Extraterrestrial Life in the Thermosphere: Plasmas, UAP, Pre-Life, Fourth State of Matter

“Plasmas” up to a kilometer in size and behaving similarly to multicellular organisms have been filmed on 10 separate NASA space shuttle missions, over 200 miles above Earth within the thermosphere. These self-illuminated “plasmas” are attracted to and may “feed on” electromagnetic radiation. They have different morphologies: 1) cone, 2) cloud, 3) donut, 4) spherical-cylindrical;and have been filmed flying towards and descending from the thermosphere into thunderstorms;congregating by the hundreds and interacting with satellites generating electromagnetic activity;approaching the Space Shuttles. Computerized analysis of flight path trajectories documents these plasmas travel at different velocities from different directions and change their angle of trajectory making 45°, 90°, and 180° shifts and follow each other. They’ve been filmed accelerating, slowing down, stopping, congregating, engaging in “hunter-predatory” behavior and intersecting plasmas leaving a plasma dust trail in their wake. Similar life-like behaviors have been demonstrated by plasmas created experimentally. “Plasmas” may have been photographed in the 1940s by WWII pilots (identified as “Foo fighters”);repeatedly observed and filmed by astronauts and military pilots and classified as Unidentified Aerial—Anomalous Phenomenon. Plasmas are not biological but may represent a form of pre-life that via the incorporation of elements common in space, could result in the synthesis of RNA. Plasmas constitute a fourth state of matter, are attracted to electromagnetic activity, and when observed in the lower atmosphere likely account for many of the UFO-UAP sightings over the centuries.

Higher-Order Statistics and Nonlinear Processes in Space Plasmas

Statistics of order 2 (variance, auto and cross-correlation functions, auto and cross-power spectra) and 3 (skewness, auto and cross-bicorrelation functions, auto and cross-bispectra) are used to analyze the wave-particle interaction in space plasmas. The signals considered here are medium scale electron density irregularities and ELF/ULF electrostatic turbulence. Nonlinearities are mainly observed in the ELF range. They are independently pointed out in time series associated with fluctuations in electronic density and in time series associated with the measurement of one electric field component. Peaks in cross-bicorrelation function and in mutual information clearly show that, in well delimited frequency bands, the wave-particle interactions are nonlinear above a certain level of fluctuations. The way the energy is transferred within the frequencies of density fluctuations is indicated by a bi-spectra analysis.

New method for rekindling the explosive waves in Maxwellian space plasmas

Our interest is to study the nonlinear wave phenomena in complex plasma constituents with Maxwellian electrons and ions. The main aim is to use a new method known as the(G′/G)method to exhibit the effects of dust charge fluctuations on the evolution of nonlinear waves. The coherent features of the shock and solitary waves along with the generation of high-energy waves have been amplified through the solution of the Korteweg–de Vries–Burgers equation,and the different natures of the waves were found successfully. Results are discussed graphically with the thoughtful choice of typical plasma parameters from different space plasma environments, exactly those found in cosmic dusty plasmas laden in ionospheric auroral region,radial spokes of Saturn's rings, planetary nebulae and solar F-corona region. All conclusions are in good accordance with the actual occurrences and could be of interest to further investigations of space. Moreover, the applicability of the present method is hoped to be a great enhancement by its use as ingenious mechanism used to evaluate the soliton dynamics and Burgers shock waves.

Adaptive sliding mode backstepping control for near space vehicles considering engine faults

A fault tolerant control methodology based adaptive sliding mode(ASM) backstepping is proposed for near space vehicle(NSV) attitude control system under engine faults. The proposed scheme combined adaptive backstepping with the sliding mode control strategy could guarantee the system’s stability and track desired signals under external disturbances and engine faults. Firstly, attitude mode description and the engine faulty model are given. Secondly, a nominal control law is designed.Thirdly, a sliding mode observer is given later in order to estimate both the information of engine faults and external disturbances. An adaptive sliding mode technology based on the previous nominal control law is developed via updating faulty parameters. Finally,analyze the system’s fault-tolerant performance and reliability through experiment simulation, which verifies the proposed design of fault-tolerant control can tolerate engine faults, as well as the strong robustness for external disturbance.

