Abstract: A spacecraft includes a pair of pressurized propellant tanks. The pressure may be provided from a common pressurant tank. Each propellant tank has a propellant output port. A manifold includes a first branch coupled between a common juncture and the output port of the first tank, and a second branch between the juncture and the output port of the second tank. At least the second tank is associated with a heater. A controllable valve, such as a normally open pyrovalve, is coupled in the second branch. In order to fully utilize the propellant in the tanks, the second tank is differentially heated relative to the first when the tanks are nearly empty, to create a tendency toward a pressure difference, which drives propellant from the second tank to the first. When all or most of the propellant is transferred, the valve is operated to close off the second branch of the manifold, to isolate the now-empty tank.

Abstract: A spacecraft includes an attitude control system using one or more reaction wheels, the speed of which from time to time lie near and pass through zero angular velocity. When operated for extended periods of time at low speeds, the lubrication films are not distributed uniformly on the wheel bearings, leading to reduced lifetime. Reliability is maintained by a threshold comparator coupled to compare wheel speed with a lower limit value, for operating a torquer associated with the spacecraft body when the wheel speed drops below the lower limit, in a manner which tends to raise the wheel speed. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the lower limit is integrated with a wheel overspeed unloading.

Abstract: A stowable and self-deployable array antenna includes flat, rectangular antenna panels hinged side-by-side so that when deployed they are coplanar, and they fold like an accordion for stowing. The deployed array antenna is stiffened by lateral stiffening panels hingedly attached to every other hinge between antenna panels, and to the unhinged ends of the antenna panels. Foldable longitudinal stiffening panels hinged between adjacent lateral stiffening panels. Each hinged connection includes a pair of thin spring elements, corresponding to a portion of a cylinder. The two spring elements of each hinge are spaced apart with their concave sides facing, and with the axes of the defining cylinder parallel. The hinge pivots, when the spring elements buckle, about a line orthogonal to a line extending between the cylinder axes. The hinges are used as the structural elements of self-deployable masts. The mast may have a polygonal cross-section.

Abstract: A three-axis attitude control system for a spacecraft in an equatorial orbit includes at least a horizon sensor for producing pitch-representative signals. A star sensor has a boresight parallel to the spacecraft pitch axis, and produces signals representative of the two-axis location of a selected pole star relative to the boresight. The star sensor signals are processed in conjunction with the pitch-representative signals and with orbit-location information, to produce roll and yaw information. The pitch, roll and yaw information controls spacecraft torquing. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the horizon sensor arrangement also produces roll signals, which are processed with the roll signals from the star sensor.

Abstract: A truss structure for use in a gravity-free environment is disclosed together with methods and apparatus for constructing the same. The structure, characterized by high stiffness and a precise self-determined geometry and having a prism-form with square right cross section, is constructed from a plurality of substantially identical triangular frame elements. The truss structure may be manually constructed from a multi-row chain of interconnected elements or from a four row network of elements. The structure may also be constructed using an automatic method wherein individual frame elements are fed from four stack support and feed units to a holding fixture having a square cross section.

Abstract: In a television receiver having digital signal processing, an automatic chrominance gain control apparatus employs a combination of analog gain control and digital gain control stages. Specifically, the analog gain control stage provides a range of fine gain control by altering the frequency response characteristic of the intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier circuits. This is sometimes referred to as "IF tilt" control. The digital gain control stage provides coarse gain control in predetermined increments using a shifter in the digital signal processing circuits. The total gain required is calculated and is apportioned between the coarse and fine gain control stages by a microprocessor.

Abstract: A signal processing apparatus includes a scaling device for increasing the magnitude of a signal from a source to better use the dynamic range of processing apparatus, and to reduce the effects of noise and error sources. This is particularly useful in a television receiver where the maximum magnitude of the (B-Y) chrominance signal component of a composite video signal is smaller than that of the (R-Y) chrominance signal component. To provide improved resolution of the (B-Y) signal components, a gain scaling arrangement increases the magnitude of the (B-Y) signal component to more closely approximate that of the (R-Y) signal component. In a TV receiver having digital signal processing apparatus, a digital multiplier scales the digitized (B-Y) signal component thereby to reduce the errors inherent in processing digital data having a limited number of bits, especially where such processing includes rounding or truncating operations which can introduce additional errors or decrease resolution.

Abstract: A digital-to-analog converter includes a plurality of pairs of complementary conductivity field-effect transistors (FETs) coupled for applying reference potentials to a resistive ladder network in response to the bit values of an input digital word. A variable voltage generator develops gate biasing voltage for the FETs of one conductivity. The biasing voltage has a magnitude controlled in response to a bridge circuit including a further pair of complementary conductivity FETs also coupled to the reference potentials. As a result, the complementary conductivity FETs are automatically caused to exhibit matched conductivity characteristics.

Abstract: Digital representations of analog signals are limited in resolution accuracy by the number of bits in the digital output signal of an analog-to-digital converter which limits the number of analog output levels produceable by a digital-to-analog converter. The apparent resolution accuracy can be improved, however, by the addition of two "dithering" signals, one at a lower frequency and one at a higher frequency, to increase the number of transitions of the least significant bit (LSB) of the digital signals. In a television receiver employing digital signal processing apparatus, dither signals having magnitudes equivalent to 1/2 and 1/4 LSB and at frequencies related to the TV line frequency and the color subcarrier frequency are preferred.

