network is proposed. It is inspired by the human memory and immune systems. The control network does not rely on precise system dynamics information. Furthermore, the overall control scheme has a simple structure and demands much less computation as compared with most existing methods, making it attractive for real-time implementation. The effectiveness of this approach is also verified via simulation.

  11. The Association Between Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Smoking and Support for Tobacco Control Measures

    PubMed Central

    Chassin, Laurie; Presson, Clark C.

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: This study examined the association between implicit and explicit attitudes toward smoking and support for tobacco control policies. Methods: Participants were from an ongoing longitudinal study of the natural history of smoking who also completed a web-based assessment of implicit attitudes toward smoking (N = 1,337). Multiple regression was used to test the association between covariates (sex, age, educational attainment, parent status, and smoking status), implicit attitude toward smoking, and explicit attitude toward smoking and support for tobacco control policies. The moderating effect of the covariates on the relation between attitudes and support for policies was also tested. Results: Females, those with higher educational attainment, parents, and nonsmokers expressed more support for tobacco control policy measures. For nonsmokers, only explicit attitude was significantly associated with support for policies. For smokers, both explicit and implicit attitudes were significantly associated with support. The effect of explicit attitude was stronger for those with lower educational attainment. Conclusions: Both explicit and implicit smoking attitudes are important for building support for tobacco control policies, particularly among smokers. More research is needed on how to influence explicit and implicit attitudes to inform policy advocacy campaigns. PMID:22581941

  12. Interior and exterior ballistics coupled optimization with constraints of attitude control and mechanical-thermal conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liang, Xin-xin; Zhang, Nai-min; Zhang, Yan

    2016-07-01

    For solid launch vehicle performance promotion, a modeling method of interior and exterior ballistics associated optimization with constraints of attitude control and mechanical-thermal condition is proposed. Firstly, the interior and external ballistic models of the solid launch vehicle are established, and the attitude control model of the high wind area and the stage of the separation is presented, and the load calculation model of the drag reduction device is presented, and thermal condition calculation model of flight is presented. Secondly, the optimization model is established to optimize the range, which has internal and external ballistic design parameters as variables selected by sensitivity analysis, and has attitude control and mechanical-thermal conditions as constraints. Finally, the method is applied to the optimal design of a three stage solid launch vehicle simulation with differential evolution algorithm. Simulation results are shown that range capability is improved by 10.8%, and both attitude control and mechanical-thermal conditions are satisfied.

  13. An automated method of tuning an attitude estimator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mason, Paul A. C.; Mook, D. Joseph

    1995-01-01

    Attitude determination is a major element of the operation and maintenance of a spacecraft. There are several existing methods of determining the attitude of a spacecraft. One of the most commonly used methods utilizes the Kalman filter to estimate the attitude of the spacecraft. Given an accurate model of a system and adequate observations, a Kalman filter can produce accurate estimates of the attitude. If the system model, filter parameters, or observations are inaccurate, the attitude estimates may be degraded. Therefore, it is advantageous to develop a method of automatically tuning the Kalman filter to produce the accurate estimates. In this paper, a three-axis attitude determination Kalman filter, which uses only magnetometer measurements, is developed and tested using real data. The appropriate filter parameters are found via the Process Noise Covariance Estimator (PNCE). The PNCE provides an optimal criterion for determining the best filter parameters.

  14. Mariner Mars 1971 attitude control subsystem

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Edmunds, R. S.

    1974-01-01

    The Mariner Mars 1971 attitude control subsystem (ACS) is discussed. It is comprised of a sun sensor set, a Canopus tracker, an inertial reference unit, two cold gas reaction control assemblies, two rocket engine gimbal actuators, and an attitude control electronics unit. The subsystem has the following eight operating modes: (1) launch, (2) sun acquisition, (3) roll search, (4) celestial cruise, (5) all-axes inertial, (6) roll inertial, (7) commanded turn, and (8) thrust vector control. In the celestial cruise mode, the position control is held to plus or minus 0.25 deg. Commanded turn rates are plus or minus 0.18 deg/s. The attitude control logic in conjunction with command inputs from other spacecraft subsystems establishes the ACS operating mode. The logic utilizes Sun and Canopus acquisition signals generated within the ACS to perform automatic mode switching so that dependence of ground control is minimized when operating in the sun acquisition, roll search, and celestial cruise modes. The total ACS weight is 65.7 lb, and includes 5.4 lb of nitrogen gas. Total power requirements vary from 9 W for the celestial cruise mode to 54 W for the commanded turn mode.

  15. Attitude control fault protection - The Voyager experience

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Litty, E. C.

    1980-01-01

    The length of the Voyager mission and the communication delay caused by the distances involved made fault protection a necessary part of the Voyager Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) design. An overview of the Voyager attitude control fault protection is given and flight experiences relating to fault protection are provided.

  16. Autonomous spacecraft attitude control using magnetic torquing only

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Musser, Keith L.; Ebert, Ward L.

    1989-01-01

    Magnetic torquing of spacecraft has been an important mechanism for attitude control since the earliest satellites were launched. Typically a magnetic control system has been used for precession/nutation damping for gravity-gradient stabilized satellites, momentum dumping for systems equipped with reaction wheels, or momentum-axis pointing for spinning and momentum-biased spacecraft. Although within the small satellite community there has always been interest in expensive, light-weight, and low-power attitude control systems, completely magnetic control systems have not been used for autonomous three-axis stabilized spacecraft due to the large computational requirements involved. As increasingly more powerful microprocessors have become available, this has become less of an impediment. These facts have motivated consideration of the all-magnetic attitude control system presented here. The problem of controlling spacecraft attitude using only magnetic torquing is cast into the form of the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR), resulting in a linear feedback control law. Since the geomagnetic field along a satellite trajectory is not constant, the system equations are time varying. As a result, the optimal feedback gains are time-varying. Orbit geometry is exploited to treat feedback gains as a function of position rather than time, making feasible the onboard solution of the optimal control problem. In simulations performed to date, the control laws have shown themselves to be fairly robust and a good candidate for an onboard attitude control system.

  17. A novel single thruster control strategy for spacecraft attitude stabilization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Godard; Kumar, Krishna Dev; Zou, An-Min

    2013-05-01

    Feasibility of achieving three axis attitude stabilization using a single thruster is explored in this paper. Torques are generated using a thruster orientation mechanism with which the thrust vector can be tilted on a two axis gimbal. A robust nonlinear control scheme is developed based on the nonlinear kinematic and dynamic equations of motion of a rigid body spacecraft in the presence of gravity gradient torque and external disturbances. The spacecraft, controlled using the proposed concept, constitutes an underactuated system (a system with fewer independent control inputs than degrees of freedom) with nonlinear dynamics. Moreover, using thruster gimbal angles as control inputs make the system non-affine (control terms appear nonlinearly in the state equation). This necessitates the control algorithms to be developed based on nonlinear control theory since linear control methods are not directly applicable. The stability conditions for the spacecraft attitude motion for robustness against uncertainties and disturbances are derived to establish the regions of asymptotic 3-axis attitude stabilization. Several numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed controller and validate the theoretical results. The control algorithm is shown to compensate for time-varying external disturbances including solar radiation pressure, aerodynamic forces, and magnetic disturbances; and uncertainties in the spacecraft inertia parameters. The numerical results also establish the robustness of the proposed control scheme to negate disturbances caused by orbit eccentricity.

  18. Coupled Attitude-Orbit Dynamics and Control for an Electric Sail in a Heliocentric Transfer Mission

    PubMed Central

    Huo, Mingying; Zhao, Jun; Xie, Shaobiao; Qi, Naiming

    2015-01-01

    The paper discusses the coupled attitude-orbit dynamics and control of an electric-sail-based spacecraft in a heliocentric transfer mission. The mathematical model characterizing the propulsive thrust is first described as a function of the orbital radius and the sail angle. Since the solar wind dynamic pressure acceleration is induced by the sail attitude, the orbital and attitude dynamics of electric sails are coupled, and are discussed together. Based on the coupled equations, the flight control is investigated, wherein the orbital control is studied in an optimal framework via a hybrid optimization method and the attitude controller is designed based on feedback linearization control. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy, a transfer problem from Earth to Mars is considered. The numerical results show that the proposed strategy can control the coupled system very well, and a small control torque can control both the attitude and orbit. The study in this paper will contribute to the theory study and application of electric sail. PMID:25950179

  19. Attitude Control Subsystem for the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hewston, Alan W.; Mitchell, Kent A.; Sawicki, Jerzy T.

    1996-01-01

    This paper provides an overview of the on-orbit operation of the Attitude Control Subsystem (ACS) for the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS). The three ACTS control axes are defined, including the means for sensing attitude and determining the pointing errors. The desired pointing requirements for various modes of control as well as the disturbance torques that oppose the control are identified. Finally, the hardware actuators and control loops utilized to reduce the attitude error are described.

  20. Model predictive control of attitude maneuver of a geostationary flexible satellite based on genetic algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    TayyebTaher, M.; Esmaeilzadeh, S. Majid

    2017-07-01

    This article presents an application of Model Predictive Controller (MPC) to the attitude control of a geostationary flexible satellite. SIMO model has been used for the geostationary satellite, using the Lagrange equations. Flexibility is also included in the modelling equations. The state space equations are expressed in order to simplify the controller. Naturally there is no specific tuning rule to find the best parameters of an MPC controller which fits the desired controller. Being an intelligence method for optimizing problem, Genetic Algorithm has been used for optimizing the performance of MPC controller by tuning the controller parameter due to minimum rise time, settling time, overshoot of the target point of the flexible structure and its mode shape amplitudes to make large attitude maneuvers possible. The model included geosynchronous orbit environment and geostationary satellite parameters. The simulation results of the flexible satellite with attitude maneuver shows the efficiency of proposed optimization method in comparison with LQR optimal controller.

  1. Attitude Control of Nanosatellites by Paddle Motion Using Elastic Hinges Actuated by Shape Memory Alloy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Iai, Masafumi; Durali, Mohammad; Hatsuzawa, Takeshi

    Recent research has been extending the applications of small satellites called microsatellites, nanosatellites, or picosatellites. To further improve capability of those satellites, a lightweight, active attitude-control mechanism is needed. This paper proposes a concept of inertial orientation control, an attitude control method using movable solar arrays. This method is made suitable for nanosatellites by the use of shape memory alloy (SMA)-actuated elastic hinges and a simple maneuver generation algorithm. The combination of SMA and an elastic hinge allows the hinge to remain lightweight and free of frictional or rolling contacts. Changes in the shrinking and stretching speeds of the SMA were measured in a vacuum chamber. The proposed algorithm constructs a maneuver to achieve arbitrary attitude change by repeating simple maneuvers called unit maneuvers. Provided with three types of unit maneuvers, each degree of freedom of the satellite can be controlled independently. Such construction requires only simple calculations, making it a practical algorithm for a nanosatellite with limited computational capability. In addition, power generation variation caused by maneuvers was analyzed to confirm that a maneuver from any initial attitude to an attitude facing the sun was justifiable in terms of the power budget.

  2. Weight Control Beliefs, Body Shape Attitudes, and Physical Activity among Adolescents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Scott B.; Rhea, Deborah J.; Greenleaf, Christy A.; Judd, Doryce E.; Chambliss, Heather O.

    2011-01-01

    Background: Relatively little is known about how perceived weight controllability influences important psychological health factors among adolescents. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore adolescents' weight controllability beliefs and how those beliefs influence weight-related attitudes and behaviors. Methods: Adolescents (N = 369, mean…

  3. Attitude dynamics and control of spacecraft with a partially filled liquid tank and flexible panels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Feng; Yue, Baozeng; Zhao, Liangyu

    2018-02-01

    A liquid-filled flexible spacecraft is essentially a time-variant fully-coupled system, whose dynamics characteristics are closely associated with its motion features. This paper focuses on the mathematical modelling and attitude control of the spacecraft coupled with fuel sloshing dynamics and flexible solar panels vibration. The slosh motion is represented by a spherical pendulum, whose motion description method is improved by using split variable operation. Benefiting from this improvement, the nonlinear lateral sloshing and the rotary sloshing as well as the rigid motion of a liquid respect to the spacecraft can be approximately described. The assumed modes discretization method has been adopted to approximate the elastic displacements of the attached panels, and the coupled dynamics is derived by using the Lagrangian formulation. A variable substitution method is proposed to obtain the apparently-uncoupled mathematical model of the rigid-flexible-liquid spacecraft. After linearization, this model can be directly used for designing Lyapunov output-feedback attitude controller (OFAC). With only torque actuators, and attitude and rate sensors installed, this kind of attitude controller, as simulation results show, is capable of not only bringing the spacecraft to the desired orientation, but also suppressing the effect of flex and slosh on the attitude motion of the spacecraft.

  4. Model predictive and reallocation problem for CubeSat fault recovery and attitude control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Franchi, Loris; Feruglio, Lorenzo; Mozzillo, Raffaele; Corpino, Sabrina

    2018-01-01

    In recent years, thanks to the increase of the know-how on machine-learning techniques and the advance of the computational capabilities of on-board processing, expensive computing algorithms, such as Model Predictive Control, have begun to spread in space applications even on small on-board processor. The paper presents an algorithm for an optimal fault recovery of a 3U CubeSat, developed in MathWorks Matlab & Simulink environment. This algorithm involves optimization techniques aiming at obtaining the optimal recovery solution, and involves a Model Predictive Control approach for the attitude control. The simulated system is a CubeSat in Low Earth Orbit: the attitude control is performed with three magnetic torquers and a single reaction wheel. The simulation neglects the errors in the attitude determination of the satellite, and focuses on the recovery approach and control method. The optimal recovery approach takes advantage of the properties of magnetic actuation, which gives the possibility of the redistribution of the control action when a fault occurs on a single magnetic torquer, even in absence of redundant actuators. In addition, the paper presents the results of the implementation of Model Predictive approach to control the attitude of the satellite.

  5. Attitude control/momentum management and payload pointing in advanced space vehicles

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Parlos, Alexander G.; Jayasuriya, Suhada

    1990-01-01

    The design and evaluation of an attitude control/momentum management system for highly asymmetric spacecraft configurations are presented. The preliminary development and application of a nonlinear control system design methodology for tracking control of uncertain systems, such as spacecraft payload pointing systems are also presented. Control issues relevant to both linear and nonlinear rigid-body spacecraft dynamics are addressed, whereas any structural flexibilities are not taken into consideration. Results from the first task indicate that certain commonly used simplifications in the equations of motions result in unstable attitude control systems, when used for highly asymmetric spacecraft configurations. An approach is suggested circumventing this problem. Additionally, even though preliminary results from the second task are encouraging, the proposed nonlinear control system design method requires further investigation prior to its application and use as an effective payload pointing system design technique.

  6. Adaptive fuzzy logic controller with direct action type structures for InnoSAT attitude control system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bakri, F. A.; Mashor, M. Y.; Sharun, S. M.; Bibi Sarpinah, S. N.; Abu Bakar, Z.

    2016-10-01

    This study proposes an adaptive fuzzy controller for attitude control system (ACS) of Innovative Satellite (InnoSAT) based on direct action type structure. In order to study new methods used in satellite attitude control, this paper presents three structures of controllers: Fuzzy PI, Fuzzy PD and conventional Fuzzy PID. The objective of this work is to compare the time response and tracking performance among the three different structures of controllers. The parameters of controller were tuned on-line by adjustment mechanism, which was an approach similar to a PID error that could minimize errors between actual and model reference output. This paper also presents a Model References Adaptive Control (MRAC) as a control scheme to control time varying systems where the performance specifications were given in terms of the reference model. All the controllers were tested using InnoSAT system under some operating conditions such as disturbance, varying gain, measurement noise and time delay. In conclusion, among all considered DA-type structures, AFPID controller was observed as the best structure since it outperformed other controllers in most conditions.

  7. SSS-A attitude control prelaunch analysis and operations plan

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Werking, R. D.; Beck, J.; Gardner, D.; Moyer, P.; Plett, M.

    1971-01-01

    A description of the attitude control support being supplied by the Mission and Data Operations Directorate is presented. Descriptions of the computer programs being used to support the mission for attitude determination, prediction, control, and definitive attitude processing are included. In addition, descriptions of the operating procedures which will be used to accomplish mission objectives are provided.

  8. Steady-state simulation program for attitude control propulsion systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heinmiller, P. J.

    1973-01-01

    The formulation and the engineering equations employed in the steady state attitude control propulsion system simulation program are presented. The objective of this program is to aid in the preliminary design and development of propulsion systems used for spacecraft attitude control. The program simulates the integrated operation of the many interdependent components typically comprising an attitude control propulsion system. Flexibility, generality, ease of operation, and speed consistent with adequate accuracy were overriding considerations during the development of this program. Simulation modules were developed representing the various types of fluid components typically encountered in an attitude control propulsion system. These modules are basically self-contained and may be arranged by the program user into desired configuration through the program input data.

  9. Attitude Control System Design for the Solar Dynamics Observatory

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Starin, Scott R.; Bourkland, Kristin L.; Kuo-Chia, Liu; Mason, Paul A. C.; Vess, Melissa F.; Andrews, Stephen F.; Morgenstern, Wendy M.

    2005-01-01

    The Solar Dynamics Observatory mission, part of the Living With a Star program, will place a geosynchronous satellite in orbit to observe the Sun and relay data to a dedicated ground station at all times. SDO remains Sun- pointing throughout most of its mission for the instruments to take measurements of the Sun. The SDO attitude control system is a single-fault tolerant design. Its fully redundant attitude sensor complement includes 16 coarse Sun sensors, a digital Sun sensor, 3 two-axis inertial reference units, 2 star trackers, and 4 guide telescopes. Attitude actuation is performed using 4 reaction wheels and 8 thrusters, and a single main engine nominally provides velocity-change thrust. The attitude control software has five nominal control modes-3 wheel-based modes and 2 thruster-based modes. A wheel-based Safehold running in the attitude control electronics box improves the robustness of the system as a whole. All six modes are designed on the same basic proportional-integral-derivative attitude error structure, with more robust modes setting their integral gains to zero. The paper details the mode designs and their uses.

  10. Method and apparatus for rate integration supplement for attitude referencing with quaternion differencing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rodden, John James (Inventor); Price, Xenophon (Inventor); Carrou, Stephane (Inventor); Stevens, Homer Darling (Inventor)

    2002-01-01

    A control system for providing attitude control in spacecraft. The control system comprising a primary attitude reference system, a secondary attitude reference system, and a hyper-complex number differencing system. The hyper-complex number differencing system is connectable to the primary attitude reference system and the secondary attitude reference system.

  11. High Accuracy Attitude Control of a Spacecraft Using Feedback Linearization

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-05-01

    High Accuracy Attitude Control of a Spacecraft Using Feedback Linearization A Thesis Presented by Louis Joseph PoehIman, Captain, USAF B.S., U.S. Air...High Accuracy Attitude Control of a Spacecraft Using Feedback Linearization by Louis Joseph Poehlman, Captain, USAF Submitted to the Department of...31 2-4 Attitude Determination and Control System Architecture ................. 33 3-1 Exact Linearization Using Nonlinear Feedback

  12. Comparison of two on-orbit attitude sensor alignment methods

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Krack, Kenneth; Lambertson, Michael; Markley, F. Landis

    1990-01-01

    Compared here are two methods of on-orbit alignment of vector attitude sensors. The first method uses the angular difference between simultaneous measurements from two or more sensors. These angles are compared to the angular differences between the respective reference positions of the sensed objects. The alignments of the sensors are adjusted to minimize the difference between the two sets of angles. In the second method, the sensor alignment is part of a state vector that includes the attitude. The alignments are adjusted along with the attitude to minimize all observation residuals. It is shown that the latter method can result in much less alignment uncertainty when gyroscopes are used for attitude propagation during the alignment estimation. The additional information for this increased accuracy comes from knowledge of relative attitude obtained from the spacecraft gyroscopes. The theoretical calculations of this difference in accuracy are presented. Also presented are numerical estimates of the alignment uncertainties of the fixed-head star trackers on the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer spacecraft using both methods.

  13. Precision Attitude Control for the BETTII Balloon-Borne Interferometer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Benford, Dominic J.; Fixsen, Dale J.; Rinehart. Stephen

    2012-01-01

    The Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII) is an 8-meter baseline far-infrared interferometer to fly on a high altitude balloon. Operating at wavelengths of 30-90 microns, BETTII will obtain spatial and spectral information on science targets at angular resolutions down to less than half an arcsecond, a capability unmatched by other far-infrared facilities. This requires attitude control at a level ofless than a tenth of an arcsecond, a great challenge for a lightweight balloon-borne system. We have designed a precision attitude determination system to provide gondola attitude knowledge at a level of 2 milliarcseconds at rates up to 100Hz, with accurate absolute attitude determination at the half arcsecond level at rates of up to 10Hz. A mUlti-stage control system involving rigid body motion and tip-tilt-piston correction provides precision pointing stability to the level required for the far-infrared instrument to perform its spatial/spectral interferometry in an open-loop control. We present key aspects of the design of the attitude determination and control and its development status.

  14. Integrated Attitude Control Strategy for the Asteroid Redirect Mission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lopez, Pedro, Jr.; Price, Hoppy; San Martin, Miguel

    2014-01-01

    A deep-space mission has been proposed to redirect an asteroid to a distant retrograde orbit around the moon using a robotic vehicle, the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle (ARV). In this orbit, astronauts will rendezvous with the ARV using the Orion spacecraft. The integrated attitude control concept that Orion will use for approach and docking and for mated operations will be described. Details of the ARV's attitude control system and its associated constraints for redirecting the asteroid to the distant retrograde orbit around the moon will be provided. Once Orion is docked to the ARV, an overall description of the mated stack attitude during all phases of the mission will be presented using a coordinate system that was developed for this mission. Next, the thermal and power constraints of both the ARV and Orion will be discussed as well as how they are used to define the optimal integrated stack attitude. Lastly, the lighting and communications constraints necessary for the crew's extravehicular activity planned to retrieve samples from the asteroid will be examined. Similarly, the joint attitude control strategy that employs both the Orion and the ARV attitude control assets prior, during, and after each extravehicular activity will also be thoroughly discussed.

  15. Satellite attitude prediction by multiple time scales method

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tao, Y. C.; Ramnath, R.

    1975-01-01

    An investigation is made of the problem of predicting the attitude of satellites under the influence of external disturbing torques. The attitude dynamics are first expressed in a perturbation formulation which is then solved by the multiple scales approach. The independent variable, time, is extended into new scales, fast, slow, etc., and the integration is carried out separately in the new variables. The theory is applied to two different satellite configurations, rigid body and dual spin, each of which may have an asymmetric mass distribution. The disturbing torques considered are gravity gradient and geomagnetic. Finally, as multiple time scales approach separates slow and fast behaviors of satellite attitude motion, this property is used for the design of an attitude control device. A nutation damping control loop, using the geomagnetic torque for an earth pointing dual spin satellite, is designed in terms of the slow equation.

  16. Sensor fault detection and recovery in satellite attitude control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nasrolahi, Seiied Saeed; Abdollahi, Farzaneh

    2018-04-01

    This paper proposes an integrated sensor fault detection and recovery for the satellite attitude control system. By introducing a nonlinear observer, the healthy sensor measurements are provided. Considering attitude dynamics and kinematic, a novel observer is developed to detect the fault in angular rate as well as attitude sensors individually or simultaneously. There is no limit on type and configuration of attitude sensors. By designing a state feedback based control signal and Lyapunov stability criterion, the uniformly ultimately boundedness of tracking errors in the presence of sensor faults is guaranteed. Finally, simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance of the integrated scheme.

  17. Attitude control system conceptual design for the GOES-N spacecraft series

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Markley, F. L.; Bauer, F. H.; Deily, J. J.; Femiano, M. D.

    1991-01-01

    The attitude determination sensing and processing of the system are considered, and inertial reference units, star trackers, and beacons and landmarks are discussed as well as an extended Kalman filter and expected attitude-determination performance. The baseline controller is overviewed, and a spacecraft motion compensation (SMC) algorithm, disturbance environment, and SMC performance expectations are covered. Detailed simulation results are presented, and emphasis is placed on dynamic models, attitude estimation and control, and SMC disturbance accommmodation. It is shown that the attitude control system employing gyro/star tracker sensing and active three-axis control with reaction wheels is capable of maintaining attitude errors of 1.7 microrad or less on all axes in the absence of attitude disturbances, and that the sensor line-of-sight pointing errors can be reduced to 0.1 microrad by SMC.

  18. Attitude control challenges for earth orbiters of the 1980's

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hibbard, W.

    1980-01-01

    Experience gained in designing attitude control systems for orbiting spacecraft of the late 1980's is related. Implications for satellite attitude control design of the guidance capabilities, rendezvous and recovery requirements, use of multiple-use spacecraft and the development of large spacecraft associated with the advent of the Space Shuttle are considered. Attention is then given to satellite attitude control requirements posed by the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, the Global Positioning System, the NASA End-to-End Data System, and Shuttle-associated subsatellites. The anticipated completion and launch of the Space Telescope, which will provide one of the first experiences with the new generation of attitude control, is also pointed out.

  19. Sine Rotation Vector Method for Attitude Estimation of an Underwater Robot

    PubMed Central

    Ko, Nak Yong; Jeong, Seokki; Bae, Youngchul

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes a method for estimating the attitude of an underwater robot. The method employs a new concept of sine rotation vector and uses both an attitude heading and reference system (AHRS) and a Doppler velocity log (DVL) for the purpose of measurement. First, the acceleration and magnetic-field measurements are transformed into sine rotation vectors and combined. The combined sine rotation vector is then transformed into the differences between the Euler angles of the measured attitude and the predicted attitude; the differences are used to correct the predicted attitude. The method was evaluated according to field-test data and simulation data and compared to existing methods that calculate angular differences directly without a preceding sine rotation vector transformation. The comparison verifies that the proposed method improves the attitude estimation performance. PMID:27490549

  20. On-orbit experience with the HEAO attitude control subsystem

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hoffman, D. P.; Berkery, E. A.

    1978-01-01

    The first satellite (HEAO-1) in the High Energy Astronomy Observatory Program series was launched successfully on Aug. 12, 1977. To date it has completed over nine months of orbital operation in a science data gathering mode. During this period all attitude control modes have been exercised and all primary mission objectives have been achieved. This paper highlights the characteristics of the attitude control subsystem design and compares the predicted performance with the actual flight operations experience. Environmental disturbance modeling, component hardware/software characteristics, and overall attitude control performance are reviewed and are found to compare very well with the prelaunch analytical predictions. Brief comments are also included regarding the operations aspects of the attitude control subsystem. The experience in this regard demonstrates the effectiveness of the design flexibility afforded by the presence of a general purpose digital processor in the subsystem flight hardware implementation.

  1. Mariner Mars 1971 attitude control subsystem flight performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schumacher, L.

    1973-01-01

    The flight performance of the Mariner 71 attitude control subsystem is discussed. Each phase of the mission is delineated and the attitude control subsystem is evaluated within the observed operational environment. Performance anomalies are introduced and discussed within the context of general performance. Problems such as the sun sensor interface incompatibility, gas valve leaks, and scan platform dynamic coupling effects are given analytical considerations.

  2. Magsat attitude dynamics and control: Some observations and explanations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stengle, T. H.

    1980-01-01

    Before its reentry 7 months after launch, Magsat transmitted an abundance of valuable data for mapping the Earth's magnetic field. As an added benefit, a wealth of attitude data for study by spacecraft dynamicists was also collected. Because of its unique configuration, Magsat presented new control problems. With its aerodynamic trim boom, attitude control was given an added dimension. Minimization of attitude drift, which could be mapped in relative detail, became the goal. Momentum control, which was accomplished by pitching the spacecraft in order to balance aerodynamic and gravity gradient torques, was seldom difficult to achieve. Several interesting phenomena observed as part of this activity included occasional momentum wheel instability and a rough correlation between solar flux and the pitch angle required to maintain acceptable momentum. An overview is presented of the attitude behavior of Magsat and some of the control problems encountered. Plausible explanations for some of this behavior are offered. Some of the control philosophy used during the mission is examined and aerodynamic trimming operations are summarized.

  3. Attitude motion of a non-attitude-controlled cylindrical satellite

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilkinson, C. K.

    1988-01-01

    In 1985, two non-attitude-controlled satellites were each placed in a low earth orbit by the Scout Launch Vehicle. The satellites were cylindrical in shape and contained reservoirs of hydrazine fuel. Three-axis magnetometer measurements, telemetered in real time, were used to derive the attitude motion of each satellite. Algorithms are generated to deduce possible orientations (and magnitudes) of each vehicle's angular momentum for each telemetry contact. To resolve ambiguities at each contact, a force model was derived to simulate the significant long-term effects of magnetic, gravity gradient, and aerodynamic torques on the angular momentum of the vehicles. The histories of the orientation and magnitude of the angular momentum are illustrated.

  4. Research on Design of MUH Attitude Stability Augmentation Control System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fan, Shigang

    2017-09-01

    Attitude stability augmentation control system with a lower cost need to be designed so that MUH (Mini Unmanned Helicopter) can adapt to different types of geographic environment and fly steadily although the weather may be bad. Attitude feedback was calculated mainly by filtering estimation within attitude acquisition module in this system. Stability augmentation can be improved mainly by PI. This paper will depict running principle and designing process of MUH attitude stability augmentation control system and algorithm that is considered as an important part in this system.

  5. A system for spacecraft attitude control and energy storage

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shaughnessy, J. D.

    1974-01-01

    A conceptual design for a double-gimbal reaction-wheel energy-wheel device which has three-axis attitude control and electrical energy storage capability is given. A mathematical model for the three-axis gyroscope (TAG) was developed, and a system of multiple units is proposed for attitude control and energy storage for a class of spacecraft. Control laws were derived to provide the required attitude-control torques and energy transfer while minimizing functions of TAG gimbal angles, gimbal rates, reaction-wheel speeds, and energy-wheel speed differences. A control law is also presented for a magnetic torquer desaturation system. A computer simulation of a three-TAG system for an orbiting telescope was used to evaluate the concept. The results of the study indicate that all control and power requirements can be satisfied by using the TAG concept.

  6. Attractive manifold-based adaptive solar attitude control of satellites in elliptic orbits

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Keum W.; Singh, Sahjendra N.

    2011-01-01

    The paper presents a novel noncertainty-equivalent adaptive (NCEA) control system for the pitch attitude control of satellites in elliptic orbits using solar radiation pressure (SRP). The satellite is equipped with two identical solar flaps to produce control moments. The adaptive law is based on the attractive manifold design using filtered signals for synthesis, which is a modification of the immersion and invariance (I&I) method. The control system has a modular controller-estimator structure and has separate tunable gains. A special feature of this NCEA law is that the trajectories of the satellite converge to a manifold in an extended state space, and the adaptive law recovers the performance of a deterministic controller. This recovery of performance cannot be obtained with certainty-equivalent adaptive (CEA) laws. Simulation results are presented which show that the NCEA law accomplishes precise attitude control of the satellite in an elliptic orbit, despite large parameter uncertainties.

  7. Integrated Orbit and Attitude Control for a Nanosatellite with Power Constraints

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Naasz, Bo; Hall, Christopher; Berry, Matthew; Hy-Young, Kim

    2003-01-01

    Small satellites tend to be power-limited, so that actuators used to control the orbit and attitude must compete with each other as well as with other subsystems for limited electrical power. The Virginia Tech nanosatellite project, HokieSat, must use its limited power resources to operate pulsed-plasma thrusters for orbit control and magnetic torque coils for attitude control, while also providing power to a GPS receiver, a crosslink transceiver, and other subsystems. The orbit and attitude control strategies were developed independently. The attitude control system is based on an application of Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) to an averaged system of equations, whereas the orbit control is based on orbit element feedback. In this paper we describe the strategy for integrating these two control systems and present simulation results to verify the strategy.

  8. Robustness and Actuator Bandwidth of MRP-Based Sliding Mode Control for Spacecraft Attitude Control Problems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keum, Jung-Hoon; Ra, Sung-Woong

    2009-12-01

    Nonlinear sliding surface design in variable structure systems for spacecraft attitude control problems is studied. A robustness analysis is performed for regular form of system, and calculation of actuator bandwidth is presented by reviewing sliding surface dynamics. To achieve non-singular attitude description and minimal parameterization, spacecraft attitude control problems are considered based on modified Rodrigues parameters (MRP). It is shown that the derived controller ensures the sliding motion in pre-determined region irrespective of unmodeled effects and disturbances.

  9. Fast spacecraft adaptive attitude tracking control through immersion and invariance design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wen, Haowei; Yue, Xiaokui; Li, Peng; Yuan, Jianping

    2017-10-01

    This paper presents a novel non-certainty-equivalence adaptive control method for the attitude tracking control problem of spacecraft with inertia uncertainties. The proposed immersion and invariance (I&I) based adaptation law provides a more direct and flexible approach to circumvent the limitations of the basic I&I method without employing any filter signal. By virtue of the adaptation high-gain equivalence property derived from the proposed adaptive method, the closed-loop adaptive system with a low adaptation gain could recover the high adaptation gain performance of the filter-based I&I method, and the resulting control torque demands during the initial transient has been significantly reduced. A special feature of this method is that the convergence of the parameter estimation error has been observably improved by utilizing an adaptation gain matrix instead of a single adaptation gain value. Numerical simulations are presented to highlight the various benefits of the proposed method compared with the certainty-equivalence-based control method and filter-based I&I control schemes.

  10. Attitude control compensator for flexible spacecraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goodzeit, Neil E. (Inventor); Linder, David M. (Inventor)

    1991-01-01

    An attitude control loop for a spacecraft uses a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller for control about an axis. The spacecraft body has at least a primary mechanical resonance. The attitude sensors are collocated, or both on the rigid portion of the spacecraft. The flexure attributable to the resonance may result in instability of the system. A compensator for the control loop has an amplitude response which includes a component which rolls off beginning at frequencies below the resonance, and which also includes a component having a notch at a notch frequency somewhat below the resonant frequency. The phase response of the compensator tends toward zero at low frequencies, and tends toward -180.degree. as frequency increases toward the notch frequency. At frequencies above the notch frequency, the phase decreases from +180.degree., becoming more negative, and tending toward -90.degree. at frequencies far above the resonance frequency. Near the resonance frequency, the compensator phase is near zero.

  11. IMP-J attitude control prelaunch analysis and operations plan

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hooper, H. L.; Mckendrew, J. B.; Repass, G. D.

    1973-01-01

    A description of the attitude control support being supplied for the Explorer 50 mission is given. Included in the document are descriptions of the computer programs being used to support attitude determination, prediction, and control for the mission and descriptions of the operating procedures that will be used to accomplish mission objectives.

  12. Inflight redesign of the IUE attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Femiano, M. D.

    1986-01-01

    The one- and two-gyro system designs of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) attitude control system (ACS) are examined. The inertial reference assembly that provides the primary attitude reference for IUE consists of six rate sensors which are single-axis rate integrating gyros. The gyros operate in a pulse rebalanced mode that produces an output pulse for 0.01 arcsec of motion about the input axis. The functions of the fine error sensor, fine sun sensor (FSS), the IUE reaction wheels, the onboard computer, and the hold/slew algorithm are described. The use of the hold/slew algorithm to compute the control voltage for the ACS based on the Kalman filter is studied. A two-gyro system was incorporated into IUE following gyro failure. The procedures for establishing attitude control with the two-gyro design based on the FSS is analyzed. The performance of the two-gyro system is evaluated; it is observed that the pitch and yaw gyro control is 0.24 arcsec and the control is sufficient to permit extended periods of observation.

  13. Fault tolerant attitude sensing and force feedback control for unmanned aerial vehicles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jagadish, Chirag

    Two aspects of an unmanned aerial vehicle are studied in this work. One is fault tolerant attitude determination and the other is to provide force feedback to the joy-stick of the UAV so as to prevent faulty inputs from the pilot. Determination of attitude plays an important role in control of aerial vehicles. One way of defining the attitude is through Euler angles. These angles can be determined based on the measurements of the projections of the gravity and earth magnetic fields on the three body axes of the vehicle. Attitude determination in unmanned aerial vehicles poses additional challenges due to limitations of space, payload, power and cost. Therefore it provides for almost no room for any bulky sensors or extra sensor hardware for backup and as such leaves no room for sensor fault issues either. In the face of these limitations, this study proposes a fault tolerant computing of Euler angles by utilizing multiple different computation methods, with each method utilizing a different subset of the available sensor measurement data. Twenty-five such methods have been presented in this document. The capability of computing the Euler angles in multiple ways provides a diversified redundancy required for fault tolerance. The proposed approach can identify certain sets of sensor failures and even separate the reference fields from the disturbances. A bank-to-turn maneuver of the NASA GTM UAV is used to demonstrate the fault tolerance provided by the proposed method as well as to demonstrate the method of determining the correct Euler angles despite interferences by inertial acceleration disturbances. Attitude computation is essential for stability. But as of today most UAVs are commanded remotely by human pilots. While basic stability control is entrusted to machine or the on-board automatic controller, overall guidance is usually with humans. It is therefore the pilot who sets the command/references through a joy-stick. While this is a good compromise between

  14. Magnetic dipole moment estimation and compensation for an accurate attitude control in nano-satellite missions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Inamori, Takaya; Sako, Nobutada; Nakasuka, Shinichi

    2011-06-01

    Nano-satellites provide space access to broader range of satellite developers and attract interests as an application of the space developments. These days several new nano-satellite missions are proposed with sophisticated objectives such as remote-sensing and observation of astronomical objects. In these advanced missions, some nano-satellites must meet strict attitude requirements for obtaining scientific data or images. For LEO nano-satellite, a magnetic attitude disturbance dominates over other environmental disturbances as a result of small moment of inertia, and this effect should be cancelled for a precise attitude control. This research focuses on how to cancel the magnetic disturbance in orbit. This paper presents a unique method to estimate and compensate the residual magnetic moment, which interacts with the geomagnetic field and causes the magnetic disturbance. An extended Kalman filter is used to estimate the magnetic disturbance. For more practical considerations of the magnetic disturbance compensation, this method has been examined in the PRISM (Pico-satellite for Remote-sensing and Innovative Space Missions). This method will be also used for a nano-astrometry satellite mission. This paper concludes that use of the magnetic disturbance estimation and compensation are useful for nano-satellites missions which require a high accurate attitude control.

  15. The MK VI - A second generation attitude control system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meredith, P. J.

    1986-10-01

    The MK VI, a new multipurpose attitude control system for the exoatmospheric attitude control of sounding rocket payloads, is described. The system employs reprogrammable microcomputer memory for storage of basic control logic and for specific mission event control data. The paper includes descriptions of MK VI specifications and configuration; sensor characteristics; the electronic, analog, and digital sections; the pneumatic system; ground equipment; the system operation; and software. A review of the MK VI performance for the Comet Halley flight is presented. Block diagrams are included.

  16. MSFC Skylab attitude and pointing control system mission evaluation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chubb, W. B.

    1974-01-01

    The results of detailed performance analyses of the attitude and pointing control system in-orbit hardware and software on Skylab are reported. Performance is compared with requirements, test results, and prelaunch predictions. A brief history of the altitude and pointing control system evolution leading to the launch configuration is presented. The report states that the attitude and pointing system satisfied all requirements.

  17. A spacecraft integrated power/attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Keckler, C. R.; Jacobs, K. L.

    1974-01-01

    A study to determine the viability and application of a system capable of performing the dual function of power storage/generation and attitude control has been conducted. Results from the study indicate that an integrated power/attitude control system (IPACS) can satisfy future mission requirements while providing significant savings in weight, volume, and cost over conventional systems. A failure-mode configuration of an IPACS was applied to a shuttle-launched RAM free-flyer and simulated using make-do hardware linked to a hybrid computer. Data from the simulation runs indicate that control interactions resulting from heavy power demands have minimal effect on system control effectiveness. The system was shown to be capable of meeting the stringent pointing requirements of 1 arc-second while operating under the influence of an orbital disturbance environment and during periods of momentum variations imposed by energy transfer requirements.

  18. ATS-6 engineering performance report. Volume 2: Orbit and attitude controls

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wales, R. O. (Editor)

    1981-01-01

    Attitude control is reviewed, encompassing the attitude control subsystem, spacecraft attitude precision pointing and slewing adaptive control experiment, and RF interferometer experiment. The spacecraft propulsion system (SPS) is discussed, including subsystem, SPS design description and validation, orbital operations and performance, in-orbit anomalies and contingency operations, and the cesium bombardment ion engine experiment. Thruster failure due to plugging of the propellant feed passages, a major cause for mission termination, are considered among the critical generic failures on the satellite.

  19. Single Axis Attitude Control and DC Bus Regulation with Two Flywheels

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kascak, Peter E.; Jansen, Ralph H.; Kenny, Barbara; Dever, Timothy P.

    2002-01-01

    A computer simulation of a flywheel energy storage single axis attitude control system is described. The simulation models hardware which will be experimentally tested in the future. This hardware consists of two counter rotating flywheels mounted to an air table. The air table allows one axis of rotational motion. An inertia DC bus coordinator is set forth that allows the two control problems, bus regulation and attitude control, to be separated. Simulation results are presented with a previously derived flywheel bus regulator and a simple PID attitude controller.

  20. Design and Stability of an On-Orbit Attitude Control System Using Reaction Control Thrusters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hall, Robert A.; Hough, Steven; Orphee, Carolina; Clements, Keith

    2016-01-01

    NASA is providing preliminary design and requirements for the Space Launch System Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). The EUS will provide upper stage capability for vehicle ascent as well as on-orbit control capability. Requirements include performance of on-orbit burn to provide Orion vehicle with escape velocity. On-orbit attitude control is accommodated by a on-off Reaction Control System (RCS). Paper provides overview of approaches for design and stability of an attitude control system using a RCS.

  1. Integrated Power and Attitude Control for a Spacecraft with Flywheels and Control Moment Gyroscopes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roithmayr, Carlos M.; Karlgaard, Christopher D.; Kumar, Renjith R.; Bose, David M.

    2003-01-01

    A law is designed for simultaneous control of the orientation of an Earth-pointing spacecraft, the energy stored by counter-rotating flywheels, and the angular momentum of the flywheels and control moment gyroscopes used together as all integrated set of actuators for attitude control. General. nonlinear equations of motion are presented in vector-dyadic form, and used to obtain approximate expressions which are then linearized in preparation for design of control laws that include feedback of flywheel kinetic energy error as it means of compensating for damping exerted by rotor bearings. Two flywheel 'steering laws' are developed such that torque commanded by all attitude control law is achieved while energy is stored or discharged at the required rate. Using the International Space Station as an example, numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate control about a torque equilibrium attitude and illustrate the benefits of kinetic energy error feedback.

  2. Nonlinear Attitude Filtering Methods

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Markley, F. Landis; Crassidis, John L.; Cheng, Yang

    2005-01-01

    This paper provides a survey of modern nonlinear filtering methods for attitude estimation. Early applications relied mostly on the extended Kalman filter for attitude estimation. Since these applications, several new approaches have been developed that have proven to be superior to the extended Kalman filter. Several of these approaches maintain the basic structure of the extended Kalman filter, but employ various modifications in order to provide better convergence or improve other performance characteristics. Examples of such approaches include: filter QUEST, extended QUEST, the super-iterated extended Kalman filter, the interlaced extended Kalman filter, and the second-order Kalman filter. Filters that propagate and update a discrete set of sigma points rather than using linearized equations for the mean and covariance are also reviewed. A two-step approach is discussed with a first-step state that linearizes the measurement model and an iterative second step to recover the desired attitude states. These approaches are all based on the Gaussian assumption that the probability density function is adequately specified by its mean and covariance. Other approaches that do not require this assumption are reviewed, including particle filters and a Bayesian filter based on a non-Gaussian, finite-parameter probability density function on SO(3). Finally, the predictive filter, nonlinear observers and adaptive approaches are shown. The strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches are discussed.

  3. Attitude Control Working Group report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Reid, Daniel F.; Studer, Phillip A.

    1986-01-01

    The goals were to establish the Attitude Control System (ACS) requirements, constraints, technology assessment, technology shortfalls, expected in the year 2000. These were based upon all missions, military and civil, for LEO and GEO. The critical ACS technology issues were identified and ACS programs developed to address these critical issues.

  4. The attitude inversion method of geostationary satellites based on unscented particle filter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Du, Xiaoping; Wang, Yang; Hu, Heng; Gou, Ruixin; Liu, Hao

    2018-04-01

    The attitude information of geostationary satellites is difficult to be obtained since they are presented in non-resolved images on the ground observation equipment in space object surveillance. In this paper, an attitude inversion method for geostationary satellite based on Unscented Particle Filter (UPF) and ground photometric data is presented. The inversion algorithm based on UPF is proposed aiming at the strong non-linear feature in the photometric data inversion for satellite attitude, which combines the advantage of Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) and Particle Filter (PF). This update method improves the particle selection based on the idea of UKF to redesign the importance density function. Moreover, it uses the RMS-UKF to partially correct the prediction covariance matrix, which improves the applicability of the attitude inversion method in view of UKF and the particle degradation and dilution of the attitude inversion method based on PF. This paper describes the main principles and steps of algorithm in detail, correctness, accuracy, stability and applicability of the method are verified by simulation experiment and scaling experiment in the end. The results show that the proposed method can effectively solve the problem of particle degradation and depletion in the attitude inversion method on account of PF, and the problem that UKF is not suitable for the strong non-linear attitude inversion. However, the inversion accuracy is obviously superior to UKF and PF, in addition, in the case of the inversion with large attitude error that can inverse the attitude with small particles and high precision.

  5. Comparison of thruster configurations in attitude control systems. M.S. Thesis. Progress Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Boland, J. S., III; Drinkard, D. M., Jr.; White, L. R.; Chakravarthi, K. R.

    1973-01-01

    Several aspects concerning reaction control jet systems as used to govern the attitude of a spacecraft were considered. A thruster configuration currently in use was compared to several new configurations developed in this study. The method of determining the error signals which control the firing of the thrusters was also investigated. The current error determination procedure is explained and a new method is presented. Both of these procedures are applied to each of the thruster configurations which are developed and comparisons of the two methods are made.

  6. Speed-constrained three-axes attitude control using kinematic steering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schaub, Hanspeter; Piggott, Scott

    2018-06-01

    Spacecraft attitude control solutions typically are torque-level algorithms that simultaneously control both the attitude and angular velocity tracking errors. In contrast, robotic control solutions are kinematic steering commands where rates are treated as the control variable, and a servo-tracking control subsystem is present to achieve the desired control rates. In this paper kinematic attitude steering controls are developed where an outer control loop establishes a desired angular response history to a tracking error, and an inner control loop tracks the commanded body angular rates. The overall stability relies on the separation principle of the inner and outer control loops which must have sufficiently different response time scales. The benefit is that the outer steering law response can be readily shaped to a desired behavior, such as limiting the approach angular velocity when a large tracking error is corrected. A Modified Rodrigues Parameters implementation is presented that smoothly saturates the speed response. A robust nonlinear body rate servo loop is developed which includes integral feedback. This approach provides a convenient modular framework that makes it simple to interchange outer and inner control loops to readily setup new control implementations. Numerical simulations illustrate the expected performance for an aggressive reorientation maneuver subject to an unknown external torque.

  7. Attitude Control Propulsion Components, Volume 2

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1974-01-01

    Attitude control propulsion components are described, including hydrazine thrusters, hydrazine thruster and cold gas jet valves, and pressure and temperature transducers. Component-ordered data are presented in tabular form; the manufacturer and specific space program are included.

  8. Robust attitude control design for spacecraft under assigned velocity and control constraints.

    PubMed

    Hu, Qinglei; Li, Bo; Zhang, Youmin

    2013-07-01

    A novel robust nonlinear control design under the constraints of assigned velocity and actuator torque is investigated for attitude stabilization of a rigid spacecraft. More specifically, a nonlinear feedback control is firstly developed by explicitly taking into account the constraints on individual angular velocity components as well as external disturbances. Considering further the actuator misalignments and magnitude deviation, a modified robust least-squares based control allocator is employed to deal with the problem of distributing the previously designed three-axis moments over the available actuators, in which the focus of this control allocation is to find the optimal control vector of actuators by minimizing the worst-case residual error using programming algorithms. The attitude control performance using the controller structure is evaluated through a numerical example. Copyright © 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. The Relationship of Pupil Control Ideology to Students' Rights Attitudes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Lynn

    As a result of increased court intervention in favor of students' rights, a review of a sample of teachers concerning their attitudes about student control was examined. Taking into consideration the teachers' attitudes concerning student rights, the Pupil Control Ideology test and the Students' Rights Acceptance Scale were used as measurement…

  10. Knowledge and attitude of key community members towards tuberculosis: mixed method study from BRAC TB control areas in Bangladesh.

    PubMed

    Paul, Sukanta; Akter, Rahima; Aftab, Afzal; Khan, Antora M; Barua, Mrittika; Islam, Shayla; Islam, Akramul; Husain, Ashaque; Sarker, Malabika

    2015-01-31

    Bangladesh National Tuberculosis (TB) Control Programme adopted a number of strategies to facilitate TB diagnosis and treatment. 'Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization' (ACSM) was one of the key strategies implemented by BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, a non-governmental development organization) TB control program. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the key community members (KCMs) participated in ACSM in BRAC TB control areas. This study combined quantitative and qualitative methods using a mixed method approach. KCMs in three districts with low TB case detection rates were targeted to assess the ACSM program. The quantitative survey using a multi-stage random-sampling strategy was conducted among 432 participants. The qualitative study included in-depth interviews (IDIs) of a sub sample of 48 respondents. For quantitative analysis, descriptive statistics were reported using frequencies, percentages, and Chi square tests, while thematic analysis was used for qualitative part. Most (99%) of the participants had heard about TB, and almost all knew that TB is a contagious yet curable disease. More than half (53%) of the KCMs had good knowledge regarding TB, but BRAC workers were found to be more knowledgeable compared to other KCMs. However, considerable knowledge gaps were observed among BRAC community health workers. Qualitative results revealed that the majority of the KCMs were aware about the signs, symptoms and transmission pathways of TB and believed that smoking and addiction were the prime causes of transmission of TB. The knowledge about child TB was poor even among BRAC health workers. Stigma associated with TB was not uncommon. Almost all respondents expressed that young girls diagnosed with TB. This study finding has revealed varying levels of knowledge and mixed attitudes about TB among the KCMs. It also provides insight on the poor knowledge regarding child TB and indicate that despite the

  11. Cassini at Saturn Proximal Orbits - Attitude Control Challenges

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Burk, Thomas A.

    2013-01-01

    The Cassini mission at Saturn will come to an end in the spring and summer of 2017 with a series of 22 orbits that will dip inside the rings of Saturn. These are called proximal orbits and will conclude with spacecraft disposal into the atmosphere of the ringed world on September 15, 2017. These unique orbits that cross the ring plane only a few thousand kilometers above the cloud tops of the planet present new attitude control challenges for the Cassini operations team. Crossing the ring plane so close to the inner edge of the rings means that the Cassini orientation during the crossing will be tailored to protect the sensitive electronics bus of the spacecraft. This orientation will put the sun sensors at some extra risk so this paper discusses how the team prepares for dust hazards. Periapsis is so close to the planet that spacecraft controllability with RCS thrusters needs to be evaluated because of the predicted atmospheric torque near closest approach to Saturn. Radiation during the ring plane crossings will likely trigger single event transients in some attitude control sensors. This paper discusses how the attitude control team deals with radiation hazards. The angular size and unique geometry of the rings and Saturn near periapsis means that star identification will be interrupted and this paper discusses how the safe mode attitude is selected to best deal with these large bright bodies during the proximal orbits.

  12. Two Axis Pointing System (TAPS) attitude acquisition, determination, and control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Azzolini, John D.; Mcglew, David E.

    1990-01-01

    The Two Axis Pointing System (TAPS) is a 2 axis gimbal system designed to provide fine pointing of Space Transportation System (STS) borne instruments. It features center-of-mass instrument mounting and will accommodate instruments of up to 1134 kg (2500 pounds) which fit within a 1.0 by 1.0 by 4.2 meter (40 by 40 by 166 inch) envelope. The TAPS system is controlled by a microcomputer based Control Electronics Assembly (CEA), a Power Distribution Unit (PDU), and a Servo Control Unit (SCU). A DRIRU-II inertial reference unit is used to provide incremental angles for attitude propagation. A Ball Brothers STRAP star tracker is used for attitude acquisition and update. The theory of the TAPS attitude determination and error computation for the Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT) are described. The attitude acquisition is based upon a 2 star geometric solution. The acquisition theory and quaternion algebra are presented. The attitude control combines classical position, integral and derivative (PID) control with techniques to compensate for coulomb friction (bias torque) and the cable harness crossing the gimbals (spring torque). Also presented is a technique for an adaptive bias torque compensation which adjusts to an ever changing frictional torque environment. The control stability margins are detailed, with the predicted pointing performance, based upon simulation studies. The TAPS user interface, which provides high level operations commands to facilitate science observations, is outlined.

  13. System and method for correcting attitude estimation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Josselson, Robert H. (Inventor)

    2010-01-01

    A system includes an angular rate sensor disposed in a vehicle for providing angular rates of the vehicle, and an instrument disposed in the vehicle for providing line-of-sight control with respect to a line-of-sight reference. The instrument includes an integrator which is configured to integrate the angular rates of the vehicle to form non-compensated attitudes. Also included is a compensator coupled across the integrator, in a feed-forward loop, for receiving the angular rates of the vehicle and outputting compensated angular rates of the vehicle. A summer combines the non-compensated attitudes and the compensated angular rates of the to vehicle to form estimated vehicle attitudes for controlling the instrument with respect to the line-of-sight reference. The compensator is configured to provide error compensation to the instrument free-of any feedback loop that uses an error signal. The compensator may include a transfer function providing a fixed gain to the received angular rates of the vehicle. The compensator may, alternatively, include a is transfer function providing a variable gain as a function of frequency to operate on the received angular rates of the vehicle.

  14. A study of attitude control concepts for precision-pointing non-rigid spacecraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Likins, P. W.

    1975-01-01

    Attitude control concepts for use onboard structurally nonrigid spacecraft that must be pointed with great precision are examined. The task of determining the eigenproperties of a system of linear time-invariant equations (in terms of hybrid coordinates) representing the attitude motion of a flexible spacecraft is discussed. Literal characteristics are developed for the associated eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the system. A method is presented for determining the poles and zeros of the transfer function describing the attitude dynamics of a flexible spacecraft characterized by hybrid coordinate equations. Alterations are made to linear regulator and observer theory to accommodate modeling errors. The results show that a model error vector, which evolves from an error system, can be added to a reduced system model, estimated by an observer, and used by the control law to render the system less sensitive to uncertain magnitudes and phase relations of truncated modes and external disturbance effects. A hybrid coordinate formulation using the provided assumed mode shapes, rather than incorporating the usual finite element approach is provided.