Switching disturbance rejection attitude control of near space vehicles with variable structure

A switching disturbance rejection attitude control law is proposed for a near space vehicle(NSV) with variable structure.The multiple flight modes, system uncertainties and disturbances of the NSV are taken into account based on switched nonlinear systems. Compared with traditional backstepping design methods,the proposed method utilizes the added integrals of attitude angle and angular rate tracking errors to further decrease the tracking errors. Moreover, to reduce the computation complexity, a rapid convergent differentiator is employed to obtain the derivative of the virtual control command. Finally, for disturbance rejection, based on the idea from the extended state observer(ESO), two disturbance observers are designed by using non-smooth functions to estimate the disturbances in the switched nonlinear systems. All signals of the closed-loop system are proven to be uniformly ultimately bounded under the Lyapunov function framework. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Adaptive functional link network control of near-space vehicles with dynamical uncertainties

The control law design for a near-space hypersonic vehicle（NHV） is highly challenging due to its inherent nonlinearity,plant uncertainties and sensitivity to disturbances.This paper presents a novel functional link network（FLN） control method for an NHV with dynamical thrust and parameter uncertainties.The approach devises a new partially-feedback-functional-link-network（PFFLN） adaptive law and combines it with the nonlinear generalized predictive control（NGPC） algorithm.The PFFLN is employed for approximating uncertainties in flight.Its weights are online tuned based on Lyapunov stability theorem for the first time.The learning process does not need any offline training phase.Additionally,a robust controller with an adaptive gain is designed to offset the approximation error.Finally,simulation results show a satisfactory performance for the NHV attitude tracking,and also illustrate the controller＇s robustness.

Research Progress in Aerospace Vehicles Propelled by Rocket-Based Combined Cycle Engines

The research status on the development of RBCC engines and corresponding aerospace vehicles around the world was overviewed,and the technical and application characteristics of RBCC technology were summarized.New development trends of combined cycle engines as well as space transportation were analyzed,and lastly,some suggestions on the development of RBCC and the relative aerospace vehicles were proposed.

Multi-layer structure formation of relativistic electron beams in plasmas

A two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation model is proposed to study the density evolution and collective stopping of electron beams in background plasmas.We show here the formation of the multi-layer structure of the relativistic electron beam in the plasma due to the different betatron frequency from the beam front to the beam tail.Meanwhile,the nonuniformity of the longitudinal wakefield is the essential reason for the multi-layer structure formation in beam phase space.The influences of beam parameters(beam radius and transverse density profile)on the formation of the multi-layer structure and collective stopping in background plasmas are also considered.

Test-Particle Simulation of Space Plasmas

Test-particle simulations provide a useful complement to the kinetic simulations of many-body systems and their approximate treatment with multiple moments.In a kinetic approach,systems are described at a microscopic level in terms of a large number of degrees of freedom.Fluid or multiple moment approaches,however,provide a description at the macroscopic level,in terms of relatively few physical parameters involving averages or moments of particle distribution functions.Ideally,fully kinetic descriptions should be done whenever possible.Due to their complexity,the use of these approaches is often not practical in many cases of interest.In comparison,the fluid approximation is much simpler to implement and solve.It can be used to describe complex phenomena in multi-dimensional geometry with realistic boundary conditions.Its main drawback is its inability to account for many phenomena taking place on fine space or time scales,or phenomena involving nonlocal transport.Macroscopic approaches are also not adapted to describe large deviations from local equilibrium,such as the occurrence of particle beams or otherwise strong anisotropy.With the test-particle method,particle trajectories are calculated using approximated fields obtained from a low level approach,such as multiple moments.Approximate fields can also be obtained from experiments or observations.Assuming that these fields are representative of actual systems,various kinetic and statistical properties of the system can then be calculated,such as particle distribution functions and moments thereof.In this paper,the test-particle method is discussed in the context of classical statistical physics of many-body interacting point particles.Four different formulations of the method are presented,which correspond to four broad categories of the application encountered in the field of plasma physics and astronomy.

Attitude tracking control for variable structure near space vehicles based on switched nonlinear systems

An adaptive robust attitude tracking control law based on switched nonlinear systems is presented for a variable structure near space vehicle （VSNSV） in the presence of uncertainties and disturbances. The adaptive fuzzy systems are employed for approximating unknown functions in the flight dynamic model and their parameters are updated online. To improve the flight robust performance, robust controllers with adaptive gains are designed to compensate for the approximation errors and thus they have less design conservation. Moreover, a systematic procedure is developed for the synthesis of adaptive fuzzy dynamic surface control （DSC） approach. According to the common Lyapunov function theory, it is proved that all signals of the closed-loop system are uniformly ultimately bounded by the continuous controller. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control scheme.

Plasmas Created in the Interaction of Antiprotons with Atomic and Ionized Hydrogen Isotopes. Suggested Fuels for Space Engines

The main objective of the present work is to investigate the properties of plasmas created by injecting a thermalized beam of antiprotons in two types of media. The first is hydrogen, deuterium, or tritium atoms localized in palladium crystals. The second medium is composed of protons, deuterons, or tritons localized in a magnetic cavity. Particularly, it is demonstrated that huge amounts of energy are released in both cases which could be used as fuels for space shuttle engines. A novel mathematical scheme is employed to calculate the energy yields in real space at different incident energies of the antiprotons.

