This book presents lecture materials from the Third LOFAR Data School, transformed into a coherent and complete reference book describing the LOFAR design, along with descriptions of primary science cases, data processing techniques, and recipes for data handling. Together with hands-on exercises the chapters, based on the lecture notes, teach fundamentals and practical knowledge. LOFAR is a new and innovative radio telescope operating at low radio frequencies (10-250 MHz) and is the first of a new generation of radio interferometers that are leading the way to the ambitious Square Kilometre Array (SKA) to be built in the next decade. This unique reference guide serves as a primary information source for research groups around the world that seek to make the most of LOFAR data, as well as those who will push these topics forward to the next level with the design, construction, and realization of the SKA. This book will also be useful as supplementary reading material for any astrophysics overview or astrophysical techniques course, particularly those geared towards radio astronomy (and radio astronomy techniques).

Thirty years ago when Sir Richard Branson called up Boeing and asked if they had a spare 747, few would have predicted the brash entrepreneur would so radically transform the placid business of air travel. But today, Branson flies airlines on six continents, employs hundreds of jets and, in 2014, was predicting that his spaceship company - Virgin Galactic - would soon open the space frontier to commercial astronauts, payload specialists, scientists and space tourists. With more than 600 seats sold at $250,000 each, what started off as a dream to send people just for the excitement to look back and marvel at Earth, was on the cusp of finally being turned into a business. Then, on October 21, 2014, tragedy struck. SpaceShipTwo was on its most ambitious test flight to date. Seconds after firing its engine, Virgin Galactic's spaceship was breaking through the sound barrier. In just the three seconds that it took for the vehicle to climb from Mach 0.94 to Mach 1.02, co-pilot Mike Alsbury made what many close to the event believe was a fatal mistake that led to his death and the disintegration of SpaceShipTwo. Miraculously, the pilot, Peter Siebold, survived the 16-km fall back to Earth. Soon after the event Branson vowed to continue his space tourism venture in spite of this. Already a second SpaceShipTwo is being built, and ticket-holders eagerly await the day when Virgin Galactic offers quick, routine and affordable access to the edge of space. This book explains the hurdles Virgin Galactic had and still has to overcome en route to developing suborbital space travel as a profitable economic entity, and describes the missions that will be flown on board SpaceShipTwo Mk II, including high-altitude science studies, astronomy, life sciences, and microgravity physics.

The future evolution of the debris environment will be forecast on the basis of traffic models and possible hazard mitigation practices. The text shows how large trackable objects will have re-entry pinpointed and predictions made on related risk assessment for possible ground impact. Models will also be described for meteoroids which are also a prevailing risk.

This book is the first to provide a comprehensive, readily understandable report on the European Space Agency's Gaia mission that will meet the needs of a general audience. It takes the reader on an exciting journey of discovery, explaining how such a scientific satellite is made, presenting the scientific results available from Gaia to date, and examining how the collected data will be used and their likely scientific consequences. The Gaia mission will provide a complete and high-precision map of the positions, distances, and motions of the stars in our galaxy. It will revolutionize our knowledge on the origin and evolution of the Milky Way, on the effects of mysterious dark matter, and on the birth and evolution of stars and extrasolar planets. The Gaia satellite was launched in December 2013 and has a foreseen operational lifetime of five to six years, culminating in a final stellar catalogue in the early 2020s. This book will appeal to all who have an interest in the mission and the profound impact that it will have on astronomy.

The Earth has limited resources while the resources in space are virtually unlimited. Further development of humanity will require going beyond our planet and exploring of extraterrestrial bodies and their resources. This book investigates Outer Solar Systems and their prospective energy and material resources. It presents past missions and future technologies and solutions to old problems that could become reality in our life time. The book therefore is a great resource of condensed information for specialists interested in current and impending Outer Solar Systems related activities and a good starting point for space researchers, inventors, technologists and potential investors.