  15. Advanced Integrated Power and Attitude Control System (IPACS) study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oglevie, R. E.; Eisenhaure, D. B.

    1985-01-01

    Integrated Power and Attitude Control System (IPACS) studies performed over a decade ago established the feasibility of simultaneously satisfying the demands of energy storage and attitude control through the use of rotating flywheels. It was demonstrated that, for a wide spectrum of applications, such a system possessed many advantages over contemporary energy storage and attitude control approaches. More recent technology advances in composite material rotors, magnetic suspension systems, and power control electronics have triggered new optimism regarding the applicability and merits of this concept. This study is undertaken to define an advanced IPACS and to evaluate its merits for a space station application. System and component designs are developed to establish the performance of this concept and system trade studies conducted to examine the viability of this approach relative to conventional candidate systems. It is clearly demonstrated that an advanced IPACS concept is not only feasible, but also offers substantial savings in mass and life-cycle cost for the space station mission.

  16. Integrated Power and Attitude Control Systems for Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oglevie, R. E.; Eisenhaure, D. B.

    1985-01-01

    Integrated Power and Attitude Control Systems (IPACS) studies performed over a decade ago established the feasibility of simultaneously storing electrical energy in wheels and utilizing the resulting momentum for spacecraft attitude control. It was shown that such a system possessed many advantages over other contemporary energy storage and attitude control systems in many applications. More recent technology advances in composite rotors, magnetic bearings, and power control electronics have triggered new optimism regarding the feasibility and merits of such a system. The paper presents the results of a recent study whose focus was to define an advanced IPACS and to evaluate its merits for the Space Station application. A system and component design concept is developed to establish the system performance capability. A system level trade study, including life-cycle costing, is performed to define the merits of the system relative to two other candidate systems. It is concluded that an advanced IPACS concept is not only feasible, but offers substantial savings in mass, and life-cycle cost.

  17. Feedback attitude sliding mode regulation control of spacecraft using arm motion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Ye; Liang, Bin; Xu, Dong; Wang, Xueqian; Xu, Wenfu

    2013-09-01

    The problem of spacecraft attitude regulation based on the reaction of arm motion has attracted extensive attentions from both engineering and academic fields. Most of the solutions of the manipulator’s motion tracking problem just achieve asymptotical stabilization performance, so that these controllers cannot realize precise attitude regulation because of the existence of non-holonomic constraints. Thus, sliding mode control algorithms are adopted to stabilize the tracking error with zero transient process. Due to the switching effects of the variable structure controller, once the tracking error reaches the designed hyper-plane, it will be restricted to this plane permanently even with the existence of external disturbances. Thus, precise attitude regulation can be achieved. Furthermore, taking the non-zero initial tracking errors and chattering phenomenon into consideration, saturation functions are used to replace sign functions to smooth the control torques. The relations between the upper bounds of tracking errors and the controller parameters are derived to reveal physical characteristic of the controller. Mathematical models of free-floating space manipulator are established and simulations are conducted in the end. The results show that the spacecraft’s attitude can be regulated to the position as desired by using the proposed algorithm, the steady state error is 0.000 2 rad. In addition, the joint tracking trajectory is smooth, the joint tracking errors converges to zero quickly with a satisfactory continuous joint control input. The proposed research provides a feasible solution for spacecraft attitude regulation by using arm motion, and improves the precision of the spacecraft attitude regulation.

  18. Spacecraft Hybrid (Mixed-Actuator) Attitude Control Experiences on NASA Science Missions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dennehy, Cornelius J.

    2014-01-01

    There is a heightened interest within NASA for the design, development, and flight implementation of mixed-actuator hybrid attitude control systems for science spacecraft that have less than three functional reaction wheel actuators. This interest is driven by a number of recent reaction wheel failures on aging, but what could be still scientifically productive, NASA spacecraft if a successful hybrid attitude control mode can be implemented. Over the years, hybrid (mixed-actuator) control has been employed for contingency attitude control purposes on several NASA science mission spacecraft. This paper provides a historical perspective of NASA's previous engineering work on spacecraft mixed-actuator hybrid control approaches. An update of the current situation will also be provided emphasizing why NASA is now so interested in hybrid control. The results of the NASA Spacecraft Hybrid Attitude Control Workshop, held in April of 2013, will be highlighted. In particular, the lessons learned captured from that workshop will be shared in this paper. An update on the most recent experiences with hybrid control on the Kepler spacecraft will also be provided. This paper will close with some future considerations for hybrid spacecraft control.

  19. Neural network-based distributed attitude coordination control for spacecraft formation flying with input saturation.

    PubMed

    Zou, An-Min; Kumar, Krishna Dev

    2012-07-01

    This brief considers the attitude coordination control problem for spacecraft formation flying when only a subset of the group members has access to the common reference attitude. A quaternion-based distributed attitude coordination control scheme is proposed with consideration of the input saturation and with the aid of the sliding-mode observer, separation principle theorem, Chebyshev neural networks, smooth projection algorithm, and robust control technique. Using graph theory and a Lyapunov-based approach, it is shown that the distributed controller can guarantee the attitude of all spacecraft to converge to a common time-varying reference attitude when the reference attitude is available only to a portion of the group of spacecraft. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed distributed controller.

  20. A simple orbit-attitude coupled modelling method for large solar power satellites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Qingjun; Wang, Bo; Deng, Zichen; Ouyang, Huajiang; Wei, Yi

    2018-04-01

    A simple modelling method is proposed to study the orbit-attitude coupled dynamics of large solar power satellites based on natural coordinate formulation. The generalized coordinates are composed of Cartesian coordinates of two points and Cartesian components of two unitary vectors instead of Euler angles and angular velocities, which is the reason for its simplicity. Firstly, in order to develop natural coordinate formulation to take gravitational force and gravity gradient torque of a rigid body into account, Taylor series expansion is adopted to approximate the gravitational potential energy. The equations of motion are constructed through constrained Hamilton's equations. Then, an energy- and constraint-conserving algorithm is presented to solve the differential-algebraic equations. Finally, the proposed method is applied to simulate the orbit-attitude coupled dynamics and control of a large solar power satellite considering gravity gradient torque and solar radiation pressure. This method is also applicable to dynamic modelling of other rigid multibody aerospace systems.

  1. A linear quadratic tracker for Control Moment Gyro based attitude control of the Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kaidy, J. T.

    1986-01-01

    The paper discusses a design for an attitude control system for the Space Station which produces fast response, with minimal overshoot and cross-coupling with the use of Control Moment Gyros (CMG). The rigid body equations of motion are linearized and discretized and a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) design and analysis study is performed. The resulting design is then modified such that integral and differential terms are added to the state equations to enhance response characteristics. Methods for reduction of computation time through channelization are discussed as well as the reduction of initial torque requirements.

  2. A brief measure of attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology.

    PubMed

    Roberts, Lynne D; Povee, Kate

    2014-01-01

    The adoption of mixed methods research in psychology has trailed behind other social science disciplines. Teaching psychology students, academics, and practitioners about mixed methodologies may increase the use of mixed methods within the discipline. However, tailoring and evaluating education and training in mixed methodologies requires an understanding of, and way of measuring, attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology. To date, no such measure exists. In this article we present the development and initial validation of a new measure: Attitudes toward Mixed Methods Research in Psychology. A pool of 42 items developed from previous qualitative research on attitudes toward mixed methods research along with validation measures was administered via an online survey to a convenience sample of 274 psychology students, academics and psychologists. Principal axis factoring with varimax rotation on a subset of the sample produced a four-factor, 12-item solution. Confirmatory factor analysis on a separate subset of the sample indicated that a higher order four factor model provided the best fit to the data. The four factors; 'Limited Exposure,' '(in)Compatibility,' 'Validity,' and 'Tokenistic Qualitative Component'; each have acceptable internal reliability. Known groups validity analyses based on preferred research orientation and self-rated mixed methods research skills, and convergent and divergent validity analyses based on measures of attitudes toward psychology as a science and scientist and practitioner orientation, provide initial validation of the measure. This brief, internally reliable measure can be used in assessing attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology, measuring change in attitudes as part of the evaluation of mixed methods education, and in larger research programs.

  3. Magnetic attitude control torque generation of a gravity gradient stabilized satellite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suhadis, N. M.; Salleh, M. B.; Rajendran, P.

    2018-05-01

    Magnetic torquer is used to generate a magnetic dipole moment onboard satellites whereby a control torque for attitude control purposes is generated when it couples with the geomagnetic field. This technique has been considered very attractive for satellites operated in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) as the strength of the geomagnetic field is relatively high below the altitude of 1000 km. This paper presents the algorithm used to generate required magnetic dipole moment by 3 magnetic torquers mounted onboard a gravity gradient stabilized satellite operated at an altitude of 540 km with nadir pointing mission. As the geomagnetic field cannot be altered and its magnitude and direction vary with respect to the orbit altitude and inclination, a comparison study of attitude control torque generation performance with various orbit inclination is performed where the structured control algorithm is simulated for 13°, 33° and 53° orbit inclinations to see how the variation of the satellite orbit affects the satellite's attitude control torque generation. Results from simulation show that the higher orbit inclination generates optimum magnetic attitude control torque for accurate nadir pointing mission.

  4. Take It or Leave It: Students' Attitudes about Research Methods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wisecup, Allison K.

    2017-01-01

    This study employs a cross-sectional design to explore sociology majors' attitudes toward research methods. Survey data from a convenience sample of students enrolled in 16 departments are used to compare the attitudes of students who have and have not completed a research methods course. Despite consistent anecdotal claims that students harbor…

  5. Spherical gyroscopic moment stabilizer for attitude control of microsatellites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keshtkar, Sajjad; Moreno, Jaime A.; Kojima, Hirohisa; Uchiyama, Kenji; Nohmi, Masahiro; Takaya, Keisuke

    2018-02-01

    This paper presents a new and improved concept of recently proposed two-degrees of freedom spherical stabilizer for triaxial orientation of microsatellites. The analytical analysis of the advantages of the proposed mechanism over the existing inertial attitude control devices are introduced. The extended equations of motion of the stabilizing satellite including the spherical gyroscope, for control law design and numerical simulations, are studied in detail. A new control algorithm based on continuous high-order sliding mode algorithms, for managing the torque produced by the stabilizer and therefore the attitude control of the satellite in the presence of perturbations/uncertainties, is presented. Some numerical simulations are carried out to prove the performance of the proposed mechanism and control laws.

  6. Motor Control of Two Flywheels Enabling Combined Attitude Control and Bus Regulation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kenny, Barbara H.

    2004-01-01

    This presentation discussed the flywheel technology development work that is ongoing at NASA GRC with a particular emphasis on the flywheel system control. The "field orientation" motor/generator control algorithm was discussed and explained. The position-sensorless angle and speed estimation algorithm was presented. The motor current response to a step change in command at low (10 kRPM) and high (60 kRPM) was discussed. The flywheel DC bus regulation control was explained and experimental results presented. Finally, the combined attitude control and energy storage algorithm that controls two flywheels simultaneously was presented. Experimental results were shown that verified the operational capability of the algorithm. shows high speed flywheel energy storage (60,000 RPM) and the successful implementation of an algorithm to simultaneously control both energy storage and a single axis of attitude with two flywheels. Overall, the presentation demonstrated that GRC has an operational facility that

  7. Hardware Simulations of Spacecraft Attitude Synchronization Using Lyapunov-Based Controllers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jung, Juno; Park, Sang-Young; Eun, Youngho; Kim, Sung-Woo; Park, Chandeok

    2018-04-01

    In the near future, space missions with multiple spacecraft are expected to replace traditional missions with a single large spacecraft. These spacecraft formation flying missions generally require precise knowledge of relative position and attitude between neighboring agents. In this study, among the several challenging issues, we focus on the technique to control spacecraft attitude synchronization in formation. We develop a number of nonlinear control schemes based on the Lyapunov stability theorem and considering special situations: full-state feedback control, full-state feedback control with unknown inertia parameters, and output feedback control without angular velocity measurements. All the proposed controllers offer absolute and relative control using reaction wheel assembly for both regulator and tracking problems. In addition to the numerical simulations, an air-bearing-based hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system is used to verify the proposed control laws in real-time hardware environments. The pointing errors converge to 0.5{°} with numerical simulations and to 2{°} using the HIL system. Consequently, both numerical and hardware simulations confirm the performance of the spacecraft attitude synchronization algorithms developed in this study.

  8. The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) Attitude Control System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Markley, F. Landis; Andrews, Stephen F.; ODonnell, James R., Jr.; Ward, David K.; Ericsson, Aprille J.; Bauer, Frank H. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The Microwave Anisotropy Probe mission is designed to produce a map of the cosmic microwave background radiation over the entire celestial sphere by executing a fast spin and a slow precession of its spin axis about the Sun line to obtain a highly interconnected set of measurements. The spacecraft attitude is sensed and controlled using an Inertial Reference Unit, two Autonomous Star Trackers, a Digital Sun Sensor, twelve Coarse Sun Sensors, three Reaction Wheel Assemblies, and a propulsion system. This paper describes the design of the attitude control system that carries out this mission and presents some early flight experience.

  9. Precise attitude control of the Stanford relativity satellite.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bull, J. S.; Debra, D. B.

    1973-01-01

    A satellite being designed by the Stanford University to measure (with extremely high precision) the effect of General Relativity is described. Specifically, the satellite will measure two relativistic precessions predicted by the theory: the geodetic effect (6.9 arcsec/yr), due solely to motion about the earth, and the motional effect (0.05 arcsec/yr), due to rotation of the earth. The gyro design requirements, including the requirement for precise attitude control and a dynamic model for attitude control synthesis, are discussed. Closed loop simulation of the satellite's natural dynamics on an analog computer is described.

  10. The influence of contextual teaching with the problem solving method on students' knowledge and attitudes toward horticulture, science, and school

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whitcher, Carrie Lynn

    2005-08-01

    Adolescence is marked with many changes in the development of higher order thinking skills. As students enter high school they are expected to utilize these skills to solve problems, become abstract thinkers, and contribute to society. The goal of this study was to assess horticultural science knowledge achievement and attitude toward horticulture, science, and school in high school agriculture students. There were approximately 240 high school students in the sample including both experimental and control groups from California and Washington. Students in the experimental group participated in an educational program called "Hands-On Hortscience" which emphasized problem solving in investigation and experimentation activities with greenhouse plants, soilless media, and fertilizers. Students in the control group were taught by the subject matter method. The activities included in the Hands-On Hortscience curriculum were created to reinforce teaching the scientific method through the context of horticulture. The objectives included evaluating whether the students participating in the Hands-On Hortscience experimental group benefited in the areas of science literacy, data acquisition and analysis, and attitude toward horticulture, science, and school. Pre-tests were administered in both the experimental and control groups prior to the research activities and post-tests were administered after completion. The survey questionnaire included a biographical section and attitude survey. Significant increases in hortscience achievement were found from pre-test to post-test in both control and experimental study groups. The experimental treatment group had statistically higher achievement scores than the control group in the two areas tested: scientific method (p=0.0016) and horticulture plant nutrition (p=0.0004). In addition, the students participating in the Hands-On Hortscience activities had more positive attitudes toward horticulture, science, and school (p=0

  11. Attitude output feedback control for rigid spacecraft with finite-time convergence.

    PubMed

    Hu, Qinglei; Niu, Guanglin

    2017-09-01

    The main problem addressed is the quaternion-based attitude stabilization control of rigid spacecraft without angular velocity measurements in the presence of external disturbances and reaction wheel friction as well. As a stepping stone, an angular velocity observer is proposed for the attitude control of a rigid body in the absence of angular velocity measurements. The observer design ensures finite-time convergence of angular velocity state estimation errors irrespective of the control torque or the initial attitude state of the spacecraft. Then, a novel finite-time control law is employed as the controller in which the estimate of the angular velocity is used directly. It is then shown that the observer and the controlled system form a cascaded structure, which allows the application of the finite-time stability theory of cascaded systems to prove the finite-time stability of the closed-loop system. A rigorous analysis of the proposed formulation is provided and numerical simulation studies are presented to help illustrate the effectiveness of the angular-velocity observer for rigid spacecraft attitude control. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Adaptive attitude control and momentum management for large-angle spacecraft maneuvers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Parlos, Alexander G.; Sunkel, John W.

    1992-01-01

    The fully coupled equations of motion are systematically linearized around an equilibrium point of a gravity gradient stabilized spacecraft, controlled by momentum exchange devices. These equations are then used for attitude control system design of an early Space Station Freedom flight configuration, demonstrating the errors caused by the improper approximation of the spacecraft dynamics. A full state feedback controller, incorporating gain-scheduled adaptation of the attitude gains, is developed for use during spacecraft on-orbit assembly or operations characterized by significant mass properties variations. The feasibility of the gain adaptation is demonstrated via a Space Station Freedom assembly sequence case study. The attitude controller stability robustness and transient performance during gain adaptation appear satisfactory.

  13. Predictors of Attitudes toward Childlessness.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spreadbury, Connie

    The study assessed young adults' attitudes toward childlessness and identified certain factors which predict positive or negative attitudes toward childlessness. The author anticipated finding changes in attitudes because of recent social developments such as awareness of world overpopulation, availability of birth control methods, pressure for…

  14. NASA Workshop on Hybrid (Mixed-Actuator) Spacecraft Attitude Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dennehy, Cornelius J.; Kunz, Nans

    2014-01-01

    At the request of the Science Mission Directorate Chief Engineer, the NASA Technical Fellow for Guidance, Navigation & Control assembled and facilitated a workshop on Spacecraft Hybrid Attitude Control. This multi-Center, academic, and industry workshop, sponsored by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), was held in April 2013 to unite nationwide experts to present and discuss the various innovative solutions, techniques, and lessons learned regarding the development and implementation of the various hybrid attitude control system solutions investigated or implemented. This report attempts to document these key lessons learned with the 16 findings and 9 NESC recommendations.

  15. Venusian atmospheric and Magellan properties from attitude control data. M.S. Thesis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Croom, Christopher A.; Tolson, Robert H.

    1994-01-01

    Results are presented of the study of the Venusian atmosphere, Magellan aerodynamic moment coefficients, moments of inertia, and solar moment coefficients. This investigation is based upon the use of attitude control data in the form of reaction wheel speeds from the Magellan spacecraft. As the spacecraft enters the upper atmosphere of Venus, measurable torques are experienced due to aerodynamic effects. Solar and gravity gradient effects also cause additional torques throughout the orbit. In order to maintain an inertially fixed attitude, the control system counteracts these torques by changing the angular rates of three reaction wheels. Model reaction wheel speeds are compared to observed Magellan reaction wheel speeds through a differential correction procedure. This method determines aerodynamic, atmospheric, solar pressure, and mass moment of inertia parameters. Atmospheric measurements include both base densities and scale heights. Atmospheric base density results confirm natural variability as measured by the standard orbital decay method. Potential inconsistencies in free molecular aerodynamic moment coefficients are identified. Moments of inertia are determined with a precision better than 1 percent of the largest principal moment of inertia.

  16. Design, dynamics and control of an Adaptive Singularity-Free Control Moment Gyroscope actuator for microspacecraft Attitude Determination and Control System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Viswanathan, Sasi Prabhakaran

    Design, dynamics, control and implementation of a novel spacecraft attitude control actuator called the "Adaptive Singularity-free Control Moment Gyroscope" (ASCMG) is presented in this dissertation. In order to construct a comprehensive attitude dynamics model of a spacecraft with internal actuators, the dynamics of a spacecraft with an ASCMG, is obtained in the framework of geometric mechanics using the principles of variational mechanics. The resulting dynamics is general and complete model, as it relaxes the simplifying assumptions made in prior literature on Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) and it also addresses the adaptive parameters in the dynamics formulation. The simplifying assumptions include perfect axisymmetry of the rotor and gimbal structures, perfect alignment of the centers of mass of the gimbal and the rotor etc. These set of simplifying assumptions imposed on the design and dynamics of CMGs leads to adverse effects on their performance and results in high manufacturing cost. The dynamics so obtained shows the complex nonlinear coupling between the internal degrees of freedom associated with an ASCMG and the spacecraft bus's attitude motion. By default, the general ASCMG cluster can function as a Variable Speed Control Moment Gyroscope, and reduced to function in CMG mode by spinning the rotor at constant speed, and it is shown that even when operated in CMG mode, the cluster can be free from kinematic singularities. This dynamics model is then extended to include the effects of multiple ASCMGs placed in the spacecraft bus, and sufficient conditions for non-singular ASCMG cluster configurations are obtained to operate the cluster both in VSCMG and CMG modes. The general dynamics model of the ASCMG is then reduced to that of conventional VSCMGs and CMGs by imposing the standard set of simplifying assumptions used in prior literature. The adverse effects of the simplifying assumptions that lead to the complexities in conventional CMG design, and

  17. A brief measure of attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology

    PubMed Central

    Roberts, Lynne D.; Povee, Kate

    2014-01-01

    The adoption of mixed methods research in psychology has trailed behind other social science disciplines. Teaching psychology students, academics, and practitioners about mixed methodologies may increase the use of mixed methods within the discipline. However, tailoring and evaluating education and training in mixed methodologies requires an understanding of, and way of measuring, attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology. To date, no such measure exists. In this article we present the development and initial validation of a new measure: Attitudes toward Mixed Methods Research in Psychology. A pool of 42 items developed from previous qualitative research on attitudes toward mixed methods research along with validation measures was administered via an online survey to a convenience sample of 274 psychology students, academics and psychologists. Principal axis factoring with varimax rotation on a subset of the sample produced a four-factor, 12-item solution. Confirmatory factor analysis on a separate subset of the sample indicated that a higher order four factor model provided the best fit to the data. The four factors; ‘Limited Exposure,’ ‘(in)Compatibility,’ ‘Validity,’ and ‘Tokenistic Qualitative Component’; each have acceptable internal reliability. Known groups validity analyses based on preferred research orientation and self-rated mixed methods research skills, and convergent and divergent validity analyses based on measures of attitudes toward psychology as a science and scientist and practitioner orientation, provide initial validation of the measure. This brief, internally reliable measure can be used in assessing attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology, measuring change in attitudes as part of the evaluation of mixed methods education, and in larger research programs. PMID:25429281

  18. Reviewing the effect of two methods of educational package and social inoculation on changing the attitudes towards domestic violence against women

    PubMed Central

    Boroumandfar, Khadijeh; Javaheri, Shabnam; Ehsanpour, Soheila; Abedi, Ahmad

    2010-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Domestic violence (DV) is a serious problem all over the world which had been extended to boundaries of countries, economical, cultural and racial classes. 10-69 percent of women are exposed to physical, sexual and emotional violence which has numerous physical and emotional consequences. Therefore, males’ attitude towards women is one of the strongest predicting factors of violence against women, so one of the ways to remove the violence against women is to change the men's attitude. Changing the attitude, in the basic stages of the marriage for couples who are not yet involved with marital misunderstandings, will probably influence their future relationships, therefore, the present study reviewed two attitude changing methods of educational package (EP) and social inoculation (SI) which were used to change the attitude among male volunteers participating in the premarital counseling classes. METHODS: This was a semi-experimental study aimed to determine the influence of two methods of supplying EP and SI on the change of attitude toward DV against women. The study subjects included male volunteers participating in Isfahan Molla Hadi Sabzevari Premarital Counseling Center, where the attitudes of 183 subjects were investigated primarily using simple sampling method. Ninety-nine subjects who had positive attitude toward DV were selected and then, randomly distributed into three 33-subject groups. The first was SI group, the second was EP supply group and the third was the control group. Data collection tool was an evaluating questionnaire of the attitude toward DV against women which consisted of two parts, demographic data and 34 attitude evaluating questions. Scientific validity was determined by content validity method and scientific reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha. Analyzing the data was done using descriptive (frequency and mean), analytical statistical methods (paired-t, independent t-tests, ANOVA, Duncan, Kruskal-Wallis and chi

  19. X-33 Attitude Control System Design for Ascent, Transition, and Entry Flight Regimes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hall, Charles E.; Gallaher, Michael W.; Hendrix, Neal D.

    1998-01-01

    The Vehicle Control Systems Team at Marshall Space Flight Center, Systems Dynamics Laboratory, Guidance and Control Systems Division is designing under a cooperative agreement with Lockheed Martin Skunkworks, the Ascent, Transition, and Entry flight attitude control system for the X-33 experimental vehicle. Ascent flight control begins at liftoff and ends at linear aerospike main engine cutoff (NECO) while Transition and Entry flight control begins at MECO and concludes at the terminal area energy management (TAEM) interface. TAEM occurs at approximately Mach 3.0. This task includes not only the design of the vehicle attitude control systems but also the development of requirements for attitude control system components and subsystems. The X-33 attitude control system design is challenged by a short design cycle, the design environment (Mach 0 to about Mach 15), and the X-33 incremental test philosophy. The X-33 design-to-launch cycle of less than 3 years requires a concurrent design approach while the test philosophy requires design adaptation to vehicle variations that are a function of Mach number and mission profile. The flight attitude control system must deal with the mixing of aerosurfaces, reaction control thrusters, and linear aerospike engine control effectors and handle parasitic effects such as vehicle flexibility and propellant sloshing from the uniquely shaped propellant tanks. The attitude control system design is, as usual, closely linked to many other subsystems and must deal with constraints and requirements from these subsystems.

  20. TRMM On Orbit Attitude Control System Performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Robertson, Brent; Placanica, Sam; Morgenstern, Wendy

    1999-01-01

    This paper presents an overview of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Attitude Control System (ACS) along with detailed in-flight performance results for each operational mode. The TRMM spacecraft is an Earth-pointed, zero momentum bias satellite launched on November 27, 1997 from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall and the associated release of energy. Launched to provide a validation for poorly known rainfall data sets generated by global climate models, TRMM has demonstrated its utility by reducing uncertainties in global rainfall measurements by a factor of two. The ACS is comprised of Attitude Control Electronics (ACE), an Earth Sensor Assembly (ESA), Digital Sun Sensors (DSS), Inertial Reference Units (IRU), Three Axis Magnetometers (TAM), Coarse Sun Sensors (CSS), Magnetic Torquer Bars (MTB), Reaction Wheel Assemblies (RWA), Engine Valve Drivers (EVD) and thrusters. While in Mission Mode, the ESA provides roll and pitch axis attitude error measurements and the DSS provide yaw updates twice per orbit. In addition, the TAM in combination with the IRU and DSS can be used to provide pointing in a contingency attitude determination mode which does not rely on the ESA. Although the ACS performance to date has been highly successful, lessons were learned during checkout and initial on-orbit operation. This paper describes the design, on-orbit checkout, performance and lessons learned for the TRMM ACS.

  1. X-33 Attitude Control Using the XRS-2200 Linear Aerospike Engine

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hall, Charles E.; Panossian, Hagop V.

    1999-01-01

    The Vehicle Control Systems Team at Marshall Space Flight Center, Structures and Dynamics Laboratory, Guidance and Control Systems Division is designing, under a cooperative agreement with Lockheed Martin Skunkworks, the Ascent, Transition, and Entry flight attitude control systems for the X-33 experimental vehicle. Test flights, while suborbital, will achieve sufficient altitudes and Mach numbers to test Single Stage To Orbit, Reusable Launch Vehicle technologies. Ascent flight control phase, the focus of this paper, begins at liftoff and ends at linear aerospike main engine cutoff (MECO). The X-33 attitude control system design is confronted by a myriad of design challenges: a short design cycle, the X-33 incremental test philosophy, the concurrent design philosophy chosen for the X-33 program, and the fact that the attitude control system design is, as usual, closely linked to many other subsystems and must deal with constraints and requirements from these subsystems. Additionally, however, and of special interest, the use of the linear aerospike engine is a departure from the gimbaled engines traditionally used for thrust vector control (TVC) in launch vehicles and poses certain design challenges. This paper discusses the unique problem of designing the X-33 attitude control system with the linear aerospike engine, requirements development, modeling and analyses that verify the design.

  2. The spacecraft control laboratory experiment optical attitude measurement system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Welch, Sharon S.; Montgomery, Raymond C.; Barsky, Michael F.

    1991-01-01

    A stereo camera tracking system was developed to provide a near real-time measure of the position and attitude of the Spacecraft COntrol Laboratory Experiment (SCOLE). The SCOLE is a mockup of the shuttle-like vehicle with an attached flexible mast and (simulated) antenna, and was designed to provide a laboratory environment for the verification and testing of control laws for large flexible spacecraft. Actuators and sensors located on the shuttle and antenna sense the states of the spacecraft and allow the position and attitude to be controlled. The stereo camera tracking system which was developed consists of two position sensitive detector cameras which sense the locations of small infrared LEDs attached to the surface of the shuttle. Information on shuttle position and attitude is provided in six degrees-of-freedom. The design of this optical system, calibration, and tracking algorithm are described. The performance of the system is evaluated for yaw only.

  3. Overview of the Miniature Sensor Technology Integration (MSTI) spacecraft attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mcewen, Rob

    1994-01-01

    Msti2 is a small, 164 kg (362 lb), 3-axis stabilized, low-Earth-orbiting satellite whose mission is missile booster tracking. The spacecraft is actuated by 3 reaction wheels and 12 hot gas thrusters. It carries enough fuel for a projected life of 6 months. The sensor complement consists of a Horizon Sensor, a Sun Sensor, low-rate gyros, and a high rate gyro for despin. The total pointing control error allocation is 6 mRad (.34 Deg), and this is while tracking a target on the Earth's surface. This paper describes the Attitude Control System (ACS) algorithms which include the following: attitude acquisition (despin, Sun and Earth acquisition), attitude determination, attitude control, and linear stability analysis.

  4. Design study for LANDSAT D attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Iwens, R. P.; Bernier, G. E.; Hofstadter, R. F.

    1976-01-01

    A design and performance evaluation is presented for the LANDSAT D attitude control system (ACS). Control and configuration of the gimballed Ku-band antenna system for communication with the tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS). Control of the solar array drive considered part of the ACS is also addressed.

  5. Pulsed plasma thrusters for small spacecraft attitude control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McGuire, Melissa L.; Myers, Roger M.

    1996-01-01

    Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTS) are a new option for attitude control of a small spacecraft and may result in reduced attitude control system (ACS) mass and cost. The primary purpose of an ACS is to orient the spacecraft to the desired accuracy in inertial space. The ACS functions for which the PPT system will be analyzed include disturbance torque compensation, and slewing maneuvers such as sun acquisition for which the small impulse bit and high specific impulse of the PPT offers unique advantages. The NASA Lewis Research Center (LERC) currently has a contracted flight PPT system development program in place with Olin Aerospace with a delivery date of October 1997. The PPT systems in this study are based upon the work being done under the NASA LERC program. Analysis of the use of PPTs for ACS showed that the replacement of the standard momentum wheels and torque rods with a PPT system to perform the attitude control maneuvers on a small low Earth orbiting spacecraft reduced the ACS mass by 50 to 75% with no increase in required power level over comparable wheel-based systems, though rapid slewing power requirements may present an issue.

  6. Spacecraft attitude control for a solar electric geosynchronous transfer mission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Leroy, B. E.; Regetz, J. D., Jr.

    1975-01-01

    A study of the Attitude Control System (ACS) is made for a solar electric propulsion geosynchronous transfer mission. The basic mission considered is spacecraft injection into a low altitude, inclined orbit followed by low thrust orbit changing to achieve geosynchronous orbit. Because of the extended thrusting time, the mission performance is a strong function of the attitude control system. Two attitude control system design options for an example mission evolve from consideration of the spacecraft configuration, the environmental disturbances, and the probable ACS modes of operation. The impact of these design options on other spacecraft subsystems is discussed. The factors which must be considered in determining the ACS actuation and sensing subsystems are discussed. The effects of the actuation and sensing subsystems on the mission performance are also considered.

  7. MAP Attitude Control System Design and Analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Andrews, S. F.; Campbell, C. E.; Ericsson-Jackson, A. J.; Markley, F. L.; ODonnell, J. R., Jr.

    1997-01-01

    The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) is a follow-on to the Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR) instrument on the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft. The MAP spacecraft will perform its mission in a Lissajous orbit around the Earth-Sun L(sub 2) Lagrange point to suppress potential instrument disturbances. To make a full-sky map of cosmic microwave background fluctuations, a combination fast spin and slow precession motion will be used. MAP requires a propulsion system to reach L(sub 2), to unload system momentum, and to perform stationkeeping maneuvers once at L(sub 2). A minimum hardware, power and thermal safe control mode must also be provided. Sufficient attitude knowledge must be provided to yield instrument pointing to a standard deviation of 1.8 arc-minutes. The short development time and tight budgets require a new way of designing, simulating, and analyzing the Attitude Control System (ACS). This paper presents the design and analysis of the control system to meet these requirements.

  8. RECOGNIZING FARMERS' ATTITUDES AND IMPLEMENTING NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL POLICIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    This report examines the role of farmer attitudes and corresponding communication activities in the implementation of nonpoint source water pollution control programs. The report begins with an examination of the basis for and function of attitudes in influencing behavior. The ro...

  9. AE-C attitude determination and control prelaunch analysis and operations plan

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Werking, R. D.; Headrick, R. D.; Manders, C. F.; Woolley, R. D.

    1973-01-01

    A description of attitude control support being supplied by the Mission and Data Operations Directorate is presented. Included are descriptions of the computer programs being used to support the missions for attitude determination, prediction, and control. In addition, descriptions of the operating procedures which will be used to accomplish mission objectives are provided.

  10. An investigation of quasi-inertial attitude control for a solar power satellite

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Juang, J.-N.; Wang, S. J.

    1982-01-01

    An efficient means, a quasi-inertial attitude mode, is developed for maintaining the normal solar orientation of a space satellite for power collection in a synchronous orbit. Formulae are presented which establish the basic parametric properties for ideal quasi-inertial attitude and phasing. An active control system is necessary to compensate for the energy loss since energy dissipation in widely oscillating flexible bodies produces an instability of the quasi-inertial attitude in the sense that the spacecraft will tumble at the orbit rate. A fixed terminal time and state optimal control problem is formulated and an algorithm for determining the optimal control as a means for the periodical attitude and phase compensation is developed. The vehicle orientation affected by internal disturbance (structural flexibility) and external disturbances (e.g., drag forces) is maintained by a specialized controller design.

  11. Dynamics and Control of Attitude, Power, and Momentum for a Spacecraft Using Flywheels and Control Moment Gyroscopes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roithmayr, Carlos M.; Karlgaard, Christopher D.; Kumar, Renjith R.; Seywald, Hans; Bose, David M.

    2003-01-01

    Several laws are designed for simultaneous control of the orientation of an Earth-pointing spacecraft, the energy stored by counter-rotating flywheels, and the angular momentum of the flywheels and control moment gyroscopes used together as an integrated set of actuators for attitude control. General, nonlinear equations of motion are presented in vector-dyadic form, and used to obtain approximate expressions which are then linearized in preparation for design of control laws that include feedback of flywheel kinetic energy error as a means of compensating for damping exerted by rotor bearings. Two flywheel steering laws are developed such that torque commanded by an attitude control law is achieved while energy is stored or discharged at the required rate. Using the International Space Station as an example, numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate control about a torque equilibrium attitude, and illustrate the benefits of kinetic energy error feedback. Control laws for attitude hold are also developed, and used to show the amount of propellant that can be saved when flywheels assist the CMGs. Nonlinear control laws for large-angle slew maneuvers perform well, but excessive momentum is required to reorient a vehicle like the International Space Station.

  12. Observing Mode Attitude Controller for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Calhourn, Philip C.; Garrick, Joseph C.

    2007-01-01

    The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission is the first of a series of lunar robotic spacecraft scheduled for launch in Fall 2008. LRO will spend at least one year in a low altitude polar orbit around the Moon, collecting lunar environment science and mapping data to enable future human exploration. The LRO employs a 3-axis stabilized attitude control system (ACS) whose primary control mode, the "Observing mode", provides Lunar Nadir, off-Nadir, and Inertial fine pointing for the science data collection and instrument calibration. The controller combines the capability of fine pointing with that of on-demand large angle full-sky attitude reorientation into a single ACS mode, providing simplicity of spacecraft operation as well as maximum flexibility for science data collection. A conventional suite of ACS components is employed in this mode to meet the pointing and control objectives. This paper describes the design and analysis of the primary LRO fine pointing and attitude re-orientation controller function, known as the "Observing mode" of the ACS subsystem. The control design utilizes quaternion feedback, augmented with a unique algorithm that ensures accurate Nadir tracking during large angle yaw maneuvers in the presence of high system momentum and/or maneuver rates. Results of system stability analysis and Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the observing mode controller can meet fine pointing and maneuver performance requirements.

  13. Spacecraft attitude control using a smart control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Buckley, Brian; Wheatcraft, Louis

    1992-01-01

    Traditionally, spacecraft attitude control has been implemented using control loops written in native code for a space hardened processor. The Naval Research Lab has taken this approach during the development of the Attitude Control Electronics (ACE) package. After the system was developed and delivered, NRL decided to explore alternate technologies to accomplish this same task more efficiently. The approach taken by NRL was to implement the ACE control loops using systems technologies. The purpose of this effort was to: (1) research capabilities required of an expert system in processing a classic closed-loop control algorithm; (2) research the development environment required to design and test an embedded expert systems environment; (3) research the complexity of design and development of expert systems versus a conventional approach; and (4) test the resulting systems against the flight acceptance test software for both response and accuracy. Two expert systems were selected to implement the control loops. Criteria used for the selection of the expert systems included that they had to run in both embedded systems and ground based environments. Using two different expert systems allowed a comparison of the real-time capabilities, inferencing capabilities, and the ground-based development environment. The two expert systems chosen for the evaluation were Spacecraft Command Language (SCL), and NEXTPERT Object. SCL is a smart control system produced for the NRL by Interface and Control Systems (ICS). SCL was developed to be used for real-time command, control, and monitoring of a new generation of spacecraft. NEXPERT Object is a commercially available product developed by Neuron Data. Results of the effort were evaluated using the ACE test bed. The ACE test bed had been developed and used to test the original flight hardware and software using simulators and flight-like interfaces. The test bed was used for testing the expert systems in a 'near-flight' environment

  14. Attitude control system of the Delfi-n3Xt satellite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reijneveld, J.; Choukroun, D.

    2013-12-01

    This work is concerned with the development of the attitude control algorithms that will be implemented on board of the Delfi-n3xt nanosatellite, which is to be launched in 2013. One of the mission objectives is to demonstrate Sun pointing and three axis stabilization. The attitude control modes and the associated algorithms are described. The control authority is shared between three body-mounted magnetorquers (MTQ) and three orthogonal reaction wheels. The attitude information is retrieved from Sun vector measurements, Earth magnetic field measurements, and gyro measurements. The design of the control is achieved as a trade between simplicity and performance. Stabilization and Sun pointing are achieved via the successive application of the classical Bdot control law and a quaternion feedback control. For the purpose of Sun pointing, a simple quaternion estimation scheme is implemented based on geometric arguments, where the need for a costly optimal filtering algorithm is alleviated, and a single line of sight (LoS) measurement is required - here the Sun vector. Beyond the three-axis Sun pointing mode, spinning Sun pointing modes are also described and used as demonstration modes. The three-axis Sun pointing mode requires reaction wheels and magnetic control while the spinning control modes are implemented with magnetic control only. In addition, a simple scheme for angular rates estimation using Sun vector and Earth magnetic measurements is tested in the case of gyro failures. The various control modes performances are illustrated via extensive simulations over several orbits time spans. The simulated models of the dynamical space environment, of the attitude hardware, and the onboard controller logic are using realistic assumptions. All control modes satisfy the minimal Sun pointing requirements allowed for power generation.

  15. Smoking Behaviors and Attitudes During Adolescence Prospectively Predict Support for Tobacco Control Policies in Adulthood

    PubMed Central

    Chassin, Laurie; Presson, Clark C.

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: Several cross-sectional studies have examined factors associated with support for tobacco control policies. The current study utilized a longitudinal design to test smoking status and attitude toward smoking measured in adolescence as prospective predictors of support for tobacco control policies measured in adulthood. Methods: Participants (N = 4,834) were from a longitudinal study of a Midwestern community-based sample. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses tested adolescent smoking status and attitude toward smoking as prospective predictors (after controlling for sociodemographic factors, adult smoking status, and adult attitude toward smoking) of support for regulation of smoking in public places, discussion of the dangers of smoking in public schools, prohibiting smoking in bars, eliminating smoking on television and in movies, prohibiting smoking in restaurants, and increasing taxes on cigarettes. Results: Participants who smoked during adolescence demonstrated more support for discussion of the dangers of smoking in public schools and less support for increasing taxes on cigarettes but only among those who smoked as adults. Those with more positive attitudes toward smoking during adolescence demonstrated less support as adults for prohibiting smoking in bars and eliminating smoking on television and in movies. Moreover, a significant interaction indicated that those with more positive attitudes toward smoking as adolescents demonstrated less support as adults for prohibiting smoking in restaurants, but only if they became parents as adults. Conclusions: This study’s findings suggest that interventions designed to deter adolescent smoking may have future benefits in increasing support for tobacco control policies. PMID:22193576

  16. Directional and Attitude Stability Control Kit

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-07-01

    Pre-MRAP Vehicle Rollover Stats1 7/6/2014 DASK - Directional and Attitude Stability Control Kit 7 1: Joint Military Vehicle Working Group Army... contained in this report are those of the author(s) and should not contrued as an official Department of the Army position, policy or decision, unless so...Control Kit 3 8/14/2012 9 Statement of Problem Studied • We address the problem of maneuver-induced rollovers of ground vehicles in theatre. A bolt

  17. Finite-time fault tolerant attitude stabilization control for rigid spacecraft.

    PubMed

    Huo, Xing; Hu, Qinglei; Xiao, Bing

    2014-03-01

    A sliding mode based finite-time control scheme is presented to address the problem of attitude stabilization for rigid spacecraft in the presence of actuator fault and external disturbances. More specifically, a nonlinear observer is first proposed to reconstruct the amplitude of actuator faults and external disturbances. It is proved that precise reconstruction with zero observer error is achieved in finite time. Then, together with the system states, the reconstructed information is used to synthesize a nonsingular terminal sliding mode attitude controller. The attitude and the angular velocity are asymptotically governed to zero with finite-time convergence. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. © 2013 Published by ISA on behalf of ISA.

  18. Application of the concept of dynamic trim control and nonlinear system inverses to automatic control of a vertical attitude takeoff and landing aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, G. A.; Meyer, G.

    1981-01-01

    A full envelope automatic flight control system based on nonlinear inverse systems concepts has been applied to a vertical attitude takeoff and landing (VATOL) fighter aircraft. A new method for using an airborne digital aircraft model to perform the inversion of a nonlinear aircraft model is presented together with the results of a simulation study of the nonlinear inverse system concept for the vertical-attitude hover mode. The system response to maneuver commands in the vertical attitude was found to be excellent; and recovery from large initial offsets and large disturbances was found to be very satisfactory.

  19. Affectionless control by the same-sex parents increases dysfunctional attitudes about achievement.

    PubMed

    Otani, Koichi; Suzuki, Akihito; Matsumoto, Yoshihiko; Sadahiro, Ryoichi; Enokido, Masanori

    2014-08-01

    The affectionless control parenting has been associated with depression in recipients. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of this parenting style on dysfunctional attitudes predisposing to depression. The subjects were 666 Japanese volunteers. Perceived parental rearing was evaluated by the Parental Bonding Instrument, which has the care and protection subscales. Parental rearing was classified into four types, i.e., optimal parenting (high care/low protection), affectionate constraint (high care/high protection), neglectful parenting (low care/low protection), and affectionless control (low care/high protection). Dysfunctional attitudes were evaluated by the 24-item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, which has the achievement, dependency and self-control subscales. Males with paternal affectionless control had higher achievement scores than those with paternal optimal parenting (P=.016). Similarly, females with maternal affectionless control had higher achievement scores than those with maternal optimal parenting (P=.016). The present study suggests that affectionless control by the same-sex parents increases dysfunctional attitudes about achievement. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Self-tuning control of attitude and momentum management for the Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shieh, L. S.; Sunkel, J. W.; Yuan, Z. Z.; Zhao, X. M.

    1992-01-01

    This paper presents a hybrid state-space self-tuning design methodology using dual-rate sampling for suboptimal digital adaptive control of attitude and momentum management for the Space Station. This new hybrid adaptive control scheme combines an on-line recursive estimation algorithm for indirectly identifying the parameters of a continuous-time system from the available fast-rate sampled data of the inputs and states and a controller synthesis algorithm for indirectly finding the slow-rate suboptimal digital controller from the designed optimal analog controller. The proposed method enables the development of digitally implementable control algorithms for the robust control of Space Station Freedom with unknown environmental disturbances and slowly time-varying dynamics.

  1. Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Status of Infection Control among Iranian Dentists and Dental Students: A Systematic Review

    PubMed Central

    Moradi Khanghahi, Behnam; Jamali, Zahra; Pournaghi Azar, Fatemeh; Naghavi Behzad, Mohammad; Azami-Aghdash, Saber

    2013-01-01

    Background and aims Infection control is an important issue in dentistry, and the dentists are primarily responsible for observing the relevant procedures. Therefore, the present study evaluated knowledge, attitude, practice, and status of infection control among Iranian dentists through systematic review of published results. Materials and methods In this systematic review, the required data was collected searching for keywords including infection, infection control, behavior, performance, practice, attitude, knowledge, dent*, prevention, Iran* and their Persian equivalents in PubMed, Science Direct, Iranmedex, SID, Medlib, and Magiran databases with a time limit of 1985 to 2012. Out of 698 articles, 15 completely related articles were finally considered and the rest were excluded due to lake of relev-ance to the study goals. The required data were extracted and summarized in an Extraction Table and were analyzed ma-nually. Results Evaluating the results of studies indicated inappropriate knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding infection control among Iranian dentists and dental students. Using personal protection devices and observing measures required for infection control were not in accordance with global standards. Conclusion The knowledge, attitudes, and practice of infection control in Iranian dental settings were found to be inadequate. Therefore, dentists should be educated more on the subject and special programs should be in place to monitor the dental settings for observing infection control standards. PMID:23875081

  2. Assessing landowners' attitudes toward wild hogs and support for control options.

    PubMed

    Caplenor, Carlotta A; Poudyal, Neelam C; Muller, Lisa I; Yoest, Chuck

    2017-10-01

    Wild hogs (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species with destructive habits, particularly rooting and wallowing, which can directly impact agricultural crops, pasture land, and water quality. Considering wild hogs are widely dispersed across the landscape, they are extremely difficult to control. Disagreements can arise among different stakeholders over whether and how their populations should be managed. The purpose of this article was to examine Tennessee, United States landowners' attitudes toward wild hogs, to compare acceptability of control methods, and to evaluate factors significantly influencing public support for regulations to control wild hogs. Logistic regression was employed to analyze data collected from a statewide survey of rural landowners in the fall of 2015. Landowners had overwhelmingly negative attitudes towards wild hogs, and were concerned about their impact on the natural environment and rural economy. Although landowners showed support for controlling wild hogs, levels of acceptability for management options varied. Respondents favored active management and supported education and incentive-based control programs to control wild hogs. Cognitive concepts such as social and personal norms and awareness of consequences, as well as demographic characteristics, significantly predicted landowners' support for state regulations to control wild hogs in Tennessee. Findings increase our understanding of the human dimensions of wild hog management and that of other similarly invasive animals, and may guide resource managers in designing effective and socially acceptable management strategies to control wild hog populations in Tennessee and elsewhere. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Fuzzy attitude control of solar sail via linear matrix inequalities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baculi, Joshua; Ayoubi, Mohammad A.

    2017-09-01

    This study presents a fuzzy tracking controller based on the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model of the solar sail. First, the T-S fuzzy model is constructed by linearizing the existing nonlinear equations of motion of the solar sail. Then, the T-S fuzzy model is used to derive the state feedback controller gains for the Twin Parallel Distributed Compensation (TPDC) technique. The TPDC tracks and stabilizes the attitude of the solar sail to any desired state in the presence of parameter uncertainties and external disturbances while satisfying actuator constraints. The performance of the TPDC is compared to a PID controller that is tuned using the Ziegler-Nichols method. Numerical simulation shows the TPDC outperforms the PID controller when stabilizing the solar sail to a desired state.

  4. MAP Attitude Control System Design and Flight Performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Andrews, S. F.; ODonnell, J. R.; Bauer, Frank H. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) is a follow-on to the Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR) instrument on the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft. To make a full-sky map of cosmic microwave background fluctuations, a combination fast spin and slow precession motion will be used that will cover the entire celestial sphere in six months. The spin rate should be an order of magnitude higher than the precession rate, and each rate should be tightly controlled. The sunline angle should be 22.5 +/- 0.25 deg. Sufficient attitude knowledge must be provided to yield instrument pointing to a standard deviation of 1.3 arc-minutes RSS three axes. In addition, the spacecraft must be able to acquire and hold the sunline at initial acquisition, and in the event of a failure. Finally. the spacecraft must be able to slew to the proper burn orientations and to the proper off-sunline attitude to start the compound spin. The design and flight performance of the Attitude Control System on MAP that meets these requirements will be discussed.

  5. Youth Attitudes towards Tobacco Control Laws: The Influence of Smoking Status and Grade in School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Terrinieka T.; Jason, Leonard A.; Pokorny, Steven B.

    2008-01-01

    This study examined adolescent attitudes towards tobacco control laws. An exploratory factor analysis, using surveys from over 9,000 students, identified the following three factors: (1) youth attitudes towards the efficacy of tobacco control laws, (2) youth attitudes towards tobacco possession laws and (3) youth attitudes towards tobacco sales…

  6. The association between implicit and explicit attitudes toward smoking and support for tobacco control measures.

    PubMed

    Macy, Jonathan T; Chassin, Laurie; Presson, Clark C

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the association between implicit and explicit attitudes toward smoking and support for tobacco control policies. Participants were from an ongoing longitudinal study of the natural history of smoking who also completed a web-based assessment of implicit attitudes toward smoking (N = 1,337). Multiple regression was used to test the association between covariates (sex, age, educational attainment, parent status, and smoking status), implicit attitude toward smoking, and explicit attitude toward smoking and support for tobacco control policies. The moderating effect of the covariates on the relation between attitudes and support for policies was also tested. Females, those with higher educational attainment, parents, and nonsmokers expressed more support for tobacco control policy measures. For nonsmokers, only explicit attitude was significantly associated with support for policies. For smokers, both explicit and implicit attitudes were significantly associated with support. The effect of explicit attitude was stronger for those with lower educational attainment. Both explicit and implicit smoking attitudes are important for building support for tobacco control policies, particularly among smokers. More research is needed on how to influence explicit and implicit attitudes to inform policy advocacy campaigns.

  7. Voyager Saturn encounter attitude and articulation control experience

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carlisle, G.; Hill, M.

    1981-01-01

    The Voyager attitude and articulation control system is designed for a three-axis stabilized spacecraft; it uses a biasable sun sensor and a Canopus Star Tracker (CST) for celestial control, as well as a dry inertial reference unit, comprised of three dual-axis dry gryos, for inertial control. A series of complex maneuvers was required during the first of two Voyager spacecraft encounters with Saturn (November 13, 1980); these maneuvers involved rotating the spacecraft simultaneously about two or three axes while maintaining accurate pointing of the scan platform. Titan and Saturn earth occulation experiments and a ring scattering experiment are described. Target motion compensation and the effects of celestial sensor interference are also considered. Failure of the CST, which required an extensive reevaluation of the star reference and attitude control mode strategy, is discussed. Results analyzed thus far show that the system performed with high accuracy, gathering data deeper into Saturn's atmosphere than on any previous planetary encounter.

  8. The Attitude Control System for the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Markley, F. Landis; Andrews, Stephen F.; ODonnell, James R., Jr.; Ward, David K.

    2003-01-01

    The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe mission produces a map of the cosmic microwave background radiation over the entire celestial sphere by executing a fast spin and a slow precession of its spin axis about the Sun line to obtain a highly interconnected set of measurements. The spacecraft attitude is sensed and controlled using an inertial reference unit, two star trackers, a digital sun sensor, twelve coarse sun sensors, three reaction wheel assemblies, and a propulsion system. Sufficient attitude knowledge is provided to yield instrument pointing to a standard deviation (l sigma) of 1.3 arc-minutes per axis. In addition, the spacecraft acquires and holds the sunline at initial acquisition and in the event of a failure, and slews to the proper orbit adjust orientations and to the proper off-sunline attitude to start the compound spin. This paper presents an overview of the design of the attitude control system to carry out this mission and presents some early flight experience.

  9. Fuzzy attitude control for a nanosatellite in leo orbit

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Calvo, Daniel; Laverón-Simavilla, Ana; Lapuerta, Victoria; Aviles, Taisir

    Fuzzy logic controllers are flexible and simple, suitable for small satellites Attitude Determination and Control Subsystems (ADCS). In this work, a tailored fuzzy controller is designed for a nanosatellite and is compared with a traditional Proportional Integrative Derivative (PID) controller. Both control methodologies are compared within the same specific mission. The orbit height varies along the mission from injection at around 380 km down to a 200 km height orbit, and the mission requires pointing accuracy over the whole time. Due to both the requirements imposed by such a low orbit, and the limitations in the power available for the attitude control, a robust and efficient ADCS is required. For these reasons a fuzzy logic controller is implemented as the brain of the ADCS and its performance and efficiency are compared to a traditional PID. The fuzzy controller is designed in three separated controllers, each one acting on one of the Euler angles of the satellite in an orbital frame. The fuzzy memberships are constructed taking into account the mission requirements, the physical properties of the satellite and the expected performances. Both methodologies, fuzzy and PID, are fine-tuned using an automated procedure to grant maximum efficiency with fixed performances. Finally both methods are probed in different environments to test their characteristics. The simulations show that the fuzzy controller is much more efficient (up to 65% less power required) in single maneuvers, achieving similar, or even better, precision than the PID. The accuracy and efficiency improvement of the fuzzy controller increase with orbit height because the environmental disturbances decrease, approaching the ideal scenario. A brief mission description is depicted as well as the design process of both ADCS controllers. Finally the validation process and the results obtained during the simulations are described. Those results show that the fuzzy logic methodology is valid for small

  10. Attitude and Translation Control of a Solar Sail Vehicle

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Singh, Gurkirpal

    2008-01-01

    A report discusses the ability to control the attitude and translation degrees-of-freedom of a solar sail vehicle by changing its center of gravity. A movement of the spacecraft s center of mass causes solar-pressure force to apply a torque to the vehicle. At the compact core of the solar-sail vehicle lies the spacecraft bus which is a large fraction of the total vehicle mass. In this concept, the bus is attached to the spacecraft by two single degree-of-freedom linear tracks. This allows relative movement of the bus in the sail plane. At the null position, the resulting solar pressure applies no torque to the vehicle. But any deviation of the bus from the null creates an offset between the spacecraft center of mass and center of solar radiation pressure, resulting in a solar-pressure torque on the vehicle which changes the vehicle attitude. Two of the three vehicle degrees of freedom can be actively controlled in this manner. The third, the roll about the sunline, requires a low-authority vane/propulsive subsystem. Translation control of the vehicle is achieved by directing the solar-pressure-induced force in the proper inertial direction. This requires attitude control. Attitude and translation degrees-of-freedom are therefore coupled. A guidance law is proposed, which allows the vehicle to stationkeep at an appropriate point on the inertially-rotating Sun-Earth line. Power requirements for moving the bus are minimal. Extensive software simulations have been performed to demonstrate the feasibility of this concept.