Abstract: A digital signal coring circuit removes from a stream of incoming digital data words low-valued variations lying between upper and lower threshold reference values. Upper and lower threshold values are adjusted in response to the value of the outgoing cored digital data words so that such low-valued variations are removed over the entire range of values of the digital data words, and not merely around a baseline value.

Abstract: A digital signal peaking apparatus combines input digital signals with filtered and scaled representations thereof to produce controllably peaked digital signals. A digital filter produces the relatively higher frequency components of the input digital signals which are controllably scaled by a digital multiplier in accordance with a multiplier coefficient. A control arrangement develops the multiplier coefficient having a value determined in accordance with the peak magnitude of the higher frequency components of the input digital signals relative to the value of a peaking control level signal.

Abstract: A digital ratio detector for detecting digitized frequency-modulated (FM) signals develops sum and difference signals from input digital signals and from delayed representations thereof. The sum and difference signals are detected and further sum and difference signals are developed and are applied to respective lowpass digital filters having controllable gain. A gain control circuit develops a gain control signal which is applied to the digital lowpass filters to control the respective gains thereof so that the filtered digital signals produced by one of the digital filters includes digital representations of the deviations of the FM carrier.

Abstract: Apparatus providing a magnified picture display for a television receiver employs a reduced-size digital memory which stores only the digitized video signal components necessary to generate video signals to produce the magnified picture display. A simplified user-controlled picture positioning arrangement generates write and read addressing signals for the digital memory representative of both the picture area of the magnified picture display and of the normal picture display therein which is to be magnified. Writing of the digitized video signal components of the normal picture display into the digital memory is accomplished in "real time" whereas reading of the stored data from the memory and signal processing to develop interpolated digitized video signal components of the magnified picture is accomplished at a reduced processing rate on a line-by-line basis in between memory write cycles.

Abstract: The present invention provides for the generation of digitally dithered digital signals which can have an apparent quantizing resolution unaffected by truncation of the least significant bit. The truncated digital signal is dithered in an ordered fashion by adding thereto a bit developed in response to one condition of the truncated bit and is not dithered in response to another condition thereof. The original digital signal can be reconstructed by combining successive samples of the truncated digital signals. One feature of the present invention provides a truncation of digital signals.

Abstract: A digital television receiver includes an analog-to-digital converter having a controllable scaling factor and offset. To improve resolution of the digital samples, the scaling factor is increased and the offset is changed when the synchronizing and color reference burst portions of the composite video signal are being converted. In addition, the scaling can be greatly increased at selected times so that the phase of the color reference burst can be more accurately determined.

Abstract: An automatic color control (ACC) for a digital television receiver is compatible with and is unaffected by variation of the phase of the color subcarrier signal introduced in demodulating the color subcarrier to effect control of tint. ACC is effectuated by digital gain control for scaling the digital words representing the sampled magnitudes of the color subcarrier burst signal. Quadrature demodulation of the color subcarrier produces color signal digital words I and Q which are each sampled and latched during the color subcarrier burst. The sampled digital words are each squared and are then summed together. The summed digital word is compared to a chroma reference digital word and the difference digital word is employed to scale the color subcarrier digital words.

Abstract: A circuit for supplying first and second currents to a load comprises two current generators for providing those currents during first and second time intervals and a resistance through which those currents flow. Two control potentials developed by two semiconductor junctions are applied across the resistance. First and second control circuits control the two current generators so that the first and second currents are provided during the first and second time intervals, respectively. The current supply circuit is useful in a multivibrator wherein the timing capacitor thereof is the load to which the first and second currents are supplied.

Abstract: An automatic color burst magnitude control (ACC) for a digital television receiver is compatible with and is unaffected by variation of the phase of the color subcarrier signal introduced in demodulating the color subcarrier to effect control of tint. ACC is effectuated by digital gain control for scaling the digital words representing the sampled magnitudes of the color subcarrier burst signal. Quadrature demodulation of the color subcarrier signal produces color signal digital words I and Q which are each sampled and latched during the color subcarrier burst. The averages of the sampled I and Q digital words are applied as respective portions of the address of a read only memory (ROM). The ROM provides error words indicating whether the chroma burst amplitude is too large or too small. A control device responds to the error word to scale the color subcarrier digital words, and therefore scale the chroma burst amplitude to a predetermined magnitude.

Abstract: A class D power amplifier employing two N-channel field-effect power transistors includes an arrangement which develops a biasing voltage for the upper N-channel transistor. The biasing voltage exceeds the magnitude of the power source voltage so that the upper N-channel transistor can exhibit low channel ON resistance whereby substantially the entire supply voltage is applied to a load device. A transistor switch becomes conductive across a resistance which couples biasing voltage to the upper N-channel transistor when the biasing voltage exceeds the supply voltage.

Abstract: The gain of the chroma signal in a digital television receiver is controlled in accordance with the value of a composite gain factor which is an accumulation of gain control factors provided by a user color control, automatic chroma control, and chroma overload. Gain control according to the composite gain factor is realized by a coarse gain block, which increments or decrements the chroma signal gain in increments of six dB, and a fine gain control over a range of six dB or less, in finely controlled increments. In a preferred embodiment, the digital chroma gain system is operated under control of a microprocessor, which receives signals representative of chroma overload, user control settings, and chroma burst amplitude. The microprocessor then calculates the composite chroma signal gain and apportions the gain between the coarse and fine gain control blocks.