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Starling Formation-Flying Optical Experiment: Initial Operations and Flight Results
Get PDFThis paper presents initial flight results for distributed optical angles-only navigation of a swarm of small spacecraft, conducted during the Starling Formation-Flying Optical Experiment (StarFOX). StarFOX is a core payload of the NASA Starling mission, which consists of four CubeSats launched in 2023. Angles-only methods apply inter-satellite bearing angles obtained by on-board cameras for navigation, increasing satellite autonomy and enabling new mission concepts. Nevertheless, prior flight demonstrations have only featured one observer and target and have relied upon a-priori target orbit knowledge for initialization, translational maneuvers to resolve target range, and external absolute orbit updates to maintain convergence. StarFOX overcomes these limitations by applying the angles-only Absolute and Relative Trajectory Measurement System (ARTMS), which integrates three novel algorithms. Image Processing detects and tracks multiple targets in images, using multi-hypothesis methods and kinematic modeling, and computes target bearing angles. Batch Orbit Determination computes initial swarm orbit estimates from bearing angle batches, via iterative batch least squares and sampling of the weakly observable target range. Sequential Orbit Determination leverages an adaptive, efficient unscented Kalman filter with nonlinear models to refine swarm state estimates over time. Multi-observer measurements shared over an intersatellite link are seamlessly fused to enable robust absolute and relative orbit determination. StarFOX flight data and telemetry presents the first demonstrations of autonomous angles-only navigation for a satellite swarm, including multi-target and multi-observer relative navigation; autonomous initialization of navigation for unknown targets; and simultaneous absolute and relative orbit determination. Relative positioning uncertainties of 1.3% of target range (1σ) are achieved for a single observer under challenging measurement conditions, reduced to 0.6% (1σ) with multiple observers. Results demonstrate promising performance with regards to ongoing StarFOX campaigns and the application of angles-only navigation to future distributed missions
Legend Trips and Vernacular Film Theory: Spooky Encounters in TikTok Mediated Legend Trips
Get PDFIn this thesis I looked at how legend tripping is mediated through the affordances of new social technologies and apps, specifically TikTok. Short video formats allowed for folk cinematography to spread legend narratives and at the same time create more visual online landscapes for people to interact with. I defined folk cinematography as the way in which people make videos based on a vernacular level. This has been based on people having more access to video making tools and learning from informal patterns such as trends on sites like TikTok. Because of this, I explored how audiences participate in a variation of legend trip structures of telling stories, performing them at an online legend site, and, quite often, retell the legend at the same time they perform it. I also made connections to how audiences demonstrate belief online through tools that allow for more visible ostension and thus was able to track changes in belief or investment of the online audiences
Evidence for Partitioning? A Comparison of Thermal Niche in Three Species of Sympatric Lizards in Northeastern Utah
Get PDFLizards actively maintain a narrow range of body temperatures through behavioral thermoregulation and microhabitat selection. Body temperature plays a critical role in many physiological processes. As a result, there is a range of body temperatures at which a lizard’s reproductive success (fitness) is maximized, known as the lizard’s thermal niche. There is strong evidence linking the available temperatures, or thermal properties of a microhabitat, to success in maintaining body temperatures within a preferred set range. Microhabitats have differing thermal properties, and so have different relative quality. Because thermal properties are limited in space and time, competition for high quality microhabitat can occur. Reduction of competition for resources can increase overall resource exploitation, as well as the overall fitness of an organism. This can lead to the partitioning, or division, of resources that an organism utilizes. Resource partitioning can further lead to the differentiation of a lizard’s thermal niche. In my thesis, I report on a multi-year study comparing thermal niche and microhabitat selection in three lizard species found in a semi-arid desert in northeastern Utah: Sceloporus graciosus, Sceloporus tristichus, and Uta stansburiana. I compare microhabitat characteristics and thermal niche traits across species. I described and compared fundamental and realized thermal niche by measuring preferred body temperatures and field body temperatures. I compared habitat quality and efficiency of thermoregulation. Multinomial regression suggests differentiation in microhabitat selection. Preferred body temperatures show differentiation in the fundamental thermal niche of my study species. Field body temperatures show overlap in the realized thermal niche of my species. Specifically, field body temperatures show Sceloporus tristichus being warmer than preferred and Uta stansburiana being cooler than preferred. This shows strong evidence of thermal niche differentiation and possible partitioning. Efficiency of thermoregulation differs between species and between seasons. Taken together, this shows differentiation of thermal niche as well as microhabitat selection. Operative temperatures, temperatures experienced by non-thermoregulating organisms, suggest that, similar to tropical lizards, increasing temperatures may present physiological challenges for temperate desert species, rather than opportunities for increased activity
Radiometric characterization of a large aperture blackbody reference source in vacuum in the temperature range from -120 °C to 30 °C
Get PDFVulcan Wireless is Heading to the Moon
Get PDFVulcan Wireless radios are being deployed across multiple Lunar Landers and Lunar Orbiters. The Lunar radio solutions will be operating the first deployment of the new CCSDS Proximity 1 S-Band profile for the Lunar environment. Also, the software defined radio will be used as a precision calibration source for the upcoming LuSEE Night payload. LuSEE Night is a payload manifested on the CLPS CS-3 task order which is part of the Firefly Blue Ghost Mission Two (BGM-2) to the far side of the moon. In this paper, we discuss key aspects of the Vulcan Wireless software defined radio and some of the key performance metrics in the design and construction of a precision calibration source. Since performance requirements exceed all readily available test equipment, testing the calibration source radio under construction becomes a challenge in its own right
Reducing the Cost of Implementing the F.I.T. Game Healthy Eating Program in Diverse Schools While Observing Effects on Food Waste
Get PDFIt is well known that children do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. The FIT Game Healthy Eating Program is an interactive, story-board type narrative that has increased fruit and vegetable consumption in elementary school children. While The FIT Game intervention has shown progress in the past, the schools studied had minimal diversity and the intervention was time intensive and costly.