  11. Quaternion-based adaptive output feedback attitude control of spacecraft using Chebyshev neural networks.

    PubMed

    Zou, An-Min; Dev Kumar, Krishna; Hou, Zeng-Guang

    2010-09-01

    This paper investigates the problem of output feedback attitude control of an uncertain spacecraft. Two robust adaptive output feedback controllers based on Chebyshev neural networks (CNN) termed adaptive neural networks (NN) controller-I and adaptive NN controller-II are proposed for the attitude tracking control of spacecraft. The four-parameter representations (quaternion) are employed to describe the spacecraft attitude for global representation without singularities. The nonlinear reduced-order observer is used to estimate the derivative of the spacecraft output, and the CNN is introduced to further improve the control performance through approximating the spacecraft attitude motion. The implementation of the basis functions of the CNN used in the proposed controllers depends only on the desired signals, and the smooth robust compensator using the hyperbolic tangent function is employed to counteract the CNN approximation errors and external disturbances. The adaptive NN controller-II can efficiently avoid the over-estimation problem (i.e., the bound of the CNNs output is much larger than that of the approximated unknown function, and hence, the control input may be very large) existing in the adaptive NN controller-I. Both adaptive output feedback controllers using CNN can guarantee that all signals in the resulting closed-loop system are uniformly ultimately bounded. For performance comparisons, the standard adaptive controller using the linear parameterization of spacecraft attitude motion is also developed. Simulation studies are presented to show the advantages of the proposed CNN-based output feedback approach over the standard adaptive output feedback approach.

  12. Flight performance of Skylab attitude and pointing control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chubb, W. B.; Kennel, H. F.; Rupp, C. C.; Seltzer, S. M.

    1975-01-01

    The Skylab attitude and pointing control system (APCS) requirements are briefly reviewed and the way in which they became altered during the prelaunch phase of development is noted. The actual flight mission (including mission alterations during flight) is described. The serious hardware failures that occurred, beginning during ascent through the atmosphere, also are described. The APCS's ability to overcome these failures and meet mission changes are presented. The large around-the-clock support effort on the ground is discussed. Salient design points and software flexibility that should afford pertinent experience for future spacecraft attitude and pointing control system designs are included.

  13. Satellite Attitude Control Utilizing the Earth's Magnetic Field

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    White, John S.; Shigemoto, Fred H.; Bourquin, Kent

    1961-01-01

    A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of a satellite attitude fine-control system using the interaction of the earth's magnetic field with current-carrying coils to produce torque. The approximate intensity of the earth's magnetic field was determined as a function of the satellite coordinates. Components of the magnetic field were found to vary essentially sinusoidally at approximately twice orbital frequency. Amplitude and distortion of the sinusoidal components were a function of satellite orbit. Two systems for two-axis attitude control evolved from this study, one using three coils and the other using two coils. The torques developed by the two systems differ only when the component of magnetic field along the tracking line is zero. For this case the two-coil system develops no torque whereas the three-coil system develops some effective torque which allows partial control. The equations which describe the three-coil system are complex in comparison to those of the two-coil system and require the measurement of all three components of the magnetic field as compared with only one for the two-coil case. Intermittent three-axis torquing can also be achieved. This torquing can be used for coarse attitude control, or for dumping the stored momentum of inertia reaction wheels. Such a system has the advantage of requiring no fuel aboard the satellite. For any of these magnetic torquing schemes the power required to produce the magnetic moment and the weight of the coil seem reasonable.

  14. Wheel configurations for combined energy storage and attitude control systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oglevie, R. E.

    1985-01-01

    Integrated power and attitude control system (IPACS) studies performed over a decade ago established the feasibility of simultaneously storing electrical energy in wheels and utilizing the resulting momentum for spacecraft attitude control. It was shown that such a system possessed many advantages over other contemporary energy storage and attitude control systems in many applications. More recent technology advances in composite rotors, magnetic bearings, and power control electronics have triggered new optimism regarding the feasibility and merits of such a system. This paper presents the results of a recent study whose focus was to define an advanced IPACS and to evaluate its merits for the Space Station application. Emphasis is given to the selection of the wheel configuration to perform the combined functions. A component design concept is developed to establish the system performance capability. A system-level trade study, including life-cycle costing, is performed to define the merits of the system relative to two other candidate systems. It is concluded that an advanced IPACS concept is not only feasible but offers substantial savings in mass and life-cycle cost.

  15. Triana Safehold: A New Gyroless, Sun-Pointing Attitude Controller

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chen, J.; Morgenstern, Wendy; Garrick, Joseph

    2001-01-01

    Triana is a single-string spacecraft to be placed in a halo orbit about the sun-earth Ll Lagrangian point. The Attitude Control Subsystem (ACS) hardware includes four reaction wheels, ten thrusters, six coarse sun sensors, a star tracker, and a three-axis Inertial Measuring Unit (IMU). The ACS Safehold design features a gyroless sun-pointing control scheme using only sun sensors and wheels. With this minimum hardware approach, Safehold increases mission reliability in the event of a gyroscope anomaly. In place of the gyroscope rate measurements, Triana Safehold uses wheel tachometers to help provide a scaled estimation of the spacecraft body rate about the sun vector. Since Triana nominally performs momentum management every three months, its accumulated system momentum can reach a significant fraction of the wheel capacity. It is therefore a requirement for Safehold to maintain a sun-pointing attitude even when the spacecraft system momentum is reasonably large. The tachometer sun-line rate estimation enables the controller to bring the spacecraft close to its desired sun-pointing attitude even with reasonably high system momentum and wheel drags. This paper presents the design rationale behind this gyroless controller, stability analysis, and some time-domain simulation results showing performances with various initial conditions. Finally, suggestions for future improvements are briefly discussed.

  16. Orbit-attitude coupled motion around small bodies: Sun-synchronous orbits with Sun-tracking attitude motion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kikuchi, Shota; Howell, Kathleen C.; Tsuda, Yuichi; Kawaguchi, Jun'ichiro

    2017-11-01

    The motion of a spacecraft in proximity to a small body is significantly perturbed due to its irregular gravity field and solar radiation pressure. In such a strongly perturbed environment, the coupling effect of the orbital and attitude motions exerts a large influence that cannot be neglected. However, natural orbit-attitude coupled dynamics around small bodies that are stationary in both orbital and attitude motions have yet to be observed. The present study therefore investigates natural coupled motion that involves both a Sun-synchronous orbit and Sun-tracking attitude motion. This orbit-attitude coupled motion enables a spacecraft to maintain its orbital geometry and attitude state with respect to the Sun without requiring active control. Therefore, the proposed method can reduce the use of an orbit and attitude control system. This paper first presents analytical conditions to achieve Sun-synchronous orbits and Sun-tracking attitude motion. These analytical solutions are then numerically propagated based on non-linear coupled orbit-attitude equations of motion. Consequently, the possibility of implementing Sun-synchronous orbits with Sun-tracking attitude motion is demonstrated.

  17. Some optimal considerations in attitude control systems. [evaluation of value of relative weighting between time and fuel for relay control law

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Boland, J. S., III

    1973-01-01

    The conventional six-engine reaction control jet relay attitude control law with deadband is shown to be a good linear approximation to a weighted time-fuel optimal control law. Techniques for evaluating the value of the relative weighting between time and fuel for a particular relay control law is studied along with techniques to interrelate other parameters for the two control laws. Vehicle attitude control laws employing control moment gyros are then investigated. Steering laws obtained from the expression for the reaction torque of the gyro configuration are compared to a total optimal attitude control law that is derived from optimal linear regulator theory. This total optimal attitude control law has computational disadvantages in the solving of the matrix Riccati equation. Several computational algorithms for solving the matrix Riccati equation are investigated with respect to accuracy, computational storage requirements, and computational speed.

  18. Multiple Model Adaptive Attitude Control of LEO Satellite with Angular Velocity Constraints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shahrooei, Abolfazl; Kazemi, Mohammad Hosein

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, the multiple model adaptive control is utilized to improve the transient response of attitude control system for a rigid spacecraft. An adaptive output feedback control law is proposed for attitude control under angular velocity constraints and its almost global asymptotic stability is proved. The multiple model adaptive control approach is employed to counteract large uncertainty in parameter space of the inertia matrix. The nonlinear dynamics of a low earth orbit satellite is simulated and the proposed control algorithm is implemented. The reported results show the effectiveness of the suggested scheme.

  19. Application of square-root filtering for spacecraft attitude control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sorensen, J. A.; Schmidt, S. F.; Goka, T.

    1978-01-01

    Suitable digital algorithms are developed and tested for providing on-board precision attitude estimation and pointing control for potential use in the Landsat-D spacecraft. These algorithms provide pointing accuracy of better than 0.01 deg. To obtain necessary precision with efficient software, a six state-variable square-root Kalman filter combines two star tracker measurements to update attitude estimates obtained from processing three gyro outputs. The validity of the estimation and control algorithms are established, and the sensitivity of their performance to various error sources and software parameters are investigated by detailed digital simulation. Spacecraft computer memory, cycle time, and accuracy requirements are estimated.

  20. Satellite recovery - Attitude dynamics of the targets

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cochran, J. E., Jr.; Lahr, B. S.

    1986-01-01

    The problems of categorizing and modeling the attitude dynamics of uncontrolled artificial earth satellites which may be targets in recovery attempts are addressed. Methods of classification presented are based on satellite rotational kinetic energy, rotational angular momentum and orbit and on the type of control present prior to the benign failure of the control system. The use of approximate analytical solutions and 'exact' numerical solutions to the equations governing satellite attitude motions to predict uncontrolled attitude motion is considered. Analytical and numerical results are presented for the evolution of satellite attitude motions after active control termination.

  1. Weight Control: Attitudes of Dieters and Change Agents.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parham, Ellen S.; And Others

    1991-01-01

    Survey explores attitudes toward weight loss/weight control among 2 groups of change agents--40 dietitians and 42 fitness instructors--and among 96 people trying to lose weight. Significant differences were found in terms of importance in weight control of diet, drugs, exercise, religion, and will power; in importance of being of normal weight;…

  2. Use of a knowledge-attitude-behaviour education programme for Chinese adults undergoing maintenance haemodialysis: Randomized controlled trial

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Li; Wang, Jing; An, Li-Wei; Jiao, Jian-Mei

    2016-01-01

    Objective To investigate the effects of a knowledge-attitude-behaviour health education model on acquisition of disease-related knowledge and self-management behaviour by patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis. Methods Patients recently prescribed MHD were randomly assigned to a control group or an intervention group. Control group patients were treated with usual care and general education models. A specialist knowledge-attitude-behaviour health education model was applied to patients in the intervention group. Results Eighty-six patients were included (n = 43 per group). Before intervention, there were no significant between-group differences in disease knowledge and self-management behaviour. After 6 months’ intervention, a significant between-group difference in acquisition of disease knowledge was observed. Self-management behaviour scores (control of body mass, reasonable diet, correct drug intake, physical activity, correct fistula care, disease condition monitoring, psychological and social behaviours) for the intervention group were also higher than those for the control group. Conclusion These preliminary findings suggest that the knowledge-attitude-behaviour model appears to be a valuable tool for the health education of MHD patients. PMID:26951842

  3. Reusable Launch Vehicle Attitude Control Using a Time-Varying Sliding Mode Control Technique

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shtessel, Yuri B.; Zhu, J. Jim; Daniels, Dan; Jackson, Scott (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    In this paper we present a time-varying sliding mode control (TVSMC) technique for reusable launch vehicle (RLV) attitude control in ascent and entry flight phases. In ascent flight the guidance commands Euler roll, pitch and yaw angles, and in entry flight it commands the aerodynamic angles of bank, attack and sideslip. The controller employs a body rate inner loop and the attitude outer loop, which are separated in time-scale by the singular perturbation principle. The novelty of the TVSMC is that both the sliding surface and the boundary layer dynamics can be varied in real time using the PD-eigenvalue assignment technique. This salient feature is used to cope with control command saturation and integrator windup in the presence of severe disturbance or control effector failure, which enhances the robustness and fault tolerance of the controller. The TV-SMC ascent and descent designs are currently being tested with high fidelity, 6-DOF dispersion simulations. The test results will be presented in the final version of this paper.

  4. Attitude control of the LACE satellite: A gravity gradient stabilized spacecraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ivory, J. E.; Campion, R. E.; Bakeris, D. F.

    1993-01-01

    The Low-power Atmospheric Compensation Experiment (LACE) satellite was launched in February 1990 by the Naval Research Laboratory. The spacecraft's pitch and roll are maintained with a gravity gradient boom and a magnetic damper. There are two other booms with much smaller tip masses, one in the velocity direction (lead boom) of variable length and the other in the opposite direction (balance boom) also of variable length. In addition, the system uses a momentum wheel with its axis perpendicular to the plane of the orbit to control yaw and keep these booms in the orbital plane. The primary LACE experiment requires that the lead boom be moved to lengths varying from 4.6 m to 45.7 m. This and other onboard experiments require that the spacecraft attitude remain within tight constraints while operating. The problem confronting the satellite operators was to move the lead boom without inducing a net spacecraft attitude disturbance. A description of a method used to change the length of the lead boom while minimizing the disturbance to the attitude of the spacecraft is given. Deadbeating to dampen pitch oscillations has also been accomplished by maneuvering either the lead or balance boom and is discussed.

  5. Design of the EO-1 Pulsed Plasma Thruster Attitude Control Experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zakrzwski, Charles; Sanneman, Paul; Hunt, Teresa; Blackman, Kathie; Bauer, Frank H. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The Pulsed Plasma Thruster (PPT) Experiment on the Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) spacecraft has been designed to demonstrate the capability of a new generation PPT to perform spacecraft attitude control. The PPT is a small, self-contained pulsed electromagnetic Propulsion system capable of delivering high specific impulse (900-1200 s), very small impulse bits (10-1000 micro N-s) at low average power (less than 1 to 100 W). EO-1 has a single PPT that can produce torque in either the positive or negative pitch direction. For the PPT in-flight experiment, the pitch reaction wheel will be replaced by the PPT during nominal EO-1 nadir pointing. A PPT specific proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control algorithm was developed for the experiment. High fidelity simulations of the spacecraft attitude control capability using the PPT were conducted. The simulations, which showed PPT control performance within acceptable mission limits, will be used as the benchmark for on-orbit performance. The flight validation will demonstrate the ability of the PPT to provide precision pointing resolution. response and stability as an attitude control actuator.

  6. Attitude control system design using a flywheel suspended by two gimbals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peres, R. W.; Ricci, M. C.

    2015-10-01

    This work presents the attitude control system design procedures for a three axis stabilized satellite in geostationary orbit, which contains a flywheel suspended by two gimbals. The use of a flywheel with two DOFs is an interesting option because with only one device it's possible to control the torques about vehicle's three axes; through the wheel speed control and gyrotorquing phenomenon with two DOFs. If the wheel size and speed are determined properly it's possible to cancel cyclic torques using gas jets only periodically to cancel secular disturbance torques. The system, based on a flywheel, takes only one pitch/roll (earth) sensor to maintain precise attitude, unlike mass expulsion based control systems, which uses propellants continuously, beyond roll, pitch and yaw sensors. It is considered the satellite is in nominal orbit and, therefore, that the attitude's acquisition phase has already elapsed. Control laws and system parameters are determined in order to cancel the solar pressure radiation disturbance torque and the torque due to misalignment of the thrusters. Stability is analyzed and step and cyclic responses are obtained.

  7. MERCATOR: Methods and Realization for Control of the Attitude and the Orbit of spacecraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tavernier, Gilles; Campan, Genevieve

    1993-01-01

    Since 1974, CNES has been involved in geostationary positioning. Among different entities participating in operations and their preparation, the Flight Dynamics Center (FDC) is in charge of performing the following tasks: orbit determination; attitude determination; computation, monitoring, and calibration of orbit maneuvers; computation, monitoring, and calibration of attitude maneuvers; and operational predictions. In order to fulfill this mission, the FDC receives telemetry from the satellite and localization measurements from ground stations (e.g., CNES, NASA, INTELSAT). These data are processed by space dynamics programs integrated in the MERCATOR system which is run on SUN workstations (UNIX O.S.). The main features of MERCATOR are redundancy, modularity, and flexibility: efficient, flexible, and user friendly man-machine interface; and four identical SUN stations redundantly linked in an Ethernet network. Each workstation can perform all the tasks from data acquisition to computation results dissemination through a video network. A team of four engineers can handle the space mechanics aspects of a complete geostationary positioning from the injection into a transfer orbit to the final maneuvers in the station-keeping window. MERCATOR has been or is to be used for operations related to more than ten geostationary positionings. Initially developed for geostationary satellites, MERCATOR's methodology was also used for satellite control centers and can be applied to a wide range of satellites and to future manned missions.

  8. Torque equilibrium attitude control for Skylab reentry

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Glaese, J. R.; Kennel, H. F.

    1979-01-01

    All the available torque equilibrium attitudes (most were useless from the standpoint of lack of electrical power) and the equilibrium seeking method are presented, as well as the actual successful application during the 3 weeks prior to Skylab reentry.

  9. Attitudes of eighth-grade honors students toward the conceptual change methods of teaching science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heide, Clifford Lee

    1998-12-01

    The study researched the attitude of eighth grade honors science students toward the steps of the conceptual change teaching method. The attitudes of 25 students in an honors 8th grade science class in the Greater Phoenix metropolitan area were assessed using a multi-method approach. A quantitative method (student survey) and a qualitative method (focus group) were triangulated for convergence. Since conceptual change is a relatively new reform teaching modality, the study assessed students' attitudes utilizing this method. Conceptual change teaching is characterized by connections between concepts and facts which are organized around key ideas. Knowledge connected through concepts is constantly revised and edited by students as they continue to learn and add new concepts. The results of this study produced evidence that the conceptual change method of teaching science and its six process steps have qualities that foster positive student attitude. The study demonstrated that students' attitudes toward science is positively influenced through the conceptual change teaching method by enabling students to: (1) choose problems and find solutions to those problems (student directed); (2) work together in large and small groups; (3) learn through student oral presentations; (4) perform hands-on laboratory experiences; (5) learn through conceptual understanding not memorization; (6) implement higher order learning skills to make connections from the lab to the real world. Teachers can use the information in the study to become aware of the positive and negative attitudes of students taught with the conceptual change method. Even if the conceptual change teaching strategy is not the modality utilized by an educator, the factors identified by this study that affect student attitude could be used to help a teacher design lesson plans that help foster positive student attitudes.

  10. Attitudes to Gun Control in an American Twin Sample: Sex Differences in the Causes of Variation.

    PubMed

    Eaves, Lindon J; Silberg, Judy L

    2017-10-01

    The genetic and social causes of individual differences in attitudes to gun control are estimated in a sample of senior male and female twin pairs in the United States. Genetic and environmental parameters were estimated by weighted least squares applied to polychoric correlations for monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins of both sexes. The analysis suggests twin similarity for attitudes to gun control in men is entirely genetic while that in women is purely social. Although the volunteer sample is small, the analysis illustrates how the well-tested concepts and methods of genetic epidemiology may be a fertile resource for deepening our scientific understanding of biological and social pathways that affect individual risk to gun violence.

  11. Acquisition and cruise sensing for attitude control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pace, G. D., Jr.; Schmidt, L. F.

    1977-01-01

    Modified wideangle analog cruise sun sensor coupled with changes in optic attitude correction capabilities, eliminate need of acquisition and sun gate sensors, making on-course navigation of spacecraft flying interplanetary missions less risky and costly. Operational characteristics potentially make system applicable to guidance and control of solar energy collection systems.

  12. Coupled Attitude and Orbit Dynamics and Control in Formation Flying Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Xu, Yun-Jun; Fitz-Coy, Norman; Mason, Paul

    2003-01-01

    Formation flying systems can range from global constellations offering extended service coverage to clusters of highly coordinated vehicles that perform distributed sensing. Recently, the use of groups of micro-satellites in the areas of near Earth explorations, deep space explorations, and military applications has received considerable attention by researchers and practitioners. To date, most proposed control strategies are based on linear models (e.g., Hill-Clohessy-Wiltshire equations) or nonlinear models that are restricted to circular reference orbits. Also, all models in the literature are uncoupled between relative position and relative attitude. In this paper, a generalized dynamic model is proposed. The reference orbit is not restricted to the circular case. In this formulation, the leader or follower satellite can be in either a circular or an elliptic orbit. In addition to maintaining a specified relative position, the satellites are also required to maintain specified relative attitudes. Thus the model presented couples vehicle attitude and orbit requirements. Orbit perturbations are also included. In particular, the J(sub 2) effects are accounted in the model. Finally, a sliding mode controller is developed and used to control the relative attitude of the formation and the simulation results are presented.

  13. Analysis of Pan-European attitudes to the eradication and control of bovine viral diarrhoea.

    PubMed

    Heffernan, C; Misturelli, F; Nielsen, L; Gunn, G J; Yu, J

    2009-02-07

    At present, national-level policies concerning the eradication and control of bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) differ widely across Europe. Some Scandinavian countries have enacted strong regulatory frameworks to eradicate the disease, whereas other countries have few formal policies. To examine these differences, the attitudes of stakeholders and policy makers in 17 European countries were investigated. A web-based questionnaire was sent to policy makers, government and private sector veterinarians, and representatives of farmers' organisations. In total, 131 individuals responded to the questionnaire and their responses were analysed by applying a method used in sociolinguistics: frame analysis. The results showed that the different attitudes of countries that applied compulsory or voluntary frameworks were associated with different views about the attribution or blame for BVD and the roles ascribed to farmers and other stakeholders in its eradication and control.

  14. Integrated Power and Attitude Control System (IPACS) technology developments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eisenhaure, David B.; Bechtel, Robert; Hockney, Richard; Oglevie, Ron; Olszewski, Mitch

    1990-01-01

    Integrated Power and Attitude Control System (IPACS) studies performed over a decade ago established the feasibility of storing electrical energy in flywheels and utilizing the resulting angular momentum for spacecraft attitude control. Such a system has been shown to have numerous attractive features relative to more contemporary technology, and is appropriate to many applications (including high-performance slewing actuators). Technology advances over the last two decades in composite rotors, motor/generator/electronics, and magnetic bearings are found to support the use of IPACS for increasingly sophisticated applications. It is concluded that the concept offers potential performance advantages as well as savings in mass and life-cycle cost. Viewgraphs and discussion on IPACS are included.

  15. Attitude control/momentum management of the Space Station Freedom for large angle torque-equilibrium-attitude configurations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Parlos, Alexander G.; Sunkel, John W.

    1990-01-01

    An attitude-control and momentum-management (ACMM) system for the Space Station in a large-angle torque-equilibrium-attitude (TEA) configuration is developed analytically and demonstrated by means of numerical simulations. The equations of motion for a rigid-body Space Station model are outlined; linearized equations for an arbitrary TEA (resulting from misalignment of control and body axes) are derived; the general requirements for an ACMM are summarized; and a pole-placement linear-quadratic regulator solution based on scheduled gains is proposed. Results are presented in graphs for (1) simulations based on configuration MB3 (showing the importance of accounting for the cross-inertia terms in the TEA estimate) and (2) simulations of a stepwise change from configuration MB3 to the 'assembly complete' stage over 130 orbits (indicating that the present ACCM scheme maintains sufficient control over slowly varying Space Station dynamics).

  16. Attitude control system for a lightweight flapping wing MAV.

    PubMed

    Tijmons, Sjoerd; Karásek, Matěj; de Croon, G C H E

    2018-03-14

    Robust attitude control is an essential aspect of research on autonomous flight of flapping wing Micro Air Vehicles. The mechanical solutions by which the necessary control moments are realised come at the price of extra weight and possible loss of aerodynamic efficiency. Stable flight of these vehicles has been shown by several designs using a conventional tail, but also by tailless designs that use active control of the wings. In this study a control mechanism is proposed that provides active control over the wings. The mechanism improves vehicle stability and agility by generation of control moments for roll, pitch and yaw. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by static measurements around all the three axes. Flight test results confirm that the attitude of the test vehicle, including a tail, can be successfully controlled in slow forward flight conditions. Furthermore, the flight envelope is extended with robust hovering and the ability to reverse the flight direction using a small turn space. This capability is very important for autonomous flight capabilities such as obstacle avoidance. Finally, it is demonstrated that the proposed control mechanism allows for tailless hovering flight. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

  17. Internal-External Locus of Control and Attitude Toward Disability.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacDonald, A. P.

    The relationship between internal-external locus of control and attitude and reaction toward disability is discussed. Apart from examining the relevant research literature, findings are presented which support the hypothesis that those non-disabled who have external control orientations are more threatened by physical disabilities (vis., internal…

  18. Finite-Time Attitude Tracking Control for Spacecraft Using Terminal Sliding Mode and Chebyshev Neural Network.

    PubMed

    An-Min Zou; Kumar, K D; Zeng-Guang Hou; Xi Liu

    2011-08-01

    A finite-time attitude tracking control scheme is proposed for spacecraft using terminal sliding mode and Chebyshev neural network (NN) (CNN). The four-parameter representations (quaternion) are used to describe the spacecraft attitude for global representation without singularities. The attitude state (i.e., attitude and velocity) error dynamics is transformed to a double integrator dynamics with a constraint on the spacecraft attitude. With consideration of this constraint, a novel terminal sliding manifold is proposed for the spacecraft. In order to guarantee that the output of the NN used in the controller is bounded by the corresponding bound of the approximated unknown function, a switch function is applied to generate a switching between the adaptive NN control and the robust controller. Meanwhile, a CNN, whose basis functions are implemented using only desired signals, is introduced to approximate the desired nonlinear function and bounded external disturbances online, and the robust term based on the hyperbolic tangent function is applied to counteract NN approximation errors in the adaptive neural control scheme. Most importantly, the finite-time stability in both the reaching phase and the sliding phase can be guaranteed by a Lyapunov-based approach. Finally, numerical simulations on the attitude tracking control of spacecraft in the presence of an unknown mass moment of inertia matrix, bounded external disturbances, and control input constraints are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed controller.

  19. Students' Attitudes toward Statistics across the Disciplines: A Mixed-Methods Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffith, James D.; Adams, Lea T.; Gu, Lucy L.; Hart, Christian L.; Nichols-Whitehead, Penney

    2012-01-01

    Students' attitudes toward statistics were investigated using a mixed-methods approach including a discovery-oriented qualitative methodology among 684 undergraduate students across business, criminal justice, and psychology majors where at least one course in statistics was required. Students were asked about their attitudes toward statistics and…

  20. Skylab thruster attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilmer, G. E., Jr.

    1974-01-01

    Preflight activities and the Skylab mission support effort for the thruster attitude control system (TACS) are documented. The preflight activities include a description of problems and their solutions encountered in the development, qualification, and flight checkout test programs. Mission support effort is presented as it relates to system performance assessment, real-time problem solving, flight anomalies, and the daily system evaluation. Finally, the detailed flight evaluation is presented for each phase of the mission using system telemetry data. Data assert that the TACS met or exceeded design requirements and fulfilled its assigned mission objectives.

  1. Modular design attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chichester, F. D.

    1984-01-01

    A sequence of single axismodels and a series of reduced state linear observers of minimum order are used to reconstruct inaccessible variables pertaining to the modular attitude control of a rigid body flexible suspension model of a flexible spacecraft. The single axis models consist of two, three, four, and five rigid bodies, each interconnected by a flexible shaft passing through the mass centers of the bodies. Modal damping is added to each model. Reduced state linear observers are developed for synthesizing the inaccessible modal state variables for each modal model.

  2. Using Science Activities To Internalize Locus of Control and Influence Attitudes towards Science.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rowland, Paul McD.

    This study investigated the relationships between science activities that emphasize cause-and-effect and a learner's locus of control. Pretests included the Nowicki-Strickland Abbreviated Scale 7-12 to measure locus of control, and a modification of the Test of Science Related Attitudes to measure attitudes toward science. The findings suggest…

  3. A preliminary 6 DOF attitude and translation control system design for Starprobe

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mak, P.; Mettler, E.; Vijayarahgavan, A.

    1981-01-01

    The extreme thermal environment near perihelion and the high-accuracy gravitational science experiments impose unique design requirements on various subsystems of Starprobe. This paper examines some of these requirements and their impact on the preliminary design of a six-degree-of-freedom attitude and translational control system. Attention is given to design considerations, the baseline attitude/translational control system, system modeling, and simulation studies.

  4. Laboratory Control System's Effects on Student Achievement and Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cicek, Fatma Gozalan; Taspinar, Mehmet

    2016-01-01

    Problem Statement: The current study investigates whether the learning environment designed based on the laboratory control system affects the academic achievement, the attitude toward the learning-teaching process and the retention of the students in computer education. Purpose of Study: The study aims to identify the laboratory control system…

  5. A simple attitude control of quadrotor helicopter based on Ziegler-Nichols rules for tuning PD parameters.

    PubMed

    He, ZeFang; Zhao, Long

    2014-01-01

    An attitude control strategy based on Ziegler-Nichols rules for tuning PD (proportional-derivative) parameters of quadrotor helicopters is presented to solve the problem that quadrotor tends to be instable. This problem is caused by the narrow definition domain of attitude angles of quadrotor helicopters. The proposed controller is nonlinear and consists of a linear part and a nonlinear part. The linear part is a PD controller with PD parameters tuned by Ziegler-Nichols rules and acts on the quadrotor decoupled linear system after feedback linearization; the nonlinear part is a feedback linearization item which converts a nonlinear system into a linear system. It can be seen from the simulation results that the attitude controller proposed in this paper is highly robust, and its control effect is better than the other two nonlinear controllers. The nonlinear parts of the other two nonlinear controllers are the same as the attitude controller proposed in this paper. The linear part involves a PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controller with the PID controller parameters tuned by Ziegler-Nichols rules and a PD controller with the PD controller parameters tuned by GA (genetic algorithms). Moreover, this attitude controller is simple and easy to implement.

  6. Comparison of Different Attitude Correction Models for ZY-3 Satellite Imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Wenping; Liu, Shijie; Tong, Xiaohua; Niu, Changling; Ye, Zhen; Zhang, Han; Jin, Yanmin

    2018-04-01

    ZY-3 satellite, launched in 2012, is the first civilian high resolution stereo mapping satellite of China. This paper analyzed the positioning errors of ZY-3 satellite imagery and conducted compensation for geo-position accuracy improvement using different correction models, including attitude quaternion correction, attitude angle offset correction, and attitude angle linear correction. The experimental results revealed that there exist systematic errors with ZY-3 attitude observations and the positioning accuracy can be improved after attitude correction with aid of ground controls. There is no significant difference between the results of attitude quaternion correction method and the attitude angle correction method. However, the attitude angle offset correction model produced steady improvement than the linear correction model when limited ground control points are available for single scene.

  7. Dual-spin attitude control for outer planet missions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ward, R. S.; Tauke, G. J.

    1977-01-01

    The applicability of dual-spin technology to a Jupiter orbiter with probe mission was investigated. Basic mission and system level attitude control requirements were established and preliminary mechanization and control concepts developed. A comprehensive 18-degree-of-freedom digital simulation was utilized extensively to establish control laws, study dynamic interactions, and determined key sensitivities. Fundamental system/subsystem constraints were identified, and the applicability of dual-spin technology to a Jupiter orbiter with probe mission was validated.

  8. Passive radiative cooling of a HTS coil for attitude orbit control in micro-spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Inamori, Takaya; Ozaki, Naoya; Saisutjarit, Phongsatorn; Ohsaki, Hiroyuki

    2015-02-01

    This paper proposes a novel radiative cooling system for a high temperature superconducting (HTS) coil for an attitude orbit control system in nano- and micro-spacecraft missions. These days, nano-spacecraft (1-10 kg) and micro-spacecraft (10-100 kg) provide space access to a broader range of spacecraft developers and attract interest as space development applications. In planetary and high earth orbits, most previous standard-size spacecraft used thrusters for their attitude and orbit control, which are not available for nano- and micro-spacecraft missions because of the strict power consumption, space, and weight constraints. This paper considers orbit and attitude control methods that use a superconducting coil, which interacts with on-orbit space plasmas and creates a propulsion force. Because these spacecraft cannot use an active cooling system for the superconducting coil because of their mass and power consumption constraints, this paper proposes the utilization of a passive radiative cooling system, in which the superconducting coil is thermally connected to the 3 K cosmic background radiation of deep space, insulated from the heat generation using magnetic holders, and shielded from the sun. With this proposed cooling system, the HTS coil is cooled to 60 K in interplanetary orbits. Because the system does not use refrigerators for its cooling system, the spacecraft can achieve an HTS coil with low power consumption, small mass, and low cost.

  9. High speed reaction wheels for satellite attitude control and energy storage

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Studer, P.; Rodriguez, E.

    1985-01-01

    The combination of spacecraft attitude control and energy storage (ACES) functions in common hardware, to synergistically maintain three-axis attitude control while supplying electrical power during earth orbital eclipses, allows the generation of control torques by high rotating speed wheels that react against the spacecraft structure via a high efficiency bidirectional energy conversion motor/generator. An ACES system encompasses a minimum of four wheels, controlling power and the three torque vectors. Attention is given to the realization of such a system with composite flywheel rotors that yield high energy density, magnetic suspension technology yielding low losses at high rotational speeds, and an ironless armature permanent magnet motor/generator yielding high energy conversion efficiency.

  10. Attitude control study for a large flexible spacecraft using a Solar Electric Propulsion System (SEPS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tolivar, A. F.; Key, R. W.

    1980-01-01

    The attitude control performance of the solar electric propulsion system (SEPS) was evaluated. A thrust vector control system for powered flight control was examined along with a gas jet reaction control system, and a reaction wheel system, both of which have been proposed for nonpowered flight control. Comprehensive computer simulations of each control system were made and evaluated using a 30 mode spacecraft model. Results obtained indicate that thrust vector control and reaction wheel systems offer acceptable smooth proportional control. The gas jet control system is shown to be risky for a flexible structure such as SEPS, and is therefore, not recommended as a primary control method.

  11. Relative Attitude Determination of Earth Orbiting Formations Using GPS Receivers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lightsey, E. Glenn

    2004-01-01

    Satellite formation missions require the precise determination of both the position and attitude of multiple vehicles to achieve the desired objectives. In order to support the mission requirements for these applications, it is necessary to develop techniques for representing and controlling the attitude of formations of vehicles. A generalized method for representing the attitude of a formation of vehicles has been developed. The representation may be applied to both absolute and relative formation attitude control problems. The technique is able to accommodate formations of arbitrarily large number of vehicles. To demonstrate the formation attitude problem, the method is applied to the attitude determination of a simple leader-follower along-track orbit formation. A multiplicative extended Kalman filter is employed to estimate vehicle attitude. In a simulation study using GPS receivers as the attitude sensors, the relative attitude between vehicles in the formation is determined 3 times more accurately than the absolute attitude.

  12. SPS attitude control and stationkeeping: Requirements and tradeoffs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oglevie, R. E.

    1980-01-01

    The dominant control requirements of solar power satellites change appreciably relative to small contemporary spacecraft. Trade studies and analyses illustrated preferred control approaches. It was found that the geosynchronous equatorial orbit is preferred over the alternative orbits considered, that the solar pressure orbit perturbation dominates stationkeeping propulsion requirements and that a combined AC and SK system using ion electric propulsion can satisfy the attitude control requirements. It was also found that control system/structural dynamic interaction stability can be obtained through frequency separation with reasonable structural dynamic requirements and simplify spacecraft design.

  13. A New Approach to Attitude Stability and Control for Low Airspeed Vehicles

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lim, K. B.; Shin, Y-Y.; Moerder, D. D.; Cooper, E. G.

    2004-01-01

    This paper describes an approach for controlling the attitude of statically unstable thrust-levitated vehicles in hover or slow translation. The large thrust vector that characterizes such vehicles can be modulated to provide control forces and moments to the airframe, but such modulation is accompanied by significant unsteady flow effects. These effects are difficult to model, and can compromise the practical value of thrust vectoring in closed-loop attitude stability, even if the thrust vectoring machinery has sufficient bandwidth for stabilization. The stabilization approach described in this paper is based on using internal angular momentum transfer devices for stability, augmented by thrust vectoring for trim and other "outer loop" control functions. The three main components of this approach are: (1) a z-body axis angular momentum bias enhances static attitude stability, reducing the amount of control activity needed for stabilization, (2) optionally, gimbaled reaction wheels provide high-bandwidth control torques for additional stabilization, or agility, and (3) the resulting strongly coupled system dynamics are controlled by a multivariable controller. A flight test vehicle is described, and nonlinear simulation results are provided that demonstrate the efficiency of the approach.

  14. A Simple Attitude Control of Quadrotor Helicopter Based on Ziegler-Nichols Rules for Tuning PD Parameters

    PubMed Central

    He, ZeFang

    2014-01-01

    An attitude control strategy based on Ziegler-Nichols rules for tuning PD (proportional-derivative) parameters of quadrotor helicopters is presented to solve the problem that quadrotor tends to be instable. This problem is caused by the narrow definition domain of attitude angles of quadrotor helicopters. The proposed controller is nonlinear and consists of a linear part and a nonlinear part. The linear part is a PD controller with PD parameters tuned by Ziegler-Nichols rules and acts on the quadrotor decoupled linear system after feedback linearization; the nonlinear part is a feedback linearization item which converts a nonlinear system into a linear system. It can be seen from the simulation results that the attitude controller proposed in this paper is highly robust, and its control effect is better than the other two nonlinear controllers. The nonlinear parts of the other two nonlinear controllers are the same as the attitude controller proposed in this paper. The linear part involves a PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controller with the PID controller parameters tuned by Ziegler-Nichols rules and a PD controller with the PD controller parameters tuned by GA (genetic algorithms). Moreover, this attitude controller is simple and easy to implement. PMID:25614879

  15. Stabilization of a programmed rotation mode for a satellite with electrodynamic attitude control system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aleksandrov, A. Yu.; Aleksandrova, E. B.; Tikhonov, A. A.

    2018-07-01

    The paper deals with a dynamically symmetric satellite in a circular near-Earth orbit. The satellite is equipped with an electrodynamic attitude control system based on Lorentz and magnetic torque properties. The programmed satellite attitude motion is such that the satellite slowly rotates around the axis of its dynamical symmetry. Unlike previous publications, we consider more complex and practically more important case where the axis is fixed in the orbital frame in an inclined position with respect to the local vertical axis. The satellite stabilization in the programmed attitude motion is studied. The gravitational disturbing torque acting on the satellite attitude dynamics is taken into account since it is the largest disturbing torque. The novelty of the proposed approach is based on the usage of electrodynamic attitude control system. With the aid of original construction of a Lyapunov function, new conditions under which electrodynamic control solves the problem are obtained. Sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability of the programmed motion are found in terms of inequalities for the values of control parameters. The results of a numerical simulation are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  16. An approach to the design and implementation of spacecraft attitude control systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    ODonnell, James R., Jr.; Mangus, David J.

    1998-01-01

    Over 39 years and a long list of missions, the guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) groups at the Goddard Space Flight Center have gradually developed approaches to the design and implementation of successful spacecraft attitude control systems. With the recent creation of the Guidance, Navigation, and Control Center at Goddard, there is a desire to document some of these design practices to help to ensure their consistent application in the future. In this paper, we will discuss the beginnings of this effort, drawing primarily on the experience of one of the past attitude control system (ACS) groups at Goddard (what was formerly known as Code 712, the Guidance, Navigation, and Control Branch). We will discuss the analysis and design methods and criteria used, including guidelines for linear and nonlinear analysis, as well as the use of low- and high-fidelity simulation for system design and verification of performance. Descriptions of typical ACS sensor and actuator hardware will be shown, and typical sensor/actuator suites for a variety of mission types detailed. A description of the software and hardware test effort will be given, along with an attempt to make some qualitative estimates on how much effort is involved. The spacecraft and GN&C subsystem review cycles will be discussed, giving an outline of what design reviews are typically held and what information should be presented at each stage. Finally, we will point out some of the lessons learned at Goddard.

  17. An Approach to the Design and Implementation of Spacecraft Attitude Control Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    ODonnell, James R., Jr.; Mangus, David J.

    1998-01-01

    Over 39 years and a long list of missions, the guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) groups at the Goddard Space Flight Center have gradually developed approaches to the design and implementation of successful spacecraft attitude control systems. With the recent creation of the Guidance, Navigation, and Control Center at Goddard, there is a desire to document some of these design practices to help to ensure their consistent application in the future. In this paper, we will discuss the beginnings of this effort, drawing primarily on the experience of one of the past attitude control system (ACS) groups at Goddard (what was formerly known as Code 712, the Guidance, Navigation, and Control Branch). We will discuss the analysis and design methods and criteria used, including guidelines for linear and nonlinear analysis, as well as the use of low- and high-fidelity simulation for system design and verification of performance. Descriptions of typical ACS sensor and actuator hardware will be shown, and typical sensor/actuator suites for a variety of mission types detailed. A description of the software and hardware test effort will be given, along with an attempt to make some qualitative estimates on how much effort is involved. The spacecraft and GN&C subsystem review cycles will be discussed, giving an outline of what design reviews are typically held and .what information should be presented at each stage. Finally, we will point out some of the lessons learned at Goddard.

  18. Comparing three experiential learning methods and their effect on medical students' attitudes to learning communication skills.

    PubMed

    Koponen, Jonna; Pyörälä, Eeva; Isotalus, Pekka

    2012-01-01

    Despite numerous studies exploring medical students' attitudes to communication skills learning (CSL), there are apparently no studies comparing different experiential learning methods and their influence on students' attitudes. We compared medical students' attitudes to learning communication skills before and after a communication course in the data as a whole, by gender and when divided into three groups using different methods. Second-year medical students (n = 129) were randomly assigned to three groups. In group A (n = 42) the theatre in education method, in group B (n = 44) simulated patients and in group C (n = 43) role-play were used. The data were gathered before and after the course using Communication Skills Attitude Scale. Students' positive attitudes to learning communication skills (PAS; positive attitude scale) increased significantly and their negative attitudes (NAS; negative attitude scale) decreased significantly between the beginning and end of the course. Female students had more positive attitudes than the male students. There were no significant differences in the three groups in the mean scores for PAS or NAS measured before or after the course. The use of experiential methods and integrating communication skills training with visits to health centres may help medical students to appreciate the importance of CSL.

  19. Inertial attitude control of a bat-like morphing-wing air vehicle.

    PubMed

    Colorado, J; Barrientos, A; Rossi, C; Parra, C

    2013-03-01

    This paper presents a novel bat-like unmanned aerial vehicle inspired by the morphing-wing mechanism of bats. The goal of this paper is twofold. Firstly, a modelling framework is introduced for analysing how the robot should manoeuvre by means of changing wing morphology. This allows the definition of requirements for achieving forward and turning flight according to the kinematics of the wing modulation. Secondly, an attitude controller named backstepping+DAF is proposed. Motivated by biological evidence about the influence of wing inertia on the production of body accelerations, the attitude control law incorporates wing inertia information to produce desired roll (ϕ) and pitch (θ) acceleration commands (desired angular acceleration function (DAF)). This novel control approach is aimed at incrementing net body forces (F(net)) that generate propulsion. Simulations and wind-tunnel experimental results have shown an increase of about 23% in net body force production during the wingbeat cycle when the wings are modulated using the DAF as a part of the backstepping control law. Results also confirm accurate attitude tracking in spite of high external disturbances generated by aerodynamic loads at airspeeds up to 5 ms⁻¹.

  20. Implicit attitudes towards homosexuality: reliability, validity, and controllability of the IAT.

    PubMed

    Banse, R; Seise, J; Zerbes, N

    2001-01-01

    Two experiments were conducted to investigate the psychometric properties of an Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) that was adapted to measure implicit attitudes towards homosexuality. In a first experiment, the validity of the Homosexuality-IAT was tested using a known group approach. Implicit and explicit attitudes were assessed in heterosexual and homosexual men and women (N = 101). The results provided compelling evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of the Homosexuality-IAT as a measure of implicit attitudes. No evidence was found for two alternative explanations of IAT effects (familiarity with stimulus material and stereotype knowledge). The internal consistency of IAT scores was satisfactory (alpha s > .80), but retest correlations were lower. In a second experiment (N = 79) it was shown that uninformed participants were able to fake positive explicit but not implicit attitudes. Discrepancies between implicit and explicit attitudes towards homosexuality could be partially accounted for by individual differences in the motivation to control prejudiced behavior, thus providing independent evidence for the validity of the implicit attitude measure. Neither explicit nor implicit attitudes could be changed by persuasive messages. The results of both experiments are interpreted as evidence for a single construct account of implicit and explicit attitudes towards homosexuality.

  1. Long-term stability of GOES-8 and -9 attitude control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carr, James L.

    1996-10-01

    An independent audit of the in-orbit behavior of the GOES-8 and GOES-9 satellites has been conducted for the NASA/GSFC. This audit utilized star and landmark observations from the GOES imager to determine long-term histories for spacecraft attitude, orbital position, and instrument internal misalignments. The paper presents results from this audit. Long-term drifts are found in the attitude histories, whereas the misalignment histories are shown to be diurnally stable. The GOES image navigation and registration system is designed to compensate for instrument internal misalignments, and both the diurnally repeatable and drift components of the attitude. Correlations between GOES-8 and GOES-9 long-term roll and pitch drifts implicate the Earth sensor as the origin of these observed drifts. This results clearly demonstrates the enhanced registration stability to be obtained with stellar inertial attitude determination replacing or supplementing Earth sensor control on future GOES missions.

  2. Attitude toward, acceptance of and knowledge about female sterilization as a method of contraception.

    PubMed

    Erlenwein, J; Kundu, S; Schippert, C; Soergel, P; Hillemanns, P; Staboulidou, I

    2015-02-01

    Surgical sterilization via tubal ligation or the disconnection of the tubes is a method of permanent contraception. The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitude, acceptance and knowledge of women about female sterilization as a method of contraception in terms of the social and cultural backgrounds of those women. Prospective study based on an anonymous questionnaire that analyzed background knowledge, attitude, influence factors and motivation regarding sterilization, as well as the reasons for declining. The questionnaire also attempted to evaluate the effects on the self-esteem of the women, as well as the impact of religious dogma and the related beliefs. One thousand, eight hundred questionnaires were distributed, and 1247 women completed the questionnaire—a response rate of 69.3%. There were mainly positive attitudes toward sterilization as a contraceptive method. Cultural background, including religion and faith; the mother's experiences and point of view; knowledge; family planning and the actual life situation have an influence on the attitudes toward and acceptance of sterilization as a contraceptive method and on the final choice of a contraceptive method. Cultural background and present life situation have a great impact on the attitude toward and acceptance of sterilization as a method of contraception, thus influencing the final choice of a contraceptive method. Detailed counselling about this topic is essential and should be improved. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Vega roll and attitude control system algorithms trade-off study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paulino, N.; Cuciniello, G.; Cruciani, I.; Corraro, F.; Spallotta, D.; Nebula, F.

    2013-12-01

    This paper describes the trade-off study for the selection of the most suitable algorithms for the Roll and Attitude Control System (RACS) within the FPS-A program, aimed at developing the new Flight Program Software of VEGA Launcher. Two algorithms were analyzed: Switching Lines (SL) and Quaternion Feedback Regulation. Using a development simulation tool that models two critical flight phases (Long Coasting Phase (LCP) and Payload Release (PLR) Phase), both algorithms were assessed with Monte Carlo batch simulations for both of the phases. The statistical outcomes of the results demonstrate a 100 percent success rate for Quaternion Feedback Regulation, and support the choice of this method.

  4. Attitude control for on-orbit servicing spacecraft using hybrid actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Yunhua; Han, Feng; Zheng, Mohong; He, Mengjie; Chen, Zhiming; Hua, Bing; Wang, Feng

    2018-03-01

    On-orbit servicing is one of the research hotspots of space missions. A small satellite equipped with multiple robotic manipulators is expected to carry out device replacement task for target large spacecraft. Attitude hyperstable control of a small satellite platform under rotations of the manipulators is a challenging problem. A hybrid momentum exchanging actuator consists of Control Moment Gyro (CMG) and Reaction Wheel (RW) is proposed to tackle the above issue, due to its huge amount of momentum storage capacity of the CMG and high control accuracy of the RW, in which the CMG produces large command torque while the RW offers additional control degrees. The constructed dynamic model of the servicing satellite advises that it's feasible for attitude hyperstable control of the platform with arbitrary manipulators through compensating the disturbance generated by rapid rotation of the manipulators. Then, null motion between the CMG and RW is exploited to drive the system to the expected target with favorable performance, and to overcome the CMG inherent geometric singularity and RW saturation. Simulations with different initial situations, including CMG hyperbolic and elliptic singularities and RW saturation, are executed. Compared to the scenarios where the CMG or RW fails stabilizing the platform, large control torque, precise control effect and escape of singularity are guaranteed by the introduced hybrid actuator, CMGRW (CMGRW refers to the hybrid momentum exchanging devices in this paper, consisting of 4 CMGs in classical pyramid cluster and 3 RWs in an orthogonal group (specific description can been found in Section 4)). The feasible performance of the satellite, CMG and RW under large disturbance demonstrates that the control architecture proposed is capable of attitude control for on-orbit servicing satellite with multiple robotic manipulators.

  5. The Design of an Adaptive Attitude Control System

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-09-01

    spacecraft to reorient itself by rotating about the eigenaxis will be executing an optimal maneuver . [Ref. 9: pp. 375-3761 2. Quaternion Feedback Regulator...34% The below program will simulate the CER Control System for Large "% Angle (Slewing) Motion. The Control Law is a Quaternion Feedback "% Regulator...Equipment/Retriever (CER) during autonomous attitude hold and large angle or slewing maneuvers . The CER is a proposed space robot that deploys from

  6. Pulsed Plasma Thrusters for Small Spacecraft Attitude Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McGuire, Melissa L.; Myers, Roger M.

    1996-01-01

    Pulsed plasma thrusters (PPT's) are a new option for attitude control of a small spacecraft and may result in reduced attitude control system (ACS) mass and cost. The primary purpose of an ACS is to orient the spacecraft configuration to the desired accuracy in inertial space. The ACS functions for which the PPT system will be analyzed include disturbance torque compensation and slewing maneuvers such as sun acquisition for which the small impulse bit and high specific impulse of the PPT offers unique advantages. The NASA Lewis Reserach Center (LeRC) currently has a contracted flight PPT system development program in place with Olin Aerospace and a delivery date of October 1997. The PPT system in this study are based upon the work being done under the NASA LeRC program. Analysis of the use of PPT's for ACS showed that the replacement of the standard momentum wheels and torque rods systems with a PTT system to perform the altitude control maneuvers on a small low Earth orbiting spacecraft reduced the ACS mass by 50 to 75 percent with no increase in required power level over comparable wheel-based systems.

  7. High-Precision Attitude Estimation Method of Star Sensors and Gyro Based on Complementary Filter and Unscented Kalman Filter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, C.; Tong, X.; Liu, S.; Liu, S.; Lu, X.; Chen, P.; Jin, Y.; Xie, H.

    2017-07-01

    Determining the attitude of satellite at the time of imaging then establishing the mathematical relationship between image points and ground points is essential in high-resolution remote sensing image mapping. Star tracker is insensitive to the high frequency attitude variation due to the measure noise and satellite jitter, but the low frequency attitude motion can be determined with high accuracy. Gyro, as a short-term reference to the satellite's attitude, is sensitive to high frequency attitude change, but due to the existence of gyro drift and integral error, the attitude determination error increases with time. Based on the opposite noise frequency characteristics of two kinds of attitude sensors, this paper proposes an on-orbit attitude estimation method of star sensors and gyro based on Complementary Filter (CF) and Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). In this study, the principle and implementation of the proposed method are described. First, gyro attitude quaternions are acquired based on the attitude kinematics equation. An attitude information fusion method is then introduced, which applies high-pass filtering and low-pass filtering to the gyro and star tracker, respectively. Second, the attitude fusion data based on CF are introduced as the observed values of UKF system in the process of measurement updating. The accuracy and effectiveness of the method are validated based on the simulated sensors attitude data. The obtained results indicate that the proposed method can suppress the gyro drift and measure noise of attitude sensors, improving the accuracy of the attitude determination significantly, comparing with the simulated on-orbit attitude and the attitude estimation results of the UKF defined by the same simulation parameters.

  8. Fuzzy based attitude controller for flexible spacecraft with on/off thrusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Knapp, Roger G.; Adams, Neil J.

    A fuzzy-based attitude controller is designed for attitude control of a generic spacecraft with on/off thrusters. The controller is comprised of packages of rules dedicated to addressing different objectives (e.g., disturbance rejection, low fuel consumption, avoiding the excitation of flexible appendages, etc.). These rule packages can be inserted or removed depending on the requirements of the particular spacecraft and are parameterized based on vehicle parameters such as inertia or operational parameters such as the maneuvering rate. Individual rule packages can be 'weighted' relative to each other to emphasize the importance of one objective relative to another. Finally, the fuzzy controller and rule packages are demonstrated using the high-fidelity Space Shuttle Interactive On-Orbit Simulator (IOS) while performing typical on-orbit operations and are subsequently compared with the existing shuttle flight control system performance.