Excitation and power spectrum analysis of electromagnetic radiation for the plasma wake of reentry vehicles

The plasma wake of reentry vehicles has the advantages of extensive space range and long traceability,which provides new possibilities for the detection and monitoring of reentry vehicles.Based on the Zakharov model,this work investigates the excitation and power spectrum characteristics of electromagnetic radiation for the plasma wake of a typical reentry vehicle.With the aid of parametric decay instability,the excitation condition of electromagnetic radiation for a typical plasma wake is evaluated first.The power spectrum characteristics of electromagnetic radiation,including the effects of both the flight parameters and incident wave parameters are analyzed in detail.The results show that when the phenomenon of excited electromagnetic radiation occurs,plasma wakes closer to the bottom of the vehicle and with faster speeds require higher incident frequencies and thresholds of the electric field.As the frequency of the incident wave increases,peaks appear in the power spectra of plasma wakes,and their magnitudes increase gradually.The frequency shifts of the secondary peaks are equal,whereas,the peaks of the downshifted spectral lines are generally larger than those of the upshifted spectral lines.The work in this paper provides a new idea and method for the tracking of reentry vehicles,which has potential application value in the field of reentry vehicle detection.

考虑负荷空间均衡和充电站合作博弈的快速充电定价机制

为了平衡快速充电负荷空间分布,提高电动汽车用户充电满意度,提出考虑负荷空间均衡和充电站合作博弈的快速充电动态定价机制。首先,通过实际订单数据逆地理编码得到出行概率转移矩阵,结合路网模型和速度-流量模型建立电动汽车充电负荷时空分布模型;然后,考虑用户主观意愿,建立计及用户偏好的充电站选择决策模型,模拟用户对于充电站选择的理性决策行为;最后,以充电站节点负荷均衡性为目标,建立区域内快速充电站合作模式下的动态定价博弈模型,通过迭代算法求解均衡值,并利用Shapley值法对合作联盟所得剩余收益进行分配。仿真实例表明,所提快速充电站动态定价策略能有效降低充电站节点的负荷方差,提高充电桩利用率和充电站收益,并减小用户排队时间,提高用户满意度。

LSTM-based lane change prediction using Waymo open motion dataset: The role of vehicle operating space

Lane change prediction is critical for crash avoidance but challenging as it requires the understanding of the instantaneous driving environment.With cutting-edge artificial intelligence and sensing technologies,autonomous vehicles(AVs)are expected to have exceptional perception systems to capture instantaneously their driving environments for predicting lane changes.By exploring the Waymo open motion dataset,this study proposes a framework to explore autonomous driving data and investigate lane change behaviors.In the framework,this study develops a Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)model to predict lane changing behaviors.The concept of Vehicle Operating Space(VOS)is introduced to quantify a vehicle's instantaneous driving environment as an important indicator used to predict vehicle lane changes.To examine the robustness of the model,a series of sensitivity analysis are conducted by varying the feature selection,prediction horizon,and training data balancing ratios.The test results show that including VOS into modeling can speed up the loss decay in the training process and lead to higher accuracy and recall for predicting lane-change behaviors.This study offers an example along with a methodological framework for transportation researchers to use emerging autonomous driving data to investigate driving behaviors and traffic environments.

Design and Cryogenic Performance of a Hexapod Platform for a Large Ground-based Wide Field Survey Telescope

The thermal gradient is an important factor that causes degradation to the image quality of telescopes. In order to ensure the accurate alignment of the primary focus unit and the primary mirror, the hexapod platform(as a corrector) is investigated in this paper. First, a ground-based telescope with 2.5 m aperture and 3.5 deg field of view is described. The telescope is under construction, and it is expected to be finished in 2023. Second, the hexapod platform with flexure hinges utilized to adjust the primary focus unit is proposed, which is applied as a corrector.Then, the inverse kinematics of the platform is established and an open-loop control system is built based on it.Finally, the cryogenic performance test for the hexapod platform is performed. The experimental results show that the resolution and repeatability of the translation for the hexapod platform can be achieved at the micrometer level.The resolution and repeatability of the rotation can be achieved at the arc-second level. Therefore, the cryogenic performance of the hexapod platform can meet the optical imaging requirements of the wide-field ground-based telescope. The kinematic analysis and cryogenic performance tests in the paper provide a technical reference for the precise alignment of the primary focus unit and the primary mirror, which can improve the imaging quality of the telescope.

Long-term Integration Ability of the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite(SWAS)Spectral Line Receivers

The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite(SWAS)was the first space telescope capable of high spectral resolution observations of terahertz spectral lines.We have investigated the integration ability of its two receivers and spectrometer during five and a half years of on-orbit operation.The CI,O_(2),H_(2)O,and^(13)CO spectra taken toward all observed Galactic sources were analyzed.The present results are based on spectra with a total integration time of up to 2.72×10~4hr(■10~8s).The noise in the spectra is generally consistent with that expected from the radiometer equation,without any sign of approaching a noise floor.This noise performance reflects the extremely stable performance of the passively cooled front end as well as other relevant components in the SWAS instrument throughout its mission lifetime.