This research utilized The FIT Game intervention in four Salt Lake City area, Title 1, schools with a large amount of student diversity. The first portion of research was conducted in two phases. The first phase compared an intervention school, with the FIT Game program being implemented, to a control school without the intervention. The first phase resulted in increases in both fruit and vegetable consumption in the intervention school, while the control school had less consumption.
Phase two looked at conducting The FIT Game in the two remaining schools, but the narrative was already determined and did not advance based on the schools\u27 consumption. Both schools showed improved fruit and vegetable consumption. However, because of the way data was collected, further studies need to be done to ensure that the increase is due to The FIT Game.
The second portion of research looked at how fruit and vegetable waste changes when programs like The FIT Game are implemented in schools. The same schools as the first portion of research were used for this as well. The results showed that even though that when fruit and vegetable consumption increase, the waste typically decreases, there is sometimes an overlooked compromise. In one school, while the vegetable consumption improved, the fruit consumption decreased while the fruit waste increased. At first glance, while the vegetable increase is promising, when you look at the weight of the food consumed compared to the increase of fruit wasted, the amount of fruit wasted weighs 6 times more
A Comprehensive and Interactive Visualization Tool to Support Equitable Adoption of Electrified Transportation
Get PDFAs urban areas continue to grow, the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure becomes crucial for sustainable development. This study is focused on the development of a data visualization tool that integrates diverse datasets, including traffic patterns, Points of Interest (POI), pollution levels, and socioeconomic indicators, to analyze the current state and potential expansion of EV charging stations. Our visualization tool highlights the significant impact of EV infrastructure on reducing urban pollution and improving socioeconomic outcomes. Areas with a higher density of charging stations show significantly lower levels of unemployment and pollution, emphasizing the dual benefits of EV adoption. Additionally, our tool visualizes vehicle mix on urban pollution, marking specific vehicle types as most impactful for electrification efforts by road segment and community. Our tool helps inform and support equitable and effective decisions in planning and implementing EV infrastructure, ensuring that the benefits are evenly distributed across all urban populations
What is Biological Engineering? – A Magazine
Get PDFBiological Engineering is one of the less commonly known fields of engineering and can be challenging to describe to someone outside the discipline. The most common question I\u27ve been asked during my undergraduate career is What is biological engineering? . My answer has changed throughout my time at Utah State University as I\u27ve had more experiences within the discipline. This project focuses on answering this question in the format of a magazine to help bridge the gap between those in the discipline and a general audience. By using a magazine as the format, the content must be organized and written in a way that makes sense to someone without any knowledge of the discipline but is still interesting to those within biological engineering. The magazine highlights the various senior design projects being worked on in the Biological Engineering Department at Utah State University. A survey was used to gather input from the current seniors about their projects. The information was then consolidated into articles that were combined into a magazine format. The results of the project are not only a magazine but also a greater understanding of the need for disciplines, especially those in STEM, to improve communication with audiences from different backgrounds. By making this magazine accessible to the public it becomes a resource that provides exposure to what is normally considered a broad and difficult-to-explain engineering field. Ultimately, the magazine answers the question of What is biological engineering? in a single sentence. Biological engineering is the application of engineering principles to living systems
The Development of Amateur Radio Communication System in ARICA-2
Get PDFARICA-2 (AGU Remote Innovative CubeSat Alert System-2) is a 2U CubeSat that aims to demonstrate a real-time alert system for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) using commercial satellite network devices. 1U CubeSat ARICA, the predecessor of ARICA-2, was launched in 2021, but to date has not successfully communicated. For this reason, we started to develop ARICA-2 as a re-challenge project, and the development is underway for the launch in Japanese fiscal year 2025. In addition to the two commercial satellite communication devices previously used, we will use a UHF (Ultra High Frequency) Communication device that communicates in the amateur radio band. In this way, the communication systems will be strengthened by utilizing multiple independent communication approaches. The paper will explain the development of the communication system of the ARICA-2, especially amateur radio communication
An Exploration of Wood-Based Cube Satellite Chassis
Get PDF• Cubesat chassis are typically constructed using Aluminum alloys. • Aluminum-based chassis are considerably heavy when compared to chassis constructed with alternative materials. • Wood may prove to be a far more lightweight and cost-effective material for constructing CubeSat chassis