  9. Fuzzy based attitude controller for flexible spacecraft with on/off thrusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Knapp, Roger Glenn

    1993-05-01

    A fuzzy-based attitude controller is designed for attitude control of a generic spacecraft with on/off thrusters. The controller is comprised of packages of rules dedicated to addressing different objectives (e.g., disturbance rejection, low fuel consumption, avoiding the excitation of flexible appendages, etc.). These rule packages can be inserted or removed depending on the requirements of the particular spacecraft and are parameterized based on vehicle parameters such as inertia or operational parameters such as the maneuvering rate. Individual rule packages can be 'weighted' relative to each other to emphasize the importance of one objective relative to another. Finally, the fuzzy controller and rule packages are demonstrated using the high-fidelity Space Shuttle Interactive On-Orbit Simulator (IOS) while performing typical on-orbit operations and are subsequently compared with the existing shuttle flight control system performance.

  10. Experimental evaluation of HJB optimal controllers for the attitude dynamics of a multirotor aerial vehicle.

    PubMed

    Prado, Igor Afonso Acampora; Pereira, Mateus de Freitas Virgílio; de Castro, Davi Ferreira; Dos Santos, Davi Antônio; Balthazar, Jose Manoel

    2018-06-01

    The present paper is concerned with the design and experimental evaluation of optimal control laws for the nonlinear attitude dynamics of a multirotor aerial vehicle. Three design methods based on Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation are taken into account. The first one is a linear control with guarantee of stability for nonlinear systems. The second and third are a nonlinear suboptimal control techniques. These techniques are based on an optimal control design approach that takes into account the nonlinearities present in the vehicle dynamics. The stability Proof of the closed-loop system is presented. The performance of the control system designed is evaluated via simulations and also via an experimental scheme using the Quanser 3-DOF Hover. The experiments show the effectiveness of the linear control method over the nonlinear strategy. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Robust adaptive relative position and attitude control for spacecraft autonomous proximity.

    PubMed

    Sun, Liang; Huo, Wei; Jiao, Zongxia

    2016-07-01

    This paper provides new results of the dynamical modeling and controller designing for autonomous close proximity phase during rendezvous and docking in the presence of kinematic couplings and model uncertainties. A globally defined relative motion mechanical model for close proximity operations is introduced firstly. Then, in spite of the kinematic couplings and thrust misalignment between relative rotation and relative translation, robust adaptive relative position and relative attitude controllers are designed successively. Finally, stability of the overall system is proved that the relative position and relative attitude are uniformly ultimately bounded, and the size of the ultimate bound can be regulated small enough by control system parameters. Performance of the controlled overall system is demonstrated via a representative numerical example. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. An integrated power/attitude control system /IPACS/ for space vehicle application

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anderson, W. W.; Keckler, C. R.

    1973-01-01

    An integrated power and attitude control system (IPACS) concept with potential application to a broad class of space missions is discussed. The concept involves the storage and supply on demand of electrical energy in rotating flywheels while simultaneously providing control torques by controlled precession of the flywheels. The system is thus an alternative to the storage batteries used on present spacecraft while providing similar capability for attitude control as that represented by a control moment gyroscope (CMG) system. Potential IPACS configurations discussed include single- and double-rotor double-gimbal IPACS units. Typical sets of control laws which would manage the momentum and energy exchange between the IPACS and a typical space vehicle are discussed. Discussion of a simulation of a typical potential IPACS configuration and candidate mission concerned with pointing capability, power supply and demand flow, and discussion of the interactions between stabilization and control requirements and power flow requirements are presented.

  13. Design and Integration of an All-Magnetic Attitude Control System for FASTSAT-HSV01's Multiple Pointing Objectives

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    DeKock, Brandon; Sanders, Devon; Vanzwieten, Tannen; Capo-Lugo, Pedro

    2011-01-01

    The FASTSAT-HSV01 spacecraft is a microsatellite with magnetic torque rods as it sole attitude control actuator. FASTSAT s multiple payloads and mission functions require the Attitude Control System (ACS) to maintain Local Vertical Local Horizontal (LVLH)-referenced attitudes without spin-stabilization, while the pointing errors for some attitudes be significantly smaller than the previous best-demonstrated for this type of control system. The mission requires the ACS to hold multiple stable, unstable, and non-equilibrium attitudes, as well as eject a 3U CubeSat from an onboard P-POD and recover from the ensuing tumble. This paper describes the Attitude Control System, the reasons for design choices, how the ACS integrates with the rest of the spacecraft, and gives recommendations for potential future applications of the work.

  14. Attitudes of High School Teachers to Educational Research Using Classification-Tree Method

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akcoltekin, Alpturk; Engin, Ali Osman; Sevgin, Hikmet

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The main objective is to investigate high school teachers' attitudes relating to educational research with respect to demographic variables. Research Methods: The study is based on the relational screening model. Data was obtained through an adapted scale to determine high school teachers' attitudes toward educational research. The study…

  15. Full quaternion based finite-time cascade attitude control approach via pulse modulation synthesis for a spacecraft.

    PubMed

    Mazinan, A H; Pasand, M; Soltani, B

    2015-09-01

    In the aspect of further development of investigations in the area of spacecraft modeling and analysis of the control scheme, a new hybrid finite-time robust three-axis cascade attitude control approach is proposed via pulse modulation synthesis. The full quaternion based control approach proposed here is organized in association with both the inner and the outer closed loops. It is shown that the inner closed loop, which consists of the sliding mode finite-time control approach, the pulse width pulse frequency modulator, the control allocation and finally the dynamics of the spacecraft is realized to track the three-axis referenced commands of the angular velocities. The pulse width pulse frequency modulators are in fact employed in the inner closed loop to accommodate the control signals to a number of on-off thrusters, while the control allocation algorithm provides the commanded firing times for the reaction control thrusters in the overactuated spacecraft. Hereinafter, the outer closed loop, which consists of the proportional linear control approach and the kinematics of the spacecraft is correspondingly designed to deal with the attitude angles that are presented by quaternion vector. It should be noted that the main motivation of the present research is to realize a hybrid control method by using linear and nonlinear terms and to provide a reliable and robust control structure, which is able to track time varying three-axis referenced commands. Subsequently, a stability analysis is presented to verify the performance of the overall proposed cascade attitude control approach. To prove the effectiveness of the presented approach, a thorough investigation is presented compared to a number of recent corresponding benchmarks. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Negative eating attitudes and behaviors among adolescents: The role of parental control and perceived peer support.

    PubMed

    Pace, Ugo; D'Urso, Giulio; Zappulla, Carla

    2018-02-01

    In the present study, we examined from a longitudinal perspective the relationship between parental (both maternal and paternal) psychological control, perceived peer support, and negative eating attitudes and behaviors, focusing on the moderating role that perceived peer support may play in the relationship between parental psychological control in early adolescence and negative eating attitudes and behaviors in late adolescence. In Wave 1, participants were 507 adolescents (249 boys and 258 girls) aged from 14 to 15 years (M = 14.76; SD = 0.63). Three years later (Wave 2), the same adolescents participated again in the study (M = 17.88 years; SD = 0.57). Regression analyses displayed that paternal, but not maternal, achievement-oriented psychological control during early adolescence positively predicted negative eating attitudes and behaviors in late adolescence, whereas perceived peer support negatively predicted negative eating attitudes and behaviors. Results also showed a moderator effect of perceived peer support in the relationship between father's psychological control and negative eating attitudes and behaviors, such that at higher levels of paternal achievement-oriented psychological control, negative eating attitudes and behaviors tended to be higher when perceived peer support was low and to be lower when perceived peer support was high. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. Research on flight stability performance of rotor aircraft based on visual servo control method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Yanan; Chen, Jing

    2016-11-01

    control method based on visual servo feedback is proposed, which is used to improve the attitude of a quad-rotor aircraft and to enhance its flight stability. Ground target images are obtained by a visual platform fixed on aircraft. Scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorism is used to extract image feature information. According to the image characteristic analysis, fast motion estimation is completed and used as an input signal of PID flight control system to realize real-time status adjustment in flight process. Imaging tests and simulation results show that the method proposed acts good performance in terms of flight stability compensation and attitude adjustment. The response speed and control precision meets the requirements of actual use, which is able to reduce or even eliminate the influence of environmental disturbance. So the method proposed has certain research value to solve the problem of aircraft's anti-disturbance.

  18. Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Predict Smoking Cessation: Moderating Effects of Experienced Failure to Control Smoking and Plans to Quit

    PubMed Central

    Chassin, Laurie; Presson, Clark C.; Sherman, Steven J.; Seo, Dong-Chul; Macy, Jon

    2010-01-01

    The current study tested implicit and explicit attitudes as prospective predictors of smoking cessation in a Midwestern community sample of smokers. Results showed that the effects of attitudes significantly varied with levels of experienced failure to control smoking and plans to quit. Explicit attitudes significantly predicted later cessation among those with low (but not high or average) levels of experienced failure to control smoking. Conversely, however, implicit attitudes significantly predicted later cessation among those with high levels of experienced failure to control smoking, but only if they had a plan to quit. Because smoking cessation involves both controlled and automatic processes, interventions may need to consider attitude change interventions that focus on both implicit and explicit attitudes. PMID:21198227

  19. Farmer attitudes to vaccination and culling of badgers in controlling bovine tuberculosis.

    PubMed

    Warren, M; Lobley, M; Winter, M

    2013-07-13

    Controversy persists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland concerning methods of controlling the transmission of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) between badgers and cattle. The National Trust, a major land-owning heritage organisation, in 2011, began a programme of vaccinating badgers against bTB on its Killerton Estate in Devon. Most of the estate is farmed by 18 tenant farmers, who thus have a strong interest in the Trust's approach, particularly as all have felt the effects of the disease. This article reports on a study of the attitudes to vaccination of badgers and to the alternative of a culling programme, using face-to-face interviews with 14 of the tenants. The results indicated first that the views of the respondents were more nuanced than the contemporary public debate about badger control would suggest. Secondly, the attitude of the interviewees to vaccination of badgers against bTB was generally one of resigned acceptance. Thirdly, most respondents would prefer a combination of an effective vaccination programme with an effective culling programme, the latter reducing population of density sufficiently (and preferably targeting the badgers most likely to be diseased) for vaccination to have a reasonable chance of success. While based on a small sample, these results will contribute to the vigorous debate concerning contrasting policy approaches to bTB control in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

  20. Low cost attitude control system scanwheel development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bialke, William; Selby, Vaughn

    1991-03-01

    In order to satisfy a growing demand for low cost attitude control systems for small spacecraft, development of low cost scanning horizon sensor coupled to a low cost/low power consumption Reaction Wheel Assembly was initiated. This report addresses the details of the versatile design resulting from this effort. Tradeoff analyses for each of the major components are included, as well as test data from an engineering prototype of the hardware.

  1. Low cost attitude control system scanwheel development

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bialke, William; Selby, Vaughn

    1991-01-01

    In order to satisfy a growing demand for low cost attitude control systems for small spacecraft, development of low cost scanning horizon sensor coupled to a low cost/low power consumption Reaction Wheel Assembly was initiated. This report addresses the details of the versatile design resulting from this effort. Tradeoff analyses for each of the major components are included, as well as test data from an engineering prototype of the hardware.

  2. Faculty Members' Attitudes Predict Adoption of Interactive Engagement Methods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Madson, Laura; Trafimow, David; Gray, Tara

    2017-01-01

    Why do some faculty members use interactive engagement methods and others rely on lecture? Using a cross-disciplinary sample of U.S. faculty members (N = 442), the best predictor of faculty members' self-reported use of these methods was their attitudes about the positive consequences of using interactive engagement methods for students and for…

  3. Demonstration of Single Axis Combined Attitude Control and Energy Storage Using Two Flywheels

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kenny, Barbara H.; Jansen, Ralph; Kascak, Peter; Dever, Timothy; Santiago, Walter

    2004-01-01

    The energy storage and attitude control subsystems of the typical satellite are presently distinct and separate. Energy storage is conventionally provided by batteries, either NiCd or NiH, and active attitude control is accomplished with control moment gyros (CMGs) or reaction wheels. An overall system mass savings can be realized if these two subsystems are combined using multiple flywheels for simultaneous kinetic energy storage and momentum transfer. Several authors have studied the control of the flywheels to accomplish this and have published simulation results showing the feasibility and performance. This paper presents the first experimental results showing combined energy storage and momentum control about a single axis using two flywheels.

  4. Attitude coordination of multi-HUG formation based on multibody system theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xue, Dong-yang; Wu, Zhi-liang; Qi, Er-mai; Wang, Yan-hui; Wang, Shu-xin

    2017-04-01

    Application of multiple hybrid underwater gliders (HUGs) is a promising method for large scale, long-term ocean survey. Attitude coordination has become a requisite for task execution of multi-HUG formation. In this paper, a multibody model is presented for attitude coordination among agents in the HUG formation. The HUG formation is regarded as a multi-rigid body system. The interaction between agents in the formation is described by artificial potential field (APF) approach. Attitude control torque is composed of a conservative torque generated by orientation potential field and a dissipative term related with angular velocity. Dynamic modeling of the multibody system is presented to analyze the dynamic process of the HUG formation. Numerical calculation is carried out to simulate attitude synchronization with two kinds of formation topologies. Results show that attitude synchronization can be fulfilled based on the multibody method described in this paper. It is also indicated that different topologies affect attitude control quality with respect to energy consumption and adjusting time. Low level topology should be adopted during formation control scheme design to achieve a better control effect.

  5. Older African American Homeless-Experienced Smokers’ Attitudes Toward Tobacco Control Policies—Results from the HOPE HOME Study

    PubMed Central

    Vijayaraghavan, Maya; Olsen, Pamela; Weeks, John; McKelvey, Karma; Ponath, Claudia; Kushel, Margot

    2018-01-01

    Purpose To examine attitudes toward tobacco control policies among older African American homeless-experienced smokers. Approach A qualitative study. Setting Oakland, California. Participants Twenty-two African American older homeless-experienced smokers who were part of a longitudinal study on health and health-related outcomes (Health Outcomes of People Experiencing Homelessness in Older Middle Age Study). Method We conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with each participant to explore beliefs and attitudes toward tobacco use and cessation, barriers to smoking cessation, and attitudes toward current tobacco control strategies including raising cigarette prices, smoke-free policies, and graphic warning labels. We used a grounded theory approach to analyze the transcripts. Results Community social norms supportive of cigarette smoking and co-use of tobacco with other illicit substances were strong motivators of initiation and maintenance of tobacco use. Self-reported barriers to cessation included nicotine dependence, the experience of being homeless, fatalistic attitudes toward smoking cessation, substance use, and exposure to tobacco industry marketing. While participants were cognizant of current tobacco control policies and interventions for cessation, they felt that they were not specific enough for African Americans experiencing homelessness. Participants expressed strong support for strategies that de-normalized tobacco use and advertised the harmful effects of tobacco. Conclusion Older African American homeless-experienced smokers face significant barriers to smoking cessation. Interventions that advertise the harmful effects of tobacco may be effective in stimulating smoking cessation among this population. PMID:28893086

  6. Maternal and Paternal Psychological Control as Moderators of the Link between Peer Attitudes and Adolescents' Risky Sexual Behavior

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oudekerk, Barbara A.; Allen, Joseph P.; Hafen, Christopher A.; Hessel, Elenda T.; Szwedo, David E.; Spilker, Ann

    2014-01-01

    Maternal and paternal psychological control, peer attitudes, and the interaction of psychological control and peer attitudes at age 13 were examined as predictors of risky sexual behavior before age 16 in a community sample of 181 youth followed from age 13 to 16. Maternal psychological control moderated the link between peer attitudes and sexual…

  7. Attitude control analysis of tethered de-orbiting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peters, T. V.; Briz Valero, José Francisco; Escorial Olmos, Diego; Lappas, V.; Jakowski, P.; Gray, I.; Tsourdos, A.; Schaub, H.; Biesbroek, R.

    2018-05-01

    The increase of satellites and rocket upper stages in low earth orbit (LEO) has also increased substantially the danger of collisions in space. Studies have shown that the problem will continue to grow unless a number of debris are removed every year. A typical active debris removal (ADR) mission scenario includes launching an active spacecraft (chaser) which will rendezvous with the inactive target (debris), capture the debris and eventually deorbit both satellites. Many concepts for the capture of the debris while keeping a connection via a tether, between the target and chaser have been investigated, including harpoons, nets, grapples and robotic arms. The paper provides an analysis on the attitude control behaviour for a tethered de-orbiting mission based on the ESA e.Deorbit reference mission, where Envisat is the debris target to be captured by a chaser using a net which is connected to the chaser with a tether. The paper provides novel insight on the feasibility of tethered de-orbiting for the various mission phases such as stabilization after capture, de-orbit burn (plus stabilization), stabilization during atmospheric pass, highlighting the importance of various critical mission parameters such as the tether material. It is shown that the selection of the appropriate tether material while using simple controllers can reduce the effort needed for tethered deorbiting and can safely control the attitude of the debris/chaser connected with a tether, without the danger of a collision.

  8. [Knowledge, attitude and practice on schistosomiasis control of chronic schistosomiasis patients in Poyang Lake area, Nanchang City].

    PubMed

    Guo-Hua, Peng; Zhu-Hua, Hu; Wei, Hua; Ke, Qian; Xiao-Gang, Li; Zhi-Shu, Zhang; Zhi-Gang, Chen; Xiao-Wu, Feng

    2017-06-26

    To understand the present situation of the chronic schistosomiasis patients' knowledge, attitude and practice on schistosomiasis control in Nanchang City. The knowledge, attitude and values on schistosomiasis control of 523 chronic schistosomiasis patients in Nanchang County, Jinxian County and Xinjian District in the Poyang Lake District were investigated with questionnaires. And the accuracy rates of the knowledge, attitude and practice among the patient groups of different counties, genders, age groups, occupations and educational levels were analyzed. The accuracy rates of the knowledge, attitude and practice of patients on schistosomiasis control were 95.76%, 82.80%, and 81.73% in Nanchang County; 91.37%, 93.32%, and 76.48% in Jinxian County; 88.25%, 67.56%, and 49.40% in Xinjian District. In the accuracy rates of knowledge, attitude and practice, the differences among the three counties (districts) were statistically significant ( χ 2 = 57.511-301.378, all P < 0.05) . The accuracy rates of chronic schistosomiasis patients' attitude and practice on schistosomiasis control in Nanchang City remain low. Therefore, the intensity of attitude and practice intervention should be strengthened in the Poyang Lake District in order to enhance the self-protection awareness of the patients.

  9. Nonlinear fractional order proportion-integral-derivative active disturbance rejection control method design for hypersonic vehicle attitude control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Jia; Wang, Lun; Cai, Guobiao; Qi, Xiaoqiang

    2015-06-01

    Near space hypersonic vehicle model is nonlinear, multivariable and couples in the reentry process, which are challenging for the controller design. In this paper, a nonlinear fractional order proportion integral derivative (NFOPIλDμ) active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) strategy based on a natural selection particle swarm (NSPSO) algorithm is proposed for the hypersonic vehicle flight control. The NFOPIλDμ ADRC method consists of a tracking-differentiator (TD), an NFOPIλDμ controller and an extended state observer (ESO). The NFOPIλDμ controller designed by combining an FOPIλDμ method and a nonlinear states error feedback control law (NLSEF) is to overcome concussion caused by the NLSEF and conversely compensate the insufficiency for relatively simple and rough signal processing caused by the FOPIλDμ method. The TD is applied to coordinate the contradiction between rapidity and overshoot. By attributing all uncertain factors to unknown disturbances, the ESO can achieve dynamic feedback compensation for these disturbances and thus reduce their effects. Simulation results show that the NFOPIλDμ ADRC method can make the hypersonic vehicle six-degree-of-freedom nonlinear model track desired nominal signals accurately and fast, has good stability, dynamic properties and strong robustness against external environmental disturbances.

  10. Implicit and explicit attitudes predict smoking cessation: moderating effects of experienced failure to control smoking and plans to quit.

    PubMed

    Chassin, Laurie; Presson, Clark C; Sherman, Steven J; Seo, Dong-Chul; Macy, Jonathan T

    2010-12-01

    The current study tested implicit and explicit attitudes as prospective predictors of smoking cessation in a Midwestern community sample of smokers. Results showed that the effects of attitudes significantly varied with levels of experienced failure to control smoking and plans to quit. Explicit attitudes significantly predicted later cessation among those with low (but not high or average) levels of experienced failure to control smoking. Conversely, however, implicit attitudes significantly predicted later cessation among those with high levels of experienced failure to control smoking, but only if they had a plan to quit. Because smoking cessation involves both controlled and automatic processes, interventions may need to consider attitude change interventions that focus on both implicit and explicit attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Maternal and Paternal Psychological Control as Moderators of the Link between Peer Attitudes and Adolescents' Risky Sexual Behavior.

    PubMed

    Oudekerk, Barbara A; Allen, Joseph P; Hafen, Christopher A; Hessel, Elenda T; Szwedo, David E; Spilker, Ann

    2014-05-01

    Maternal and paternal psychological control, peer attitudes, and the interaction of psychological control and peer attitudes at age 13 were examined as predictors of risky sexual behavior before age 16 in a community sample of 181 youth followed from age 13 to 16. Maternal psychological control moderated the link between peer attitudes and sexual behavior. Peer acceptance of early sex predicted greater risky sexual behaviors, but only for teens whose mothers engaged in high levels of psychological control. Paternal psychological control demonstrated the same moderating effect for girls; for boys, however, high levels of paternal control predicted risky sex regardless of peer attitudes. Results are consistent with the theory that peer influences do not replace parental influences with regard to adolescent sexual behavior; rather, parental practices continue to serve an important role either directly forecasting sexual behavior or moderating the link between peer attitudes and sexual behavior.

  12. Maternal and Paternal Psychological Control as Moderators of the Link between Peer Attitudes and Adolescents’ Risky Sexual Behavior

    PubMed Central

    Oudekerk, Barbara A.; Allen, Joseph P.; Hafen, Christopher A.; Hessel, Elenda T.; Szwedo, David E.; Spilker, Ann

    2013-01-01

    Maternal and paternal psychological control, peer attitudes, and the interaction of psychological control and peer attitudes at age 13 were examined as predictors of risky sexual behavior before age 16 in a community sample of 181 youth followed from age 13 to 16. Maternal psychological control moderated the link between peer attitudes and sexual behavior. Peer acceptance of early sex predicted greater risky sexual behaviors, but only for teens whose mothers engaged in high levels of psychological control. Paternal psychological control demonstrated the same moderating effect for girls; for boys, however, high levels of paternal control predicted risky sex regardless of peer attitudes. Results are consistent with the theory that peer influences do not replace parental influences with regard to adolescent sexual behavior; rather, parental practices continue to serve an important role either directly forecasting sexual behavior or moderating the link between peer attitudes and sexual behavior. PMID:25328265

  13. Eating on impulse: Implicit attitudes, self-regulatory resources, and trait self-control as determinants of food consumption.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yan; Wang, Lei; Cui, Xianghua; Fang, Yuan; Chen, Qianqiu; Wang, Ya; Qiang, Yao

    2015-12-01

    Self-regulatory resources and trait self-control have been found to moderate the impulse-behavior relationship. The current study investigated whether the interaction of self-regulatory resources and trait self-control moderates the association between implicit attitudes and food consumption. One hundred twenty female participants were randomly assigned to either a depletion condition in which their self-regulatory resources were reduced or a no-depletion condition. Participants' implicit attitudes for chocolate were measured with the Single Category Implicit Association Test and self-report measures of trait self-control were collected. The dependent variable was chocolate consumption in an ostensible taste and rate task. Implicit attitudes predicted chocolate consumption in depleted participants but not in non-depleted participants. However, this predictive power of implicit attitudes on eating in depleted condition disappeared in participants with high trait self-control. Thus, trait self-control and self-regulatory resources interact to moderate the prediction of implicit attitude on eating behavior. Results suggest that high trait self-control buffers the effect of self-regulatory depletion on impulsive eating. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Low-Achieving Students' Attitudes towards Learning Chemistry and Chemistry Teaching Methods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kousa, P.; Kavonius, R.; Aksela, M.

    2018-01-01

    The aims of this study were to determine low-achieving students' attitudes towards chemistry and how the attitudes differ within a low achieving group. The most preferred teaching methods were also defined. Empirical data (n = 2949) were collected by stratified sampling from fifteen-year-old Finnish lower-secondary school students as part of a…

  15. Nonlinear Attitude Control of Planar Structures in Space Using Only Internal Controls

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Reyhanoglu, Mahmut; Mcclamroch, N. Harris

    1993-01-01

    An attitude control strategy for maneuvers of an interconnection of planar bodies in space is developed. It is assumed that there are no exogeneous torques and that torques generated by joint motors are used as means of control so that the total angular momentum of the multibody system is a constant, assumed to be zero. The control strategy utilizes the nonintegrability of the expression for the angular momentum. Large angle maneuvers can be designed to achieve an arbitrary reorientation of the multibody system with respect to an inertial frame. The theoretical background for carrying out the required maneuvers is summarized.

  16. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice of Infection Control among Dental Students at Sana’a University, Yemen

    PubMed Central

    Halboub, Esam Saleh; Al-Maweri, Sadeq Ali; Al-Jamaei, Aisha Ahmed; Tarakji, Bassel; Al-Soneidar, Walid Ahmed

    2015-01-01

    Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding infection control procedures among senior dental students. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 145 4th- and 5th-year dental students at the Faculty of Dentistry, Sana’a University, Yemen. The self-administered questionnaire was comprised of 20 open- and close-ended items regarding barrier techniques, vaccination status, infection control practices, and awareness. Data were analyzed with a Chi-square test. A P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The response rate was 72% (145 out of 204 potential respondents). Overall, 71.7% of the students had been vaccinated for hepatitis B and only 9.5% were tested for post-hepatitis B virus immunization serology. While the vast majority (96.6%) reported always wearing gloves for all dental procedures, the use of face masks and eyewear were reported by only 53.8% and 14.0% of students, respectively, with no significant difference between genders and year of study (P > 0.05). A significantly higher percentage of 5th-year students (58.9%) showed positive attitudes toward the treatment of patients with infectious diseases, as compared to only 31.0% of 4th year students (P < 0.01). A great number of students (62%) reported non-sterile occupational percutaneous and mucous injuries while treating their patients. Conclusions: These unsatisfactory findings highlight the necessity of continued infection control education in order to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding infection control among dental students at Sana’a University. PMID:26028896

  17. University and student segmentation: multilevel latent-class analysis of students' attitudes towards research methods and statistics.

    PubMed

    Mutz, Rüdiger; Daniel, Hans-Dieter

    2013-06-01

    It is often claimed that psychology students' attitudes towards research methods and statistics affect course enrollment, persistence, achievement, and course climate. However, the inter-institutional variability has been widely neglected in the research on students' attitudes towards research methods and statistics, but it is important for didactic purposes (heterogeneity of the student population). The paper presents a scale based on findings of the social psychology of attitudes (polar and emotion-based concept) in conjunction with a method for capturing beginning university students' attitudes towards research methods and statistics and identifying the proportion of students having positive attitudes at the institutional level. The study based on a re-analysis of a nationwide survey in Germany in August 2000 of all psychology students that enrolled in fall 1999/2000 (N= 1,490) and N= 44 universities. Using multilevel latent-class analysis (MLLCA), the aim was to group students in different student attitude types and at the same time to obtain university segments based on the incidences of the different student attitude types. Four student latent clusters were found that can be ranked on a bipolar attitude dimension. Membership in a cluster was predicted by age, grade point average (GPA) on school-leaving exam, and personality traits. In addition, two university segments were found: universities with an average proportion of students with positive attitudes and universities with a high proportion of students with positive attitudes (excellent segment). As psychology students make up a very heterogeneous group, the use of multiple learning activities as opposed to the classical lecture course is required. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

  18. LQG/LTR optimal attitude control of small flexible spacecraft using free-free boundary conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fulton, Joseph M.

    Due to the volume and power limitations of a small satellite, careful consideration must be taken while designing an attitude control system for 3-axis stabilization. Placing redundancy in the system proves difficult and utilizing power hungry, high accuracy, active actuators is not a viable option. Thus, it is customary to find dependable, passive actuators used in conjunction with small scale active control components. This document describes the application of Elastic Memory Composite materials in the construction of a flexible spacecraft appendage, such as a gravity gradient boom. Assumed modes methods are used with Finite Element Modeling information to obtain the equations of motion for the system while assuming free-free boundary conditions. A discussion is provided to illustrate how cantilever mode shapes are not always the best assumption when modeling small flexible spacecraft. A key point of interest is first resonant modes may be needed in the system design plant in spite of these modes being greater than one order of magnitude in frequency when compared to the crossover frequency of the controller. LQG/LTR optimal control techniques are implemented to compute attitude control gains while controller robustness considerations determine appropriate reduced order controllers and which flexible modes to include in the design model. Key satellite designer concerns in the areas of computer processor sizing, material uncertainty impacts on the system model, and system performance variations resulting from appendage length modifications are addressed.

  19. In-flight results of adaptive attitude control law for a microsatellite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pittet, C.; Luzi, A. R.; Peaucelle, D.; Biannic, J.-M.; Mignot, J.

    2015-06-01

    Because satellites usually do not experience large changes of mass, center of gravity or inertia in orbit, linear time invariant (LTI) controllers have been widely used to control their attitude. But, as the pointing requirements become more stringent and the satellite's structure more complex with large steerable and/or deployable appendices and flexible modes occurring in the control bandwidth, one unique LTI controller is no longer sufficient. One solution consists in designing several LTI controllers, one for each set point, but the switching between them is difficult to tune and validate. Another interesting solution is to use adaptive controllers, which could present at least two advantages: first, as the controller automatically and continuously adapts to the set point without changing the structure, no switching logic is needed in the software; second, performance and stability of the closed-loop system can be assessed directly on the whole flight domain. To evaluate the real benefits of adaptive control for satellites, in terms of design, validation and performances, CNES selected it as end-of-life experiment on PICARD microsatellite. This paper describes the design, validation and in-flight results of the new adaptive attitude control law, compared to nominal control law.

  20. Measurement of student attitudes in first year engineering - A mixed methods approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malik, Qaiser Hameed

    This research study focused on freshman attitudes towards engineering in a newly implemented cornerstone sequence that emphasized holistic design experiences. The students' initial attitudes and changes in these attitudes were examined with the explanatory mixed methods approach that allows a sequential examination of the target population with two methods, using two sets of data, to investigate the treatment effects. In the quantitative phase, the study compared changes in freshman attitude towards engineering, between the new 'design sequence' group (composed of freshmen in the cornerstone sequence) and the prior 'traditional sequence' group (composed of all other freshmen), over the course of one semester. The data were collected in fall 2008 at two time intervals and changes in the two groups' attitudes were examined with repeated measures analysis of covariance models. The analyses reported here include data from 389 students out of the total population of 722 freshmen. The analyses revealed that engineering freshmen joined the program with positive or strongly positive attitudes towards engineering. Those strong attitudes were durable and resistant to change. Students in the design sequence group had higher ACT scores, enjoyed math and science the most, and did not believe engineering to be an exact science. However, no appreciable time-group interaction was observed. To validate the quantitative results, an interview protocol was developed to investigate initial freshman attitudes and changes, if any, that took place as a result of the new cornerstone sequence. One-on-one interviews with a sample of ten students out of the population of 272 freshmen revealed that freshmen in the cornerstone sequence entered the program full of enthusiasm and idealism, and with strongly positive attitudes towards engineering. The strong motivational factors included parental/teacher influences, childhood motivations, and high school extra-curricular experiences. The

  1. Is Racial Attitude Change a Function of Locus of Control?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharma, Vijay

    1977-01-01

    This study explores the relationship between counselors' locus of control and the degree of change on racial attitudes followed by a structured awareness program and counseling experience on racial and multi-ethnic cultures. (Author)

  2. International Space Station Attitude Control and Energy Storage Experiment: Effects of Flywheel Torque

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roithmayr, Carlos M.

    1999-01-01

    The Attitude Control and Energy Storage Experiment is currently under development for the International Space Station; two counter-rotating flywheels will be levitated with magnetic bearings and placed in vacuum housings. The primary objective of the experiment is to store and discharge energy, in combination with existing batteries, into the electrical power system. The secondary objective is to use the flywheels to exert torque on the Station; a simple torque profile has been designed so that the Station's Control Moment Gyroscopes will be assisted in maintaining torque equilibrium attitude. Two energy storage contingencies could result in the inadvertent application of torque by the flywheels to the Station: an emergency shutdown of one flywheel rotor while the other remains spinning, and energy storage with only one rotor instead of the counterrotating pair. Analysis of these two contingencies shows that attitude control and the microgravity environment will not be adversely affected.

  3. Helicopter flight-control design using an H(2) method

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Takahashi, Marc D.

    1991-01-01

    Rate-command and attitude-command flight-control designs for a UH-60 helicopter in hover are presented and were synthesized using an H(2) method. Using weight functions, this method allows the direct shaping of the singular values of the sensitivity, complementary sensitivity, and control input transfer-function matrices to give acceptable feedback properties. The designs were implemented on the Vertical Motion Simulator, and four low-speed hover tasks were used to evaluate the control system characteristics. The pilot comments from the accel-decel, bob-up, hovering turn, and side-step tasks indicated good decoupling and quick response characteristics. However, an underlying roll PIO tendency was found to exist away from the hover condition, which was caused by a flap regressing mode with insufficient damping.

  4. Attitudes towards the Infection Prevention and Control Nurse: an interview study.

    PubMed

    Ward, Deborah J

    2012-07-01

    A study was undertaken involving nursing students and nurse mentors to investigate the experiences and learning needs of nursing students in relation to infection prevention. One of the objectives was to consider the views of both nursing students and mentors towards the Infection Prevention and Control Nurse (IPCN) as an important staff member in infection prevention and control. Infection prevention and control is a national and international priority but compliance with precautions can be low. One reason for this is staff attitudes. Infection Prevention and Control Nurses have an important role to play in the management of patient care through clinical staff and it is therefore important that they are seen as approachable and effective in their role. Using a qualitative approach, data were obtained through semistructured interviews with 31 nursing students and 32 nurse mentors. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using framework analysis. Three themes emerged: attitudes towards the IPCN, effects of the presence of the IPCN and preferred qualities in IPCNs. Areas for future research are identified and recommendations made to address areas where attitudes may affect both clinical practice and the education of nursing students in clinical placements. Nurse specialists or practitioners, who are often seen within a management role, need to consider how they work with clinical staff in order to foster more collaborative relationships. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  5. Simultaneous calibrations of Voyager celestial and inertial attitude control systems in flight

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jahanshahi, M. H.

    1982-01-01

    A mathematical description of the data reduction technique used to simultaneously calibrate the Voyager celestial and inertial attitude control subsystems is given. It is shown that knowledge of the spacecraft limit cycle motion, as measured by the celestial and the inertial sensors, is adequate to result in the estimates of a selected number of errors which adversely affect the spacecraft attitude knowledge.

  6. Voyager 2 Saturn encounter attitude and articulation control experience

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hill, M.

    1982-01-01

    A description is given of the Voyager Attitude and Articulation Control System (AACS). The complex series of maneuvers required for Voyager 2 during the near encounter period to obtain fields and particle data, track the limb of Saturn during the earth occultation period, and reflect the RF beam off the Saturnian ring system are discussed. It is noted that some of these maneuvers involved rotating the spacecraft simultaneously about multiple axes while maintaining accurate pointing of the scan platform, a first for interplanetary missions. Also described are two anomalies experienced by the AACS during the near encounter period. The first was the significant roll attitude error that occurred shortly after all axis inertial control and that continued to grow until celestial reacquisition. The second was that the scan platform slewing in the azimuth axis stopped midway through the near encounter. These anomalies are analyzed, and their effect on future missions is assessed.

  7. Large scale static tests of a tilt-nacelle V/STOL propulsion/attitude control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1978-01-01

    The concept of a combined V/STOL propulsion and aircraft attitude control system was subjected to large scale engine tests. The tilt nacelle/attitude control vane package consisted of the T55 powered Hamilton Standard Q-Fan demonstrator. Vane forces, moments, thermal and acoustic characteristics as well as the effects on propulsion system performance were measured under conditions simulating hover in and out of ground effect.

  8. Development of a hardware-in-loop attitude control simulator for a CubeSat satellite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tapsawat, Wittawat; Sangpet, Teerawat; Kuntanapreeda, Suwat

    2018-01-01

    Attitude control is an important part in satellite on-orbit operation. It greatly affects the performance of satellites. Testing of an attitude determination and control subsystem (ADCS) is very challenging since it might require attitude dynamics and space environment in the orbit. This paper develops a low-cost hardware-in-loop (HIL) simulator for testing an ADCS of a CubeSat satellite. The simulator consists of a numerical simulation part, a hardware part, and a HIL interface hardware unit. The numerical simulation part includes orbital dynamics, attitude dynamics and Earth’s magnetic field. The hardware part is the real ADCS board of the satellite. The simulation part outputs satellite’s angular velocity and geomagnetic field information to the HIL interface hardware. Then, based on this information, the HIL interface hardware generates I2C signals mimicking the signals of the on-board rate-gyros and magnetometers and consequently outputs the signals to the ADCS board. The ADCS board reads the rate-gyro and magnetometer signals, calculates control signals, and drives the attitude actuators which are three magnetic torquers (MTQs). The responses of the MTQs sensed by a separated magnetometer are feedback to the numerical simulation part completing the HIL simulation loop. Experimental studies are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the simulator.

  9. In-orbit performance of the ITOS improved attitude control system with Hall generator brushless motor and earth-splitting technique

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Peacock, W. M.

    1973-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), launched ITOS-D with an improved attitude control system. A Hall generator brushless dc torque motor replaced the brush dc torque motor on Tiros-M and ITOS-A. Two CO2 attitude horizon sensors and one mirror replaced the four wideband horizon sensors and two mirrors on ITOS-1 and NOAA-1. Redundant pitch-control electronic boxes containing additional electronic circuitry for earth-splitting and brushless motor electronics were used. A method of generating a spacecraft earth-facing side reference for comparison to the time occurrence of the earth-splitting pulse was used to automatically correct pitch-attitude error. A single rotating flywheel, supported by a single bearing, provided gyroscopic stability and the required momentum interchange to keep one side of the satellite facing the earth. Magnetic torquing against the earth's magnetic field eliminated the requirement for expendable propellants which would limit satellite life in orbit.

  10. LQG/LTR Optimal Attitude Control of Small Flexible Spacecraft Using Free-Free Boundary Conditions

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-08-03

    particular on attitude control of flex- ible space structures. Croopnick et al .[50] present a literature survey in the areas of attitude control...modeling and control of space structures is compiled by Nurre et al .[161]. One important thing to note from the surveys listed above is the 21 focus on the...papers surveyed by Croopnick et al . in 1979, by Meirovitch in 1979, Balas in 1982, and Nurre et al . in 1984. The focus of the papers included in all

  11. Low cost attitude control system reaction wheel development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bialke, William

    1991-03-01

    In order to satisfy a growing demand for low cost attitude control systems for small spacecraft, development of a low power and low cost Reaction Wheel Assembly was initiated. The details of the versatile design resulting from this effort are addressed. Tradeoff analyses for each of the major components are included, as well as test data from an engineering prototype of the hardware.

  12. Low cost attitude control system reaction wheel development

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bialke, William

    1991-01-01

    In order to satisfy a growing demand for low cost attitude control systems for small spacecraft, development of a low power and low cost Reaction Wheel Assembly was initiated. The details of the versatile design resulting from this effort are addressed. Tradeoff analyses for each of the major components are included, as well as test data from an engineering prototype of the hardware.

  13. Perceived difficulty in the theory of planned behaviour: perceived behavioural control or affective attitude?

    PubMed

    Kraft, Pål; Rise, Jostein; Sutton, Stephen; Røysamb, Espen

    2005-09-01

    A study was conducted to explore (a) the dimensional structure of perceived behavioural control (PBC), (b) the conceptual basis of perceived difficulty items, and (c) how PBC components and instrumental and affective attitudes, respectively, relate to intention and behaviour. The material stemmed from a two-wave study of Norwegian graduate students (N = 227 for the prediction of intention and N = 110 for the prediction of behaviour). Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multiple regression by the application of structural equation modelling (SEM). CFA suggested that PBC could be conceived of as consisting of three separate but interrelated factors (perceived control, perceived confidence and perceived difficulty), or as two separate but interrelated factors representing self-efficacy (measured by perceived difficulty and perceived confidence or by just perceived confidence) and perceived control. However, the perceived difficulty items also overlapped substantially with affective attitude. Perceived confidence was a strong predictor of exercise intention but not of recycling intention. Perceived control, however, was a strong predictor of recycling intention but not exercise intention. Affective attitudes but not instrumental attitudes were identified as substantial predictors of intentions. The findings suggest that at least under some circumstances it may be inadequate to measure PBC by means of perceived difficulty. One possible consequence may be that the role of PBC as a predictor of intention is somewhat overestimated, whereas the role of (affective) attitude may be similarly underestimated.

  14. ATTDES: An Expert System for Satellite Attitude Determination and Control. 2

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mackison, Donald L.; Gifford, Kevin

    1996-01-01

    The design, analysis, and flight operations of satellite attitude determintion and attitude control systems require extensive mathematical formulations, optimization studies, and computer simulation. This is best done by an analyst with extensive education and experience. The development of programs such as ATTDES permit the use of advanced techniques by those with less experience. Typical tasks include the mission analysis to select stabilization and damping schemes, attitude determination sensors and algorithms, and control system designs to meet program requirements. ATTDES is a system that includes all of these activities, including high fidelity orbit environment models that can be used for preliminary analysis, parameter selection, stabilization schemes, the development of estimators covariance analyses, and optimization, and can support ongoing orbit activities. The modification of existing simulations to model new configurations for these purposes can be an expensive, time consuming activity that becomes a pacing item in the development and operation of such new systems. The use of an integrated tool such as ATTDES significantly reduces the effort and time required for these tasks.

  15. On the generalization of attitude accessibility after repeated attitude expression

    PubMed Central

    Spruyt, Adriaan; Fazio, Russell H.; Hermans, Dirk

    2016-01-01

    Abstract The more accessible an attitude is, the stronger is its influence on information processing and behavior. Accessibility can be increased through attitude rehearsal, but it remains unknown whether attitude rehearsal also affects the accessibility of related attitudes. To investigate this hypothesis, participants in an experimental condition repeatedly expressed their attitudes towards exemplars of several semantic categories during an evaluative categorization task. Participants in a control condition performed a non‐evaluative task with the same exemplars and evaluated unrelated attitude objects. After a 30‐minute interval, participants in the experimental condition were faster than controls to evaluate not only the original exemplars but also novel exemplars of the same categories. This finding suggests that the effect of attitude rehearsal on accessibility generalizes to attitudes towards untrained but semantically related attitude objects. © 2016 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:28701803

  16. Rotation Matrix Method Based on Ambiguity Function for GNSS Attitude Determination.

    PubMed

    Yang, Yingdong; Mao, Xuchu; Tian, Weifeng

    2016-06-08

    Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are well suited for attitude determination. In this study, we use the rotation matrix method to resolve the attitude angle. This method achieves better performance in reducing computational complexity and selecting satellites. The condition of the baseline length is combined with the ambiguity function method (AFM) to search for integer ambiguity, and it is validated in reducing the span of candidates. The noise error is always the key factor to the success rate. It is closely related to the satellite geometry model. In contrast to the AFM, the LAMBDA (Least-squares AMBiguity Decorrelation Adjustment) method gets better results in solving the relationship of the geometric model and the noise error. Although the AFM is more flexible, it is lack of analysis on this aspect. In this study, the influence of the satellite geometry model on the success rate is analyzed in detail. The computation error and the noise error are effectively treated. Not only is the flexibility of the AFM inherited, but the success rate is also increased. An experiment is conducted in a selected campus, and the performance is proved to be effective. Our results are based on simulated and real-time GNSS data and are applied on single-frequency processing, which is known as one of the challenging case of GNSS attitude determination.

  17. Student Attitudes to Traditional and Online Methods of Delivery

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Lily; Fong, Michelle

    2014-01-01

    Rapid developments in education technology have provided educators and students new options in a constantly changing, competitive teaching and learning environment. As the number of online teaching resources continue to increase, research into student attitudes toward traditional and online methods of delivery is important in order to determine…

  18. Artificial neural networks in Space Station optimal attitude control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Renjith R.; Seywald, Hans; Deshpande, Samir M.; Rahman, Zia

    1992-08-01

    Innovative techniques of using 'Artificial Neural Networks' (ANN) for improving the performance of the pitch axis attitude control system of Space Station Freedom using Control Moment Gyros (CMGs) are investigated. The first technique uses a feedforward ANN with multilayer perceptrons to obtain an on-line controller which improves the performance of the control system via a model following approach. The second techique uses a single layer feedforward ANN with a modified back propagation scheme to estimate the internal plant variations and the external disturbances separately. These estimates are then used to solve two differential Riccati equations to obtain time varying gains which improve the control system performance in successive orbits.

  19. Attitudes toward Nutrition, Locus of Control and Smoking Behavior.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corfield, V. Kilian; And Others

    Research has shown that many behaviors previously thought to be purely psychological in origin do, in fact, have a physiological basis. To examine the relationship of smoking behavior to locus of control, and to attitudes toward, knowledge about, and behavior with respect to nutrition, 116 Canadian undergraduate students completed the Nutrition…

  20. An Artificial Neural Network Control System for Spacecraft Attitude Stabilization

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-06-01

    NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California ’-DTIC 0 ELECT f NMARO 5 191 N S, U, THESIS B . AN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK CONTROL SYSTEM FOR...NO. NO. NO ACCESSION NO 11. TITLE (Include Security Classification) AN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK CONTROL SYSTEM FOR SPACECRAFT ATTITUDE STABILIZATION...obsolete a U.S. G v pi.. iim n P.. oiice! toog-eo.5s43 i Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. AN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK CONTROL

  1. A method of measuring three-dimensional scapular attitudes using the optotrak probing system.

    PubMed

    Hébert, L J; Moffet, H; McFadyen, B J; St-Vincent, G

    2000-01-01

    To develop a method to obtain accurate three-dimensional scapular attitudes and to assess their concurrent validity and reliability. In this methodological study, the three-dimensional scapular attitudes were calculated in degrees, using a rotation matrix (cyclic Cardanic sequence), from spatial coordinates obtained with the probing of three non colinear landmarks first on an anatomical model and second on a healthy subject. Although abnormal movement of the scapula is related to shoulder impingement syndrome, it is not clearly understood whether or not scapular motion impairment is a predisposing factor. Characterization of three-dimensional scapular attitudes in planes and at joint angles for which sub-acromial impingement is more likely to occur is not known. The Optotrak probing system was used. An anatomical model of the scapula was built and allowed us to impose scapular attitudes of known direction and magnitude. A local coordinate reference system was defined with three non colinear anatomical landmarks to assess accuracy and concurrent validity of the probing method with fixed markers. Axial rotation angles were calculated from a rotation matrix using a cyclic Cardanic sequence of rotations. The same three non colinear body landmarks were digitized on one healthy subject and the three dimensional scapular attitudes obtained were compared between sessions in order to assess the reliability. The measure of three dimensional scapular attitudes calculated from data using the Optotrak probing system was accurate with means of the differences between imposed and calculated rotation angles ranging from 1.5 degrees to 4.2 degrees. Greatest variations were observed around the third axis of the Cardanic sequence associated with posterior-anterior transverse rotations. The mean difference between the Optotrak probing system method and fixed markers was 1.73 degrees showing a good concurrent validity. Differences between the two methods were generally very low for one

  2. Compensation method of cloud infrared radiation interference based on a spinning projectile's attitude measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Miaomiao; Bu, Xiongzhu; Yu, Jing; He, Zilu

    2018-01-01

    Based on the study of earth infrared radiation and further requirement of anticloud interference ability for a spinning projectile's infrared attitude measurement, a compensation method of cloud infrared radiation interference is proposed. First, the theoretical model of infrared radiation interference is established by analyzing the generation mechanism and interference characteristics of cloud infrared radiation. Then, the influence of cloud infrared radiation on attitude angle is calculated in the following two situations. The first situation is the projectile in cloud, and the maximum of roll angle error can reach ± 20 deg. The second situation is the projectile outside of cloud, and it results in the inability to measure the projectile's attitude angle. Finally, a multisensor weighted fusion algorithm is proposed based on trust function method to reduce the influence of cloud infrared radiation. The results of semiphysical experiments show that the error of roll angle with a weighted fusion algorithm can be kept within ± 0.5 deg in the presence of cloud infrared radiation interference. This proposed method improves the accuracy of roll angle by nearly four times in attitude measurement and also solves the problem of low accuracy of infrared radiation attitude measurement in navigation and guidance field.

  3. Robust nonlinear attitude control with disturbance compensation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Walchko, Kevin Jack

    Attitude control of small spacecraft is a particularly important component for many missions in the space program: Hubble Space Telescope for observing the cosmos, GPS satellites for navigation, SeaWiFS for studying phytoplankton concentrations in the ocean, etc. Typically designers use proportional derivative control because it is simple to understand and implement. However this method lacks robustness in the presence of disturbances and uncertainties. Thus to improve the fidelity of this simulation, two disturbances were included, fuel slosh and solar snap. Fuel slosh is the unwanted movement of fuel inside of a fuel tank. The fuel slosh model used for the satellite represents each sloshing mode as a mass-spring-damper. The mass represents the wave of fuel that propagates across the tank, the damper represents the baffling that hinders the movement, and the spring represents the force imparted to the spacecraft when the wave impacts the tank wall. This formulation makes the incorporation of multiple modes of interest simple, which is an advance over the typical one sloshing mode, pendulum model. Thermally induce vibrations, or solar snap, occur as a satellite transitions form the day-to-night or night-to-day side of a planet. During this transition, there is a sudden change in the amount of heat flux to the solar panels and vibrations occur. Few authors have looked at the effects of solar snap. The disturbance dynamics were based on the work by Earl Thorten. The simulated effects compared favorably with real flight data taken from satellites that have encountered solar snap. A robust sliding mode controller was developed and compared to a more traditional proportional derivative controller. The controllers were evaluated in the presents of fuel slosh and solar snap. The optimized baseline proportional derivative controller used in this work, showed little effort was needed to obtain better performance using sliding mode. In addition, a colored noise filter was

  4. Finite-time control for nonlinear spacecraft attitude based on terminal sliding mode technique.

    PubMed

    Song, Zhankui; Li, Hongxing; Sun, Kaibiao

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, a fast terminal sliding mode control (FTSMC) scheme with double closed loops is proposed for the spacecraft attitude control. The FTSMC laws are included both in an inner control loop and an outer control loop. Firstly, a fast terminal sliding surface (FTSS) is constructed, which can drive the inner loop tracking-error and the outer loop tracking-error on the FTSS to converge to zero in finite time. Secondly, FTSMC strategy is designed by using Lyaponov's method for ensuring the occurrence of the sliding motion in finite time, which can hold the character of fast transient response and improve the tracking accuracy. It is proved that FTSMC can guarantee the convergence of tracking-error in both approaching and sliding mode surface. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. © 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Understanding Pregnancy-Related Attitudes and Behaviors: A Mixed-Methods Study of Homeless Youth

    PubMed Central

    Tucker, Joan S.; Sussell, Jesse; Golinelli, Daniela; Zhou, Annie; Kennedy, David P.; Wenzel, Suzanne L.

    2012-01-01

    CONTEXT Pregnancy rates are substantially higher among homeless youth than in the general population of youth, yet little is known about homeless adolescents’ and young adults’ pregnancy-related attitudes and behaviors. METHODS Pregnancy-related attitudes and behaviors were examined among two samples of sexually active homeless 13–24-year-olds in Los Angeles County. Data from 37 semistructured interviews conducted in March–April 2011 were analyzed using standard qualitative methods. Data from a structured survey with 277 respondents, conducted between October 2008 and August 2009, were analyzed primarily using regression modeling. RESULTS More than half of interview respondents held ambivalent attitudes toward pregnancy, and ambivalent youth reported less contraceptive use than others. The interviews identified several potential influences on pregnancy attitudes: barriers associated with homelessness, readiness to settle down, desire to achieve goals, belief that a child would create something positive in life, and family and partners. In the survey, having positive attitudes toward pregnancy was positively associated with duration of homelessness (odds ratio, 1.6), contact with relatives (1.1) and relationship commitment (1.8); it was negatively associated with frequency of drinking (0.9). Relationship commitment was positively associated with nonuse of an effective contraceptive method at last sex (1.5). CONCLUSIONS Effective and accessible pregnancy prevention and family planning programs for homeless youth are needed. Youths’ ambivalence toward pregnancy and feelings of relationship commitment warrant attention as possible areas for programs to address. PMID:23231333

  6. attitude control design for the solar polar orbit radio telesope

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, D.; Zheng, J.

    This paper studies the attitude dynamics and control of the Solar Polar Orbit Radio Telescope SPORT The SPORT which consists of one parent satellite and eight tethered satellites runs around the Sun in a polar orbit The parent satellite locates at the mass center of the constellation and tethered satellites which are tied with the parent satellite through a non-electric rope rotate around the parent satellite It is also supposed that the parent satellite and all tethered satellites are in a plane when the constellation works begin figure htbp centerline includegraphics width 3 85in height 2 38in 75271331 6a6eb71057 doc1 eps label fig1 end figure Fig 1 the SPORT constellation Firstly this paper gives the dynamic equations of the tethered satellite and the parent satellite From the dynamic characteristic of the tethered satellite we then find that the roll axis is coupled with the yaw axis The control torque of the roll axis can control the yaw angle But the control torque of the roll axis and pitch axis provided by the tether is very small it can not meet the accuracy requirement of the yaw angle In order to improve the attitude pointing accuracy of the tethered satellite a gradient pole is set in the negative orientation of the yaw axis The gradient pole can improve not only the attitude accuracy of roll angle and pitch angle but also that of the yaw angle indirectly As to the dynamic characteristic of the parent satellite the roll axis is coupled with the pitch axis due to the spinning angular velocity At the same

  7. Smoking behaviours and attitudes toward tobacco control among assistant environmental health officer trainees.

    PubMed

    Tee, G H; Gurpreet, K; Hairi, N N; Zarihah, Z; Fadzilah, K

    2013-12-01

    Assistant environmental health officers (AEHO) are health care providers (HCPs) who act as enforcers, educators and trusted role models for the public. This is the first study to explore smoking behaviour and attitudes toward tobacco control among future HCPs. Almost 30% of AEHO trainees did not know the role of AEHOs in counselling smokers to stop smoking, but 91% agreed they should not smoke before advising others not to do so. The majority agreed that tobacco control regulations may be used as a means of reducing the prevalence of smoking. Future AEHOs had positive attitudes toward tobacco regulations but lacked understanding of their responsibility in tobacco control measures.

  8. Fault Detection and Correction for the Solar Dynamics Observatory Attitude Control System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Starin, Scott R.; Vess, Melissa F.; Kenney, Thomas M.; Maldonado, Manuel D.; Morgenstern, Wendy M.