轨道车辆垂向轮轨力时域识别对比及其机器学习修正

为了尽可能减小轨道车辆垂向轮轨力时域识别中存在的误差,以时域法为基础,开展了基于机器学习修正的轨道车辆垂向轮轨力识别研究.首先建立了车辆动力学仿真模型,获取了车辆在随机轨道激励下以250km/h速度行驶时的轴箱加速度响应和垂向轮轨力.其次,建立了Green函数法、状态空间法这2种时域法对应的动载荷识别模型,对状态空间法的初值误差进行了分析,并引入多项式拟合法修正其趋势项误差,进而对比分析了2种方法的计算精度和计算效率.然后,针对时域法存在的识别误差,提出采用NARX(nonlinear autoregressive models with exogenous inputs)模型对识别误差进行训练和预测,用于消减模型中存在的如响应观测不全与观测噪声等因素造成的影响,进而对时域法识别结果进行修正,提高识别精度.最后,通过一个10自由度轨道车辆垂向动力学模型,对方法的正确性进行了验证.研究结果表明:2种方法对轨道车辆垂向轮轨力均具有较高的识别精度,对于各轮对的识别精度各有优劣;在计算效率方面,状态空间法比Green函数法更优;经NARX模型修正的2种时域法对轨道车辆垂向轮轨力均具有很好的识别效果,识别值与正演值的Pearson相关系数大于0.99,为极强相关.基于NARX模型的机器学习误差修正方法可有效提高时域识别精度,可以为后续轨道车辆轮轨力预测提供参考,具有较强的工程运用价值.

Fast Two-dimensional Positioning Method of Crab Pulsar Based on Multiple Optimization Algorithms

In the two-dimensional positioning method of pulsars, the grid method is used to provide non-sensitive direction and positional estimates. However, the grid method has a high computational load and low accuracy due to the interval of the grid. To improve estimation accuracy and reduce the computational load, we propose a fast twodimensional positioning method for the crab pulsar based on multiple optimization algorithms(FTPCO). The FTPCO uses the Levenberg–Marquardt(LM) algorithm, three-point orientation(TPO) method, particle swarm optimization(PSO) and Newton–Raphson-based optimizer(NRBO) to substitute the grid method. First, to avoid the influence of the non-sensitive direction on positioning, we take an orbital error and the distortion of the pulsar profile as optimization objectives and combine the grid method with the LM algorithm or PSO to search for the non-sensitive direction. Then, on the sensitive plane perpendicular to the non-sensitive direction, the TPO method is proposed to fast search the sensitive direction and sub-sensitive direction. Finally, the NRBO is employed on the sensitive and sub-sensitive directions to achieve two-dimensional positioning of the Crab pulsar. The simulation results show that the computational load of the FTPCO is reduced by 89.4% and the positioning accuracy of the FTPCO is improved by approximately 38% compared with the grid method. The FTPCO has the advantage of high real-time accuracy and does not fall into the local optimum.

A Space-Flight Ship Travelling by a Plasma Rocket Engine from the Earth Ground to the Moon

Since a thrust of an ion rocket engine is much weaker than the one of a chemical fuel engine, nowadays, ion engines are used mainly in spaces where gravities are very weak. Here, as a powerful plasma rocket to make a heavy ship get out from the gravity-sphere of the earth without relying on an atomic power rocket, an ion-velocity booster is investigated. It is a main challenge how to protect the engine wall from the melting due to collisions of ions which grow into high-energy particles.

基于空间目标定向观测的飞行器导航方法研究

本文主要研究基于定向观测星相机和惯性测量单元(inertial measurement unit, IMU)信息融合的飞行器高精度导航方法.在已有导航方式中,惯性导航系统(inertial navigation system, INS)/全球导航卫星系统(global navigation satellite system, GNSS)组合导航在无线电信号拒止环境中存在性能下降的风险,传统INS/天文导航系统(celestial navigation system, CNS)组合导航能够抑制惯性测量单元中的陀螺漂移,但不能有效消除加速度计零偏的影响.针对上述问题,提出一种基于空间目标定向观测的飞行器自主导航新方法,在飞行器上配置星相机对星历已知的空间目标和背景恒星的视线方向(line-of-sight, LOS)进行观测,利用IMU进行状态预测,通过扩展卡尔曼滤波器(extended Kalman filter, EKF)获得载体位置、速度和姿态的估计值,同时,对惯性器件测量偏差进行校准.设计了基于克拉美劳下界(Cramer-Rao lower bound, CRLB)的观测目标优化选取策略,通过空间目标可见性分析、导航系统可观度分析以及导航滤波器数学仿真验证了所提方法的有效性.