    2007-01-01

    The Solar Dynamics Observatory is an Explorer-class mission that will launch in early 2009. The spacecraft will operate in a geosynchronous orbit, sending data 24 hours a day to a devoted ground station in White Sands, New Mexico. It will carry a suite of instruments designed to observe the Sun in multiple wavelengths at unprecedented resolution. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly includes four telescopes with focal plane CCDs that can image the full solar disk in four different visible wavelengths. The Extreme-ultraviolet Variability Experiment will collect time-correlated data on the activity of the Sun's corona. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager will enable study of pressure waves moving through the body of the Sun. The attitude control system on Solar Dynamics Observatory is responsible for four main phases of activity. The physical safety of the spacecraft after separation must be guaranteed. Fine attitude determination and control must be sufficient for instrument calibration maneuvers. The mission science mode requires 2-arcsecond control according to error signals provided by guide telescopes on the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, one of the three instruments to be carried. Lastly, accurate execution of linear and angular momentum changes to the spacecraft must be provided for momentum management and orbit maintenance. In thsp aper, single-fault tolerant fault detection and correction of the Solar Dynamics Observatory attitude control system is described. The attitude control hardware suite for the mission is catalogued, with special attention to redundancy at the hardware level. Four reaction wheels are used where any three are satisfactory. Four pairs of redundant thrusters are employed for orbit change maneuvers and momentum management. Three two-axis gyroscopes provide full redundancy for rate sensing. A digital Sun sensor and two autonomous star trackers provide two-out-of-three redundancy for fine attitude determination. The use of software to maximize

  9. Attitudes toward placebo-controlled clinical trials among depressed patients in Japan.

    PubMed

    Sugawara, Norio; Ishioka, Masamichi; Tsuchimine, Shoko; Tsuruga, Koji; Sato, Yasushi; Tarakita, Natsumi; Furukori, Hanako; Kudo, Shuhei; Tomita, Tetsu; Nakagami, Taku; Yasui-Furukori, Norio

    2018-01-01

    Placebo-controlled clinical trials are the standard in the design of clinical studies for the licensing of new drugs. Medical and ethical concerns regarding placebo use still exist in clinical trials of depressed patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes toward placebo-controlled clinical trials and to assess factors related to the willingness to participate in such trials among depressed patients in Japan. A total of 206 depressed patients aged 49.5 ± 15.7 years (mean ± SD) who were admitted to three psychiatric hospitals were recruited for a cross-sectional study from June 2015 to March 2016. After a thorough explanation of the placebo, the study participants completed a brief 14-item questionnaire developed to evaluate patients' attitudes regarding possible participation in placebo-controlled clinical trials. The Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology was also administered to assess depressive symptoms. The results indicated that 47% of the patients would be willing to participate in a placebo-controlled clinical trial. Expectations for the improvement of disease, desire to receive more medical care, encouragement by family or friends, and desire to support the development of new drugs were associated with the willingness to participate in such trials, whereas a belief that additional time would be required for medical examinations and fear of exacerbation of symptoms due to placebo use were associated with non-participation. Patients were asked about possible participation in placebo-controlled clinical trials. Less than half of the respondents were willing to participate in placebo-controlled clinical trials. Attitudes toward participation in a placebo-controlled clinical trial need to be considered when deciding whether to conduct such a trial. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  10. Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer attitude control electronics box design and performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chamberlin, K.; Clagett, C.; Correll, T.; Gruner, T.; Quinn, T.; Shiflett, L.; Schnurr, R.; Wennersten, M.; Frederick, M.; Fox, S. M.

    1993-01-01

    The attitude Control Electronics (ACE) Box is the center of the Attitude Control Subsystem (ACS) for the Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) satellite. This unit is the single point interface for all of the Attitude Control Subsystem (ACS) related sensors and actuators. Commands and telemetry between the SAMPEX flight computer and the ACE Box are routed via a MIL-STD-1773 bus interface, through the use of an 80C85 processor. The ACE Box consists of the flowing electronic elements: power supply, momentum wheel driver, electromagnet driver, coarse sun sensor interface, digital sun sensor interface, magnetometer interface, and satellite computer interface. In addition, the ACE Box also contains an independent Safehold electronics package capable of keeping the satellite pitch axis pointing towards the sun. The ACE Box has dimensions of 24 x 31 x 8 cm, a mass of 4.3 kg, and an average power consumption of 10.5 W. This set of electronics was completely designed, developed, integrated, and tested by personnel at NASA GSFC. SAMPEX was launched on July 3, 1992, and the initial attitude acquisition was successfully accomplished via the analog Safehold electronics in the ACE Box. This acquisition scenario removed the excess body rates via magnetic control and precessed the satellite pitch axis to within 10 deg of the sun line. The performance of the SAMPEX ACS in general and the ACE Box in particular has been quite satisfactory.

  11. Thermal elastic shock and its effect on TOPEX spacecraft attitude control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zimbelman, Darrell F.

    1991-01-01

    Thermal elastic shock (TES) is a twice per orbit impulsive disturbance torque experienced by low-Earth orbiting spacecraft. The fundamental equations used to model the TES disturbance torque for typical spacecraft appendages (e.g., solar arrays and antenna booms) are derived in detail. In particular, the attitude-pointing performance of the TOPEX spacecraft, when subjected to the TES disturbance, is analyzed using a three-axis nonlinear time-domain simulation. Results indicate that the TOPEX spacecraft could exceed its roll-axis attitude-control requirement during penumbral transitions, and remain in violation for approximately 150 sec each orbit until the umbra collapses. A localized active-control system is proposed as a solution to minimize and/or eliminate the degrading effects of the TES disturbance.

  12. Resident physician's knowledge and attitudes toward biostatistics and research methods concepts.

    PubMed

    Alzahrani, Sami H; Aba Al-Khail, Bahaa A

    2015-10-01

    To assess the knowledge and attitudes of resident physicians toward biostatistics and research methodology concepts. We conducted a cross-sectional study between November 2014 and October 2014 at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to all participants. The response rate was 90%. One hundred sixty-two resident completed the questionnaire. Most residents were well-informed in basic concepts, such as, "P" values, study power, and case control studies; more than half had confidence in interpreting the results of scientific papers. Conversely, more than 67% of the residents were not knowledgeable on more sophisticated terms in biostatistics. Residents with previous training in evidence-based medicine (EBM) (p=0.05) and non-specialist residents (p=0.003) were more likely to have better knowledge scores. Females (p=0.003), and those with previous training in biostatistics and epidemiology had positive attitude toward biostatistics (p less than 0.001 in both cases). Residents who read medical journals scored lower than those who never read journals (p=0.001). Prior courses in EBM, as well as male gender were associated with knowledge scores. Reinforcing training after graduation from medical school with special focus on integrating biostatistics with epidemiology and research methods is needed.

  13. An active attitude control system for a drag sail satellite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Steyn, Willem Herman; Jordaan, Hendrik Willem

    2016-11-01

    The paper describes the development and simulation results of a full ADCS subsystem for the deOrbitSail drag sail mission. The deOrbitSail satellite was developed as part of an European FP7 collaboration research project. The satellite was launched and commissioning started on 10th July 2015. Various new actuators and sensors designed for this mission will be presented. The deOrbitSail satellite is a 3U CubeSat to deploy a 4 by 4 m drag sail from an initial 650 km circular polar low earth orbit. With an active attitude control system it will be shown that by maximising the drag force, the expected de-orbiting period from the initial altitude will be less than 50 days. A future application of this technology will be the use of small drag sails as low-cost devices to de-orbit LEO satellites, when they have reached their end of life, without having to use expensive propulsion systems. Simulation and Hardware-in-Loop experiments proved the feasibility of the proposed attitude control system. A magnetic-only control approach using a Y-Thomson spin, is used to detumble the 3U Cubesat with stowed sail and subsequently to 3-axis stabilise the satellite to be ready for the final deployment phase. Minituarised torquer rods, a nano-sized momentum wheel, attitude sensor hardware (magnetometer, sun, earth) developed for this phase will be presented. The final phase will be to deploy and 3-axis stabilise the drag sail normal to the satellite's velocity vector, using a combined Y-momentum wheel and magnetic controller. The design and performance improvements when using a 2-axis translation stage to adjust the sail centre-of-pressure to satellite centre-of-mass offset, will also be discussed, although for launch risk reasons this stage was not included in the final flight configuration. To accurately determine the drag sail's attitude during the sunlit part of the orbit, an accurate wide field of view dual sensor to measure both the sun and nadir vector direction was developed for

  14. Generalized Beliefs and Attitudes: Locus of Control and Science Attitudes in High School and College Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stuessy, Carol L.; Rowland, Paul McD.

    Locus of control, a generalized belief about causality in one's personal life, was identified as a potential variable impinging upon the acquisition of science-related attitudes in classes of high school students from 10th grade biology, and 11th and 12th grade chemistry, and of college elementary education majors. Correlations of the…

  15. Skin penetration operators' knowledge and attitudes towards infection control.

    PubMed

    Oberdorfer, Aurmporn; Wiggers, John H; Considine, Robyn J; Bowman, Jenny; Cockburn, Jill

    2003-01-01

    To assess the knowledge and attitudes of owners/managers of commercial skin-penetration premises regarding infection control. A telephone survey was conducted with a randomly selected sample of 874 owners/managers. Participants appeared to lack knowledge of essential infection-control practices. Less than 39% correctly identified recommended disinfection procedures, and between 12% to 67% were not aware of inappropriate sterlization procedures. Almost all participants accepted the need for guidelines. Half acknowledged a need to improve their infection-control compliance, and most accepted having their premises regularly checked by the councils. There is a considerable opportunity to increase infection-control compliance among skin-penetration operators.

  16. The Software Design for the Wide-Field Infrared Explorer Attitude Control System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anderson, Mark O.; Barnes, Kenneth C.; Melhorn, Charles M.; Phillips, Tom

    1998-01-01

    The Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE), currently scheduled for launch in September 1998, is the fifth of five spacecraft in the NASA/Goddard Small Explorer (SMEX) series. This paper presents the design of WIRE's Attitude Control System flight software (ACS FSW). WIRE is a momentum-biased, three-axis stabilized stellar pointer which provides high-accuracy pointing and autonomous acquisition for eight to ten stellar targets per orbit. WIRE's short mission life and limited cryogen supply motivate requirements for Sun and Earth avoidance constraints which are designed to prevent catastrophic instrument damage and to minimize the heat load on the cryostat. The FSW implements autonomous fault detection and handling (FDH) to enforce these instrument constraints and to perform several other checks which insure the safety of the spacecraft. The ACS FSW implements modules for sensor data processing, attitude determination, attitude control, guide star acquisition, actuator command generation, command/telemetry processing, and FDH. These software components are integrated with a hierarchical control mode managing module that dictates which software components are currently active. The lowest mode in the hierarchy is the 'safest' one, in the sense that it utilizes a minimal complement of sensors and actuators to keep the spacecraft in a stable configuration (power and pointing constraints are maintained). As higher modes in the hierarchy are achieved, the various software functions are activated by the mode manager, and an increasing level of attitude control accuracy is provided. If FDH detects a constraint violation or other anomaly, it triggers a safing transition to a lower control mode. The WIRE ACS FSW satisfies all target acquisition and pointing accuracy requirements, enforces all pointing constraints, provides the ground with a simple means for reconfiguring the system via table load, and meets all the demands of its real-time embedded environment (16 MHz Intel

  17. Artificial neural networks in Space Station optimal attitude control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Renjith R.; Seywald, Hans; Deshpande, Samir M.; Rahman, Zia

    1995-01-01

    Innovative techniques of using "artificial neural networks" (ANN) for improving the performance of the pitch axis attitude control system of Space Station Freedom using control moment gyros (CMGs) are investigated. The first technique uses a feed-forward ANN with multi-layer perceptrons to obtain an on-line controller which improves the performance of the control system via a model following approach. The second technique uses a single layer feed-forward ANN with a modified back propagation scheme to estimate the internal plant variations and the external disturbances separately. These estimates are then used to solve two differential Riccati equations to obtain time varying gains which improve the control system performance in successive orbits.

  18. Techniques for monitoring and controlling yaw attitude of a GPS satellite

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lichten, Stephen M. (Inventor); Bar-Sever, Yoaz (Inventor); Zumberge, James (Inventor); Bertiger, William I. (Inventor); Muellerschoen, Ronald J. (Inventor); Wu, Sien-Chong (Inventor); Hurst, Kenneth (Inventor); Blewitt, Geoff (Inventor); Yunck, Thomas (Inventor); Thornton, Catherine (Inventor)

    2001-01-01

    Techniques for monitoring and controlling yawing of a GPS satellite in an orbit that has an eclipsing portion out of the sunlight based on the orbital conditions of the GPS satellite. In one embodiment, a constant yaw bias is generated in the attitude control system of the GPS satellite to control the yawing of the GPS satellite when it is in the shadow of the earth.

  19. The forgotten smoker: a qualitative study of attitudes towards smoking, quitting, and tobacco control policies among continuing smokers

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Although research suggests that the majority of smokers want to quit smoking, the uptake of Stop Smoking Services, designed to assist smokers with quitting, remains low. Little is known about continuing smokers who do not access these services, and opportunities to influence their motivation and encourage quit attempts through the uptake of services. Using PRIME theory, this study explored differences between continuing smokers who had varying levels of motivation to quit, in terms of their plans to quit, evaluative beliefs about smoking, cigarette dependence, and attitudes towards tobacco control policies and services. Methods Twenty-two current smokers, recruited from the community, were classified by motivation level to quit using a self-report questionnaire (two groups: high/low). Four focus groups (n=13) and individual interviews (n=9) were conducted with both groups using an interview guide incorporating aspects of PRIME theory. Discussion areas included motives for smoking, attitudes towards smoking and quitting, perceptions of dependence, motives for quitting, barriers to quitting, and attitudes towards existing and impending tobacco control policies and services. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using thematic framework analysis. Results All participants expressed low motivation to quit during discussions, despite some initially self-classifying as having high explicit levels of motivation to quit. Both groups reported similar attitudes towards smoking and quitting, including a perceived psychological addiction to smoking, positive evaluations about smoking which inhibited plans to quit, and similar suggested methods to increase motivation (simply wanting to, save money, improve health). Most felt that they ‘ought’ to quit as opposed to ‘wanted’ to. Little influence was ascribed towards tobacco control policies such as plain packaging and hidden sales displays, and participants felt that price increases of tobacco products needed to be

  20. Aerial robot intelligent control method based on back-stepping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Jian; Xue, Qian

    2018-05-01

    The aerial robot is characterized as strong nonlinearity, high coupling and parameter uncertainty, a self-adaptive back-stepping control method based on neural network is proposed in this paper. The uncertain part of the aerial robot model is compensated online by the neural network of Cerebellum Model Articulation Controller and robust control items are designed to overcome the uncertainty error of the system during online learning. At the same time, particle swarm algorithm is used to optimize and fix parameters so as to improve the dynamic performance, and control law is obtained by the recursion of back-stepping regression. Simulation results show that the designed control law has desired attitude tracking performance and good robustness in case of uncertainties and large errors in the model parameters.

  1. Analysis of the Command and Control Segment (CCS) attitude estimation algorithm

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stockwell, Catherine

    1993-01-01

    This paper categorizes the qualitative behavior of the Command and Control Segment (CCS) differential correction algorithm as applied to attitude estimation using simultaneous spin axis sun angle and Earth cord length measurements. The categories of interest are the domains of convergence, divergence, and their boundaries. Three series of plots are discussed that show the dependence of the estimation algorithm on the vehicle radius, the sun/Earth angle, and the spacecraft attitude. Common qualitative dynamics to all three series are tabulated and discussed. Out-of-limits conditions for the estimation algorithm are identified and discussed.

  2. University and Student Segmentation: Multilevel Latent-Class Analysis of Students' Attitudes towards Research Methods and Statistics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mutz, Rudiger; Daniel, Hans-Dieter

    2013-01-01

    Background: It is often claimed that psychology students' attitudes towards research methods and statistics affect course enrolment, persistence, achievement, and course climate. However, the inter-institutional variability has been widely neglected in the research on students' attitudes towards research methods and statistics, but it is important…

  3. The role of tobacco-specific media exposure, knowledge, and smoking status on selected attitudes toward tobacco control.

    PubMed

    Blake, Kelly D; Viswanath, K; Blendon, Robert J; Vallone, Donna

    2010-02-01

    In August 2007, the President's Cancer Panel urged the leadership of the nation to "summon the political will to address the public health crisis caused by tobacco use" (President's Cancer Panel, N, 2007, Promoting healthy lifestyles: Policy, program, and personal recommendations for reducing cancer risk. http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/pcp07rpt/pcp07rpt.pdf). While some research has examined predictors of public support for tobacco control measures, little research has examined modifiable factors that may influence public attitudes toward tobacco control. We used the American Legacy Foundation's 2003 American Smoking and Health Survey 2 to examine the contribution of smoking status, knowledge of the negative effects of tobacco, and tobacco-specific media exposure (antitobacco messages, news coverage of tobacco issues, and protobacco advertising) on U.S. adults' attitudes toward tobacco control. In addition, we assessed whether smoking status moderates the relationship between tobacco-specific media exposure and policy attitudes. Weighted multivariable logistic regression models were employed. Results suggest that knowledge of the negative effects of tobacco and smoking status are associated with attitudes toward tobacco control and that exposure to tobacco-specific information in the media plays a role only in some instances. We found no evidence of effect modification by smoking status on the impact of exposure to tobacco-specific media on attitudes toward tobacco control. Understanding the impact of readily modifiable factors that shape policy attitudes is essential if we are to target outreach and education in a way that is likely to sway public support for tobacco control.

  4. Smoking behaviors and attitudes during adolescence prospectively predict support for tobacco control policies in adulthood.

    PubMed

    Macy, Jonathan T; Chassin, Laurie; Presson, Clark C

    2012-07-01

    Several cross-sectional studies have examined factors associated with support for tobacco control policies. The current study utilized a longitudinal design to test smoking status and attitude toward smoking measured in adolescence as prospective predictors of support for tobacco control policies measured in adulthood. Participants (N = 4,834) were from a longitudinal study of a Midwestern community-based sample. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses tested adolescent smoking status and attitude toward smoking as prospective predictors (after controlling for sociodemographic factors, adult smoking status, and adult attitude toward smoking) of support for regulation of smoking in public places, discussion of the dangers of smoking in public schools, prohibiting smoking in bars, eliminating smoking on television and in movies, prohibiting smoking in restaurants, and increasing taxes on cigarettes. Participants who smoked during adolescence demonstrated more support for discussion of the dangers of smoking in public schools and less support for increasing taxes on cigarettes but only among those who smoked as adults. Those with more positive attitudes toward smoking during adolescence demonstrated less support as adults for prohibiting smoking in bars and eliminating smoking on television and in movies. Moreover, a significant interaction indicated that those with more positive attitudes toward smoking as adolescents demonstrated less support as adults for prohibiting smoking in restaurants, but only if they became parents as adults. This study's findings suggest that interventions designed to deter adolescent smoking may have future benefits in increasing support for tobacco control policies.

  5. Touchless attitude correction for satellite with constant magnetic moment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ao, Hou-jun; Yang, Le-ping; Zhu, Yan-wei; Zhang, Yuan-wen; Huang, Huan

    2017-09-01

    Rescue of satellite with attitude fault is of great value. Satellite with improper injection attitude may lose contact with ground as the antenna points to the wrong direction, or encounter energy problems as solar arrays are not facing the sun. Improper uploaded command may set the attitude out of control, exemplified by Japanese Hitomi spacecraft. In engineering practice, traditional physical contact approaches have been applied, yet with a potential risk of collision and a lack of versatility since the mechanical systems are mission-specific. This paper puts forward a touchless attitude correction approach, in which three satellites are considered, one having constant dipole and two having magnetic coils to control attitude of the first. Particular correction configurations are designed and analyzed to maintain the target's orbit during the attitude correction process. A reference coordinate system is introduced to simplify the control process and avoid the singular value problem of Euler angles. Based on the spherical triangle basic relations, the accurate varying geomagnetic field is considered in the attitude dynamic mode. Sliding mode control method is utilized to design the correction law. Finally, numerical simulation is conducted to verify the theoretical derivation. It can be safely concluded that the no-contact attitude correction approach for the satellite with uniaxial constant magnetic moment is feasible and potentially applicable to on-orbit operations.

  6. Magnetic bearing reaction wheel. [for spacecraft attitude control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sabnis, A.; Schmitt, F.; Smith, L.

    1976-01-01

    The results of a program for the development, fabrication and functional test of an engineering model magnetically suspended reaction wheel are described. The reaction wheel develops an angular momentum of + or - 0.5 foot-pound-second and is intended for eventual application in the attitude control of long-life interplanetary and orbiting spacecraft. A description of the wheel design and its major performance characteristics is presented. Recommendations for flight prototype development are made.

  7. Robust momentum management and attitude control system for the Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rhee, Ihnseok; Speyer, Jason L.

    1992-01-01

    A game theoretic controller is synthesized for momentum management and attitude control of the Space Station in the presence of uncertainties in the moments of inertia. Full state information is assumed since attitude rates are assumed to be very accurately measured. By an input-output decomposition of the uncertainty in the system matrices, the parameter uncertainties in the dynamic system are represented as an unknown gain associated with an internal feedback loop (IFL). The input and output matrices associated with the IFL form directions through which the uncertain parameters affect system response. If the quadratic form of the IFL output augments the cost criterion, then enhanced parameter robustness is anticipated. By considering the input and the input disturbance from the IFL as two noncooperative players, a linear-quadratic differential game is constructed. The solution in the form of a linear controller is used for synthesis. Inclusion of the external disturbance torques results in a dynamic feedback controller which consists of conventional PID (proportional integral derivative) control and cyclic disturbance rejection filters. It is shown that the game theoretic design allows large variations in the inertias in directions of importance.

  8. Adaptive extended-state observer-based fault tolerant attitude control for spacecraft with reaction wheels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ran, Dechao; Chen, Xiaoqian; de Ruiter, Anton; Xiao, Bing

    2018-04-01

    This study presents an adaptive second-order sliding control scheme to solve the attitude fault tolerant control problem of spacecraft subject to system uncertainties, external disturbances and reaction wheel faults. A novel fast terminal sliding mode is preliminarily designed to guarantee that finite-time convergence of the attitude errors can be achieved globally. Based on this novel sliding mode, an adaptive second-order observer is then designed to reconstruct the system uncertainties and the actuator faults. One feature of the proposed observer is that the design of the observer does not necessitate any priori information of the upper bounds of the system uncertainties and the actuator faults. In view of the reconstructed information supplied by the designed observer, a second-order sliding mode controller is developed to accomplish attitude maneuvers with great robustness and precise tracking accuracy. Theoretical stability analysis proves that the designed fault tolerant control scheme can achieve finite-time stability of the closed-loop system, even in the presence of reaction wheel faults and system uncertainties. Numerical simulations are also presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed control scheme over existing methodologies.

  9. The Implementation of Satellite Attitude Control System Software Using Object Oriented Design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Reid, W. Mark; Hansell, William; Phillips, Tom; Anderson, Mark O.; Drury, Derek

    1998-01-01

    NASA established the Small Explorer (SNMX) program in 1988 to provide frequent opportunities for highly focused and relatively inexpensive space science missions. The SMEX program has produced five satellites, three of which have been successfully launched. The remaining two spacecraft are scheduled for launch within the coming year. NASA has recently developed a prototype for the next generation Small Explorer spacecraft (SMEX-Lite). This paper describes the object-oriented design (OOD) of the SMEX-Lite Attitude Control System (ACS) software. The SMEX-Lite ACS is three-axis controlled and is capable of performing sub-arc-minute pointing. This paper first describes high level requirements governing the SMEX-Lite ACS software architecture. Next, the context in which the software resides is explained. The paper describes the principles of encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism with respect to the implementation of an ACS software system. This paper will also discuss the design of several ACS software components. Specifically, object-oriented designs are presented for sensor data processing, attitude determination, attitude control, and failure detection. Finally, this paper will address the establishment of the ACS Foundation Class (AFC) Library. The AFC is a large software repository, requiring a minimal amount of code modifications to produce ACS software for future projects.

  10. Magneto-Hydro-Dynamics Liquid Wheel Actuator for Spacecraft Attitude Control

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-01-26

    not display a currently valid OMB control number. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ORGANIZATION. 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY)   02-02-2017...Spacecraft Attitude Control 5a.  CONTRACT NUMBER 5b.  GRANT NUMBER FA9550-14-1-0387 5c.  PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 61102F 6. AUTHOR(S) Fabio Curti 5d... control with liquid flywheel is presented. The main characteristic of this new concept of reaction wheel is that a conductive liquid rather than a solid

  11. Analog neural network control method proposed for use in a backup satellite control mode

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Frigo, J.R.; Tilden, M.W.

    1998-03-01

    The authors propose to use an analog neural network controller implemented in hardware, independent of the active control system, for use in a satellite backup control mode. The controller uses coarse sun sensor inputs. The field of view of the sensors activate the neural controller, creating an analog dead band with respect to the direction of the sun on each axis. This network controls the orientation of the vehicle toward the sunlight to ensure adequate power for the system. The attitude of the spacecraft is stabilized with respect to the ambient magnetic field on orbit. This paper develops a modelmore » of the controller using real-time coarse sun sensor data and a dynamic model of a prototype system based on a satellite system. The simulation results and the feasibility of this control method for use in a satellite backup control mode are discussed.« less

  12. Medical Students’ Attitudes and Beliefs towards Psychotherapy: A Mixed Research Methods Study

    PubMed Central

    Constantinou, Costas S.; Georgiou, Maria; Perdikogianni, Maria

    2017-01-01

    Background: Research findings suggest that attitudes towards psychotherapy predict willingness to seek therapy. However, understanding how medical students think about using and referring their patients for psychotherapy is limited. Aims: The aims of this study are to measure medical students’ attitudes towards professional help seeking, and to investigate the reasons for whether or not they would refer their patients to psychotherapy in their future role as doctors. Method: The participants were 127 medical students in their first and second year of the MBBS4 programme at the Cyprus campus of St George’s University of London, who completed a self-report measure of attitudes towards psychotherapy and a semi-structured interview. Findings: Participants showed general positive attitudes towards psychotherapy, but were reluctant to use or refer their patients, largely due to perceived stigma and accessibility. Conclusions: Medical students should be further trained in order to become more confident in using psychotherapy and referring their patients. PMID:28820440

  13. A Performance Improvement Method for Low-Cost Land Vehicle GPS/MEMS-INS Attitude Determination

    PubMed Central

    Cong, Li; Li, Ercui; Qin, Honglei; Ling, Keck Voon; Xue, Rui

    2015-01-01

    Global positioning system (GPS) technology is well suited for attitude determination. However, in land vehicle application, low-cost single frequency GPS receivers which have low measurement quality are often used, and external factors such as multipath and low satellite visibility in the densely built-up urban environment further degrade the quality of the GPS measurements. Due to the low-quality receivers used and the challenging urban environment, the success rate of the single epoch ambiguity resolution for dynamic attitude determination is usually quite low. In this paper, a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)—inertial navigation system (INS)-aided ambiguity resolution method is proposed to improve the GPS attitude determination performance, which is particularly suitable for land vehicle attitude determination. First, the INS calculated baseline vector is augmented with the GPS carrier phase and code measurements. This improves the ambiguity dilution of precision (ADOP), resulting in better quality of the unconstrained float solution. Second, the undesirable float solutions caused by large measurement errors are further filtered and replaced using the INS-aided ambiguity function method (AFM). The fixed solutions are then obtained by the constrained least squares ambiguity decorrelation (CLAMBDA) algorithm. Finally, the GPS/MEMS-INS integration is realized by the use of a Kalman filter. Theoretical analysis of the ADOP is given and experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method can significantly improve the quality of the float ambiguity solution, leading to high success rate and better accuracy of attitude determination. PMID:25760057

  14. Robust high-precision attitude control for flexible spacecraft with improved mixed H2/H∞ control strategy under poles assignment constraint

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Chuang; Ye, Dong; Shi, Keke; Sun, Zhaowei

    2017-07-01

    A novel improved mixed H2/H∞ control technique combined with poles assignment theory is presented to achieve attitude stabilization and vibration suppression simultaneously for flexible spacecraft in this paper. The flexible spacecraft dynamics system is described and transformed into corresponding state space form. Based on linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) scheme and poles assignment theory, the improved mixed H2/H∞ controller does not restrict the equivalence of the two Lyapunov variables involved in H2 and H∞ performance, which can reduce conservatives compared with traditional mixed H2/H∞ controller. Moreover, it can eliminate the coupling of Lyapunov matrix variables and system matrices by introducing slack variable that provides additional degree of freedom. Several simulations are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method in this paper.

  15. Attitudes of women from five European countries regarding tobacco control policies.

    PubMed

    Dresler, Carolyn; Wei, Mei; Heck, Julia E; Allwright, Shane; Haglund, Margaretha; Sanchez, Sara; Kralikova, Eva; Stücker, Isabelle; Tamang, Elizabeth; Gritz, Ellen R; Hashibe, Mia

    2013-03-01

    Tobacco-related cancers and, in particular, lung cancer still represents a substantial public health epidemic across Europe as a result of high rates of smoking prevalence. Countries in Europe have proposed and implemented tobacco control policies to reduce smoking prevalence, with some countries being more progressive than others. The aim of this study was to examine factors that influenced women's attitudes across five European countries relative to comprehensive smokefree laws in their countries. A cross-sectional landline telephone survey on attitudes towards tobacco control laws was conducted in five European countries: France, Ireland, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Sweden. Attitudinal scores were determined for each respondent relative to questions about smokefree laws. Logistic regression models were used to obtain odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. A total of 5000 women were interviewed (1000 women from each country). The majority of women, regardless of smoking history, objected to smoking in public buses, enclosed shopping centers, hospitals, and other indoor work places. More women who had quit smoking believed that new tobacco control laws would prompt cessation - as compared with women who still smoked. In general, there is very high support for national smokefree laws that cover bars, restaurants, and public transport systems. As such laws are implemented, attitudes do change, as demonstrated by the differences between countries such as Ireland and the Czech Republic. Implementing comprehensive smokefree laws will gain high approval and will be associated with prompting people to quit.

  16. Controlled comparison of attitudes of psychiatrists, general practitioners, homosexual doctors and homosexual men to male homosexuality.

    PubMed Central

    Bhugra, D; King, M

    1989-01-01

    A controlled analysis of the attitudes of doctors and homosexual men to male homosexuality is reported. Not surprisingly the homosexual men held the most liberal attitudes which served as a yard-stick against which the doctors' attitudes could be assessed. The implications of these data, collected before the AIDS era, are discussed in terms of the current needs of homosexual patients. PMID:2810298

  17. Numerical analysis of orbital transfers to Mars using solar sails and attitude control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pereira, M. C.; de Melo, C. F.; Meireles, L. G.

    2017-10-01

    Solar sails present a promising alternative method of propulsion for the coming phases of the space exploration. With the recent advances in materials engineering, the construction of lighter and more resistant materials capable of impelling spaceships with the use of solar radiation pressure has become increasingly viable technologically and economically. The studies, simulations and analysis of orbital transfers from Earth to Mars proposed in this work were implemented considering the use of a flat solar sail. Maneuvers considering the delivery of a sailcraft from a Low Earth Orbit to the border of the Earth’s sphere of influence and interplanetary trajectories to Mars were investigated. A set of simulations were implemented varying the attitude of the sail relative to the Sun. Results show that a sailcraft can carry out transfers with final velocity with respect to Mars smaller than the interplanetary Patched-conic approximation, although this requires a longer time of transfers, provided the attitude of the sailcraft relative to the Sun can be controlled in some points of the trajectories.

  18. Design and Stability of an On-Orbit Attitude Control System Using Reaction Control Thrusters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hall, Robert A.; Hough, Steven; Orphee, Carolina; Clements, Keith

    2015-01-01

    Principles for the design and stability of a spacecraft on-orbit attitude control system employing on-off Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters is presented. Both the vehicle dynamics and the control system actuators are inherently nonlinear, hence traditional linear control system design approaches are not directly applicable. This paper has three main aspects: It summarizes key RCS control System design principles from the Space Shuttle and Space Station programs, it demonstrates a new approach to develop a linear model of a phase plane control system using describing functions, and applies each of these to the initial development of the NASA's next generation of upper stage vehicles. Topics addressed include thruster hardware specifications, phase plane design and stability, jet selection approaches, filter design metrics, and automaneuver logic.

  19. Changing attitudes to infection management in primary care: a controlled trial of active versus passive guideline implementation strategies.

    PubMed

    Onion, C W; Bartzokas, C A

    1998-04-01

    When attempting to implement evidence-based medicine, such as through clinical guidelines, we often rely on passive educational tactics, for example didactic lectures and bulletins. These methods involve the recipient in relatively superficial processing of information, and any consequent attitude changes can be expected to be short-lived. However, active methods, such as practice-based discussion, should involve recipients in deep processing, with more enduring attitude changes. In this experiment, the aim was to assess the efficacy of an active strategy at promoting deep processing and its effectiveness, relative to a typical passive method, at changing attitudes between groups of GPs over 12 months across an English Health District. All 191 GPs operating from 69 practices in the Wirral Health District of Northwest England were assigned, with minimization of known confounding variables, to three experimental groups: active, passive and control. The groups were shown to have similar learning styles. The objective of the study was to impart knowledge of best management of infections as captured in a series of locally developed clinical guidelines. The passive group GPs were given a copy of the guidelines and were invited to an hour-long lecture event. The GPs in the deep group were given a copy of the guidelines and were invited to engage in an hour-long discussion about the guideline content at their own premises. The control group received neither the guidelines nor any educational contact regarding them. Three months before and 12 months after the interventions, all GPs were sent a postal questionnaire on their preferred empirical antibiotic for 10 common bacterial infections. The responses were compared in order to ascertain whether increased knowledge of best clinical practice was evident in each group. Seventy-five per cent (144/191) of GPs responded to the pre-intervention questionnaire, 62 % (119/191) post-intervention. Thirty-four per cent (22/64) of GPs

  20. Understanding pregnancy-related attitudes and behaviors: a mixed-methods study of homeless youth.

    PubMed

    Tucker, Joan S; Sussell, Jesse; Golinelli, Daniela; Zhou, Annie; Kennedy, David P; Wenzel, Suzanne L

    2012-12-01

    Pregnancy rates are substantially higher among homeless youth than in the general population of youth, yet little is known about homeless adolescents' and young adults' pregnancy-related attitudes and behaviors. Pregnancy-related attitudes and behaviors were examined among two samples of sexually active homeless 13-24-year-olds in Los Angeles County. Data from 37 semistructured interviews conducted in March-April 2011 were analyzed using standard qualitative methods. Data from a structured survey with 277 respondents, conducted between October 2008 and August 2009, were analyzed primarily using regression modeling. More than half of interview respondents held ambivalent attitudes toward pregnancy, and ambivalent youth reported less contraceptive use than others. The interviews identified several potential influences on pregnancy attitudes: barriers associated with homelessness, readiness to settle down, desire to achieve goals, belief that a child would create something positive in life, and family and partners. In the survey, having positive attitudes toward pregnancy was positively associated with duration of homelessness (odds ratio, 1.6), contact with relatives (1.1) and relationship commitment (1.8); it was negatively associated with frequency of drinking (0.9). Relationship commitment was positively associated with nonuse of an effective contraceptive method at last sex (1.5). Effective and accessible pregnancy prevention and family planning programs for homeless youth are needed. Youths' ambivalence toward pregnancy and feelings of relationship commitment warrant attention as possible areas for programs to address. Copyright © 2012 by the Guttmacher Institute.

  1. Attitudes towards smoking and tobacco control among pre-clinical medical students in Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Tee, G H; Hairi, N N; Hairi, F

    2012-08-01

    Physicians should play a leading role in combatting smoking; information on attitudes of future physicians towards tobacco control measures in a middle-income developing country is limited. Of 310 future physicians surveyed in a medical school in Malaysia, 50% disagreed that it was a doctor's duty to advise smokers to stop smoking; 76.8% agreed that physicians should not smoke before advising others not to smoke; and 75% agreed to the ideas of restricting the sale of cigarettes to minors, making all public places smoke-free and banning advertising of tobacco-related merchandise. Future physicians had positive attitudes towards tobacco regulations but had not grasped their responsibilities in tobacco control measures.

  2. Thrust vectoring of broad ion beams for spacecraft attitude control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Collett, C. R.; King, H. J.

    1973-01-01

    Thrust vectoring is shown to increase the attractiveness of ion thrusters for satellite control applications. Incorporating beam deflection into ion thrusters makes it possible to achieve attitude control without adding any thrusters. Two beam vectoring systems are described that can provide up to 10-deg beam deflection in any azimuth. Both systems have been subjected to extended life tests on a 5-cm thruster which resulted in projected life times of from 7500 to 20,000 hours.

  3. Modal Correction Method For Dynamically Induced Errors In Wind-Tunnel Model Attitude Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Buehrle, R. D.; Young, C. P., Jr.

    1995-01-01

    This paper describes a method for correcting the dynamically induced bias errors in wind tunnel model attitude measurements using measured modal properties of the model system. At NASA Langley Research Center, the predominant instrumentation used to measure model attitude is a servo-accelerometer device that senses the model attitude with respect to the local vertical. Under smooth wind tunnel operating conditions, this inertial device can measure the model attitude with an accuracy of 0.01 degree. During wind tunnel tests when the model is responding at high dynamic amplitudes, the inertial device also senses the centrifugal acceleration associated with model vibration. This centrifugal acceleration results in a bias error in the model attitude measurement. A study of the response of a cantilevered model system to a simulated dynamic environment shows significant bias error in the model attitude measurement can occur and is vibration mode and amplitude dependent. For each vibration mode contributing to the bias error, the error is estimated from the measured modal properties and tangential accelerations at the model attitude device. Linear superposition is used to combine the bias estimates for individual modes to determine the overall bias error as a function of time. The modal correction model predicts the bias error to a high degree of accuracy for the vibration modes characterized in the simulated dynamic environment.

  4. A tool to assess knowledge, attitude and behavior of Indonesian health care workers regarding infection control.

    PubMed

    Duerink, D O; Hadi, U; Lestari, E S; Roeshadi, Djoko; Wahyono, Hendro; Nagelkerke, N J D; Van der Meulen, R G; Van den Broek, P J

    2013-07-01

    to investigate knowledge, attitude and behaviour toward infection control in two teaching hospitals on the island of Java by means of a questionnaire and to evaluate the use of the questionnaire as a tool. we investigated knowledge, attitude and behaviour toward infection control in two teaching hospitals on the island of Java by means of a questionnaire to identify problem areas, barriers and facilitators. The target was to include at least 50% of all health care workers (physicians, nurses, assistant nurses and infection control nurses) in each hospital, department and profession. Differences between demographic variables and scores for individual questions and groups of questions were compared using the chi-square statistic and analysis of variance and Spearman's rho was used to test for correlations between knowledge, attitude, self-reported behaviour and perceived obstacles. more than half of the health care workers of the participating departments completed the questionnaire. Of the 1036 respondents (44% nurses, 37% physicians and 19% assistant nurses), 34% were vaccinated against hepatitis B, 77% had experienced needle stick accidents and 93% had been instructed about infection control. The mean of the correct answers to the knowledge questions was 44%; of the answers to the attitude questions 67% were in agreement with the correct attitude; obstacles to compliance with infection control guidelines were perceived in 30% of the questions and the mean self-reported compliance was 63%. Safe handling of sharps, hand hygiene and the use of personal protective equipment were identified as the most important aspects for interventions. Significant positive correlations were found between knowledge, attitude, self-reported behaviour and perceived obstacles. the questionnaire in conjunction with site visits and interviews was a valuable strategy to identify trouble spots in the hospitals and to determine barriers to facilitators of change that should be taken into

  5. Fault tolerant programmable digital attitude control electronics study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sorensen, A. A.

    1974-01-01

    The attitude control electronics mechanization study to develop a fault tolerant autonomous concept for a three axis system is reported. Programmable digital electronics are compared to general purpose digital computers. The requirements, constraints, and tradeoffs are discussed. It is concluded that: (1) general fault tolerance can be achieved relatively economically, (2) recovery times of less than one second can be obtained, (3) the number of faulty behavior patterns must be limited, and (4) adjoined processes are the best indicators of faulty operation.

  6. Attitude and vibration control of a satellite containing flexible solar arrays by using reaction wheels, and piezoelectric transducers as sensors and actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    da Fonseca, Ijar M.; Rade, Domingos A.; Goes, Luiz C. S.; de Paula Sales, Thiago

    2017-10-01

    The primary purpose of this paper is to provide insight into control-structure interaction for satellites comprising flexible appendages and internal moving components. The physical model considered herein aiming to attend such purpose is a rigid-flexible satellite consisting of a rigid platform containing two rotating flexible solar panels. The solar panels rotation is assumed to be in a sun-synchronous configuration mode. The panels contain surface-bonded piezoelectric patches that can be used either as sensors for the elastic displacements or as actuators to counteract the vibration motion. It is assumed that in the normal mode operation the satellite platform points towards the Earth while the solar arrays rotate so as to follow the Sun. The vehicle moves in a low Earth polar orbit. The technique used to obtain the mathematical model combines the Lagrangian formulation with the Finite Elements Method used to describe the dynamics of the solar panel. The gravity-gradient torque as well as the torque due to the interaction of the Earth magnetic field and the satellite internal residual magnetic moment is included as environmental perturbations. The actuators are three reaction wheels for attitude control and piezoelectric actuators to control the flexible motion of the solar arrays. Computer simulations are performed using the MATLAB® software package. The following on-orbit satellite operating configurations are object of analysis: i) Satellite pointing towards the Earth (Earth acquisition maneuver) by considering the initial conditions in the elastic displacement equal to zero, aiming the assessment of the flexible modes excitation by the referred maneuver; ii) the satellite pointing towards the Earth with the assumption of an initial condition different from zero for the flexible motion such that the attitude alterations are checked against the elastic motion disturbance; and iii) attitude acquisition accomplished by taking into account initial conditions

  7. Improvement of helicopter attitude stability by active control of the conventional swash plate

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ham, Norman D.

    1993-01-01

    The Final Report on improvement of helicopter attitude stability by active control of the conventional swash plate covering the period from Nov. 1986 to Dec. 1993 is presented. A paper on the history, principles, and applications of helicopter individual-blade-control is included.

  8. A comparison between HMLP and HRBF for attitude control.

    PubMed

    Fortuna, L; Muscato, G; Xibilia, M G

    2001-01-01

    In this paper the problem of controlling the attitude of a rigid body, such as a Spacecraft, in three-dimensional space is approached by introducing two new control strategies developed in hypercomplex algebra. The proposed approaches are based on two parallel controllers, both derived in quaternion algebra. The first is a feedback controller of the proportional derivative (PD) type, while the second is a feedforward controller, which is implemented either by means of a hypercomplex multilayer perceptron (HMLP) neural network or by means of a hypercomplex radial basis function (HRBF) neural network. Several simulations show the performance of the two approaches. The results are also compared with a classical PD controller and with an adaptive controller, showing the improvements obtained by using neural networks, especially when an external disturbance acts on the rigid body. In particular the HMLP network gave better results when considering trajectories not presented during the learning phase.

  9. Design and Stability of an On-Orbit Attitude Control System Using Reaction Control Thrusters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hall, Robert A.; Hough, Steven; Orphee, Carolina; Clements, Keith

    2016-01-01

    Basic principles for the design and stability of a spacecraft on-orbit attitude control system employing on-off Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters are presented. Both vehicle dynamics and the control system actuators are inherently nonlinear, hence traditional linear control system design approaches are not directly applicable. This paper has two main aspects: It summarizes key RCS design principles from earlier NASA vehicles, notably the Space Shuttle and Space Station programs, and introduces advances in the linear modelling and analyses of a phase plane control system derived in the initial development of the NASA's next upper stage vehicle, the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). Topics include thruster hardware specifications, phase plane design and stability, jet selection approaches, filter design metrics, and RCS rotational maneuver logic.

  10. Attitude Control Performance of IRVE-3

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dillman, Robert A.; Gsell, Valerie T.; Bowden, Ernest L.

    2013-01-01

    The Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment 3 (IRVE-3) launched July 23, 2012, from NASA Wallops Flight Facility and successfully performed its mission, demonstrating both the survivability of a hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator in the reentry heating environment and the effect of an offset center of gravity on the aeroshell's flight L/D. The reentry vehicle separated from the launch vehicle, released and inflated its aeroshell, reoriented for atmospheric entry, and mechanically shifted its center of gravity before reaching atmospheric interface. Performance data from the entire mission was telemetered to the ground for analysis. This paper discusses the IRVE-3 mission scenario, reentry vehicle design, and as-flown performance of the attitude control system in the different phases of the mission.

  11. Backup Attitude Control Algorithms for the MAP Spacecraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    ODonnell, James R., Jr.; Andrews, Stephen F.; Ericsson-Jackson, Aprille J.; Flatley, Thomas W.; Ward, David K.; Bay, P. Michael

    1999-01-01

    The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) is a follow-on to the Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR) instrument on the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft. The MAP spacecraft will perform its mission, studying the early origins of the universe, in a Lissajous orbit around the Earth-Sun L(sub 2) Lagrange point. Due to limited mass, power, and financial resources, a traditional reliability concept involving fully redundant components was not feasible. This paper will discuss the redundancy philosophy used on MAP, describe the hardware redundancy selected (and why), and present backup modes and algorithms that were designed in lieu of additional attitude control hardware redundancy to improve the odds of mission success. Three of these modes have been implemented in the spacecraft flight software. The first onboard mode allows the MAP Kalman filter to be used with digital sun sensor (DSS) derived rates, in case of the failure of one of MAP's two two-axis inertial reference units. Similarly, the second onboard mode allows a star tracker only mode, using attitude and derived rate from one or both of MAP's star trackers for onboard attitude determination and control. The last backup mode onboard allows a sun-line angle offset to be commanded that will allow solar radiation pressure to be used for momentum management and orbit stationkeeping. In addition to the backup modes implemented on the spacecraft, two backup algorithms have been developed in the event of less likely contingencies. One of these is an algorithm for implementing an alternative scan pattern to MAP's nominal dual-spin science mode using only one or two reaction wheels and thrusters. Finally, an algorithm has been developed that uses thruster one shots while in science mode for momentum management. This algorithm has been developed in case system momentum builds up faster than anticipated, to allow adequate momentum management while minimizing interruptions to science. In this paper, each mode and

  12. Sustainer electric propulsion system application for spacecraft attitude control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Obukhov, V. A.; Pokryshkin, A. I.; Popov, G. A.; Yashina, N. V.

    2010-07-01

    Application of electric propulsion system (EPS) requires spacecraft (SC) equipping with large solar panels (SP) for the power supply to electric propulsions. This makes the problem of EPS-equipped SC control at the insertion stage more difficult to solve than in the case of SC equipped with chemical engines, because in addition to the SC attitude control associated with the mission there appears necessity in keeping SP orientation to Sun that is necessary for generation of electric power sufficient for the operation of service systems, purpose-oriented equipment, and EPS. The theoretical study of the control problem is the most interesting for a non-coplanar transfer from high elliptic orbit (HEO) to geostationary orbit (GSO).

  13. Understanding Factors that Shape Gender Attitudes in Early Adolescence Globally: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review

    PubMed Central

    Gibbs, Susannah; Blum, Robert Wm; Moreau, Caroline; Chandra-Mouli, Venkatraman; Herbert, Ann; Amin, Avni

    2016-01-01

    Background Early adolescence (ages 10–14) is a period of increased expectations for boys and girls to adhere to socially constructed and often stereotypical norms that perpetuate gender inequalities. The endorsement of such gender norms is closely linked to poor adolescent sexual and reproductive and other health-related outcomes yet little is known about the factors that influence young adolescents’ personal gender attitudes. Objectives To explore factors that shape gender attitudes in early adolescence across different cultural settings globally. Methods A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted of the peer-reviewed literature in 12 databases from 1984–2014. Four reviewers screened the titles and abstracts of articles and reviewed full text articles in duplicate. Data extraction and quality assessments were conducted using standardized templates by study design. Thematic analysis was used to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data organized by the social-ecological framework (individual, interpersonal and community/societal-level factors influencing gender attitudes). Results Eighty-two studies (46 quantitative, 31 qualitative, 5 mixed-methods) spanning 29 countries were included. Ninety percent of studies were from North America or Western Europe. The review findings indicate that young adolescents, across cultural settings, commonly express stereotypical or inequitable gender attitudes, and such attitudes appear to vary by individual sociodemographic characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity and immigration, social class, and age). Findings highlight that interpersonal influences (family and peers) are central influences on young adolescents’ construction of gender attitudes, and these gender socialization processes differ for boys and girls. The role of community factors (e.g. media) is less clear though there is some evidence that schools may reinforce stereotypical gender attitudes among young adolescents. Conclusions The findings from this

  14. Pitch attitude, flight path, and airspeed control during approach and landing of a powered lift STOL aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Franklin, J. A.; Innis, R. C.

    1972-01-01

    Analytical investigations and piloted moving base simulator evaluations were conducted for manual control of pitch attitude, flight path, and airspeed for the approach and landing of a powered lift jet STOL aircraft. Flight path and speed response characteristics were described analytically and were evaluated for the simulation experiments which were carried out on a large motion simulator. The response characteristics were selected and evaluated for a specified path and speed control technique. These charcteristics were: (1) the initial pitch response and steady pitch rate sensitivity for control of attitude with a pitch rate command/ attitude hold system, (2) the initial flight path response, flight path overshoot, and flight path-airspeed coupling in response to a change in thrust, and (3) the sensitivity of airspeed to pitch attitude changes. Results are presented in the form of pilot opinion ratings and commentary, substantiated where appropriate by response time histories and aircraft states at the point of touchdown.

  15. Pushing the Limits of Cubesat Attitude Control: A Ground Demonstration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sanders, Devon S.; Heater, Daniel L.; Peeples, Steven R.; Sules. James K.; Huang, Po-Hao Adam

    2013-01-01

    A cubesat attitude control system (ACS) was designed at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to provide sub-degree pointing capabilities using low cost, COTS attitude sensors, COTS miniature reaction wheels, and a developmental micro-propulsion system. The ACS sensors and actuators were integrated onto a 3D-printed plastic 3U cubesat breadboard (10 cm x 10 cm x 30 cm) with a custom designed instrument board and typical cubesat COTS hardware for the electrical, power, and data handling and processing systems. In addition to the cubesat development, a low-cost air bearing was designed and 3D printed in order to float the cubesat in the test environment. Systems integration and verification were performed at the MSFC Small Projects Rapid Integration & Test Environment laboratory. Using a combination of both the miniature reaction wheels and the micro-propulsion system, the open and closed loop control capabilities of the ACS were tested in the Flight Robotics Laboratory. The testing demonstrated the desired sub-degree pointing capability of the ACS and also revealed the challenges of creating a relevant environment for development testin

  16. Health care workers' knowledge, attitudes and practices on tuberculosis infection control, Nepal.

    PubMed

    Shrestha, Anita; Bhattarai, Dipesh; Thapa, Barsha; Basel, Prem; Wagle, Rajendra Raj

    2017-11-17

    Infection control remains a key challenge for Tuberculosis (TB) control program with an increased risk of TB transmission among health care workers (HCWs), especially in settings with inadequate TB infection control measures. Poor knowledge among HCWs and inadequate infection control practices may lead to the increased risk of nosocomial TB transmission. An institution-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in 28 health facilities providing TB services in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. A total of 190 HCWs were assessed for the knowledge, attitudes and practices on TB infection control using a structured questionnaire. The level of knowledge on TB infection control among almost half (45.8%) of the HCWs was poor, and was much poorer among administration and lower level staff. The knowledge level was significantly associated with educational status, and TB training and/or orientation received. The majority (73.2%) of HCWs had positive attitude towards TB infection control. Sixty-five percent of HCWs were found to be concerned about being infected with TB. Use of respirators among the HCWs was limited and triage of TB suspects was also lacking. Overall knowledge and practices of HCWs on TB infection control were not satisfactory. Effective infection control measures including regular skill-based training and/or orientation for all categories of HCWs can improve infection control practices in health facilities.

  17. Application of Bounded Linear Stability Analysis Method for Metrics-Driven Adaptive Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bakhtiari-Nejad, Maryam; Nguyen, Nhan T.; Krishnakumar, Kalmanje

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents the application of Bounded Linear Stability Analysis (BLSA) method for metrics-driven adaptive control. The bounded linear stability analysis method is used for analyzing stability of adaptive control models, without linearizing the adaptive laws. Metrics-driven adaptive control introduces a notion that adaptation should be driven by some stability metrics to achieve robustness. By the application of bounded linear stability analysis method the adaptive gain is adjusted during the adaptation in order to meet certain phase margin requirements. Analysis of metrics-driven adaptive control is evaluated for a second order system that represents a pitch attitude control of a generic transport aircraft. The analysis shows that the system with the metrics-conforming variable adaptive gain becomes more robust to unmodeled dynamics or time delay. The effect of analysis time-window for BLSA is also evaluated in order to meet the stability margin criteria.

  18. Optimal spacecraft attitude control using collocation and nonlinear programming

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herman, A. L.; Conway, B. A.

    1992-10-01

    Direct collocation with nonlinear programming (DCNLP) is employed to find the optimal open-loop control histories for detumbling a disabled satellite. The controls are torques and forces applied to the docking arm and joint and torques applied about the body axes of the OMV. Solutions are obtained for cases in which various constraints are placed on the controls and in which the number of controls is reduced or increased from that considered in Conway and Widhalm (1986). DCLNP works well when applied to the optimal control problem of satellite attitude control. The formulation is straightforward and produces good results in a relatively small amount of time on a Cray X/MP with no a priori information about the optimal solution. The addition of joint acceleration to the controls significantly reduces the control magnitudes and optimal cost. In all cases, the torques and acclerations are modest and the optimal cost is very modest.

  19. Active control strategy for the running attitude of high-speed train under strong crosswind condition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Decang; Meng, Jianjun; Bai, Huan; Xu, Ruxun

    2018-07-01

    This paper focuses on the safety of high-speed trains under strong crosswind conditions. A new active control strategy is proposed based on the adaptive predictive control theory. The new control strategy aims at adjusting the attitudes of a train by controlling the new-type intelligent giant magnetostrictive actuator (GMA). It combined adaptive control with dynamic matrix control; parameters of predictive controller was real-time adjusted by online distinguishing to enhance the robustness of the control algorithm. On this basis, a correction control algorithm is also designed to regulate the parameters of predictive controller based on the step response of a controlled objective. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed control strategy can adjust the running attitudes of high-speed trains under strong crosswind conditions; they also indicate that the new active control strategy is effective and applicable in improving the safety performance of a train based on a host-target computer technology provided by Matlab/Simulink.

  20. Automating the Transition Between Sensorless Motor Control Methods for the NASA Glenn Research Center Flywheel Energy Storage System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fehrmann, Elizabeth A.; Kenny, Barbara H.

    2004-01-01

    The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has been working to advance the technology necessary for a flywheel energy storage system for the past several years. Flywheels offer high efficiency, durability, and near-complete discharge capabilities not produced by typical chemical batteries. These characteristics show flywheels to be an attractive alternative to the more typical energy storage solutions. Flywheels also offer the possibility of combining what are now two separate systems in space applications into one: energy storage, which is currently provided by batteries, and attitude control, which is currently provided by control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) or reaction wheels. To date, NASA Glenn research effort has produced the control algorithms necessary to demonstrate flywheel operation up to a rated speed of 60,000 RPM and the combined operation of two flywheel machines to simultaneously provide energy storage and single axis attitude control. Two position-sensorless algorithms are used to control the motor/generator, one for low (0 to 1200 RPM) speeds and one for high speeds. The algorithm allows the transition from the low speed method to the high speed method, but the transition from the high to low speed method was not originally included. This leads to a limitation in the existing motor/generator control code that does not allow the flywheels to be commanded to zero speed (and back in the negative speed direction) after the initial startup. In a multi-flywheel system providing both energy storage and attitude control to a spacecraft, speed reversal may be necessary.

  1. Simulation and analyses of the aeroassist flight experiment attitude update method

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carpenter, J. R.

    1991-01-01

    A method which will be used to update the alignment of the Aeroassist Flight Experiment's Inertial Measuring Unit is simulated and analyzed. This method, the Star Line Maneuver, uses measurements from the Space Shuttle Orbiter star trackers along with an extended Kalman filter to estimate a correction to the attitude quaternion maintained by an Inertial Measuring Unit in the Orbiter's payload bay. This quaternion is corrupted by on-orbit bending of the Orbiter payload bay with respect to the Orbiter navigation base, which is incorporated into the payload quaternion when it is initialized via a direct transfer of the Orbiter attitude state. The method of updating this quaternion is examined through verification of baseline cases and Monte Carlo analysis using a simplified simulation, The simulation uses nominal state dynamics and measurement models from the Kalman filter as its real world models, and is programmed on Microvax minicomputer using Matlab, and interactive matrix analysis tool. Results are presented which confirm and augment previous performance studies, thereby enhancing confidence in the Star Line Maneuver design methodology.

  2. [Knowledge, attitude and practice related to schistosomiasis control among rural residents in Wanjiang River region after a flood].

    PubMed

    Huan, Liu; Ai-Xia, Wang; Yuan-Zhen, Li; Ming-Ming, Zhou

    2017-02-22

    To investigate the status of knowledge, attitude and behavior of schistosomiasis control of rural residents in Wanjiang River region after a flood, so as to provide the reference for targeted health education. The multistage sampling was applied to select the respondents in rural residents in Wanjiang River region, and the self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate the current situation of knowledge, attitude and behavior of schistosomiasis prevention and control of the rural residents. The total awareness rate of knowledge about the prevention and control of schistosomiasis was 47.92%. The age, education, family income, relatives and friends with medical background, and health education significantly influenced the awareness rate ( χ 2 = 12.76, 89.19, 18.19, 50.83 and 92.60 respectively, all P < 0.05). The accuracy rates of attitude and behavior in schistosomiasis control were 62.89% and 52.37% respectively. The awareness rate of knowledge about the prevention and control of schistosomiasis, and the accuracy rates of attitude and behavior in schistosomiasis control of the rural residents in Wanjiang River region are all inefficient, and therefore, the targeted health education should be strengthened to decrease the risk of schistosomiasis transmission.

  3. A robust momentum management and attitude control system for the space station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Speyer, J. L.; Rhee, Ihnseok

    1991-01-01

    A game theoretic controller is synthesized for momentum management and attitude control of the Space Station in the presence of uncertainties in the moments of inertia. Full state information is assumed since attitude rates are assumed to be very assurately measured. By an input-output decomposition of the uncertainty in the system matrices, the parameter uncertainties in the dynamic system are represented as an unknown gain associated with an internal feedback loop (IFL). The input and output matrices associated with the IFL form directions through which the uncertain parameters affect system response. If the quadratic form of the IFL output augments the cost criterion, then enhanced parameter robustness is anticipated. By considering the input and the input disturbance from the IFL as two noncooperative players, a linear-quadratic differential game is constructed. The solution in the form of a linear controller is used for synthesis. Inclusion of the external disturbance torques results in a dynamic feedback controller which consists of conventional PID (proportional integral derivative) control and cyclic disturbance rejection filters. It is shown that the game theoretic design allows large variations in the inertias in directions of importance.

  4. Hardware and software implementation of a low power attitude control and determination system for cubesats

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frey, Jesse

    In recent years there has been a growing interest in smaller satellites. Smaller satellites are cheaper to build and launch than larger satellites. One form factor, the CubeSat, is especially popular with universities and is a 10~cm cube. Being smaller means that the mass and power budgets are tighter and as such new ways must be developed to cope with these constraints. Traditional attitude control systems often use reaction wheels with gas thrusters which present challenges on a CubeSat. Many CubeSats use magnetic attitude control which uses the Earth's magnetic field to torque the satellite into the proper orientation. Magnetic attitude control systems fall into two main categories: active and passive. Active control is often achieved by running current through a coil to produce a dipole moment, while passive control uses the dipole moment from permanent magnets that consume no power. This thesis describes a system that uses twelve hard magnetic torquers along with a magnetometer. The torquers only consume current when their dipole moment is flipped, thereby significantly reducing power requirements compared with traditional active control. The main focus of this thesis is on the design, testing and fabrication of CubeSat hardware and software in preparation for launch.

  5. On the attitude control and flight result of winged reentry test vehicle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kawaguchi, Jun'ichiro; Inatani, Yoshifumi; Yonemoto, Koichi; Hinada, Motoki

    The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) has been studying the unmanned winged space vehicle HIMES (HIghly Maneuverable Engineering Space vehicle) for a decade and successfully carried out sub-sonic Gliding Flight Experiments several years ago, which was followed by Reentry Flight Experiment, utilizing so called 'Rockoon' method, in September of 1988, which failed due to the unexpected burst of the balloon. ISAS conducted it again making use of refined 'Rockoon' scheme in February of 1992. In spite of its small bulk property, it was equipped with not only a reaction control system (RCS) but a surface control system (SCS) capability as well, which enabled it to make a successful flight under both vacuum and atmospheric circumstances. The highest Mach number exceeded 3.5 and the highest altitude was a bit lower to 67 km. Switching from reaction control to surface control was one of the essential engineering interests in the flight like this. Supersonic autonomous flight control with high angle of attack was also what should be established through this, since in general it inevitably carries inherent lateral instability. A flight test this time revealed those features and characteristics quite well. This paper deals with the attitude control strategy with three-axis Motion Simulation Test as well as the flight results.

  6. Attitudes Toward Obese Persons and Weight Locus of Control in Chinese Nurses: A Cross-sectional Survey.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yan; Ding, Ye; Song, Daoping; Zhu, Daqiao; Wang, Jianrong

    2016-01-01

    Obese individuals frequently experience weight-related bias or discrimination-even in healthcare settings. Although obesity bias has been associated with several demographic factors, little is known about the association of weight locus of control with bias against overweight persons or about weight bias among Chinese health professionals. The aim of the study was to examine attitudes toward obese patients in a sample of Chinese registered nurses (RNs) and the relationship between weight bias and nurses' weight locus of control. RNs working in nine community health service centers across Shanghai, China, answered three self-report questionnaires: The Attitudes Toward Obese Persons Scale (ATOP), the External Weight Locus of Control Subscale (eWLOC) from the Dieting Belief Scale, and a sociodemographic profile. Hierarchical, stepwise, multiple regression was used to predict ATOP scores. From among 385 invited, a total of 297 RNs took part in the study (77.1% response rate). Participants scored an average of 71.04 on the ATOP, indicating slightly positive attitudes toward obese persons, and 30.08 on the eWLOC, indicating a belief in the uncontrollability of body weight. Using hierarchical, stepwise, multiple regression, two predictors of ATOP scores were statistically significant (eWLOC scores and status as a specialist rather than generalist nurse), but explained variance was low. Chinese RNs seemed to have relatively neutral or even slightly positive attitudes toward obese persons. Those nurses who believed that obesity was beyond the individual's control or worked in specialties were more likely to have positive attitudes toward obese people. Improved understanding of the comprehensive etiology of obesity is needed.

  7. Improving Primary Teachers' Attitudes toward Science by Attitude-Focused Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra I.; van der Molen, Juliette H. Walma

    2015-01-01

    This article provides a description of a novel, attitude-focused, professional development intervention, and presents the results of an experimental pretest-posttest control group study investigating the effects of this intervention on primary teachers' personal attitudes toward science, attitudes toward teaching science, and their science…

  8. Effect of an institutional development plan for user participation on professionals' knowledge, practice, and attitudes. A controlled study

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Governments in several countries attempt to strengthen user participation through instructing health care organisations to plan and implement activities such as user representation in administrational boards, improved information to users, and more individual user participation in clinical work. The professionals are central in implementing initiatives to enhance user participation in organisations, but no controlled studies have been conducted on the effect on professionals from implementing institutional development plans. The objective was to investigate whether implementing a development plan intending to enhance user participation in a mental health hospital had any effect on the professionals' knowledge, practice, or attitudes towards user participation. Methods This was a non-randomized controlled study including professionals from three mental health hospitals in Central Norway. A development plan intended to enhance user participation was implemented in one of the hospitals as a part of a larger re-organizational process. The plan included i.e. establishing a patient education centre and a user office, purchasing of user expertise, appointing contact professionals for next of kin, and improving of the centre's information and the professional culture. The professionals at the intervention hospital thus constituted the intervention group, while the professionals at two other hospitals participated as control group. All professionals were invited to answer the Consumer Participation Questionnaire (CPQ) and additional questions, focusing on knowledge, practice, and attitudes towards user participation, two times with a 16 months interval. Results A total of 438 professionals participated (55% response rate). Comparing the changes in the intervention group with the changes in the control group revealed no statistically significant differences at a 0.05 level. The implementation of the development plan thus had no measurable effect on the

  9. Development of helicopter attitude axes controlled hover flight without pilot assistance and vehicle crashes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simon, Miguel

    testing any one or combination of the following attitude axes controlled flight: (1) pitch, (2) roll and (3) yaw. The subsequent development of a novel method to decouple, stabilize and teach the helicopter hover flight is a primary contribution of this thesis. The novel method included the development of a non-linear modeling technique for linearizing the RPM state equation dynamics so that a simple but accurate transfer function is derivable between the "available torque of the engine" and RPM. Specifically, the main rotor and tail rotor torques are modeled accurately with a bias term plus a nonlinear term involving the product of RPM squared times the main rotor blade pitch angle raised to the three-halves power. Application of this non-linear modeling technique resulted in a simple, representative and accurate transfer function model of the open-loop plant for the entire helicopter system so that all the feedback control laws for autonomous flight purposes could be derived easily using classical control theory. This is one of the contributions of this dissertation work. After discussing the integration of hardware and software elements of our helicopter research test bed system, we perform a number of experiments and tests using the two specially built test stands. Feedback gains are derived for controlling the following: (1) engine throttle to maintain prescribed main rotor angular speed, (2) main rotor collective pitch to maintain constant elevation, (3) longitudinal cyclic pitch to maintain prescribed pitch angle, (4) lateral cyclic pitch to maintain prescribed roll angle, and (5) yaw axis to maintain prescribed compass direction. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

  10. Health literacy and parent attitudes about weight control for children.

    PubMed

    Liechty, Janet M; Saltzman, Jaclyn A; Musaad, Salma M

    2015-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine associations between parental health literacy and parent attitudes about weight control strategies for young children. Parental low health literacy has been associated with poor child health outcomes, yet little is known about its relationship to child weight control and weight-related health information-seeking preferences. Data were drawn from the STRONG Kids Study, a Midwest panel survey among parents of preschool aged children (n = 497). Parents endorsed an average of 4.3 (SD =2.8) weight loss strategies, 53% endorsed all three recommended weight loss strategies for children, and fewer than 1% of parents endorsed any unsafe strategies. Parents were most likely to seek child weight loss information from healthcare professionals but those with low (vs. adequate) health literacy were significantly less likely to use the Internet or books and more likely to use minister/clergy as sources. Poisson and logistic regressions showed that higher health literacy was associated with endorsement of more strategies overall, more recommended strategies, and greater odds of endorsing each specific recommended strategy for child weight control, after adjusting for parent age, education, race/ethnicity, income, marital status, weight concern, and child BMI percentile. Findings suggest that health literacy impacts parental views about child weight loss strategies and health information-seeking preferences. Pediatric weight loss advice to parents should include assessment of parent attitudes and prior knowledge about child weight control and facilitate parent access to reliable sources of evidence-informed child weight control information. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Case-based e-learning to improve the attitude of medical students towards occupational health, a randomised controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Smits, P B A; de Graaf, L; Radon, K; de Boer, A G; Bos, N R; van Dijk, F J H; Verbeek, J H A M

    2012-04-01

    Undergraduate medical teaching in occupational health (OH) is a challenge in universities around the world. Case-based e-learning with an attractive clinical context could improve the attitude of medical students towards OH. The study question is whether case-based e-learning for medical students is more effective in improving knowledge, satisfaction and a positive attitude towards OH than non-case-based textbook learning. Participants, 141 second year medical students, were randomised to either case-based e-learning or text-based learning. Outcome measures were knowledge, satisfaction and attitude towards OH, measured at baseline, directly after the intervention, after 1 week and at 3-month follow-up. Of the 141 participants, 130 (92%) completed the questionnaires at short-term follow-up and 41 (29%) at 3-month follow-up. At short-term follow-up, intervention and control groups did not show a significant difference in knowledge nor satisfaction but attitude towards OH was significantly more negative in the intervention group (F=4.041, p=0.047). At 3-month follow-up, there were no significant differences between intervention and control groups for knowledge, satisfaction and attitude. We found a significant decrease in favourable attitude during the internship in the experimental group compared with the control group. There were no significant differences in knowledge or satisfaction between case-based e-learning and text-based learning. The attitude towards OH should be further investigated as an outcome of educational programmes.

  12. Impact and change of attitudes toward Internet interventions within a randomized controlled trial on individuals with depression symptoms.

    PubMed

    Schröder, Johanna; Berger, Thomas; Meyer, Björn; Lutz, Wolfgang; Späth, Christina; Michel, Pia; Rose, Matthias; Hautzinger, Martin; Hohagen, Fritz; Klein, Jan Philipp; Moritz, Steffen

    2018-05-01

    Most individuals with depression do not receive adequate treatment. Internet interventions may help to bridge this gap. Research on attitudes toward Internet interventions might facilitate the dissemination of such interventions by identifying factors that help or hinder uptake and implementation, and by clarifying who is likely to benefit. This study examined whether attitudes toward Internet interventions moderate the effects of a depression-focused Internet intervention, and how attitudes change over the course of treatment among those who do or do not benefit. We recruited 1,004 adults with mild-to-moderate depression symptoms and investigated how attitudes toward Internet interventions are associated with the efficacy of the program deprexis, and how attitudes in the intervention group change from pre to post over a 3 months intervention period, compared to a control group (care as usual). This study consists of a subgroup analysis of the randomized controlled EVIDENT trial. Positive initial attitudes toward Internet interventions were associated with greater efficacy (η 2 p  = .014) independent of usage time, whereas a negative attitude (perceived lack of personal contact) was associated with reduced efficacy (η 2 p  = .012). Users' attitudes changed during the trial, and both the magnitude and direction of attitude change were associated with the efficacy of the program over time (η 2 p  = .030). Internet interventions may be the most beneficial for individuals with positive attitudes toward them. Informing potential users about evidence-based Internet interventions might instill positive attitudes and thereby optimize the benefits such interventions can provide. Assessing attitudes prior to treatment might help identify suitable users. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Predicting healthcare employees' participation in an office redesign program: attitudes, norms and behavioral control.

    PubMed

    Mohr, David C; VanDeusen Lukas, Carol; Meterko, Mark

    2008-11-02

    The study examined the extent to which components based on a modified version of the theory of planned behavior explained employee participation in a new clinical office program designed to reduce patient waiting times in primary care clinics. We regressed extent of employee participation on attitudes about the program, group norms, and perceived behavioral control along with individual and clinic characteristics using a hierarchical linear mixed model. Perceived group norms were one of the best predictors of employee participation. Attitudes about the program were also significant, but to a lesser degree. Behavioral control, however, was not a significant predictor. Respondents with at least one year of clinic tenure, or who were team leaders, first line supervisor, or managers had greater participation rates. Analysis at the clinic level indicated clinics with scores in the highest quartile clinic scores on group norms, attitudes, and behavioral control scores were significantly higher on levels of overall participation than clinics in the lowest quartile. Findings suggest that establishing strong norms and values may influence employee participation in a change program in a group setting. Supervisory level was also significant with greater responsibility being associated with greater participation.

  14. Space station dynamics, attitude control and momentum management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sunkel, John W.; Singh, Ramen P.; Vengopal, Ravi

    1989-01-01

    The Space Station Attitude Control System software test-bed provides a rigorous environment for the design, development and functional verification of GN and C algorithms and software. The approach taken for the simulation of the vehicle dynamics and environmental models using a computationally efficient algorithm is discussed. The simulation includes capabilities for docking/berthing dynamics, prescribed motion dynamics associated with the Mobile Remote Manipulator System (MRMS) and microgravity disturbances. The vehicle dynamics module interfaces with the test-bed through the central Communicator facility which is in turn driven by the Station Control Simulator (SCS) Executive. The Communicator addresses issues such as the interface between the discrete flight software and the continuous vehicle dynamics, and multi-programming aspects such as the complex flow of control in real-time programs. Combined with the flight software and redundancy management modules, the facility provides a flexible, user-oriented simulation platform.

  15. Novel approach to improve the attitude update rate of a star tracker.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Shuo; Xing, Fei; Sun, Ting; You, Zheng; Wei, Minsong

    2018-03-05

    The star tracker is widely used in attitude control systems of spacecraft for attitude measurement. The attitude update rate of a star tracker is important to guarantee the attitude control performance. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to improve the attitude update rate of a star tracker. The electronic Rolling Shutter (RS) imaging mode of the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor in the star tracker is applied to acquire star images in which the star spots are exposed with row-to-row time offsets, thereby reflecting the rotation of star tracker at different times. The attitude estimation method with a single star spot is developed to realize the multiple attitude updates by a star image, so as to reach a high update rate. The simulation and experiment are performed to verify the proposed approaches. The test results demonstrate that the proposed approach is effective and the attitude update rate of a star tracker is increased significantly.

  16. The effects of educating mothers and girls on the girls' attitudes toward puberty health: a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Afsari, Atousa; Mirghafourvand, Mojgan; Valizadeh, Sousan; Abbasnezhadeh, Massomeh; Galshi, Mina; Fatahi, Samira

    2017-04-01

    The attitude of a girl toward her menstruation and puberty has a considerable impact on her role during motherhood, social adjustment, and future marital life. This study was conducted in 2014 with the aim of comparing the effects of educating mothers and girls on the attitudes of adolescent girls of Tabriz City, Iran, towards puberty health. This randomized control clinical trial was conducted on 364 adolescent girls who experienced menstruation. Twelve schools were selected randomly among 107 secondary schools for girls. One-third of the students of each school were selected randomly using a table of random numbers and socio-demographic and each participant was asked to answer the attitude questionnaires. The schools were randomly allocated to the groups of mother's education, girl's education, and no-intervention. The attitude questionnaire was filled out by the participants again 2 months after intervention. The general linear model, in which the baseline values were controlled, was employed to compare the scores of the three groups after the intervention. No significant differences were observed among the three groups in terms of the attitude score before intervention (p>0.05). Attitude score improvement after intervention in the girl's education group was significantly higher than the one of both mother's education (adjusted mean difference [AMD]: 1.8; [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.4-1.3]) and no-intervention groups (AMD: 1.3; [95% CI: 0.0-2.6]) by controlling the attitude score before intervention. Based on the findings, it is more effective to educate girls directly about puberty health to improve adolescent girls' attitudes than educating mothers and asking them to transfer information to the girls. Nevertheless, studies with longer training period and follow-up are proposed to determine the effects of educating girls (through their mothers) on their attitudes about puberty health.

  17. Attitude dynamics and control of a spacecraft like a robotic manipulator when implementing on-orbit servicing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Da Fonseca, Ijar M.; Goes, Luiz C. S.; Seito, Narumi; da Silva Duarte, Mayara K.; de Oliveira, Élcio Jeronimo

    2017-08-01

    In space the manipulators working space is characterized by the microgravity environment. In this environment the spacecraft floats and its rotational/translational motion may be excited by any internal and external disturbances. The complete system, i.e., the spacecraft and the associated robotic manipulator, floats and is sensitive to any reaction force and torque related to the manipulator's operation. In this sense the effort done by the robot may result in torque about the system center of mass and also in forces changing its translational motion. This paper analyzes the impact of the robot manipulator dynamics on the attitude motion and the associated control effort to keep the attitude stable during the manipulator's operation. The dynamics analysis is performed in the close proximity phase of rendezvous docking/berthing operation. In such scenario the linear system equations for the translation and attitude relative motions are appropriate. The computer simulations are implemented for the relative translational and rotational motion. The equations of motion have been simulated through computer by using the MatLab software. The LQR and the PID control laws are used for linear and nonlinear control, respectively, aiming to keep the attitude stable while the robot is in and out of service. The gravity-gradient and the residual magnetic torque are considered as external disturbances. The control efforts are analyzed for the manipulator in and out of service. The control laws allow the system stabilization and good performance when the manipulator is in service.

  18. Attitudes of New Parents towards Child and Spouse with Lamaze or Non-Lamaze Methods of Childbirth.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McClure, Robert F.; Brewer, R. Thomas

    1980-01-01

    Lamaze childbirth training was found to have no significant effects on attitudes towards spouse or child. It did have a significant anxiety-reducing effect with respect to childbirth. Parents using the Lamaze method had a more positive attitude about having a baby. (Author/CS)

  19. Attitude and Configuration Control of Flexible Multi-Body Spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cho, Sung-Ki; Cochran, John E., Jr.

    2002-06-01

    Multi-body spacecraft attitude and configuration control formulations based on the use of collaborative control theory are considered. The control formulations are based on two-player, nonzero-sum, differential game theory applied using a Nash strategy. It is desired that the control laws allow different components of the multi-body system to perform different tasks. For example, it may be desired that one body points toward a fixed star while another body in the system slews to track another satellite. Although similar to the linear quadratic regulator formulation, the collaborative control formulation contains a number of additional design parameters because the problem is formulated as two control problems coupled together. The use of the freedom of the partitioning of the total problem into two coupled control problems and the selection of the elements of the cross-coupling matrices are specific problems addressed in this paper. Examples are used to show that significant improvement in performance, as measured by realistic criteria, of collaborative control over conventional linear quadratic regulator control can be achieved by using proposed design guidelines.

  20. Impact of Family Planning Health Education on the Knowledge and Attitude among Yasoujian Women

    PubMed Central

    Mahamed, Fariba; Parhizkar, Saadat; Shirazi, Alireza Raygan

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the effect of health education on the knowledge and attitude regarding family planning and contraception’s method among the women who obligatory attended the Premarital Counseling Center in Yasouj city, Iran. An experimental study was carried out and a total of 200 women were selected for the study using convenience sampling method among women who attended in the health centre in order to utilize the necessary premarital actions. Respondents were divided by two experimental and control groups randomly. A pre-evaluation was done on the knowledge and attitude on family planning using a structured questionnaire. After which, the health education for experimental group was done within four educational sessions during 4 consecutive weeks and control group underwent traditional education method. Post evaluation was utilized for any changes regarding their knowledge and attitude among the respondents immediately after the intervention. Independent and paired t-test was used to evaluate the mean knowledge and attitude scores differences among both groups. Results showed that there was a significant improvement in respondents’ knowledge and attitude after educational program in experimental group (p<0.001), while no significant difference was observed in knowledge and attitude of control group. The finding also indicated that age was significantly associated with the level of respondents’ knowledge. These results deal the effectiveness of the educational method. In conclusion, the educational method is effective in increasing the knowledge and improving the attitude of women regarding family planning in Yasouj compared to current used educational method. Future educational programs need to incorporate the features that have been associated with successful interventions in the past, as well as including their own evaluation procedures. PMID:22980158

  1. An analysis of control reversal errors during unusual attitude recoveries using helmet-mounted display symbology.

    PubMed

    Liggett, Kristen K; Gallimore, Jennie J

    2002-02-01

    Spatial disorientation (SD) refers to pilots' inability to accurately interpret the attitude of their aircraft with respect to Earth. Unfortunately, SD statistics have held constant for the past few decades, through the transition from the head-down attitude indicator (Al) to the head-up display (HUD) as the attitude instrument. The newest attitude-indicating device to find its way into military cockpits is the helmet-mounted display (HMD). HMDs were initially introduced into the cockpit to enhance target location and weapon-pointing, but there is currently an effort to make HMDs attitude reference displays so pilots need not go head-down to obtain attitude information. However, unintuitive information or inappropriate implementation of on-boresight attitude symbology on the HMD may contribute to the SD problem. The occurrence of control reversal errors (CREs) during unusual attitude recovery tasks when using an HMD to provide attitude information was investigated. The effect of such errors was evaluated in terms of altitude changes during recovery and time to recover. There were 12 pilot-subjects who completed 8 unusual attitude recovery tasks. Results showed that CREs did occur, and there was a significant negative effect of these errors on absolute altitude change, but not on total recovery time. Results failed to show a decrease in the number of CREs occurring when using the HMD as compared with data from other studies that used an Al or a HUD. Results suggest that new HMD attitude symbology needs to be designed to help reduce CREs and, perhaps, SD incidences.

  2. Understanding Factors that Shape Gender Attitudes in Early Adolescence Globally: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.

    PubMed

    Kågesten, Anna; Gibbs, Susannah; Blum, Robert Wm; Moreau, Caroline; Chandra-Mouli, Venkatraman; Herbert, Ann; Amin, Avni

    2016-01-01

    Early adolescence (ages 10-14) is a period of increased expectations for boys and girls to adhere to socially constructed and often stereotypical norms that perpetuate gender inequalities. The endorsement of such gender norms is closely linked to poor adolescent sexual and reproductive and other health-related outcomes yet little is known about the factors that influence young adolescents' personal gender attitudes. To explore factors that shape gender attitudes in early adolescence across different cultural settings globally. A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted of the peer-reviewed literature in 12 databases from 1984-2014. Four reviewers screened the titles and abstracts of articles and reviewed full text articles in duplicate. Data extraction and quality assessments were conducted using standardized templates by study design. Thematic analysis was used to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data organized by the social-ecological framework (individual, interpersonal and community/societal-level factors influencing gender attitudes). Eighty-two studies (46 quantitative, 31 qualitative, 5 mixed-methods) spanning 29 countries were included. Ninety percent of studies were from North America or Western Europe. The review findings indicate that young adolescents, across cultural settings, commonly express stereotypical or inequitable gender attitudes, and such attitudes appear to vary by individual sociodemographic characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity and immigration, social class, and age). Findings highlight that interpersonal influences (family and peers) are central influences on young adolescents' construction of gender attitudes, and these gender socialization processes differ for boys and girls. The role of community factors (e.g. media) is less clear though there is some evidence that schools may reinforce stereotypical gender attitudes among young adolescents. The findings from this review suggest that young adolescents in different cultural

  3. Using Automatic Code Generation in the Attitude Control Flight Software Engineering Process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McComas, David; O'Donnell, James R., Jr.; Andrews, Stephen F.

    1999-01-01

    This paper presents an overview of the attitude control subsystem flight software development process, identifies how the process has changed due to automatic code generation, analyzes each software development phase in detail, and concludes with a summary of our lessons learned.

  4. A novel body frame based approach to aerospacecraft attitude tracking.

    PubMed

    Ma, Carlos; Chen, Michael Z Q; Lam, James; Cheung, Kie Chung

    2017-09-01

    In the common practice of designing an attitude tracker for an aerospacecraft, one transforms the Newton-Euler rotation equations to obtain the dynamic equations of some chosen inertial frame based attitude metrics, such as Euler angles and unit quaternions. A Lyapunov approach is then used to design a controller which ensures asymptotic convergence of the attitude to the desired orientation. Although this design methodology is pretty standard, it usually involves singularity-prone coordinate transformations which complicates the analysis process and controller design. A new, singularity free error feedback method is proposed in the paper to provide simple and intuitive stability analysis and controller synthesis. This new body frame based method utilizes the concept of Euleraxis and angles to generate the smallest error angles from a body frame perspective, without coordinate transformations. Global tracking convergence is illustrated with the use of a feedback linearizing PD tracker, a sliding mode controller, and a model reference adaptive controller. Experimental results are also obtained on a quadrotor platform with unknown system parameters and disturbances, using a boundary layer approximated sliding mode controller, a PIDD controller, and a unit sliding mode controller. Significant tracking quality is attained. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Compensation of an attitude disturbance torque caused by magnetic substances in LEO satellites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Inamori, Takaya; Wang, Jihe; Saisutjarit, Phongsatorn; Ohsaki, Hiroyuki

    This research considers an attitude disturbance torque caused by ferromagnetic substances in a LEO satellite. In most LEO satellite missions, a gravity gradient torque, solar pressure torque, aerodynamic torque, and magnetic dipole moment torque are considered for their attitude control systems, however, the effect of the ferromagnetic substances causing a disturbance torque in the geomagnetic field is not considered in previous satellite missions. The ferromagnetic substances such as iron cores of MTQs and a magnetic hysteresis damper for a passive attitude control system are used in various small satellites. These substances cause a disturbance torque which is almost the same magnitude of the dipole magnetic disturbance and the dominant disturbance in the worst cases. This research proposes a method to estimate and compensate for the effect of the ferromagnetic substances using an extended Kalman filter. From simulation results, the research concludes that the proposed method is useful and attractive for precise attitude control for LEO satellite missions.

  6. Orbiting Geophysical Observatory Attitude Control Subsystem Design Survey. NASA/ERC Design Criteria Program, Guidance and Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mc Kenna, K. J.; Schmeichel, H.

    1968-01-01

    This design survey summarizes the history of the Orbiting Geophysical Observatories' (OGO) Attitude Control Subsystem (ACS) from the proposal phase through current flight experience. Problems encountered in design, fabrication, test, and on orbit are discussed. It is hoped that the experiences of the OGO program related here will aid future designers.

  7. Fault tolerant attitude control for small unmanned aircraft systems equipped with an airflow sensor array.

    PubMed

    Shen, H; Xu, Y; Dickinson, B T

    2014-11-18

    Inspired by sensing strategies observed in birds and bats, a new attitude control concept of directly using real-time pressure and shear stresses has recently been studied. It was shown that with an array of onboard airflow sensors, small unmanned aircraft systems can promptly respond to airflow changes and improve flight performances. In this paper, a mapping function is proposed to compute aerodynamic moments from the real-time pressure and shear data in a practical and computationally tractable formulation. Since many microscale airflow sensors are embedded on the small unmanned aircraft system surface, it is highly possible that certain sensors may fail. Here, an adaptive control system is developed that is robust to sensor failure as well as other numerical mismatches in calculating real-time aerodynamic moments. The advantages of the proposed method are shown in the following simulation cases: (i) feedback pressure and wall shear data from a distributed array of 45 airflow sensors; (ii) 50% failure of the symmetrically distributed airflow sensor array; and (iii) failure of all the airflow sensors on one wing. It is shown that even if 50% of the airflow sensors have failures, the aircraft is still stable and able to track the attitude commands.

  8. A Nonlinear Spacecraft Attitude Controller and Observer with an Unknown Constant Gyro Bias and Gyro Noise

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Deutschmann, Julie; Sanner, Robert M.

    2001-01-01

    A nonlinear control scheme for attitude control of a spacecraft is combined with a nonlinear gyro bias observer for the case of constant gyro bias, in the presence of gyro noise. The observer bias estimates converge exponentially to a mean square bound determined by the standard deviation of the gyro noise. The resulting coupled, closed loop dynamics are proven to be globally stable, with asymptotic tracking which is also mean square bounded. A simulation of the proposed observer-controller design is given for a rigid spacecraft tracking a specified, time-varying attitude sequence to illustrate the theoretical claims.

  9. Torque equilibrium attitudes for the Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thompson, Roger C.

    1993-01-01

    -up in the controllers would be due to electro-mechanical losses within the device. However, the atmospheric torques are proportional to the density of the atmosphere and the density varies with the orbital position, time of day, time of year, and the solar cycle. In addition, there are unmodeled disturbances and uncertainties in the mass and inertias. Therefore, there is no constant attitude that will completely balance the environmental torques and the dynamic TEA cannot be solved in closed form. The objective of this research was to determine a method to calculate a dynamic TEA such that the rate of momentum build-up in the controllers would be minimized and to implement this method in the MATRIX(x) simulation software by Integrated Systems, Inc.

  10. Magnetic bearing momentum wheels with magnetic gimballing capability for 3-axis active attitude control and energy storage

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sindlinger, R. S.

    1977-01-01

    A 3-axis active attitude control system with only one rotating part was developed using a momentum wheel with magnetic gimballing capability as a torque actuator for all three body axes. A brief description of magnetic bearing technology is given. It is concluded that based on this technology an integrated energy storage/attitude control system with one air of counterrotating rings could reduce the complexity and weight of conventional systems.

  11. A low-complexity attitude control method for large-angle agile maneuvers of a spacecraft with control moment gyros

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kawajiri, Shota; Matunaga, Saburo

    2017-10-01

    This study examines a low-complexity control method that satisfies mechanical constraints by using control moment gyros for an agile maneuver. The method is designed based on the fact that a simple rotation around an Euler's principal axis corresponds to a well-approximated solution of a time-optimal rest-to-rest maneuver. With respect to an agile large-angle maneuver using CMGs, it is suggested that there exists a coasting period in which all gimbal angles are constant, and a constant body angular velocity is almost along the Euler's principal axis. The gimbals are driven such that the coasting period is generated in the proposed method. This allows the problem to be converted into obtaining only a coasting time and gimbal angles such that their combination maximizes body angular velocity along the rotational axis of the maneuver. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by using numerical simulations. The results indicate that the proposed method shortens the settling time by 20-70% when compared to that of a traditional feedback method. Additionally, a comparison with an existing path planning method shows that the proposed method achieves a low computational complexity (that is approximately 150 times faster) and a certain level of shortness in the settling time.

  12. Determination of poles and zeros of transfer functions for flexible spacecraft attitude control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ohkami, Y.; Likins, P. W.

    1976-01-01

    The transfer function matrix is obtained for a three-input and three-output model of minimum sensors and actuators for the attitude control system of flexible spacecraft, and a method is described for determining the poles and zeros of this transfer function. Three cases are considered: (1) the actuators and the sensors are all attached to the primary body, (2) the actuators are on the primary body and the sensors are on the sub-body, and (3) the actuators are on the sub-body and the sensors are on the primary body. The zero-determination problem is shown to reduce to eigenvalue calculations of a matrix which is constructed from the inertial and modal matrices in a simple fashion.

  13. Multivariable control theory applied to hierarchial attitude control for planetary spacecraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Boland, J. S., III; Russell, D. W.

    1972-01-01

    Multivariable control theory is applied to the design of a hierarchial attitude control system for the CARD space vehicle. The system selected uses reaction control jets (RCJ) and control moment gyros (CMG). The RCJ system uses linear signal mixing and a no-fire region similar to that used on the Skylab program; the y-axis and z-axis systems which are coupled use a sum and difference feedback scheme. The CMG system uses the optimum steering law and the same feedback signals as the RCJ system. When both systems are active the design is such that the torques from each system are never in opposition. A state-space analysis was made of the CMG system to determine the general structure of the input matrices (steering law) and feedback matrices that will decouple the axes. It is shown that the optimum steering law and proportional-plus-rate feedback are special cases. A derivation of the disturbing torques on the space vehicle due to the motion of the on-board television camera is presented. A procedure for computing an upper bound on these torques (given the system parameters) is included.

  14. Enhancing computer self-efficacy and attitudes in multi-ethnic older adults: a randomised controlled study

    PubMed Central

    Laganà, Luciana; Oliver, Taylor; Ainsworth, Andrew; Edwards, Marc

    2014-01-01

    Several studies have documented the health-related benefits of older adults' use of computer technology, but before they can be realised, older individuals must be positively inclined and confident in their ability to engage in computer-based environments. To facilitate the assessment of computer technology attitudes, one aim of the longitudinal study reported in this paper was to test and refine a new 22-item measure of computer technology attitudes designed specifically for older adults, as none such were available.1 Another aim was to replicate, on a much larger scale, the successful findings of a preliminary study that tested a computer technology training programme for older adults (Laganà 2008). Ninety-six older men and women, mainly from non-European-American backgrounds, were randomly assigned to the waitlist/control or the experimental group. The same six-week one-on-one training was administered to the control subjects at the completion of their post-test. The revised (17-item) version of the Older Adults' Computer Technology Attitudes Scale (OACTAS) showed strong reliability: the results of a factor analysis were robust, and two analyses of covariance demonstrated that the training programme induced significant changes in attitudes and self-efficacy. Such results encourage the recruitment of older persons into training programmes aimed at increasing computer technology attitudes and self-efficacy. PMID:25512679

  15. Spacecraft Attitude Tracking and Maneuver Using Combined Magnetic Actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zhou, Zhiqiang

    2012-01-01

    A paper describes attitude-control algorithms using the combination of magnetic actuators with reaction wheel assemblies (RWAs) or other types of actuators such as thrusters. The combination of magnetic actuators with one or two RWAs aligned with different body axis expands the two-dimensional control torque to three-dimensional. The algorithms can guarantee the spacecraft attitude and rates to track the commanded attitude precisely. A design example is presented for nadir-pointing, pitch, and yaw maneuvers. The results show that precise attitude tracking can be reached and the attitude- control accuracy is comparable with RWA-based attitude control. When there are only one or two workable RWAs due to RWA failures, the attitude-control system can switch to the control algorithms for the combined magnetic actuators with the RWAs without going to the safe mode, and the control accuracy can be maintained. The attitude-control algorithms of the combined actuators are derived, which can guarantee the spacecraft attitude and rates to track the commanded values precisely. Results show that precise attitude tracking can be reached, and the attitude-control accuracy is comparable with 3-axis wheel control.

  16. Docking Offset Between the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station and Resulting Impacts to the Transfer of Attitude Reference and Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Helms, W. Jason; Pohlkamp, Kara M.

    2011-01-01

    The Space Shuttle does not dock at an exact 90 degrees to the International Space Station (ISS) x-body axis. This offset from 90 degrees, along with error sources within their respective attitude knowledge, causes the two vehicles to never completely agree on their attitude, even though they operate as a single, mated stack while docked. The docking offset can be measured in flight when both vehicles have good attitude reference and is a critical component in calculations to transfer attitude reference from one vehicle to another. This paper will describe how the docking offset and attitude reference errors between both vehicles are measured and how this information would be used to recover Shuttle attitude reference from ISS in the event of multiple failures. During STS-117, ISS on-board Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) computers began having problems and after several continuous restarts, the systems failed. The failure took the ability for ISS to maintain attitude knowledge. This paper will also demonstrate how with knowledge of the docking offset, the contingency procedure to recover Shuttle attitude reference from ISS was reversed in order to provide ISS an attitude reference from Shuttle. Finally, this paper will show how knowledge of the docking offset can be used to speed up attitude control handovers from Shuttle to ISS momentum management. By taking into account the docking offset, Shuttle can be commanded to hold a more precise attitude which better agrees with the ISS commanded attitude such that start up transients with the ISS momentum management controllers are reduced. By reducing start-up transients, attitude control can be transferred from Shuttle to ISS without the use of ISS thrusters saving precious on-board propellant, crew time and minimizing loads placed upon the mated stack.

  17. Perception of Locus of Control as a Predictor of Attitude Toward Students' Evaluation of University Faculty. AIR Forum Paper 1978.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kohler, Emmett T.; Christal, Melodie E.

    Student and faculty attitudes about faculty evaluation and the relationship of the attitudes to the concept of locus of control were investigated. Student respondents consisted of 172 males and 256 females, and 108 faculty responses were received. The measure of locus of control closely resembles the Rotter Internal-External Control Scale. Student…

  18. Adaptive twisting sliding mode algorithm for hypersonic reentry vehicle attitude control based on finite-time observer.

    PubMed

    Guo, Zongyi; Chang, Jing; Guo, Jianguo; Zhou, Jun

    2018-06-01

    This paper focuses on the adaptive twisting sliding mode control for the Hypersonic Reentry Vehicles (HRVs) attitude tracking issue. The HRV attitude tracking model is transformed into the error dynamics in matched structure, whereas an unmeasurable state is redefined by lumping the existing unmatched disturbance with the angular rate. Hence, an adaptive finite-time observer is used to estimate the unknown state. Then, an adaptive twisting algorithm is proposed for systems subject to disturbances with unknown bounds. The stability of the proposed observer-based adaptive twisting approach is guaranteed, and the case of noisy measurement is analyzed. Also, the developed control law avoids the aggressive chattering phenomenon of the existing adaptive twisting approaches because the adaptive gains decrease close to the disturbance once the trajectories reach the sliding surface. Finally, numerical simulations on the attitude control of the HRV are conducted to verify the effectiveness and benefit of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Rationale, design and methods for a staggered-entry, waitlist controlled clinical trial of the impact of a community-based, family-centred, multidisciplinary program focussed on activity, food and attitude habits (Curtin University’s Activity, Food and Attitudes Program—CAFAP) among overweight adolescents

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Current estimates place just under one quarter of adolescents in Australia as overweight or obese. Adolescence has been identified as a critical period for the development of obesity, yet despite this recognition, there is limited systematic research into or evaluation of interventions for overweight adolescents. Reviews have concluded that there is a substantive evidence gap for effective intervention, but physical activity, lifestyle change and family involvement have been identified as promising foci for treatment. Methods This paper reports on the development of a staggered-entry, waitlist controlled clinical trial to assess the impact of a multidisciplinary intervention aiming to change the poor health trajectory of overweight adolescents and help them avoid morbid obesity in adulthood—Curtin University’s Activity, Food and Attitudes Program (CAFAP). 96 adolescents, aged 11–16 years, and parents, will attend twice weekly during an 8 week intensive multidisciplinary program with maintenance follow-up focussed on improving activity, food and attitude habits. Follow-up assessments will be conducted immediately after completing the intensive program, and at 3, 6 and 12 months post intensive program. Main outcomes will be objectively-measured physical activity, sedentary behaviour and activity behaviours; food intake (measured by 3 day diary) and food behaviours; body composition, fitness and physical function; mental and social well-being (quality of life, mood and attitudes), and family functioning. Discussion This trial will provide important information to understand whether a community based multidisciplinary intervention can have short and medium term effects on activity and food habits, attitudes, and physical and mental health status of overweight adolescents. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12611001187932. PMID:22721261

  20. Obstetricians' attitudes, subjective norms, perceived controls, and intentions on antibiotic prophylaxis in caesarean section.

    PubMed

    Liabsuetrakul, Tippawan; Chongsuvivatwong, Virasakdi; Lumbiganon, Pisake; Lindmark, Gunilla

    2003-11-01

    Over 10% of current births in all countries of the world are delivered by caesarean section. Single-dose ampicillin or cefazolin administered after cord clamping has been proven to be effective for the prevention of post-caesarean infections as indicated in many randomised trials and reviews in the Cochrane Library. This study aimed to determine three determinants of behavioural intention using the theory of planned behaviour: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived controls. Intentions were examined for five aspects of the use of antibiotic prophylaxis, namely whether or not antibiotics were used, used in all caesarean sections, after rather than before cord clamping, whether ampicillin/cefazolin or broader-spectrum antibiotics were used, and whether single or multiple doses were given. Fifty obstetricians selected from university, regional, and general hospitals in southern Thailand, were surveyed using a questionnaire and in-depth interview. Their intentions to use a single dose and to use in all cases were low, and this was related to negative attitudes and reference groups who did not approve of the single dose. The negative attitude was based on scepticism concerning the applicability of well-equipped trials from the developed world and fear of consequences of post-caesarean infections. Norms carried over from residency training had more long-term influence in their practice than newer information from books or journals. Perceived external controls on their practice were less predictive of intentions. Intentions were only partly predictive of behaviour. Changing attitudes, introducing evidence-based information into residency training and strengthening control systems in the hospital are essential to improve intentions.

  1. Symbolic Drawings Reveal Changes in Preservice Teacher Mathematics Attitudes after a Mathematics Methods Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rule, Audrey C.; Harrell, Mary H.

    2006-01-01

    A new method of analyzing mathematics attitudes through symbolic drawings, situated within the field of Jungian-oriented analytical psychology, was applied to 52 preservice elementary teachers before and after a mathematics methods course. In this triangulation mixed methods design study, pretest images related to past mathematics experiences…

  2. Knowledge, attitude and practice of standard precautions of infection control by hospital workers in two tertiary hospitals in Nigeria

    PubMed Central

    Pondei, Kemebradikumo; Adetunji, Babatunde; Chima, George; Isichei, Christian; Gidado, Sanusi

    2015-01-01

    Background: Standard precautions are recommended to prevent transmission of infection in hospitals. However, their implementation is dependent on the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers (HCW). This study describes the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of standard precautions of infection control among HCW of two tertiary hospitals in Nigeria is described. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken in 2011/2012 among HCW in two tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. Data was collected via a structured self-administered questionnaire assessing core elements of KAP of standard precautions. Percentage KAP scores were calculated and professional differences in median percentage KAP scores were ascertained. Results: A total of 290 HCW participated in the study (76% response rate), including 111 (38.3%) doctors, 147 (50.7%) nurses and 32 (11%) laboratory scientists. Overall median knowledge and attitude scores toward standard precautions were above 90%, but median practice score was 50.8%. The majority of the HCW had poor knowledge of injection safety and complained of inadequate resources to practise standard precautions. House officers, laboratory scientists and junior cadres of nurses had lower knowledge and compliance with standard precautions than more experienced doctors and nurses. Conclusion: Our results suggest generally poor compliance with standard precautions of infection control among HCW in Nigeria. Policies that foster training of HCW in standard precautions and guarantee regular provision of infection control and prevention resources in health facilities are required in Nigeria. PMID:28989394

  3. Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer Mission Attitude Determination and Control Concept

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bladt, Jeff; Deininger, William D.; Kalinowski, William C.; Boysen, Mary; Bygott, Kyle; Guy, Larry; Pentz, Christina; Seckar, Chris; Valdez, John; Wedmore, Jeffrey; hide

    2018-01-01

    The goal of the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) Mission is to expand understanding of high-energy astrophysical processes and sources, in support of NASA's first science objective in Astrophysics: "Discover how the universe works." X-ray polarimetry is the focus of the IXPE science mission. Polarimetry uniquely probes physical anisotropies-ordered magnetic fields, aspheric matter distributions, or general relativistic coupling to black-hole spin-that are not otherwise measurable. The IXPE Observatory consists of Spacecraft and Payload modules. The Payload includes three polarization sensitive, X-ray detector units (DU), each paired with its corresponding grazing incidence mirror module assemblies (MMA). A deployable boom provides the correct separation (focal length) between the DUs and MMAs. These Payload elements are supported by the IXPE Spacecraft. A star tracker is mounted directly with the deployed Payload to minimize alignment errors between the star tracker line of sight (LoS) and Payload LoS. Stringent pointing requirements coupled with a flexible structure and a non-collocated attitude sensor-actuator configuration requires a thorough analysis of control-structure interactions. A non-minimum phase notch filter supports robust control loop stability margins. This paper summarizes the IXPE mission science objectives and Observatory concepts, and then it describes IXPE attitude determination and control implementation. IXPE LoS pointing accuracy, control loop stability, and angular momentum management are discussed.

  4. Speech pathology student clinician attitudes and beliefs towards people who stutter: A mixed-method pilot study.

    PubMed

    Koutsodimitropoulos, Ellen; Buultjens, Melissa; St Louis, Kenneth O; Monfries, Melissa

    2016-03-01

    Stuttering is a disorder of fluency that extends beyond its physical nature and has social, emotional and vocational impacts. Research shows that individuals often exhibit negative attitudes towards people who stutter; however, there is limited research on the attitudes and beliefs of speech pathology students towards people who stutter in Australia. Existing research is predominantly quantitative; whereas this mixed-method study placed an emphasis on the qualitative component. The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes and beliefs of final year Australian speech pathology students towards people who stutter. This mixed-method study applied the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes - Stuttering (POSHA-S) and semi-structured interviews to gather data from final year speech pathology students from a major university in Australia. The overall qualitative findings identified that final year Australian speech pathology students exhibit positive attitudes towards people who stutter. The results also illustrated the role of education in influencing attitudes of students as well as increasing their confidence to work with people who stutter. This research revealed that Australian final year speech pathology students exhibit positive attitudes towards people who stutter. They displayed an understanding that people who stutter may have acquired traits such as shyness as a response to their personal situation and environment, rather than those traits being endemic to them. Results also suggested that education can play a role in creating confident student clinicians in their transition to practice, and positively influence their attitudes and beliefs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. The forgotten smoker: a qualitative study of attitudes towards smoking, quitting, and tobacco control policies among continuing smokers.

    PubMed

    Uppal, Navneet; Shahab, Lion; Britton, John; Ratschen, Elena

    2013-05-03

    Although research suggests that the majority of smokers want to quit smoking, the uptake of Stop Smoking Services, designed to assist smokers with quitting, remains low. Little is known about continuing smokers who do not access these services, and opportunities to influence their motivation and encourage quit attempts through the uptake of services. Using PRIME theory, this study explored differences between continuing smokers who had varying levels of motivation to quit, in terms of their plans to quit, evaluative beliefs about smoking, cigarette dependence, and attitudes towards tobacco control policies and services. Twenty-two current smokers, recruited from the community, were classified by motivation level to quit using a self-report questionnaire (two groups: high/low). Four focus groups (n=13) and individual interviews (n=9) were conducted with both groups using an interview guide incorporating aspects of PRIME theory. Discussion areas included motives for smoking, attitudes towards smoking and quitting, perceptions of dependence, motives for quitting, barriers to quitting, and attitudes towards existing and impending tobacco control policies and services. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using thematic framework analysis. All participants expressed low motivation to quit during discussions, despite some initially self-classifying as having high explicit levels of motivation to quit. Both groups reported similar attitudes towards smoking and quitting, including a perceived psychological addiction to smoking, positive evaluations about smoking which inhibited plans to quit, and similar suggested methods to increase motivation (simply wanting to, save money, improve health). Most felt that they 'ought' to quit as opposed to 'wanted' to. Little influence was ascribed towards tobacco control policies such as plain packaging and hidden sales displays, and participants felt that price increases of tobacco products needed to be considerable in order to influence

  6. Knowledge, attitudes and practices among parents and teachers about soil-transmitted helminthiasis control programs for school children in Guimaras, Philippines.

    PubMed

    Parikh, Divya Sinha; Totañes, Francis I G; Tuliao, Alex H; Ciro, Raezelle N T; Macatangay, Bernard J C; Belizario, Vicente Y

    2013-09-01

    We determined the attitudes toward and practices regarding soil-transmitted helminthes (STH) control among parents and school teachers to identify reasons behind attitudes and practices that do not promote STH control. Written knowledge, attitudes and practices surveys were distributed to parents (N = 531) and teachers (N = 105) of students at 11 elementary schools in Guimaras Province, the Philippines. The survey addressed attitudes about mass drug administration (MDA), knowledge about STH control, hygienic practices, and acceptability of distributing deworming tablets among teachers. More than 90% of parents and teachers held favorable attitudes towards MDA. Sixty-nine percent of parents and 75.5% of teachers believed stool exams were necessary before MDA. Thirty-seven percent of parents stated they would not allow teachers to administer deworming tablets and 91.5% of parents feared teachers would not detect side effects of the medication. Forty-eight percent of teachers felt they could safely give deworming tablets and 81.4% of teachers were afraid of managing the side effects of deworming tablets. Forty-seven point eight percent of parents and 42.2% of teachers stated defecation in the open occured in their community. Although attitudes toward STH control were largely favorable, misconceptions about the MDA strategy, lack of support for teachers giving deworming tablets, and the practice of open defecation still exist as barriers to STH control efforts. The next step to achieve effective STH control will be to clarify misconceptions in education campaigns, to train teachers about medication administration, campaign to improve sanitation and hygiene and begin targeted mass treatment in Guimaras, the Philippines.

  7. Improving psychology students' attitudes toward people with schizophrenia: A quasi-randomized controlled study.

    PubMed

    Magliano, Lorenza; Rinaldi, Angela; Costanzo, Regina; De Leo, Renata; Schioppa, Giustina; Petrillo, Miriam; Read, John

    2016-01-01

    Despite scientific evidence that the majority of people with schizophrenia (PWS) have personal histories of traumatic life events and adversities, their needs for psychological support often remain unmet. Poor availability of nonpharmacological therapies in schizophrenia may be partly because of professionals' attitudes toward people diagnosed with this disorder. As future health professionals, psychology students represent a target population for efforts to increase the probability that PWS will be offered effective psychological therapies. This quasi-randomized controlled study investigated the effect of an educational intervention, addressing common prejudices via scientific evidence and prerecorded audio-testimony from PWS, on the attitudes of psychology students toward PWS. Students in their fifth year of a master's degree in Psychology at the Second University of Naples, Italy were randomly assigned to an experimental group-which attended two 3-hr sessions a week apart-or to a control group. Compared with their baseline assessment, at 1-month reassessment the 76 educated students endorsed more psychosocial causes and more of them recommended psychologists in the treatment of schizophrenia. They were also more optimistic about recovery, less convinced that PWS are recognizable and unpredictable, and more convinced that treatments, pharmacological and psychological, are useful. No significant changes were found, from baseline to 1-month reassessment, in the 112 controls. At 1-month reassessment, educated students were more optimistic about recovery and less convinced that PWS are unpredictable than controls. These findings suggest that psychology students' attitudes toward PWS can be improved by training initiatives including education and indirect contact with users. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. Enceladus Plume Density Modeling and Reconstruction for Cassini Attitude Control System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sarani, Siamak

    2010-01-01

    In 2005, Cassini detected jets composed mostly of water, spouting from a set of nearly parallel rifts in the crust of Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn. During an Enceladus flyby, either reaction wheels or attitude control thrusters on the Cassini spacecraft are used to overcome the external torque imparted on Cassini due to Enceladus plume or jets, as well as to slew the spacecraft in order to meet the pointing needs of the on-board science instruments. If the estimated imparted torque is larger than it can be controlled by the reaction wheel control system, thrusters are used to control the spacecraft. Having an engineering model that can predict and simulate the external torque imparted on Cassini spacecraft due to the plume density during all projected low-altitude Enceladus flybys is important. Equally important is being able to reconstruct the plume density after each flyby in order to calibrate the model. This paper describes an engineering model of the Enceladus plume density, as a function of the flyby altitude, developed for the Cassini Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem, and novel methodologies that use guidance, navigation, and control data to estimate the external torque imparted on the spacecraft due to the Enceladus plume and jets. The plume density is determined accordingly. The methodologies described have already been used to reconstruct the plume density for three low-altitude Enceladus flybys of Cassini in 2008 and will continue to be used on all remaining low-altitude Enceladus flybys in Cassini's extended missions.

  9. Attitude and articulation control system testing for Project Galileo

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rasmussen, R. D.

    1981-01-01

    A type of facility required to integrate and test a complex autonomous spacecraft subsystem is presented, using the attitude and articulation control subsystem (AACS) of Project Galileo as an example. The equipment created for testing the AACS at both the subsystem and spacecraft system levels is described, including a description of the support equipment (SE) architecture in its two main configurations, closed loop simulation techniques, the user interface to the SE, and plans for the use of the facility beyond the test period. This system is capable of providing a flight-like functional environment through the use of accurate real-time models and carefully chosen points of interaction, and flexible control capability and high visibility to the test operator.

  10. Methods of integrating Islamic values in teaching biology for shaping attitude and character

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Listyono; Supardi, K. I.; Hindarto, N.; Ridlo, S.

    2018-03-01

    Learning is expected to develop the potential of learners to have the spiritual attitude: moral strength, self-control, personality, intelligence, noble character, as well as the skills needed by themselves, society, and nation. Implementation of role and morale in learning is an alternative way which is expected to answer the challenge. The solution offered is to inject student with religious material Islamic in learning biology. The content value of materials teaching biology includes terms of practical value, religious values, daily life value, socio-political value, and the value of art. In Islamic religious values (Qur'an and Hadith) various methods can touch human feelings, souls, and generate motivation. Integrating learning with Islamic value can be done by the deductive or inductive approach. The appropriate method of integration is the amtsal (analog) method, hiwar (dialog) method, targhib & tarhib (encouragement & warning) method, and example method (giving a noble role model / good example). The right strategy in integrating Islamic values is outlined in the design of lesson plan. The integration of Islamic values in lesson plan will facilitate teachers to build students' character because Islamic values can be implemented in every learning steps so students will be accustomed to receiving the character value in this integrated learning.

  11. Magellan attitude control mission operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dukes, Eileen M.

    1993-01-01

    From the Martin Marietta Astronautics Group base in Denver, Colorado, spacecraft engineers have been operating the Magellan spacecraft for the past three and one half years, along with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, for NASA. The spacecraft team in Denver is responsible for the health of the vehicle, from command generation to evaluation of engineering telemetry. Operation of the spacecraft's Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) has specifically posed several in-flight challenges. This system must provide accurate pointing of the spacecraft throughout each 3.2 hour orbit which typically consists of 5 - 9 discrete maneuvers. Preparation of bi-weekly command sequences, monitoring execution, and trending of subsystem performance is of paramount importance, but in-flight anomalies have also demanded the attention of AACS engineers. Anomalies are often very interesting and challenging aspects of a project, and the Magellan mission was no exception. From the first unsuccessful attempts to perform a starscan, to spacecraft safing events, much has been experienced to add to the `lessons learned' from this mission. Many of Magellan's in-flight experiences, anomalies, and their resolutions are highlighted in this paper.

  12. Magellan attitude control mission operations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dukes, Eileen M.

    From the Martin Marietta Astronautics Group base in Denver, Colorado, spacecraft engineers have been operating the Magellan spacecraft for the past three and one half years, along with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, for NASA. The spacecraft team in Denver is responsible for the health of the vehicle, from command generation to evaluation of engineering telemetry. Operation of the spacecraft's Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) has specifically posed several in-flight challenges. This system must provide accurate pointing of the spacecraft throughout each 3.2 hour orbit which typically consists of 5 - 9 discrete maneuvers. Preparation of bi-weekly command sequences, monitoring execution, and trending of subsystem performance is of paramount importance, but in-flight anomalies have also demanded the attention of AACS engineers. Anomalies are often very interesting and challenging aspects of a project, and the Magellan mission was no exception. From the first unsuccessful attempts to perform a starscan, to spacecraft safing events, much has been experienced to add to the `lessons learned' from this mission. Many of Magellan's in-flight experiences, anomalies, and their resolutions are highlighted in this paper.

  13. A spacecraft attitude and articulation control system design for the Comet Halley intercept mission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Key, R. W.

    1981-01-01

    An attitude and articulation control system design for the Comet Halley 1986 intercept mission is presented. A spacecraft dynamics model consisting of five hinge-connected rigid bodies is used to analyze the spacecraft attitude and articulation control system performance. Inertial and optical information are combined to generate scan platform pointing commands. The comprehensive spacecraft model has been developed into a digital computer simulation program, which provides performance characteristics and insight pertaining to the control and dynamics of a Halley Intercept spacecraft. It is shown that scan platform pointing error has a maximum value of 1.8 milliradians during the four minute closest approach interval. It is also shown that the jitter or scan platform pointing rate error would have a maximum value of 2.5 milliradians/second for the nominal 1000 km closest approach distance trajectory and associated environment model.

  14. [External and internal validity of a multidimensional Locus of control scale of eating attitudes for athletes (LOCSCAS)].

    PubMed

    Paquet, Y; Scoffier, S; d'Arripe-Longueville, F

    2016-10-01

    In the field of health psychology, the control has consistently been considered as a protective factor. This protective role has been also highlighted in eating attitudes' domain. However, current studies use the one-dimensional scale of Rotter or the multidimensional health locus of control scale, and no specific eating attitudes' scale in the sport context exists. Moreover, the social influence in previous scales is limited. According to recent works, the purpose of this study was to test the internal and external validity of a multidimensional locus of control scale of eating attitudes for athletes. One hundred and seventy-nine participants were solicited. A confirmatory factorial analysis was conducted in order to test the internal validity of the scale. The scale external validity was tested in relation to eating attitudes. The internal validity of the scale was verified as well as the external validity, which confirmed the importance of taking into consideration social influences. Indeed, the 2 subscales "Trainers, friends" and "Parents, family" are related respectively positively and negatively in eating disorders. Copyright © 2016 L'Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  15. Determination of the implementation of the 3-axis attitude motion simulator digital position controller

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Magana, Mario E.

    1989-01-01

    The digital position controller implemented in the control computer of the 3-axis attitude motion simulator is mathematically reconstructed and documented, since the information supplied with the executable code of this controller was insufficient to make substantial modifications to it. Also developed were methodologies to introduce changes in the controller which do not require rewriting the software. Finally, recommendations are made on possible improvement to the control system performance.

  16. Cassini Attitude Control Flight Software: from Development to In-Flight Operation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brown, Jay

    2008-01-01

    The Cassini Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) Flight Software (FSW) has achieved its intended design goals by successfully guiding and controlling the Cassini-Huygens planetary mission to Saturn and its moons. This paper describes an overview of AACS FSW details from early design, development, implementation, and test to its fruition of operating and maintaining spacecraft control over an eleven year prime mission. Starting from phases of FSW development, topics expand to FSW development methodology, achievements utilizing in-flight autonomy, and summarize lessons learned during flight operations which can be useful to FSW in current and future spacecraft missions.

  17. Evaluation of Eating Attitude in Patients with Migraine

    PubMed Central

    DEMİRCİ, Kadir; DEMİRCİ, Seden; AKPINAR, Abdullah; DEMİRDAŞ, Arif; ATAY, İnci Meltem

    2015-01-01

    Introduction This study aimed to investigate the eating attitudes in patients with migraine. Methods Fifty-nine patients (mean age: 32.54±8.47 years) diagnosed with migraine according to the International Classification of Headache Disorder, 2004, and 47 age-, gender- and education-matched healthy controls (mean age: 31.85±7.14 years) were enrolled for this study. Sociodemographic data were recorded, and the body mass index was calculated as kilograms per meter squared. Data regarding the duration of illness and attack, frequency of migraine attacks, and the presence of aura were recorded. Migraine severity was assessed by Migraine Disability Assessment Score (MIDAS). Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory were applied to all participants. Results The patients with migraine had significantly higher EAT scores, levels of anxiety, and depression than controls (p<.01). Furthermore, 11.9% of patients with migraine had an EAT score of 30 or higher, which is suggestive of a disordered eating attitude, whereas this rate was 2.1% in healthy controls (p<.05). The scores of EAT and BDI had positive correlation with the scores of MIDAS in patients with migraine (r=.298, p<.05; r=.332, p=.01, respectively). Conclusion In our study, disordered eating attitudes and the levels of anxiety and depression were high in patients with migraine than controls. Our study is important to demonstrate the connection between migraine and disordered eating attitudes. PMID:28360741

  18. Chaos as the hub of systems dynamics. The part I-The attitude control of spacecraft by involving in the heteroclinic chaos

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Doroshin, Anton V.

    2018-06-01

    In this work the chaos in dynamical systems is considered as a positive aspect of dynamical behavior which can be applied to change systems dynamical parameters and, moreover, to change systems qualitative properties. From this point of view, the chaos can be characterized as a hub for the system dynamical regimes, because it allows to interconnect separated zones of the phase space of the system, and to fulfill the jump into the desirable phase space zone. The concretized aim of this part of the research is to focus on developing the attitude control method for magnetized gyrostat-satellites, which uses the passage through the intentionally generated heteroclinic chaos. The attitude dynamics of the satellite/spacecraft in this case represents the series of transitions from the initial dynamical regime into the chaotic heteroclinic regime with the subsequent exit to the final target dynamical regime with desirable parameters of the attitude dynamics.

  19. Enceladus plume density from Cassini spacecraft attitude control data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lorenz, Ralph D.; Burk, Thomas A.

    2018-01-01

    The plumes of Enceladus are of interest both as a geophysical phenomenon, and as an astrobiological opportunity for sampling internal material. Here we report measurements of the total mass density (gas plus dust, a combination not reported before except in the engineering literature) deduced from telemetry of Cassini's Attitude and Articulation Control System (AACS), as the spacecraft's thrusters or reaction wheels worked to maintain the desired attitude in the presence of drag torques during close flybys. The drag torque shows good agreement with the water vapor density measured by other instruments during the E5 encounter, but indicates a rather higher mass density on other passes (E3, E14), possibly indicating variations in gas composition and/or gas:dust ratio. The spacecraft appears to have intercepted about 0.2 g of material, on flyby E21 in October 2015 indicating a peak mass density of ∼5.5 × 10-11 kg m-3, the highest of all the flybys measured (E3, E5, E7, E9, E14, E21).

  20. Attitude control requirements for various solar sail missions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Williams, Trevor

    1990-01-01

    The differences are summarized between the attitude control requirements for various types of proposed solar sail missions (Earth orbiting; heliocentric; asteroid rendezvous). In particular, it is pointed out that the most demanding type of mission is the Earth orbiting one, with the solar orbit case quite benign and asteroid station keeping only slightly more difficult. It is then shown, using numerical results derived for the British Solar Sail Group Earth orbiting design, that the disturbance torques acting on a realistic sail can completely dominate the torques required for nominal maneuvering of an 'ideal' sail. This is obviously an important consideration when sizing control actuators; not so obvious is the fact that it makes the standard rotating vane actuator unsatisfactory in practice. The reason for this is given, and a set of new actuators described which avoids the difficulty.

  1. Robust inertia-free attitude takeover control of postcapture combined spacecraft with guaranteed prescribed performance.

    PubMed

    Luo, Jianjun; Wei, Caisheng; Dai, Honghua; Yin, Zeyang; Wei, Xing; Yuan, Jianping

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, a robust inertia-free attitude takeover control scheme with guaranteed prescribed performance is investigated for postcapture combined spacecraft with consideration of unmeasurable states, unknown inertial property and external disturbance torque. Firstly, to estimate the unavailable angular velocity of combination accurately, a novel finite-time-convergent tracking differentiator is developed with a quite computationally achievable structure free from the unknown nonlinear dynamics of combined spacecraft. Then, a robust inertia-free prescribed performance control scheme is proposed, wherein, the transient and steady-state performance of combined spacecraft is first quantitatively studied by stabilizing the filtered attitude tracking errors. Compared with the existing works, the prominent advantage is that no parameter identifications and no neural or fuzzy nonlinear approximations are needed, which decreases the complexity of robust controller design dramatically. Moreover, the prescribed performance of combined spacecraft is guaranteed a priori without resorting to repeated regulations of the controller parameters. Finally, four illustrative examples are employed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme and tracking differentiator. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Evaluation and modeling of autonomous attitude thrust control for the Geostation Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-8 orbit determination

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Forcey, W.; Minnie, C. R.; Defazio, R. L.

    1995-01-01

    The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-8 experienced a series of orbital perturbations from autonomous attitude control thrusting before perigee raising maneuvers. These perturbations influenced differential correction orbital state solutions determined by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Goddard Trajectory Determination System (GTDS). The maneuvers induced significant variations in the converged state vector for solutions using increasingly longer tracking data spans. These solutions were used for planning perigee maneuvers as well as initial estimates for orbit solutions used to evaluate the effectiveness of the perigee raising maneuvers. This paper discusses models for the incorporation of attitude thrust effects into the orbit determination process. Results from definitive attitude solutions are modeled as impulsive thrusts in orbit determination solutions created for GOES-8 mission support. Due to the attitude orientation of GOES-8, analysis results are presented that attempt to absorb the effects of attitude thrusting by including a solution for the coefficient of reflectivity, C(R). Models to represent the attitude maneuvers are tested against orbit determination solutions generated during real-time support of the GOES-8 mission. The modeling techniques discussed in this investigation offer benefits to the remaining missions in the GOES NEXT series. Similar missions with large autonomous attitude control thrusting, such as the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft and the INTELSAT series, may also benefit from these results.

  3. A Weight Comparison of Several Attitude Controls for Satellites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Adams, James J.; Chilton, Robert G.

    1959-01-01

    A brief theoretical study has been made for the purpose for estimating and comparing the weight of three different types of controls that can be used to change the attitude of a satellite. The three types of controls are jet reaction, inertia wheel, and a magnetic bar which interacts with the magnetic field of the earth. An idealized task which imposed severe requirements on the angular motion of the satellite was used as the basis for comparison. The results showed that a control for one axis can be devised which will weigh less than 1 percent of the total weight of the satellite. The inertia-wheel system offers weight-saving possibilities if a large number of cycles of operation are required, whereas the jet system would be preferred if a limited number of cycles are required. The magnetic-bar control requires such a large magnet that it is impractical for the example application but might be of value for supplying small trimming moments about certain axes.

  4. Attitude Set, Group Learning, and Attitude Change.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rhyne, Dwight Carroll

    A special Training Institute on Problems of School Desegregation was held at the North Carolina Advancement School; the project was undertaken to determine the degree of attitude change related to group learning method, social attitude set, and characteristics of race, sex, and age among 72 teachers and counselors participating in an adult…

  5. Attitude Determination and Control Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Starin, Scott R.; Eterno, John

    2010-01-01

    The importance of accurately pointing spacecraft to our daily lives is pervasive, yet somehow escapes the notice of most people. In this section, we will summarize the processes and technologies used in designing and operating spacecraft pointing (i.e. attitude) systems.

  6. The Connection between Environmental Attitude-Behavior Gap and Other Individual Inconsistencies: A Call for Strengthening Self-Control

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Redondo, Ignacio; Puelles, María

    2017-01-01

    What is going on with environmental education, which is currently unable to promote pro-environmental behaviors as effectively as it promotes pro-environmental attitudes? A tentative answer is that the environmental attitude-behavior gap observed in some individuals is just one manifestation of their lack of self-control for maintaining…

  7. Use of a knowledge-attitude-behaviour education programme for Chinese adults undergoing maintenance haemodialysis: Randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Liu, Li; Liu, Yue-Ping; Wang, Jing; An, Li-Wei; Jiao, Jian-Mei

    2016-06-01

    To investigate the effects of a knowledge-attitude-behaviour health education model on acquisition of disease-related knowledge and self-management behaviour by patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis. Patients recently prescribed MHD were randomly assigned to a control group or an intervention group. Control group patients were treated with usual care and general education models. A specialist knowledge-attitude-behaviour health education model was applied to patients in the intervention group. Eighty-six patients were included (n = 43 per group). Before intervention, there were no significant between-group differences in disease knowledge and self-management behaviour. After 6 months' intervention, a significant between-group difference in acquisition of disease knowledge was observed. Self-management behaviour scores (control of body mass, reasonable diet, correct drug intake, physical activity, correct fistula care, disease condition monitoring, psychological and social behaviours) for the intervention group were also higher than those for the control group. These preliminary findings suggest that the knowledge-attitude-behaviour model appears to be a valuable tool for the health education of MHD patients. © The Author(s) 2016.

  8. The influence of the guided constructivist instructional model on attitudes toward secondary-level physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dallal, Kamel Salim

    The effect of guided constructivism (bridging analogies) and expository instructional methods on the attitudes of students toward physics was investigated. A nonrandomize nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group quasi- experimental design was employed. The sample consisted of 127 eleventh-grade and twelfth-grade students from five selected classes from two private high schools in Beirut, Lebanon. Two intact classes were assigned to the control group and three classes to the experimental group. The experimental group was exposed to the bridging analogies instructional method, and the control group was taught using the traditional expository method. A Likert-type instrument, the Physics Attitude Index, was used to measure attitudes on four dimensions. The 40-item Physics Attitude Index (PAI) is a questionnaire using a five response scale. Performance in the assigned topics in physics, cognitive developmental levels, and gender were used as covariants and to examine interaction effects. The experimental groups had significantly higher means than the control groups on all criterion variables. A significant interaction was found between groups and performance levels in the following cases: (a) criterion variable of attitude toward physics; (b) views toward physics learning; and (c) enjoyment of physics. This result indicated that the low performing students among the experimental group had greater gain in attitude toward physics than the high performing students in same group. On the other hand, no interaction occurred between treatment groups and gender, which shows that in this study gender has no significant effect on attitude toward physics. Significant interactions between the treatment groups and cognitive levels were found on the criterion variable of beliefs about physics as a process of learning and enjoyment of physics. In both cases, the difference between the group means were widely different among students at the concrete and transitional levels, but

  9. The impact of group training about parenting styles on maternal attitudes toward parenting styles

    PubMed Central

    Zandiyeh, Zahra; Zare, Elaheh; Hedayati, Batool

    2015-01-01

    Background: Parenting style is one of the most important and effective factors in training and growth of children and adolescents and the method that parents communicate with their children is an effective factor on family contact models. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of group training about parenting styles on maternal attitudes that were admitted to Isfahan Imam Ali (AS) health care center in 2013. Materials and Methods: This was an experimental study, which was conducted on a random sample of 25 mothers referred to this health care center. They were divided into two groups (experimental and control). The experimental group received five sessions of group training, and the control group received a booklet about parenting styles. The used tool in this study was the Bamerind Parenting Style Questionnaire that was completed by the mothers before and after the intervention and finally, their obtained scores were compared with each other. Results: The results of the present study showed that the mean score of attitude toward easy-going style in test group was less than the control group after intervention (P = 0.045). The mean score of attitude toward authoritative style in the experimental group was less than control group after intervention (P = 0.037) and the mean score of attitude toward authoritative style in the experimental group was more than the control group after intervention (P = 0.011). Conclusions: Group training can be an appropriate method in changing maternal attitudes toward parenting styles. PMID:27462627

  10. Filtering Methods for Error Reduction in Spacecraft Attitude Estimation Using Quaternion Star Trackers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Calhoun, Philip C.; Sedlak, Joseph E.; Superfin, Emil

    2011-01-01

    Precision attitude determination for recent and planned space missions typically includes quaternion star trackers (ST) and a three-axis inertial reference unit (IRU). Sensor selection is based on estimates of knowledge accuracy attainable from a Kalman filter (KF), which provides the optimal solution for the case of linear dynamics with measurement and process errors characterized by random Gaussian noise with white spectrum. Non-Gaussian systematic errors in quaternion STs are often quite large and have an unpredictable time-varying nature, particularly when used in non-inertial pointing applications. Two filtering methods are proposed to reduce the attitude estimation error resulting from ST systematic errors, 1) extended Kalman filter (EKF) augmented with Markov states, 2) Unscented Kalman filter (UKF) with a periodic measurement model. Realistic assessments of the attitude estimation performance gains are demonstrated with both simulation and flight telemetry data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

  11. A description of the thruster attitude control simulation and its application to the HEAO-C study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brandon, L. B.

    1971-01-01

    During the design and evaluation of a reaction control system (RCS), it is desirable to have a digital computer program simulating vehicle dynamics, disturbance torques, control torques, and RCS logic. The thruster attitude control simulation (TACS) is just such a computer program. The TACS is a relatively sophisticated digital computer program that includes all the major parameters involved in the attitude control of a vehicle using an RCS for control. It includes the effects of gravity gradient torques and HEAO-C aerodynamic torques so that realistic runs can be made in the areas of fuel consumption and engine actuation rates. Also, the program is general enough that any engine configuration and logic scheme can be implemented in a reasonable amount of time. The results of the application of the TACS in the HEAO-C study are included.

  12. The accuracy of dynamic attitude propagation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Harvie, E.; Chu, D.; Woodard, M.

    1990-01-01

    Propagating attitude by integrating Euler's equation for rigid body motion has long been suggested for the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) but until now has not been implemented. Because of limited Sun visibility, propagation is necessary for yaw determination. With the deterioration of the gyros, dynamic propagation has become more attractive. Angular rates are derived from integrating Euler's equation with a stepsize of 1 second, using torques computed from telemetered control system data. The environmental torque model was quite basic. It included gravity gradient and unshadowed aerodynamic torques. Knowledge of control torques is critical to the accuracy of dynamic modeling. Due to their coarseness and sparsity, control actuator telemetry were smoothed before integration. The dynamic model was incorporated into existing ERBS attitude determination software. Modeled rates were then used for attitude propagation in the standard ERBS fine-attitude algorithm. In spite of the simplicity of the approach, the dynamically propagated attitude matched the attitude propagated with good gyros well for roll and yaw but diverged up to 3 degrees for pitch because of the very low resolution in pitch momentum wheel telemetry. When control anomalies significantly perturb the nominal attitude, the effect of telemetry granularity is reduced and the dynamically propagated attitudes are accurate on all three axes.

  13. Peer Instruction in introductory physics: A method to bring about positive changes in students' attitudes and beliefs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Ping; Ding, Lin; Mazur, Eric

    2017-06-01

    This paper analyzes pre-post matched gains in the epistemological views of science students taking the introductory physics course at Beijing Normal University (BNU) in China. In this study we examined the attitudes and beliefs of science majors (n =441 ) in four classes, one taught using traditional (lecture) teaching methods, and the other three taught with Peer Instruction (PI). In two of the PI classes, student peer groups were constantly changing throughout the semester, while in the other PI class student groups remained fixed for the duration of the semester. The results of the pre- and post-test using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey showed that students in traditional lecture settings became significantly more novicelike in their beliefs about physics and learning physics over the course of a semester, a result consistent with what was reported in the literature. However, all three of the classes taught using the PI method improved student attitudes and beliefs about physics and learning physics. In the PI class with fixed peer groups, students exhibited a greater positive shift in attitudes and beliefs than in the other PI class with changing peer groups. The study also looked at gender differences in student learning attitudes. Gender results revealed that female science majors in the PI classes achieved a greater positive shift in attitudes and beliefs after instruction than did male students.

  14. Attitude Control for an Aero-Vehicle Using Vector Thrusting and Variable Speed Control Moment Gyros

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shin, Jong-Yeob; Lim, K. B.; Moerder, D. D.

    2005-01-01

    Stabilization of passively unstable thrust-levitated vehicles can require significant control inputs. Although thrust vectoring is a straightforward choice for realizing these inputs, this may lead to difficulties discussed in the paper. This paper examines supplementing thrust vectoring with Variable-Speed Control Moment Gyroscopes (VSCMGs). The paper describes how to allocate VSCMGs and the vectored thrust mechanism for attitude stabilization in frequency domain and also shows trade-off between vectored thrust and VSCMGs. Using an H2 control synthesis methodology in LMI optimization, a feedback control law is designed for a thrust-levitated research vehicle and is simulated with the full nonlinear model. It is demonstrated that VSCMGs can reduce the use of vectored thrust variation for stabilizing the hovering platform in the presence of strong wind gusts.

  15. Attitudes of Teachers of Arabic as a Foreign Language toward Methods of Foreign Language Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seraj, Sami A.

    2010-01-01

    This study examined the attitude of teachers of Arabic as a foreign language toward some of the most well known teaching methods. For this reason the following eight methods were selected: (1) the Grammar-Translation Method (GTM), (2) the Direct Method (DM), (3) the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM), (4) Total Physical Response (TPR), (5) Community…

  16. Galileo attitude and articulation control subsystem closed loop testing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lembeck, M. F.; Pignatano, N. D.

    1983-01-01

    In order to ensure the reliable operation of the Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) which will guide the Galileo spacecraft on its two and one-half year journey to Jupiter, the AACS is being rigorously tested. The primary objectives of the test program are the verification of the AACS's form, fit, and function, especially with regard to subsystem external interfaces and the functional operation of the flight software. Attention is presently given to the Galileo Closed Loop Test System, which simulates the dynamic and 'visual' flight environment for AACS components in the laboratory.

  17. Attitudes and beliefs as verbal behavior

    PubMed Central

    Guerin, Bernard

    1994-01-01

    Attitudes and beliefs are analyzed as verbal behavior. It is argued that shaping by a verbal community is an essential part of the formation and maintenance of both attitudes and beliefs, and it is suggested that verbal communities mediate the important shift in control from events in the environment (attitudes and beliefs as tacts) to control by other words (attitudes and beliefs as intraverbals). It appears that both attitudes and beliefs are constantly being socially negotiated through autoclitic functions. That is, verbal communities reinforce (a) reporting general rather than specific attitudes and beliefs, (b) presentation of intraverbals as if they were tacts, and (c) presentation of beliefs as if they were attitudes. Consistency among and between attitudes, beliefs, and behavior is also contingent upon the reinforcing practices of verbal communities. Thus, attitudes and beliefs can be studied as social behavior rather than as private, cognitive processes. PMID:22478181

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

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gee, S. W.; Jenks, G. E.; Roskam, J.; Stone, R. L.

    1976-01-01

    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 made simulated instrument flight evaluations in light-to-moderate turbulence. They were favorably impressed with the system, particularly with the elimination of control force transients that accompanied configuration changes. For ride quality, quantitative data showed that the attitude command control system resulted in all cases of airplane motion being removed from the uncomfortable ride region.

  19. Psychiatric Nurses' Attitudes Towards Violent Behaviour: A Brazilian Study.

    PubMed

    Dias, Maraína Gomes Pires Fernandes; de Vargas, Divane

    2018-02-13

    This study examines nurses' attitudes towards violent behaviour and the management of aggressiveness. A convenience sample of 185 nurses working in psychiatric urgent care and emergency services in Brazil responded to the MAVAS-BR. The results show that nurses' attitudes are more reflective of the external and situational models of violent behaviour and the use of control methods to manage aggressiveness. The mapping of this phenomenon using the same tools in a different context from those traditionally studied while observing similar results suggests a pattern of attitudes towards violent behaviour and the management of aggressiveness among nurses around the world.

  20. Locus of control and contraceptive knowledge, attitude and practice among university students.

    PubMed

    Alves, Aline Salheb; Lopes, Maria Helena Baena de Moraes

    2010-02-01

    To assess the relationship between locus of control and knowledge, attitude and practice regarding pill and condom use among university students. The inquiry was developed in Campinas, a city in Southeastern Brazil, in 2006. A total of 295 adolescent newcomers to a public university answered a structured questionnaire and Levenson's multidimensional locus of control scale. The scores of the dimensions of locus of control were calculated and Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to assess their correlation with knowledge and practice concerning pill and condom use. In order to assess the relationship between the dimensions of locus of control and sociodemographic variables and variables related to the individuals' sex life, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used. Male adolescents had higher scores of powerful others externality when compared to female adolescents (p=0.01). Students living alone had lower internality (p=0.01). When locus of control was compared to condom use in the first intercourse, considering only the 102 students who informed the age of the beginning of sexual activity, greater internality was found among male adolescents who did not use condoms (p<0.05). When the locus of control scores were correlated with contraceptive knowledge and practice, it was found that the higher the powerful others externality locus, the lower the adequate use of contraceptive methods (r = -0.22, p=0.03). The powerful others externality locus influences the practice of contraceptive use in this group of adolescents.

  1. Depression literacy and health-seeking attitudes in the Western Pacific region: a mixed-methods study.

    PubMed

    Ho, Grace W K; Bressington, D; Leung, S F; Lam, K K C; Leung, A Y M; Molassiotis, A; Ligot, J; Ranoco, C; Sophal, C; Valimaki, M

    2018-06-02

    Depression literacy refers to the ability to recognize depression and make informed decisions about its treatment. To date, relatively little research has been done to examine depression literacy in the Western Pacific region. Given the pervasiveness of depression and the need to enhance mental health care in this region, it is important to gain a better understanding of depression literacy and health-seeking behaviors in this part of the world. This mixed-methods study utilized a convergent parallel design to examine depression literacy and the associated health-seeking attitudes among urban adults from three countries-Cambodia, Philippines, and Fiji. A total of 455 adults completed a quantitative survey on depression knowledge, attitudes, and professional help seeking. Separately, 56 interviewees from 6 focus groups provided qualitative data on their impression and knowledge of depression and mental illness within the context of their local communities. Overall, results showed that depression knowledge was comparatively lower in this region. Controlling for differences across countries, higher knowledge was significantly associated with more positive attitudes towards mental illness (B = - 0.28, p = 0.025) and professional help seeking (B = 0.20, p < 0.001). Financial stability, such as employment, was also a salient factor for help seeking. This study was the first to provide a baseline understanding on depression literacy and highlights the need to increase public knowledge on depression in the Western Pacific. Culturally congruent recommendations on enhancing depression literacy in this region, such as anti-stigma campaigns, use of financial incentives, and family-based approach in health education, are discussed.

  2. Teaching Electroconvulsive Therapy to Medical Students: Effects of Instructional Method on Knowledge and Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warnell, Ronald L.; Duk, Anthony D.; Christison, George W.; Haviland, Mark G.

    2005-01-01

    Objective: To compare the effects of learning about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) via live observation to learning via an instructional videotape. Method: During their psychiatry clerkship, 122 medical students were randomized using these two educational methods, and their ECT knowledge and attitudes were assessed during the first and last weeks…

  3. Spacecraft Attitude Tracking and Maneuver Using Combined Magnetic Actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zhou, Zhiqiang

    2010-01-01

    The accuracy of spacecraft attitude control using magnetic actuators only is low and on the order of 0.4-5 degrees. The key reason is that the magnetic torque is two-dimensional and it is only in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field vector. In this paper novel attitude control algorithms using the combination of magnetic actuators with Reaction Wheel Assembles (RWAs) or other types of actuators, such as thrusters, are presented. The combination of magnetic actuators with one or two RWAs aligned with different body axis expands the two-dimensional control torque to three-dimensional. The algorithms can guarantee the spacecraft attitude and rates to track the commanded attitude precisely. A design example is presented for Nadir pointing, pitch and yaw maneuvers. The results show that precise attitude tracking can be reached and the attitude control accuracy is comparable with RWAs based attitude control. The algorithms are also useful for the RWAs based attitude control. When there are only one or two workable RWAs due to RWA failures, the attitude control system can switch to the control algorithms for the combined magnetic actuators with the RWAs without going to the safe mode and the control accuracy can be maintained.

  4. Flight Technology Improvement. [spaceborne optical radiometric instruments, attitude control, and electromechanical and power subsystems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1979-01-01

    Shortcomings in spaceborne instrumentation technology are analyzed and recommendations are given for corrections and technology development. The technologies discussed are optical radiometric instruments and calibration, attitude control and determination, and electromechanical and power subsystems.

  5. Attributions and Attitudes of Mothers and Fathers in Jordan.

    PubMed

    Al-Hassan, Suha; Takash, Hanan

    2011-07-01

    OBJECTIVE: The present study examined mean level similarities and differences as well as correlations between mothers' and fathers' attributions regarding successes and failures in caregiving situations and progressive versus authoritarian attitudes in Jordan. DESIGN: Interviews were conducted with both mothers and fathers in 112 families. RESULTS: There were no significant main effects of gender on any of the constructs of interest. Mothers and fathers reported similar levels of attributions regarding uncontrollable success, adult-controlled failure, and child-controlled failure in the same family. Regarding attitudes, mothers and fathers reported greater progressive attitudes than authoritarian attitudes. Large, significant correlations were found for concordance between parents in the same family on all seven attributions and attitudes examined; all remained significant after controlling for parents' age, education, and possible social desirability bias. Significant positive correlations were found for mothers' and fathers' attributions regarding uncontrollable success, adult-controlled failure, child-controlled failure, perceived control over failure, progressive attitudes, authoritarian attitudes, and modernity of attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: This study concluded that in Jordan mothers and fathers hold similar levels of attributions and attitudes.

  6. Statistical Attitude Determination

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Markley, F. Landis

    2010-01-01

    All spacecraft require attitude determination at some level of accuracy. This can be a very coarse requirement of tens of degrees, in order to point solar arrays at the sun, or a very fine requirement in the milliarcsecond range, as required by Hubble Space Telescope. A toolbox of attitude determination methods, applicable across this wide range, has been developed over the years. There have been many advances in the thirty years since the publication of Reference, but the fundamentals remain the same. One significant change is that onboard attitude determination has largely superseded ground-based attitude determination, due to the greatly increased power of onboard computers. The availability of relatively inexpensive radiation-hardened microprocessors has led to the development of "smart" sensors, with autonomous star trackers being the first spacecraft application. Another new development is attitude determination using interferometry of radio signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation. This article reviews both the classic material and these newer developments at approximately the level of, with emphasis on. methods suitable for use onboard a spacecraft. We discuss both "single frame" methods that are based on measurements taken at a single point in time, and sequential methods that use information about spacecraft dynamics to combine the information from a time series of measurements.

  7. Undergraduate psychiatry students' attitudes towards teaching methods at an Irish university.

    PubMed

    Jabbar, F; Casey, P; Kelly, B D

    2016-11-01

    At University College Dublin, teaching in psychiatry includes clinical electives, lectures, small-group and problem-based teaching, consistent with international trends. To determine final-year psychiatry students' attitudes towards teaching methods. We distributed questionnaires to all final-year medical students in two classes (2008 and 2009), after final psychiatry examination (before results) and all of them participated (n = 111). Students' interest in psychiatry as a career increased during psychiatry teaching. Students rated objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) as the most useful element of teaching and examination. The most common learning style was "reflector"; the least common was "pragmatist". Two thirds believed teaching could be improved (increased patient contact) and 89 % reported that experience of psychiatry changed attitudes towards mental illness (increased understanding). Students' preference for OSCEs may reflect the closeness of OSCE as a form of learning to OSCE as a form of assessment: OSCEs both focus on specific clinical skills and help prepare for examinations. Future research could usefully examine the extent to which these findings are university-specific or instructor-dependent. Information on the consistency of various teaching, examination and modularisation methods would also be useful.

  8. Integrated Power/Attitude Control System (IPACS) study. Volume 1: Feasibility studies. [application of flywheels for power storage and generation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Notti, J. E.; Cormack, A., III; Schmill, W. C.

    1974-01-01

    An Integrated Power/Attitude Control System (IPACS) concept consisting of an array of spinning flywheels, with or without gimbals, capable of performing the dual function of power storage and generation, as well as attitude control has been investigated. This system provides attitude control through momentum storage, and replaces the storage batteries onboard the spacecraft. The results of the investigation are presented in two volumes. The trade-off studies performed to establish the feasibility, cost effectiveness, required level of development, and boundaries of application of IPACS to a wide variety of spacecraft are discussed. The conceptual designs for a free-flying research application module (RAM), and for a tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) are presented. Results from dynamic analyses and simulations of the IPACS conceptual designs are included.

  9. Controlling Attitude of a Solar-Sail Spacecraft Using Vanes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mettler, Edward; Acikmese, Ahmet; Ploen, Scott

    2006-01-01

    A paper discusses a concept for controlling the attitude and thrust vector of a three-axis stabilized Solar Sail spacecraft using only four single degree-of-freedom articulated spar-tip vanes. The vanes, at the corners of the sail, would be turned to commanded angles about the diagonals of the square sail. Commands would be generated by an adaptive controller that would track a given trajectory while rejecting effects of such disturbance torques as those attributable to offsets between the center of pressure on the sail and the center of mass. The controller would include a standard proportional + derivative part, a feedforward part, and a dynamic component that would act like a generalized integrator. The controller would globally track reference signals, and in the presence of such control-actuator constraints as saturation and delay, the controller would utilize strategies to cancel or reduce their effects. The control scheme would be embodied in a robust, nonlinear algorithm that would allocate torques among the vanes, always finding a stable solution arbitrarily close to the global optimum solution of the control effort allocation problem. The solution would include an acceptably small angle, slow limit-cycle oscillation of the vanes, while providing overall thrust vector pointing stability and performance.

  10. Optimal Control Method of Robot End Position and Orientation Based on Dynamic Tracking Measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Dalong; Xu, Lijuan

    2018-01-01

    In order to improve the accuracy of robot pose positioning and control, this paper proposed a dynamic tracking measurement robot pose optimization control method based on the actual measurement of D-H parameters of the robot, the parameters is taken with feedback compensation of the robot, according to the geometrical parameters obtained by robot pose tracking measurement, improved multi sensor information fusion the extended Kalan filter method, with continuous self-optimal regression, using the geometric relationship between joint axes for kinematic parameters in the model, link model parameters obtained can timely feedback to the robot, the implementation of parameter correction and compensation, finally we can get the optimal attitude angle, realize the robot pose optimization control experiments were performed. 6R dynamic tracking control of robot joint robot with independent research and development is taken as experimental subject, the simulation results show that the control method improves robot positioning accuracy, and it has the advantages of versatility, simplicity, ease of operation and so on.

  11. A Voyager attitude control perspective on fault tolerant systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rasmussen, R. D.; Litty, E. C.

    1981-01-01

    In current spacecraft design, a trend can be observed to achieve greater fault tolerance through the application of on-board software dedicated to detecting and isolating failures. Whether fault tolerance through software can meet the desired objectives depends on very careful consideration and control of the system in which the software is imbedded. The considered investigation has the objective to provide some of the insight needed for the required analysis of the system. A description is given of the techniques which have been developed in this connection during the development of the Voyager spacecraft. The Voyager Galileo Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) fault tolerant design is discussed to emphasize basic lessons learned from this experience. The central driver of hardware redundancy implementation on Voyager was known as the 'single point failure criterion'.

  12. Initial Performance of the Attitude Control and Aspect Determination Subsystems on the Chandra Observatory

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cameron, R.; Aldcroft, T.; Podgorski, W. A.; Freeman, M. D.

    2000-01-01

    The aspect determination system of the Chandra X-ray Observatory plays a key role in realizing the full potential of Chandra's X-ray optics and detectors. We review the performance of the spacecraft hardware components and sub-systems, which provide information for both real time control of the attitude and attitude stability of the Chandra Observatory and also for more accurate post-facto attitude reconstruction. These flight components are comprised of the aspect camera (star tracker) and inertial reference units (gyros), plus the fiducial lights and fiducial transfer optics which provide an alignment null reference system for the science instruments and X-ray optics, together with associated thermal and structural components. Key performance measures will be presented for aspect camera focal plane data, gyro performance both during stable pointing and during maneuvers, alignment stability and mechanism repeatability.

  13. System and method for generating attitude determinations using GPS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cohen, Clark E. (Inventor)

    1996-01-01

    A GPS attitude receiver for determining the attitude of a moving vehicle in conjunction with a first, a second, a third, and a fourth antenna mounted to the moving vehicle. Each of the antennas receives a plurality of GPS signals that each include a carrier component. For each of the carrier components of the received GPS signals there is an integer ambiguity associated with the first and fourth antennas, an integer ambiguity associated with second and fourth antennas, and an integer ambiguity associated with the third and fourth antennas. The GPS attitude receiver measures phase values for the carrier components of the GPS signals received from each of the antennas at a plurality of measurement epochs during an initialization period and at a measurement epoch after the initialization period. In response to the phase values measured at the measurement epochs during the initialization period, the GPS attitude receiver computes integer ambiguity resolution values representing resolution of the integer ambiguities. Then, in response to the computed integer ambiguity resolution values and the phase value measured at the measurement epoch after the initialization period, it computes values defining the attitude of the moving vehicle at the measurement epoch after the initialization period.

  14. Electrospray Thrusters for Attitude Control of a 1-U CubeSat

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Timilsina, Navin

    With a rapid increase in the interest in use of nanosatellites in the past decade, finding a precise and low-power-consuming attitude control system for these satellites has been a real challenge. In this thesis, it is intended to design and test an electrospray thruster system that could perform the attitude control of a 1-unit CubeSat. Firstly, an experimental setup is built to calculate the conductivity of different liquids that could be used as propellants for the CubeSat. Secondly, a Time-Of-Flight experiment is performed to find out the thrust and specific impulse given by these liquids and hence selecting the optimum propellant. On the other hand, a colloidal thruster system for a 1-U CubeSat is designed in Solidworks and fabricated using Lathe and CNC Milling Machine. Afterwards, passive propellant feeding is tested in this thruster system. Finally, the electronic circuit and wireless control system necessary to remotely control the CubeSat is designed and the final testing is performed. Among the propellants studied, Ethyl ammonium nitrate (EAN) was selected as the best propellant for the CubeSat. Theoretical design and fabrication of the thruster system was performed successfully and so was the passive propellant feeding test. The satellite was assembled for the final experiment but unfortunately the microcontroller broke down during the first test and no promising results were found out. However, after proving that one thruster works with passive feeding, it could be said that the ACS testing would have worked if we had performed vacuum compatibility tests for other components beforehand.

  15. The impact of group training about parenting styles on maternal attitudes toward parenting styles.

    PubMed

    Zandiyeh, Zahra; Zare, Elaheh; Hedayati, Batool

    2015-01-01

    Parenting style is one of the most important and effective factors in training and growth of children and adolescents and the method that parents communicate with their children is an effective factor on family contact models. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of group training about parenting styles on maternal attitudes that were admitted to Isfahan Imam Ali (AS) health care center in 2013. This was an experimental study, which was conducted on a random sample of 25 mothers referred to this health care center. They were divided into two groups (experimental and control). The experimental group received five sessions of group training, and the control group received a booklet about parenting styles. The used tool in this study was the Bamerind Parenting Style Questionnaire that was completed by the mothers before and after the intervention and finally, their obtained scores were compared with each other. The results of the present study showed that the mean score of attitude toward easy-going style in test group was less than the control group after intervention (P = 0.045). The mean score of attitude toward authoritative style in the experimental group was less than control group after intervention (P = 0.037) and the mean score of attitude toward authoritative style in the experimental group was more than the control group after intervention (P = 0.011). Group training can be an appropriate method in changing maternal attitudes toward parenting styles.

  16. Community Involvement, Perceived Control, and Attitudes toward Aging among Lesbians and Gay Men

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hostetler, Andrew J.

    2012-01-01

    A person-environment approach was used to explore the relationship between community involvement and attitudes toward aging among middle-age and older lesbians and gay men. Specifically, this study investigated the relationships between participation in gay community activities, perceived control, and aging-related concerns among two…

  17. Mission management, planning, and cost: PULSE Attitude And Control Systems (AACS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1990-01-01

    The Pluto unmanned long-range scientific explorer (PULSE) is a probe that will do a flyby of Pluto. It is a low weight, relatively low costing vehicle which utilizes mostly off-the-shelf hardware, but not materials or techniques that will be available after 1999. A design, fabrication, and cost analysis is presented. PULSE will be launched within the first decade of the twenty-first century. The topics include: (1) scientific instrumentation; (2) mission management, planning, and costing; (3) power and propulsion systems; (4) structural subsystem; (5) command, control, and communication; and (6) attitude and articulation control.

  18. Older African American Homeless-Experienced Smokers' Attitudes Toward Tobacco Control Policies-Results from the HOPE HOME Study.

    PubMed

    Vijayaraghavan, Maya; Olsen, Pamela; Weeks, John; McKelvey, Karma; Ponath, Claudia; Kushel, Margot

    2018-02-01

    To examine attitudes toward tobacco control policies among older African American homeless-experienced smokers. A qualitative study. Oakland, California. Twenty-two African American older homeless-experienced smokers who were part of a longitudinal study on health and health-related outcomes (Health Outcomes of People Experiencing Homelessness in Older Middle Age Study). We conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with each participant to explore beliefs and attitudes toward tobacco use and cessation, barriers to smoking cessation, and attitudes toward current tobacco control strategies including raising cigarette prices, smoke-free policies, and graphic warning labels. We used a grounded theory approach to analyze the transcripts. Community social norms supportive of cigarette smoking and co-use of tobacco with other illicit substances were strong motivators of initiation and maintenance of tobacco use. Self-reported barriers to cessation included nicotine dependence, the experience of being homeless, fatalistic attitudes toward smoking cessation, substance use, and exposure to tobacco industry marketing. While participants were cognizant of current tobacco control policies and interventions for cessation, they felt that they were not specific enough for African Americans experiencing homelessness. Participants expressed strong support for strategies that de-normalized tobacco use and advertised the harmful effects of tobacco. Older African American homeless-experienced smokers face significant barriers to smoking cessation. Interventions that advertise the harmful effects of tobacco may be effective in stimulating smoking cessation among this population.

  19. Knowledge, attitude and practice of exercise for plasma blood glucose control among patients with type-2 diabetes.

    PubMed

    Awotidebe, Taofeek O; Adedoyin, Rufus A; Afolabi, Mubaraq A; Opiyo, Rose

    2016-01-01

    Exercise plays significant role in the health outcomes of patients with diabetes, however, little is known about patients' knowledge of exercise for plasma blood glucose control among patients with type-2 diabetes (T2D). This study investigated knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of exercise for plasma blood glucose control among patients with T2D. This cross-sectional study recruited 299 patients with T2D (male=105; female=194) from selected government hospitals in Osun State, Nigeria using purposive sampling technique. Validated questionnaires were used to assess of exercise for plasma blood glucose control and socioeconomic status (SES) of the patients. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Alpha level was set at <0.05. The mean age of respondents was 51.9±9.8 years. A majority, 245(81.9%) were married individuals and more than half, 195(65.3%) were in the low SES. One hundred and forty-eight (49.5%) had good knowledge of exercise whilst 269(90.0%) had negative attitude to exercise practice. Less than a third, 82(27.4%) engaged in exercise practice for plasma blood glucose control. There was significant association between knowledge and practice of exercise ((2)=12.535; p=0.002). Furthermore, significant associations were found between knowledge and gender ((2)=11.453; p=0.003), and socioeconomic status ((2)=29.127, p=0.001) but not associated with attitude towards exercise (p>0.05). Patients with demonstrated good knowledge of exercise for plasma blood glucose control but reported negative attitude and poor practice of exercise. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  20. Measuring attitude with a gradiometer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sonnabend, David; Gardner, Thomas G.

    1994-01-01

    This paper explores using a gravity gradiometer to measure the attitude of a satellite, given that the gravity field is accurately known. Since gradiometers actually measure a combination of the gradient and attitude rate and acceleration terms, the answer is far from obvious. The paper demonstrates that it can be done and at microradian accuracy. The technique employed is dynamic estimation, based on the momentum biased Euler equations. The satellite is assumed nominally planet pointed, and subject to control, gravity gradient, and partly radom drag torques. The attitude estimator is unusual. While the standard method of feeding back measurement residuals is used, the feedback gain matrix isn't derived from Kalman theory. instead, it's chosen to minimize a measure of the terminal covariance of the error in the estimate. This depends on the gain matrix and the power spectra of all the process and measurement noises. An integration is required over multiple solutions of Lyapunov equations.

  1. Birth Control Methods

    MedlinePlus

    ... Z Health Topics Birth control methods Birth control methods > A-Z Health Topics Birth control methods fact ... To receive Publications email updates Submit Birth control methods Birth control (contraception) is any method, medicine, or ...

  2. On the magnetic attitude control for spacecraft via the ɛ-strategies method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smirnov, Georgi V.; Ovchinnikov, Mikhail; Miranda, Francisco

    2008-09-01

    We develop a new approach to stabilization problems based on a combination of the Lyapunov functions method with local controllability properties. The stabilizability is understood in the sense of ɛ-strategies introduced by Pontryagin in the frame of differential games theory. To illustrate the possibilities of our approach we consider a satellite with two magnetic coils directed along its principal inertia axes. Its circular orbit is neither polar nor equatorial. We show that there exists an ɛ-strategy stabilizing an Earth pointing satellite, whenever the deviations from the equilibrium position are small enough.

  3. Racism, Gun Ownership and Gun Control: Biased Attitudes in US Whites May Influence Policy Decisions

    PubMed Central

    O’Brien, Kerry; Forrest, Walter; Lynott, Dermot; Daly, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Objective Racism is related to policies preferences and behaviors that adversely affect blacks and appear related to a fear of blacks (e.g., increased policing, death penalty). This study examined whether racism is also related to gun ownership and opposition to gun controls in US whites. Method The most recent data from the American National Election Study, a large representative US sample, was used to test relationships between racism, gun ownership, and opposition to gun control in US whites. Explanatory variables known to be related to gun ownership and gun control opposition (i.e., age, gender, education, income, conservatism, anti-government sentiment, southern vs. other states, political identification) were entered in logistic regression models, along with measures of racism, and the stereotype of blacks as violent. Outcome variables included; having a gun in the home, opposition to bans on handguns in the home, support for permits to carry concealed handguns. Results After accounting for all explanatory variables, logistic regressions found that for each 1 point increase in symbolic racism there was a 50% increase in the odds of having a gun at home. After also accounting for having a gun in the home, there was still a 28% increase in support for permits to carry concealed handguns, for each one point increase in symbolic racism. The relationship between symbolic racism and opposition to banning handguns in the home (OR1.27 CI 1.03,1.58) was reduced to non-significant after accounting for having a gun in the home (OR1.17 CI.94,1.46), which likely represents self-interest in retaining property (guns). Conclusions Symbolic racism was related to having a gun in the home and opposition to gun control policies in US whites. The findings help explain US whites’ paradoxical attitudes towards gun ownership and gun control. Such attitudes may adversely influence US gun control policy debates and decisions. PMID:24204867

  4. Are Informing Knowledge and Supportive Attitude Enough for Tobacco Control? A Latent Class Analysis of Cigarette Smoking Patterns among Medical Teachers in China

    PubMed Central

    Niu, Lu; Luo, Dan; Silenzio, Vincent M.B.; Xiao, Shuiyuan; Tian, Yongquan

    2015-01-01

    Background: This study is one part of a five-year tobacco-control project in China, which aimed to gain insight into the smoking behavior, knowledge, and attitudes among medical teachers in China. Methods: In May 2010, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical teachers of Xiangya Medical School, Central South University, China. Results: A total number of 682 medical teachers completed the surveys. Latent class analysis indicated the sample of smoking patterns was best represented by three latent subgroups of smoking consumption severity levels. Most respondents were informed of smoking related knowledge, but lack of knowledge on smoking cessation. Most of them held a supportive attitude towards their responsibilities among tobacco control, as well as the social significance of smoking. However, both smoking related knowledge and attitude were not correlated with severity of smoking consumption among medical teachers. Conclusion: The smoking prevalence among medical teachers in China remains high. Programs on smoking cessation training are required. Future study should also develop targeted interventions for subgroups of smokers based on smoking consumption. Persistent and effective anti-tobacco efforts are needed to achieve the goals of creating smoke-free campuses and hospitals. PMID:26404331

  5. Attitudes without Objects: Evidence for a Dispositional Attitude, its Measurement, and its Consequences

    PubMed Central

    Hepler, Justin; Albarracin, Dolores

    2013-01-01

    We hypothesized that individuals may differ in the dispositional tendency to have positive versus negative attitudes, a trait termed the Dispositional Attitude. Across four studies, we developed a 16-item Dispositional Attitude Measure (DAM) and investigated its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity. DAM scores were (a) positively correlated with positive affect traits, curiosity-related traits, and individual pre-existing attitudes, (b) negatively correlated with negative affect traits, and (c) uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated traits. Dispositional attitudes also significantly predicted the valence of novel attitudes while controlling for theoretically relevant traits (such as the big-five and optimism). The dispositional attitude construct represents a new perspective in which attitudes are not simply a function of the properties of the stimuli under consideration, but are also a function of the properties of the evaluator. We discuss the intriguing implications of dispositional attitudes for many areas of research, including attitude formation, persuasion, and behavior prediction. PMID:23586409

  6. Effectiveness of Case-Based Learning Instruction on Epistemological Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Chemistry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Çam, Aylin; Geban, Ömer

    2011-02-01

    The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of case-based learning instruction over traditionally designed chemistry instruction on eleventh grade students' epistemological beliefs and their attitudes toward chemistry as a school subject. The subjects of this study consisted of 63 eleventh grade students from two intact classes of an urban high school instructed with same teacher. Each teaching method was randomly assigned to one class. The experimental group received case-based learning and the control group received traditional instruction. At the experimental group, life cases were presented with small group format; at the control group, lecturing and discussion was carried out. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control group with respect to their epistemological beliefs and attitudes toward chemistry as a school subject in favor of case-based learning method group. Thus, case base learning is helpful for development of students' epistemological beliefs and attitudes toward chemistry.

  7. The Measurement of Nuclear War Attitudes: Methods and Concerns.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mayton, Daniel M., II

    Measures of adults' attitudes toward nuclear war are briefly discussed, and Mayton's Modified World Affairs Questionnaire (MWAQ) is described. The 23-item MWAQ was developed from Novak and Lerner's World Affairs Questionnaire, a nuclear war attitude measure by Mayton and Delamater, and related interview items by Jeffries. When the MWAQ was…

  8. Attitudes toward euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: a study of the multivariate effects of healthcare training, patient characteristics, religion and locus of control.

    PubMed

    Hains, Carrie-Anne Marie; Hulbert-Williams, Nicholas J

    2013-11-01

    Public and healthcare professionals differ in their attitudes towards euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS), the legal status of which is currently in the spotlight in the UK. In addition to medical training and experience, religiosity, locus of control and patient characteristics (eg, patient age, pain levels, number of euthanasia requests) are known influencing factors. Previous research tends toward basic designs reporting on attitudes in the context of just one or two potentially influencing factors; we aimed to test the comparative importance of a larger range of variables in a sample of nursing trainees and non-nursing controls. One hundred and fifty-one undergraduate students (early-stage nursing training, late-stage nursing training and non-nursing controls) were approached on a UK university campus and asked to complete a self-report questionnaire. Participants were of mixed gender and were on average 25.5 years old. No significant differences in attitude were found between nursing and non-nursing students. There was a significant positive correlation between higher religiosity and positive attitude toward euthanasia (r=0.19, p<0.05) and a significant negative relationship between internal locus of control and positive attitude toward PAS (r=-0.263, p<0.01). Multivariate analyses revealed differing predictor models for attitudes towards euthanasia and PAS, and confirm the importance of individual differences in determining these attitudes. The unexpected direction of association between religiosity and attitudes may reflect a broader cultural shift in attitudes since earlier research in this area. Furthermore, these findings suggest it possible that experience, more than training itself, may be a bigger influence on attitudinal differences in healthcare professionals.

  9. Steering Law Controlling the Constant Speeds of Control Moment Gyros

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    KOYASAKO, Y.; TAKAHASHI, M.

    2016-09-01

    To enable the agile control of satellites, using control moment gyros (CMGs) has become increasingly necessary because of their ability to generate large amounts of torque. However, CMGs have a singularity problem whereby the torque by the CMGs degenerates from three dimensions to two dimensions, affecting spacecraft attitude control performance. This study proposes a new steering control law for CMGs by controlling the constant speed of a CMG. The proposed method enables agile attitude changes, according to the required task, by managing the total angular momentum of the CMGs by considering the distance to external singularities. In the proposed method, the total angular momentum is biased in a specific direction and the angular momentum envelope is extended. The design method can increase the net angular momentum of CMGs which can be exchanged with the satellite. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by numerical simulations.

  10. Infrared horizon sensor modeling for attitude determination and control: Analysis and mission experience

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Phenneger, M. C.; Singhal, S. P.; Lee, T. H.; Stengle, T. H.

    1985-01-01

    The work performed by the Attitude Determination and Control Section at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Space Flight Center in analyzing and evaluating the performance of infrared horizon sensors is presented. The results of studies performed during the 1960s are reviewed; several models for generating the Earth's infrared radiance profiles are presented; and the Horizon Radiance Modeling Utility, the software used to model the horizon sensor optics and electronics processing to computer radiance-dependent attitude errors, is briefly discussed. Also provided is mission experience from 12 spaceflight missions spanning the period from 1973 to 1984 and using a variety of horizon sensing hardware. Recommendations are presented for future directions for the infrared horizon sensing technology.

  11. Measurement of user performance and attitudes assists the initial design of a computer user display and orientation method.

    PubMed

    Chase, C R; Ashikaga, T; Mazuzan, J E

    1994-07-01

    The objective of our study was to assess the acceptability of a proposed user interface to visually interfaced computer-assisted anesthesia record (VISI-CAARE), before the application was begun. The user interface was defined as the user display and its user orientation methods. We designed methods to measure user performance and attitude toward two different anesthesia record procedures: (1) the traditional pen and paper anesthetic record procedure of our hospital, and (2) VISI-CAARE. Performance measurements included the reaction speed (identifying the type and time of an event) and completion speed (describing the event). Performance also included accuracy of the recorded time of the event and accuracy of the description. User attitude was measured by (1) the physician's rating on a scale of 0 to 9 of the potential usefulness of computers in anesthesia care; (2) willingness to use the future application in the clinical environment; and (3) user suggestions for change. These measurements were used in a randomized trial of 21 physicians, of which data from 20 were available. After exposure to VISI-CAARE, the experimental subjects' ranking of computer usefulness in anesthesia care improved significantly (4.2 +/- 1.1 to 7.6 +/- 1.5, p = 0.0001), as did controls' (5.2 +/- 2.6 to 8 +/- 1.5, p = 0.0019). All the volunteers were willing to try the proposed prototype clinically, when it was ready. VISI-CAARE exposure was associated with faster and more accurate reaction to events over the traditional pen and paper machine, and slower and more accurate description of events in an artificial mock setting. VISI-CAARE 1.1 demonstrated significant improvements in both reaction speed and completion speed over VISI-CAARE 1.0, after changes were made to the user display and orientation methods. With graphic user interface prototyping environments, one can obtain preliminary user attitude and performance data, even before application programming is begun. This may be helpful in

  12. Development of the functional simulator for the Galileo attitude and articulation control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Namiri, M. K.

    1983-01-01

    A simulation program for verifying and checking the performance of the Galileo Spacecraft's Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem's (AACS) flight software is discussed. The program, which is called Functional Simulator (FUNSIM), provides a simple method of interfacing user-supplied mathematical models coded in FORTRAN which describes spacecraft dynamics, sensors, and actuators; this is done with the AACS flight software, coded in HAL/S (High-level Advanced Language/Shuttle). It is thus able to simulate the AACS flight software accurately to the HAL/S statement level in the environment of a mainframe computer system. FUNSIM also has a command and data subsystem (CDS) simulator. It is noted that the input/output data and timing are simulated with the same precision as the flight microprocessor. FUNSIM uses a variable stepsize numerical integration algorithm complete with individual error bound control on the state variable to solve the equations of motion. The program has been designed to provide both line printer and matrix dot plotting of the variables requested in the run section and to provide error diagnostics.

  13. Effects of the Integrated Online Advance Organizer Teaching Materials on Students' Science Achievement and Attitude

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Korur, Fikret; Toker, Sacip; Eryılmaz, Ali

    2016-08-01

    This two-group quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of the Online Advance Organizer Concept Teaching Material (ONACOM) integrated with inquiry teaching and expository teaching methods. Grade 7 students' posttest performances on the light unit achievement and light unit attitude tests controlled for gender, previous semester science grade, and pretest scores were analyzed. No significant treatment effects were found between the inquiry and expository approaches. However, both groups demonstrated significant pretest-posttest gains in achievement and attitude. Independent from the method used, ONACOM was judged effective in both groups as students demonstrated increased achievement and attitude scores. ONACOM has a social and semantic network-aided infrastructure that can be adapted to both methods to increase students' achievement and improve their attitude.

  14. Study of a Satellite Attitude Control System Using Integrating Gyros as Torque Sources

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    White, John S.; Hansen, Q. Marion

    1961-01-01

    This report considers the use of single-degree-of-freedom integrating gyros as torque sources for precise control of satellite attitude. Some general design criteria are derived and applied to the specific example of the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. The results of the analytical design are compared with the results of an analog computer study and also with experimental results from a low-friction platform. The steady-state and transient behavior of the system, as determined by the analysis, by the analog study, and by the experimental platform agreed quite well. The results of this study show that systems using integrating gyros for precise satellite attitude control can be designed to have a reasonably rapid and well-damped transient response, as well as very small steady-state errors. Furthermore, it is shown that the gyros act as rate sensors, as well as torque sources, so that no rate stabilization networks are required, and when no error sensor is available, the vehicle is still rate stabilized. Hence, it is shown that a major advantage of a gyro control system is that when the target is occulted, an alternate reference is not required.

  15. Influence of Joyful Learning on Elementary School Students’ Attitudes Toward Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anggoro, S.; Sopandi, W.; Sholehuddin, M.

    2017-02-01

    This study investigated the effects of joyful learning approach on elementary school students’ attitudes toward science. The method used is quasy experiment with the participants were divided into two groups. Thirty three of 4th grade students volunteered as an experimental group, and the other forty two act as a control group. The data was collected by questionnaire that are given before and after the lesson, observation sheet, and interview. The effect of joyful learning on students’ attitude was obtained by determining the n-gain and independent t-test. Observation and interview results were used to triangulate and support the quantitative findings. The data showed that the gain scores of the experimental group students’ attitudes toward science were significantly higher than the gain scores of control group. In addition, the experimental group made significantly greater progress in their cognitive, affective and conative experiences. Interviews and observations indicated that their attitude toward science changed over the intervention. This indicated that joyful learning approach can enhance the elementary school students’ attitudes toward science. According to these findings, it can be concluded that joyful learning approach can be used as an alternative approach to improve student’s attitude toward science.

  16. Attitudes towards fertility control.

    PubMed

    Muthal, S

    1992-03-01

    "The present work aims to determine...the effectiveness of traditional mixed and modern attitudes towards fertility. Here fertility refers to the number of children actually born to a woman. Randomly chosen 400 women belonging to different ethnic strains from Sagar town [India] constitute the data for the present study. The scaling technique is devised to obtain accurate values for fertility noticed among different populations. Thus an attempt has been made to study whether education, income, caste, age and age at marriage have direct association with fertility." excerpt

  17. Knowledge, awareness, and attitude regarding infection prevention and control among medical students: a call for educational intervention

    PubMed Central

    Ibrahim, Awab Ali; Elshafie, Sittana Shamseldin

    2016-01-01

    Background Medical students can be exposed to serious health care-associated infections, if they are not following infection prevention and control (IPC) measures. There is limited information regarding the knowledge, awareness, and practices of medical students regarding IPC and the educational approaches used to teach them these practices. Aim To evaluate the knowledge, awareness, and attitude of medical students toward IPC guidelines, and the learning approaches to help improve their knowledge. Methods A cross-sectional, interview-based survey included 73 medical students from Weill Cornell Medical College, Qatar. Students completed a questionnaire concerning awareness, knowledge, and attitude regarding IPC practices. Students’ knowledge was assessed by their correct answers to the survey questions. Findings A total of 48.44% of the respondents were aware of standard isolation precautions, 61.90% were satisfied with their training in IPC, 66.13% were exposed to hand hygiene training, while 85.48% had sufficient knowledge about hand hygiene and practiced it on a routine basis, but only 33.87% knew the duration of the hand hygiene procedure. Conclusion Knowledge, attitude, and awareness of IPC measures among Weill Cornell Medical Students in Qatar were found to be inadequate. Multifaceted training programs may have to target newly graduated medical practitioners or the training has to be included in the graduate medical curriculum to enable them to adopt and adhere to IPC guidelines. PMID:27579002

  18. Research on Robot Pose Control Technology Based on Kinematics Analysis Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Dalong; Xu, Lijuan

    2018-01-01

    In order to improve the attitude stability of the robot, proposes an attitude control method of robot based on kinematics analysis model, solve the robot walking posture transformation, grasping and controlling the motion planning problem of robot kinematics. In Cartesian space analytical model, using three axis accelerometer, magnetometer and the three axis gyroscope for the combination of attitude measurement, the gyroscope data from Calman filter, using the four element method for robot attitude angle, according to the centroid of the moving parts of the robot corresponding to obtain stability inertia parameters, using random sampling RRT motion planning method, accurate operation to any position control of space robot, to ensure the end effector along a prescribed trajectory the implementation of attitude control. The accurate positioning of the experiment is taken using MT-R robot as the research object, the test robot. The simulation results show that the proposed method has better robustness, and higher positioning accuracy, and it improves the reliability and safety of robot operation.

  19. Infection control knowledge, attitudes, and practices among healthcare workers at Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.

    PubMed

    Sethi, Ajay K; Acher, Charles W; Kirenga, Bruce; Mead, Scott; Donskey, Curtis J; Katamba, Achilles

    2012-09-01

    Effective implementation of infection control programs and adherence to standard precautions are challenging in resource-limited settings. The objective of this study was to describe infection control knowledge, attitudes, and practices among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Uganda. We conducted a survey of hospital employees who had direct contact with patients or their immediate environment. We also performed an environmental assessment of resource availability and utilization within hospital wards. Surgical, medicine, and obstetrics wards at a national referral hospital in Kampala, Uganda. One hundred eighty-three randomly selected HCWs. Almost all HCWs knew to wash their hands, although nursing and support staff were less likely to perceive that HCWs' hands can be a vector of disease transmission. Hand washing was valued more as a means of self-protection than as a means to prevent patient-to-patient transmission, consistent with the prevailing belief that infection control was important for occupational safety. Sinks were not readily accessible, and soap at sinks was uncommon throughout the medicine and obstetrics wards but more commonly available in the surgery wards. Alcohol gel was rarely available. Changing infection control practices in developing countries will require a multifaceted approach that addresses resource availability, occupational safety, and local understanding and attitudes about infection control.

  20. Controlling healthcare professionals: how human resource management influences job attitudes and operational efficiency.

    PubMed

    Cogin, Julie Ann; Ng, Ju Li; Lee, Ilro

    2016-09-20

    We assess how human resource management (HRM) is implemented in Australian hospitals. Drawing on role theory, we consider the influence HRM has on job attitudes of healthcare staff and hospital operational efficiency. We adopt a qualitative research design across professional groups (physicians, nurses, and allied health staff) at multiple levels (executive, healthcare managers, and employee). A total of 34 interviews were carried out and analyzed using NVivo. Findings revealed a predominance of a control-based approach to people management. Using Snell's control framework (AMJ 35:292-327, 1992), we found that behavioral control was the principal form of control used to manage nurses, allied health workers, and junior doctors. We found a mix between behavior, output, and input controls as well as elements of commitment-based HRM to manage senior physicians. We observed low levels of investment in people and a concentration on transactional human resource (HR) activities which led to negative job attitudes such as low morale and frustration among healthcare professionals. While hospitals used rules to promote conformity with established procedures, the overuse and at times inappropriate use of behavior controls restricted healthcare managers' ability to motivate and engage their staff. Excessive use of behavior control helped to realize short-term cost-cutting goals; however, this often led to operational inefficiencies. We suggest that hospitals reduce the profusion of behavior control and increase levels of input and output controls in the management of people. Poor perceptions of HR specialists and HR activities have resulted in HR being overlooked as a vehicle to address the strategic challenges required of health reform and to build an engaged workforce.

  1. Hierarchical control of ride height system for electronically controlled air suspension based on variable structure and fuzzy control theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Xing; Zhou, Kongkang; Zou, Nannan; Jiang, Hong; Cui, Xiaoli

    2015-09-01

    The current research of air suspension mainly focuses on the characteristics and design of the air spring. In fact, electronically controlled air suspension (ECAS) has excellent performance in flexible height adjustment during different driving conditions. However, the nonlinearity of the ride height adjusting system and the uneven distribution of payload affect the control accuracy of ride height and the body attitude. Firstly, the three-point measurement system of three height sensors is used to establish the mathematical model of the ride height adjusting system. The decentralized control of ride height and the centralized control of body attitude are presented to design the ride height control system for ECAS. The exact feedback linearization method is adopted for the nonlinear mathematical model of the ride height system. Secondly, according to the hierarchical control theory, the variable structure control (VSC) technique is used to design a controller that is able to adjust the ride height for the quarter-vehicle anywhere, and each quarter-vehicle height control system is independent. Meanwhile, the three-point height signals obtained by three height sensors are tracked to calculate the body pitch and roll attitude over time, and then by calculating the deviation of pitch and roll and its rates, the height control correction is reassigned based on the fuzzy algorithm. Finally, to verify the effectiveness and performance of the proposed combined control strategy, a validating test of ride height control system with and without road disturbance is carried out. Testing results show that the height adjusting time of both lifting and lowering is over 5 s, and the pitch angle and the roll angle of body attitude are less than 0.15°. This research proposes a hierarchical control method that can guarantee the attitude stability, as well as satisfy the ride height tracking system.

  2. 42: An Open-Source Simulation Tool for Study and Design of Spacecraft Attitude Control Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stoneking, Eric

    2018-01-01

    Simulation is an important tool in the analysis and design of spacecraft attitude control systems. The speaker will discuss the simulation tool, called simply 42, that he has developed over the years to support his own work as an engineer in the Attitude Control Systems Engineering Branch at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 42 was intended from the outset to be high-fidelity and powerful, but also fast and easy to use. 42 is publicly available as open source since 2014. The speaker will describe some of 42's models and features, and discuss its applicability to studies ranging from early concept studies through the design cycle, integration, and operations. He will outline 42's architecture and share some thoughts on simulation development as a long-term project.

  3. Knowledge, attitude, and practice about malaria: Socio-demographic implications for malaria control in rural Ghana.

    PubMed

    Assan, Abraham; Takian, Amirhossein; Hanafi-Bojd, Ahmad Ali; Rahimiforoushani, Abbas; Nematolahi, Shahrzad

    2017-11-01

    Despite continuing international attention to malaria prevention, the disease remains a global public health problem. We investigated socio-demographic factors influencing knowledge, attitudes, and practices about malaria in rural Ghana. Our survey looked at 354 households. Mean knowledge score was higher among individuals with a history of volunteers having visited their households to educate them about malaria; families with 4-6 members; and males. Households with at least one under-five-aged child also had significantly higher knowledge scores. Households with at least one pregnant woman evinced a positive attitude towards malaria prevention. National malaria control strategies have achieved positive results in the fight against malaria. Nonetheless, multipronged community-based health strategies that integrate malaria programs and population growth control initiatives may be able to reach by 2030 the sustainable development goal of eliminating malaria.

  4. Attitudes without objects: evidence for a dispositional attitude, its measurement, and its consequences.

    PubMed

    Hepler, Justin; Albarracín, Dolores

    2013-06-01

    We hypothesized that individuals may differ in the dispositional tendency to have positive vs. negative attitudes, a trait termed the dispositional attitude. Across 4 studies, we developed a 16-item Dispositional Attitude Measure (DAM) and investigated its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity. DAM scores were (a) positively correlated with positive affect traits, curiosity-related traits, and individual preexisting attitudes; (b) negatively correlated with negative affect traits; and (c) uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated traits. Dispositional attitudes also significantly predicted the valence of novel attitudes while controlling for theoretically relevant traits (such as the Big 5 and optimism). The dispositional attitude construct represents a new perspective in which attitudes are not simply a function of the properties of the stimuli under consideration, but are also a function of the properties of the evaluator. We discuss the intriguing implications of dispositional attitudes for many areas of research, including attitude formation, persuasion, and behavior prediction. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  5. Stroke patients and their attitudes toward mHealth monitoring to support blood pressure control and medication adherence

    PubMed Central

    Burkett, Nina-Sarena; Ovbiagele, Bruce; Mueller, Martina; Patel, Sachin; Brunner-Jackson, Brenda; Saulson, Raelle; Treiber, Frank

    2016-01-01

    Background Mobile health, or mHealth, has increasingly been signaled as an effective means to expedite communication and improve medical regimen adherence, especially for patients with chronic health conditions such as stroke. However, there is a lack of data on attitudes of stroke patients toward mHealth. Such information will aid in identifying key indicators for feasibility and optimal implementation of mHealth to prevent and/or decrease rates of secondary stroke. Our objective was to ascertain stroke patients’ attitudes toward using mobile phone enabled blood pressure (BP) monitoring and medication adherence and identify factors that modulate these attitudes. Methods Sixty stroke patients received a brief demonstration of mHealth devices to assist with BP control and medication adherence and a survey to evaluate willingness to use this technology. Results The 60 participants had a mean age of 57 years, were 43.3% male, and 53.3% were White. With respect to telecommunication prevalence, 93.3% owned a cellular device and 25% owned a smartphone. About 70% owned a working computer. Regarding attitudes, 85% felt comfortable with a doctor or nurse using mHealth technologies to monitor personal health information, 78.3% believed mHealth would help remind them to follow doctor’s directions, and 83.3% were confident that technology could effectively be used to communicate with health care providers for medical needs. Conclusions Mobile device use is high in stroke patients and they are amenable to mHealth for communication and assistance in adhering to their medical regimens. More research is needed to explore usefulness of this technology in larger stroke populations. PMID:27347490

  6. Study of tethered satellite active attitude control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Colombo, G.

    1982-01-01

    Existing software was adapted for the study of tethered subsatellite rotational dynamics, an analytic solution for a stable configuration of a tethered subsatellite was developed, the analytic and numerical integrator (computer) solutions for this "test case' was compared in a two mass tether model program (DUMBEL), the existing multiple mass tether model (SKYHOOK) was modified to include subsatellite rotational dynamics, the analytic "test case,' was verified, and the use of the SKYHOOK rotational dynamics capability with a computer run showing the effect of a single off axis thruster on the behavior of the subsatellite was demonstrated. Subroutines for specific attitude control systems are developed and applied to the study of the behavior of the tethered subsatellite under realistic on orbit conditions. The effect of all tether "inputs,' including pendular oscillations, air drag, and electrodynamic interactions, on the dynamic behavior of the tether are included.

  7. Propulsion Options for Primary Thrust and Attitude Control of Microspacecraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    deGroot, W. A.

    1998-01-01

    Order of magnitude decreases in the size of scientific satellites and spacecraft could provide concurrent decreases in mission costs because of lower launch and fabrication costs. Although many subsystems are amenable to dramatic size reductions, miniaturization of the propulsion subsystems is not straightforward. There are a range of requirements for both primary and attitude control propulsion, dictated by mission requirements, satellite size, and power restrictions. Many of the established propulsion technologies can not currently be applied to microspacecraft. Because of this, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication technology is being explored as a path for miniaturization.

  8. The Efficacy of Three Learning Methods Collaborative, Context-Based Learning and Traditional, on Learning, Attitude and Behaviour of Undergraduate Nursing Students: Integrating Theory and Practice

    PubMed Central

    Hasanpour-Dehkordi, Ali

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Communication skills training, responsibility, respect, and self-awareness are important indexes of changing learning behaviours in modern approaches. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of three learning approaches, collaborative, context-based learning (CBL), and traditional, on learning, attitude, and behaviour of undergraduate nursing students. Materials and Methods This study was a clinical trial with pretest and post-test of control group. The participants were senior nursing students. The samples were randomly assigned to three groups; CBL, collaborative, and traditional. To gather data a standard questionnaire of students’ behaviour and attitude was administered prior to and after the intervention. Also, the rate of learning was investigated by a researcher-developed questionnaire prior to and after the intervention in the three groups. Results In CBL and collaborative training groups, the mean score of behaviour and attitude increased after the intervention. But no significant association was obtained between the mean scores of behaviour and attitude prior to and after the intervention in the traditional group. However, the mean learning score increased significantly in the CBL, collaborative, and traditional groups after the study in comparison to before the study. Conclusion Both CBL and collaborative approaches were useful in terms of increased respect, self-awareness, self-evaluation, communication skills and responsibility as well as increased motivation and learning score in comparison to traditional method. PMID:27190926

  9. Evaluation of an Online Campaign for Promoting Help-Seeking Attitudes for Depression Using a Facebook Advertisement: An Online Randomized Controlled Experiment

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Background A depression-awareness campaign delivered through the Internet has been recommended as a public health approach that would enhance mental health literacy and encourage help-seeking attitudes. However, the outcomes of such a campaign remain understudied. Objective The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an online depression awareness campaign, which was informed by the theory of planned behavior, to encourage help-seeking attitudes for depression and to enhance mental health literacy in Hong Kong. The second aim was to examine click-through behaviors by varying the affective facial expressions of people in the Facebook advertisements. Methods Potential participants were recruited through Facebook advertisements, using either a happy or sad face illustration. Volunteer participants registered for the study by clicking on the advertisement and were invited to leave their personal email addresses to receive educational content about depression. The participants were randomly assigned into two groups (campaign or control), and over a four consecutive week period, received either the campaign material or official information developed by the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong. Pretests and posttests were conducted before and after the campaign to measure the differences in help-seeking attitudes and mental health literacy among the campaign and control groups. Results Of the 199 participants that registered and completed the pretest, 116 (55 campaign and 62 control) completed the campaign and the posttest. At the posttest, we found no significant changes in help-seeking attitudes between the campaign and control groups, but the campaign group participants demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in mental health literacy (P=.031) and a higher willingness to access additional information (P<.001) than the control group. Moreover, the happy face Facebook advertisement attracted more click-throughs by users into the website than

  10. Dengue knowledge, attitudes and practices and their impact on community-based vector control in rural Cambodia

    PubMed Central

    Doum, Dyna; Keo, Vanney; Sokha, Ly; Sam, BunLeng; Chan, Vibol; Alexander, Neal; Bradley, John; Liverani, Marco; Prasetyo, Didot Budi; Rachmat, Agus; Lopes, Sergio; Hii, Jeffrey; Rithea, Leang; Shafique, Muhammad; Hustedt, John

    2018-01-01

    Background Globally there are an estimated 390 million dengue infections per year, of which 96 million are clinically apparent. In Cambodia, estimates suggest as many as 185,850 cases annually. The World Health Organization global strategy for dengue prevention aims to reduce mortality rates by 50% and morbidity by 25% by 2020. The adoption of integrated vector management approach using community-based methods tailored to the local context is one of the recommended strategies to achieve these objectives. Understanding local knowledge, attitudes and practices is therefore essential to designing suitable strategies to fit each local context. Methods and findings A Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices survey in 600 randomly chosen households was administered in 30 villages in Kampong Cham which is one of the most populated provinces of Cambodia. KAP surveys were administered to a sub-sample of households where an entomology survey was conducted (1200 households), during which Aedes larval/pupae and adult female Aedes mosquito densities were recorded. Participants had high levels of knowledge regarding the transmission of dengue, Aedes breeding, and biting prevention methods; the majority of participants believed they were at risk and that dengue transmission is preventable. However, self-reported vector control practices did not match observed practices recorded in our surveys. No correlation was found between knowledge and observed practices either. Conclusion An education campaign regarding dengue prevention in this setting with high knowledge levels is unlikely to have any significant effect on practices unless it is incorporated in a more comprehensive strategy for behavioural change, such a COMBI method, which includes behavioural models as well as communication and marketing theory and practice. Trial registration ISRCTN85307778. PMID:29451879

  11. Efficacy of the Cooperative Learning Method on Mathematics Achievement and Attitude: A Meta-Analysis Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Capar, Gulfer; Tarim, Kamuran

    2015-01-01

    This research compiles experimental studies from 1988 to 2010 that examined the influence of the cooperative learning method, as compared with that of traditional methods, on mathematics achievement and on attitudes towards mathematics. The related field was searched using the following key words in Turkish "matematik ve isbirlikli ögrenme,…

  12. Using the implicit relational assessment procedure to compare implicit pro-thin/anti-fat attitudes of patients with anorexia nervosa and non-clinical controls.

    PubMed

    Parling, Thomas; Cernvall, Martin; Stewart, Ian; Barnes-Holmes, Dermot; Ghaderi, Ata

    2012-01-01

    Implicit pro-thin/anti-fat attitudes were investigated among a mixed group of patients with full and sub-threshold Anorexia Nervosa (n = 17), and a matched-age control group (n = 17). The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) was employed to measure implicit pro-thin and anti-fat attitudes towards Self and Others in addition to "striving for thinness" and "avoidance of fatness." The clinical group showed an implicit pro-fat attitude towards Others and stronger anti-fat attitudes towards Self and avoidance of fatness compared with controls. The findings are discussed in relation to the over-evaluation of weight and shape in the clinical group.

  13. A recurrent neural-network-based sensor and actuator fault detection and isolation for nonlinear systems with application to the satellite's attitude control subsystem.

    PubMed

    Talebi, H A; Khorasani, K; Tafazoli, S

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a robust fault detection and isolation (FDI) scheme for a general class of nonlinear systems using a neural-network-based observer strategy. Both actuator and sensor faults are considered. The nonlinear system considered is subject to both state and sensor uncertainties and disturbances. Two recurrent neural networks are employed to identify general unknown actuator and sensor faults, respectively. The neural network weights are updated according to a modified backpropagation scheme. Unlike many previous methods developed in the literature, our proposed FDI scheme does not rely on availability of full state measurements. The stability of the overall FDI scheme in presence of unknown sensor and actuator faults as well as plant and sensor noise and uncertainties is shown by using the Lyapunov's direct method. The stability analysis developed requires no restrictive assumptions on the system and/or the FDI algorithm. Magnetorquer-type actuators and magnetometer-type sensors that are commonly employed in the attitude control subsystem (ACS) of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for attitude determination and control are considered in our case studies. The effectiveness and capabilities of our proposed fault diagnosis strategy are demonstrated and validated through extensive simulation studies.

  14. Semi-globally input-to-state stable controller design for flexible spacecraft attitude stabilization under bounded disturbances

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Qinglei

    2010-02-01

    Semi-globally input-to-state stable (ISS) control law is derived for flexible spacecraft attitude maneuvers in the presence of parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. The modified rodrigues parameters (MRP) are used as the kinematic variables since they are nonsingular for all possible rotations. This novel simple control is a proportional-plus-derivative (PD) type controller plus a sign function through a special Lyapunov function construction involving the sum of quadratic terms in the angular velocities, kinematic parameters, modal variables and the cross state weighting. A sufficient condition under which this nonlinear PD-type control law can render the system semi-globally input-to-state stable is provided such that the closed-loop system is robust with respect to any disturbance within a quantifiable restriction on the amplitude, as well as the set of initial conditions, if the control gains are designed appropriately. In addition to detailed derivations of the new controllers design and a rigorous sketch of all the associated stability and attitude convergence proofs, extensive simulation studies have been conducted to validate the design and the results are presented to highlight the ensuring closed-loop performance benefits when compared with the conventional control schemes.

  15. Attitude/attitude-rate estimation from GPS differential phase measurements using integrated-rate parameters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oshman, Yaakov; Markley, Landis

    1998-01-01

    A sequential filtering algorithm is presented for attitude and attitude-rate estimation from Global Positioning System (GPS) differential carrier phase measurements. A third-order, minimal-parameter method for solving the attitude matrix kinematic equation is used to parameterize the filter's state, which renders the resulting estimator computationally efficient. Borrowing from tracking theory concepts, the angular acceleration is modeled as an exponentially autocorrelated stochastic process, thus avoiding the use of the uncertain spacecraft dynamic model. The new formulation facilitates the use of aiding vector observations in a unified filtering algorithm, which can enhance the method's robustness and accuracy. Numerical examples are used to demonstrate the performance of the method.

  16. Nurses' attitudes to terminally ill patients.

    PubMed

    Román, E M; Sorribes, E; Ezquerro, O

    2001-05-01

    The care of terminally ill patients is a challenge for nurses that has raised special interest in recent years. Several studies have shown a stereotyped negative attitude in nurses towards terminally ill patients. However, all have used methods with several limitations. The aim of the study presented in this paper was to identify the nurses' attitude to the terminally ill patient in Catalonia, Spain, and the relationship of this attitude to different socio-demographic data (type of centre, shift, years of experience, age and sex) by means of a new quantitative method based on the free word-association test. One hundred and seventy-five nurses working in 18 hospitals and hospices in Catalonia, Spain were included in the study. Data were analysed by the Associative Semantic Field Differential method by means of the computer programme CONTEXT and a quantitative evaluation of the degree of attitudes positivity was obtained. The study revealed a general slight negative trend in attitudes towards the terminally ill patient. A more positive attitude was observed in older caregivers and in women. The positivity in attitude decreased from morning to night shift. No differences were observed between nurses working in hospitals and those working in hospices. We conclude that nursing attitudes can be analysed by methods such as that used in this study. Attempts can be made to modify this attitude in caregivers by means of training programmes and stimulating awareness of an adequate professional approach.

  17. Fuzzy based attitude controller for flexible spacecraft with on/off thrusters. M.S. Thesis - M.I.T., 1993

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Knapp, Roger Glenn

    1993-01-01

    A fuzzy-based attitude controller is designed for attitude control of a generic spacecraft with on/off thrusters. The controller is comprised of packages of rules dedicated to addressing different objectives (e.g., disturbance rejection, low fuel consumption, avoiding the excitation of flexible appendages, etc.). These rule packages can be inserted or removed depending on the requirements of the particular spacecraft and are parameterized based on vehicle parameters such as inertia or operational parameters such as the maneuvering rate. Individual rule packages can be 'weighted' relative to each other to emphasize the importance of one objective relative to another. Finally, the fuzzy controller and rule packages are demonstrated using the high-fidelity Space Shuttle Interactive On-Orbit Simulator (IOS) while performing typical on-orbit operations and are subsequently compared with the existing shuttle flight control system performance.

  18. Reusable Reentry Satellite (RRS) system design study. Phase B, appendix E: Attitude control system study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1991-01-01

    A study which consisted of a series of design analyses for an Attitude Control System (ACS) to be incorporated into the Re-usable Re-entry Satellite (RRS) was performed. The main thrust of the study was associated with defining the control laws and estimating the mass and power requirements of the ACS needed to meet the specified performance goals. The analyses concentrated on the different on-orbit control modes which start immediately after the separation of the RRS from the launch vehicle. The three distinct on-orbit modes considered for these analyses are as follows: (1) Mode 1 - A Gravity Gradient (GG) three-axis stabilized spacecraft with active magnetic control; (2) Mode 2 - A GG stabilized mode with a controlled yaw rotation rate ('rotisserie') using three-axis magnetic control and also incorporating a 10 N-m-s momentum wheel along the (Z) yaw axis; and (3) Mode 3 - A spin stabilized mode of operation with the spin about the pitch (Y) axis, incorporating a 20 N-m-s momentum wheel along the pitch (Y) axis and attitude control via thrusters. To investigate the capabilities of the different controllers in these various operational modes, a series of computer simulations and trade-off analyses have been made to evaluate the achievable performance levels, and the necessary mass and power requirements.

  19. Reusable Reentry Satellite (RRS) system design study. Phase B, appendix E: Attitude control system study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    1991-02-01

    A study which consisted of a series of design analyses for an Attitude Control System (ACS) to be incorporated into the Re-usable Re-entry Satellite (RRS) was performed. The main thrust of the study was associated with defining the control laws and estimating the mass and power requirements of the ACS needed to meet the specified performance goals. The analyses concentrated on the different on-orbit control modes which start immediately after the separation of the RRS from the launch vehicle. The three distinct on-orbit modes considered for these analyses are as follows: (1) Mode 1 - A Gravity Gradient (GG) three-axis stabilized spacecraft with active magnetic control; (2) Mode 2 - A GG stabilized mode with a controlled yaw rotation rate ('rotisserie') using three-axis magnetic control and also incorporating a 10 N-m-s momentum wheel along the (Z) yaw axis; and (3) Mode 3 - A spin stabilized mode of operation with the spin about the pitch (Y) axis, incorporating a 20 N-m-s momentum wheel along the pitch (Y) axis and attitude control via thrusters. To investigate the capabilities of the different controllers in these various operational modes, a series of computer simulations and trade-off analyses have been made to evaluate the achievable performance levels, and the necessary mass and power requirements.

  20. Integrated identification and control for nanosatellites reclaiming failed satellite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Nan; Luo, Jianjun; Ma, Weihua; Yuan, Jianping

    2018-05-01

    Using nanosatellites to reclaim a failed satellite needs nanosatellites to attach to its surface to take over its attitude control function. This is challenging, since parameters including the inertia matrix of the combined spacecraft and the relative attitude information of attached nanosatellites with respect to the given body-fixed frame of the failed satellite are all unknown after the attachment. Besides, if the total control capacity needs to be increased during the reclaiming process by new nanosatellites, real-time parameters updating will be necessary. For these reasons, an integrated identification and control method is proposed in this paper, which enables the real-time parameters identification and attitude takeover control to be conducted concurrently. Identification of the inertia matrix of the combined spacecraft and the relative attitude information of attached nanosatellites are both considered. To guarantee sufficient excitation for the identification of the inertia matrix, a modified identification equation is established by filtering out sample points leading to ill-conditioned identification, and the identification performance of the inertia matrix is improved. Based on the real-time estimated inertia matrix, an attitude takeover controller is designed, the stability of the controller is analysed using Lyapunov method. The commanded control torques are allocated to each nanosatellite while the control saturation constraint being satisfied using the Quadratic Programming (QP) method. Numerical simulations are carried out to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed integrated identification and control method.

  1. Orion Launch Abort Vehicle Attitude Control Motor Testing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murphy, Kelly J.; Brauckmann, Gregory J.; Paschal, Keith B.; Chan, David T.; Walker, Eric L.; Foley, Robert; Mayfield, David; Cross, Jared

    2011-01-01

    Current Orion Launch Abort Vehicle (LAV) configurations use an eight-jet, solid-fueled Attitude Control Motor (ACM) to provide required vehicle control for all proposed abort trajectories. Due to the forward position of the ACM on the LAV, it is necessary to assess the effects of jet-interactions (JI) between the various ACM nozzle plumes and the external flow along the outside surfaces of the vehicle. These JI-induced changes in flight control characteristics must be accounted for in developing ACM operations and LAV flight characteristics. A test program to generate jet interaction aerodynamic increment data for multiple LAV configurations was conducted in the NASA Ames and NASA Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnels from August 2007 through December 2009. Using cold air as the simulant gas, powered subscale models were used to generate interaction data at subsonic, transonic, and supersonic test conditions. This paper presents an overview of the complete ACM JI experimental test program for Orion LAV configurations, highlighting ACM system modeling, nozzle scaling assumptions, experimental test techniques, and data reduction methodologies. Lessons learned are discussed, and sample jet interaction data are shown. These data, in conjunction with computational predictions, were used to create the ACM JI increments for all relevant flight databases.

  2. Cassini Spacecraft In-Flight Swap to Backup Attitude Control Thrusters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bates, David M.

    2010-01-01

    NASA's Cassini Spacecraft, launched on October 15th, 1997 and arrived at Saturn on June 30th, 2004, is the largest and most ambitious interplanetary spacecraft in history. In order to meet the challenging attitude control and navigation requirements of the orbit profile at Saturn, Cassini is equipped with a monopropellant thruster based Reaction Control System (RCS), a bipropellant Main Engine Assembly (MEA) and a Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA). In 2008, after 11 years of reliable service, several RCS thrusters began to show signs of end of life degradation, which led the operations team to successfully perform the swap to the backup RCS system, the details and challenges of which are described in this paper. With some modifications, it is hoped that similar techniques and design strategies could be used to benefit other spacecraft.

  3. A survey of United States dental hygienists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices with infection control guidelines.

    PubMed

    Garland, Kandis V

    2013-06-01

    To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of U.S. dental hygienists with infection control guidelines (ICG). Research has shown improved compliance with specific aspects of dental ICG is needed. This study supports the American Dental Hygienists' Association National Research Agenda's Occupational Health and Safety objective to investigate methods to decrease errors, risks and or hazards in health care. Data are needed to assess compliance, prevention and behavioral issues with current ICG practices. A proportional stratified random sample (n=2,500) was recruited for an online survey. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic characteristics and knowledge, attitudes and practices responses. Spearman's rho correlations determined relationships between knowledge, attitudes and practices responses (p<0.05). Dominant themes were identified from open-ended responses. A 31% response rate (n=765) was attained. Respondents agreed/strongly agreed with familiarity with ICG (86%) and believed ICG are relevant to their patients (88%). Responses indicated low compliance (rarely/never used) with handpiece sterilization (n=209, 31%), utility glove use (n=317, 47%), and pre-procedural rinsing (n=324, 48%). Significant relationships were found between ICG implementation and access to necessary supplies (rs=0.549), supervisors' expectations for using ICG (rs=0.529) and no time to use (rs=-0.537). Themes from comments indicated time is a barrier, and respondents' perceived a need for involvement of all co-workers. Dental hygienists are adhering with most aspects of the ICG. High compliance with ICG among respondents in this study was associated with positive safety beliefs and practices, whereas lower compliance with ICG was associated with less positive safety beliefs and practices. A safety culture appears to be a factor in compliance with ICG.

  4. The Effect of a Modified Moore Method on Attitudes and Beliefs in Precalculus

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bailey, Brad; Cooper, Thomas E.; Briggs, Karen S.

    2012-01-01

    As part of a study on the effects of teaching with a Modified Moore Method (MMM), a survey containing 20 items from Schoenfeld's (1989) investigation of attitudes and beliefs about mathematics was administered to students in undergraduate precalculus classes. The study included one section of precalculus taught with an MMM, a student-centered and…

  5. Attitude Determination Using a MEMS-Based Flight Information Measurement Unit

    PubMed Central

    Ma, Der-Ming; Shiau, Jaw-Kuen; Wang, I.-Chiang; Lin, Yu-Heng

    2012-01-01

    Obtaining precise attitude information is essential for aircraft navigation and control. This paper presents the results of the attitude determination using an in-house designed low-cost MEMS-based flight information measurement unit. This study proposes a quaternion-based extended Kalman filter to integrate the traditional quaternion and gravitational force decomposition methods for attitude determination algorithm. The proposed extended Kalman filter utilizes the evolution of the four elements in the quaternion method for attitude determination as the dynamic model, with the four elements as the states of the filter. The attitude angles obtained from the gravity computations and from the electronic magnetic sensors are regarded as the measurement of the filter. The immeasurable gravity accelerations are deduced from the outputs of the three axes accelerometers, the relative accelerations, and the accelerations due to body rotation. The constraint of the four elements of the quaternion method is treated as a perfect measurement and is integrated into the filter computation. Approximations of the time-varying noise variances of the measured signals are discussed and presented with details through Taylor series expansions. The algorithm is intuitive, easy to implement, and reliable for long-term high dynamic maneuvers. Moreover, a set of flight test data is utilized to demonstrate the success and practicality of the proposed algorithm and the filter design. PMID:22368455

  6. Attitude determination using a MEMS-based flight information measurement unit.

    PubMed

    Ma, Der-Ming; Shiau, Jaw-Kuen; Wang, I-Chiang; Lin, Yu-Heng

    2012-01-01

    Obtaining precise attitude information is essential for aircraft navigation and control. This paper presents the results of the attitude determination using an in-house designed low-cost MEMS-based flight information measurement unit. This study proposes a quaternion-based extended Kalman filter to integrate the traditional quaternion and gravitational force decomposition methods for attitude determination algorithm. The proposed extended Kalman filter utilizes the evolution of the four elements in the quaternion method for attitude determination as the dynamic model, with the four elements as the states of the filter. The attitude angles obtained from the gravity computations and from the electronic magnetic sensors are regarded as the measurement of the filter. The immeasurable gravity accelerations are deduced from the outputs of the three axes accelerometers, the relative accelerations, and the accelerations due to body rotation. The constraint of the four elements of the quaternion method is treated as a perfect measurement and is integrated into the filter computation. Approximations of the time-varying noise variances of the measured signals are discussed and presented with details through Taylor series expansions. The algorithm is intuitive, easy to implement, and reliable for long-term high dynamic maneuvers. Moreover, a set of flight test data is utilized to demonstrate the success and practicality of the proposed algorithm and the filter design.

  7. Space Satellite Dynamics with Applications to Sunlight Pressure Attitude Control. Ph.D. Thesis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stuck, B. W.

    1972-01-01

    A research program into three aspects of space satellite dynamics was carried out. First, a four-dimensional space-time formulation of Newtonian mechanics is developed. This theory allows a new physical interpretation of the conservation theorems of mechanics first derived rigorously by Noether. Second, a new concept for estimating the three angles which specify the orientation in space of a rigid body is presented. Two separate methods for implementing this concept are discussed, one based on direction cosines, the other on quaternions. Two examples are discussed: constant orientation in space, and constant rate of change of the three angles with time. Third, two synchronous equatorial orbit communication satellite designs which use sunlight pressure to control their attitude are analyzed. Each design is equipped with large reflecting surfaces, called solar sails, which can be canted in different directions to generate torques to correct pointing errors.

  8. Effects of Learning Style and Training Method on Computer Attitude and Performance in World Wide Web Page Design Training.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chou, Huey-Wen; Wang, Yu-Fang

    1999-01-01

    Compares the effects of two training methods on computer attitude and performance in a World Wide Web page design program in a field experiment with high school students in Taiwan. Discusses individual differences, Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory and Learning Style Inventory, Computer Attitude Scale, and results of statistical analyses.…

  9. Tracking and data relay satellite fault isolation and correction using PACES: Power and attitude control expert system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Erikson, Carol-Lee; Hooker, Peggy

    1989-01-01

    The Power and Attitude Control Expert System (PACES) is an object oriented and rule based expert system which provides spacecraft engineers with assistance in isolating and correcting problems within the Power and Attitude Control Subsystems of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS). PACES is designed to act in a consultant role. It will not interface to telemetry data, thus preserving full operator control over spacecraft operations. The spacecraft engineer will input requested information. This information will include telemetry data, action being performed, problem characteristics, spectral characteristics, and judgments of spacecraft functioning. Questions are answered either by clicking on appropriate responses (for text), or entering numeric values. A context sensitive help facility allows access to additional information when the user has difficulty understanding a question or deciding on an answer. The major functionality of PACES is to act as a knowledge rich system which includes block diagrams, text, and graphics, linked using hypermedia techniques. This allows easy movement among pieces of the knowledge. Considerable documentation of the spacecraft Power and Attitude Control Subsystems is embedded within PACES. The development phase of TDRSS expert system technology is intended to provide NASA with the necessary expertise and capability to define requirements, evaluate proposals, and monitor the development progress of a highly competent expert system for NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite Program.

  10. Predictors of women's attitudes toward world health organization framework convention on tobacco control policies in urban China.

    PubMed

    Abdullah, Abu Saleh; Yang, Tingzhong; Beard, Jennifer

    2010-05-01

    In 2005 China ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and committed to implement tobacco control legislation and policies. Wide variation in smoking prevalence between men and women in China and the high exposure of women to secondhand smoke suggest that each component of the FCTC should be analyzed from a gender perspective. This study describes women's attitudes toward and predictors of support for four key FCTC measures in China. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1,408 women in two urban cities on demographics, smoking behavior, and attitudes toward key tobacco control measures. Seventy percent of the study women (n = 1,408) were exposed to secondhand smoke at home, work, or other public places. Support for the four FCTC measures of interest was as follows: 92.5% supported banning smoking in public places, 79.2% supported increasing the cigarette tax, 92% supported stronger health warnings on cigarette packages, and 87.1% favored banning tobacco advertising. The predictors for supporting each of these measures included socioeconomic, attitudinal, and behavioral factors. Urban Chinese women appear to support implementation of key WHO FCTC measures. Predictors of women's attitudes toward the key FCTC measures varied. The formulation process resulting from the tobacco control policy should consider these women-specific predictors in order to facilitate successful implementation of FCTC.

  11. Minority attitudes toward contraception.

    PubMed

    Mitchell, J O

    1974-12-01

    The training division of the Los Angeles Regional Family Planning Council conducted a seminar for minority members to discover attitudes toward birth control. Indian-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Black-Americans participated. Some fears and misunderstandings relative to birth control were voiced. The timidity of recent Chinese immigrants was mentioned. Male reluctance to use birth control out of a sense of machismo was mentioned in relation to Black- and Mexican-Americans. The conclusion was that, when birth control methods are adequately explained, women of all ethnic groups are willing to use them. To allay fears, suspicions, and concerns, family planning should be presented to minority communities as a health service and not a social service. Family planning clinics would be more accepted in these communities if they expanded their work into other health areas.

  12. Development of a coupled expert system for the spacecraft attitude control problem

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kawamura, K.; Beale, G.; Schaffer, J.; Hsieh, B.-J.; Padalkar, S.; Rodriguezmoscoso, J.; Vinz, F.; Fernandez, K.

    1987-01-01

    A majority of the current expert systems focus on the symbolic-oriented logic and inference mechanisms of artificial intelligence (AI). Common rule-based systems employ empirical associations and are not well suited to deal with problems often arising in engineering. Described is a prototype expert system which combines both symbolic and numeric computing. The expert system's configuration is presented and its application to a spacecraft attitude control problem is discussed.

  13. Nature and operation of attitudes.

    PubMed

    Ajzen, I

    2001-01-01

    This survey of attitude theory and research published between 1996 and 1999 covers the conceptualization of attitude, attitude formation and activation, attitude structure and function, and the attitude-behavior relation. Research regarding the expectancy-value model of attitude is considered, as are the roles of accessible beliefs and affective versus cognitive processes in the formation of attitudes. The survey reviews research on attitude strength and its antecedents and consequences, and covers progress made on the assessment of attitudinal ambivalence and its effects. Also considered is research on automatic attitude activation, attitude functions, and the relation of attitudes to broader values. A large number of studies dealt with the relation between attitudes and behavior. Research revealing additional moderators of this relation is reviewed, as are theory and research on the link between intentions and actions. Most work in this context was devoted to issues raised by the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior. The present review highlights the nature of perceived behavioral control, the relative importance of attitudes and subjective norms, the utility of adding more predictors, and the roles of prior behavior and habit.

  14. Improved ITOS attitude control system with Hall generator brushless motor and earth-splitting technique

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Peacock, W. M.

    1971-01-01

    The ITOS with an improved attitude control system is described. A Hall generator brushless dc torque motor will replace the brush dc torque motor on ITOS-I and ITOS-A (NOAA-1). The four attitude horizon sensors will be replaced with two CO2 sensors for better horizon definition. An earth horizon splitting technique will be used to keep the earth facing side of the satellite toward earth even if the desired circular orbit is not achieved. The external appearance of the pitch control subsystem differs from TIROS-M (ITOS-1) and ITOS-A (NOAA-1) in that two instead of one pitch control electronics (PCE) boxes are used. Two instead of four horizon sensors will be used and one instead of two mirrors will be used for sensor scanning. The brushless motor will eliminate the requirement for brushes, strain gages and the telemetry for the brush wear. A single rotating flywheel, supported by a single bearing provides the gyroscopic stability and the required momentum interchange to keep one side of the satellite facing the earth. Magnetic torquing against the earth's magnetic field eliminates the requirement for expendable propellants which would limit satellite life in orbit.

  15. Inverse free steering law for small satellite attitude control and power tracking with VSCMGs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malik, M. S. I.; Asghar, Sajjad

    2014-01-01

    Recent developments in integrated power and attitude control systems (IPACSs) for small satellite, has opened a new dimension to more complex and demanding space missions. This paper presents a new inverse free steering approach for integrated power and attitude control systems using variable-speed single gimbal control moment gyroscope. The proposed inverse free steering law computes the VSCMG steering commands (gimbal rates and wheel accelerations) such that error signal (difference in command and output) in feedback loop is driven to zero. H∞ norm optimization approach is employed to synthesize the static matrix elements of steering law for a static state of VSCMG. Later these matrix elements are suitably made dynamic in order for the adaptation. In order to improve the performance of proposed steering law while passing through a singular state of CMG cluster (no torque output), the matrix element of steering law is suitably modified. Therefore, this steering law is capable of escaping internal singularities and using the full momentum capacity of CMG cluster. Finally, two numerical examples for a satellite in a low earth orbit are simulated to test the proposed steering law.

  16. Design development of the Apollo command and service module thrust vector attitude control systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Peters, W. H.

    1978-01-01

    Development of the Apollo thrust vector control digital autopilot (TVC DAP) was summarized. This is the control system that provided pitch and yaw attitude control during velocity change maneuvers using the main rocket engine on the Apollo service module. A list of ten primary functional requirements for this control system are presented, each being subordinate to a more general requirement appearing earlier on the list. Development process functions were then identified and the essential information flow paths were explored. This provided some visibility into the particular NASA/contractor interface, as well as relationships between the many individual activities.

  17. Real-Time GNSS-Based Attitude Determination in the Measurement Domain

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Lin; Li, Na; Li, Liang; Zhang, Yi; Cheng, Chun

    2017-01-01

    A multi-antenna-based GNSS receiver is capable of providing high-precision and drift-free attitude solution. Carrier phase measurements need be utilized to achieve high-precision attitude. The traditional attitude determination methods in the measurement domain and the position domain resolve the attitude and the ambiguity sequentially. The redundant measurements from multiple baselines have not been fully utilized to enhance the reliability of attitude determination. A multi-baseline-based attitude determination method in the measurement domain is proposed to estimate the attitude parameters and the ambiguity simultaneously. Meanwhile, the redundancy of attitude resolution has also been increased so that the reliability of ambiguity resolution and attitude determination can be enhanced. Moreover, in order to further improve the reliability of attitude determination, we propose a partial ambiguity resolution method based on the proposed attitude determination model. The static and kinematic experiments were conducted to verify the performance of the proposed method. When compared with the traditional attitude determination methods, the static experimental results show that the proposed method can improve the accuracy by at least 0.03° and enhance the continuity by 18%, at most. The kinematic result has shown that the proposed method can obtain an optimal balance between accuracy and reliability performance. PMID:28165434

  18. Real-Time GNSS-Based Attitude Determination in the Measurement Domain.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Lin; Li, Na; Li, Liang; Zhang, Yi; Cheng, Chun

    2017-02-05

    A multi-antenna-based GNSS receiver is capable of providing high-precision and drift-free attitude solution. Carrier phase measurements need be utilized to achieve high-precision attitude. The traditional attitude determination methods in the measurement domain and the position domain resolve the attitude and the ambiguity sequentially. The redundant measurements from multiple baselines have not been fully utilized to enhance the reliability of attitude determination. A multi-baseline-based attitude determination method in the measurement domain is proposed to estimate the attitude parameters and the ambiguity simultaneously. Meanwhile, the redundancy of attitude resolution has also been increased so that the reliability of ambiguity resolution and attitude determination can be enhanced. Moreover, in order to further improve the reliability of attitude determination, we propose a partial ambiguity resolution method based on the proposed attitude determination model. The static and kinematic experiments were conducted to verify the performance of the proposed method. When compared with the traditional attitude determination methods, the static experimental results show that the proposed method can improve the accuracy by at least 0.03° and enhance the continuity by 18%, at most. The kinematic result has shown that the proposed method can obtain an optimal balance between accuracy and reliability performance.

  19. Promise for Enhancing Children's Reading Attitudes through Peer Reading: A Mixed Method Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Youngju

    2014-01-01

    Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) was implemented for supplementary reading classes in a Korean elementary school. The treatment group children were exposed to PALS during 20 min sessions, 4 times a week, for 8 weeks. The impacts of PALS were investigated in 3 aspects using a mixed-methods approach: improvement in reading attitudes, reading…

  20. The Use of the Semantic Differential Method in Assessing Attitudes and Predicting Final Grades in a Gross Anatomy Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Mickey M.; And Others

    Whether a change in dental students' attitudes toward three preselected concepts would occur as a result of a traditionally difficult dental education course as measured by the semantic differential method is determined. This study attempted to determine the predictive value of a student's attitudes in determining his/her final grade. The sample…