This Festschrift dedicated to the 60th birth anniversary of Prof. Sandip K. Chakrabarti, a well-known Indian astrophysicist, presents a collection of contributions by about fifty scientists who work on diverse topics in contemporary astrophysics and space science including new and low-cost balloon borne experiments, planetary science, astrochemistry and the origin of life, ionospheric research and earthquake predictions, relativistic astrophysics around black holes, and finally, the observational signatures and radiative properties of compact objects. All the authors are well known scholars in their respective subject and are all PhD students of Prof. Sandip K. Chakrabarti. The book demonstrates a two-dimensional evolution of research areas triggered by Sandip Chakrabarti over the past few decades. The first dimension represents the evolution and diversification of Chakrabarti's own research in which new students were trained. A second dimension arises from the evolution of the research topics pursued by Chakrabarti's fifty odd doctoral students, many of whom have become renowned scientists in their own right, after starting with a certain subject under Chakrabarti and then migrating to completely new subjects with dexterity. The editors have compiled and edited the articles appropriately to some extent to suit the spirit of this Festschrift on the one hand and to keep balance in diverse topics on the other. Thus this volume also provides an overview for whosoever wishes to enter the important subjects of compact objects, astrochemistry, ionospheric science or space exploration in near space. New graduates, PhD scholars, teachers and researchers will benefit from this volume. Moreover it is a record of tremendous success of a school in a range of vast topics.

Foreword by Dr. Roger D. Launius, Former NASA Chief Historian For the past 75 years, the U.S. government has invested significant time and money into advanced aerospace research, as evidenced by its many experimental X-plane aircraft and rockets. NASA's X-Planes asks a simple question: What have we gained from it all? To answer this question, the authors provide a comprehensive overview of the X-plane's long history, from the 1946 X-1 to the modern X-60. The chapters describe not just the technological evolution of these models, but also the wider story of politics, federal budgets, and inter-agency rivalries surrounding them. The book is organized into two sections, with the first covering the operational X-planes that symbolized the Cold War struggle between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R, and the second section surveying post-Cold War aircraft and spacecraft. Featuring dozens of original illustrations of X-plane cross-sections, in-flight profiles, close-ups, and more, this book will educate general readers and specialists alike.

This book describes essential concepts of, and the status quo in, the field of ionospheric space weather. It explains why our society on planet Earth and moving outwards into space cannot work safely, function efficiently, or progress steadily without committed and comprehensive research initiatives addressing space weather. These initiatives must provide space environment specifications, warnings, and forecasts, all of which need to be timely, accurate and reliable. Cause and effect models of the Earth's ionosphere are discussed in terms of the spatial and temporal dimensions of background variability, storms, gradients, irregularities, and waves in both current and long-term research activities. Starting from dynamic processes on the Sun, in the interplanetary medium, and in the Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere, the text focuses on the dominant features of the plasma medium under normal and extreme conditions over the European zone during the last few Solar Cycles. One of the book's most unique features is a series of fundamental examples that offer profound insights into ionospheric climate and weather. Various approaches for acquiring and disseminating the necessary data and forecasting analyses are discussed, and interesting analogies are observed between terrestrial and space weather - both of which could produce lasting social consequences, with not only academic but also concrete economic implications. The book's primary goal is to foster the development of ionospheric space weather products and services that are capable of satisfying the ever-growing demand for space-based technology, and are ready for the society of the not-so-distant future.

This textbook introduces the theories and practical procedures used in planetary spacecraft navigation. Written by a former member of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) navigation team, it delves into the mathematics behind modern digital navigation programs, as well as the numerous technological resources used by JPL as a key player in the field. In addition, the text offers an analysis of navigation theory application in recent missions, with the goal of showing students the relationship between navigation theory and the real-world orchestration of mission operations.

This monograph is a detailed study, and systematic defence, of the Growing Block Theory of time (GBT), first conceived by C.D. Broad. The book offers a coherent, logically perspicuous and ideologically lean formulation of GBT, defends it against the most notorious objections to be found in the extant philosophical literature, and shows how it can be derived from a more general theory, consistent with relativistic spacetime, on the pre-relativistic assumption of an absolute and total temporal order. The authors devise axiomatizations of GBT and its competitors which, against the backdrop of a shared quantified tense logic, significantly improves the prospects of their comparative assessment. Importantly, neither of these axiomatizations involves commitment to properties of presentness, pastness or futurity. The authors proceed to address, and defuse, a number of objections that have been marshaled against GBT, including the so-called epistemic objection according to which the theory invites skepticism about our temporal location. The challenge posed by relativistic physics is met head-on, by replacing claims about temporal variation by claims about variation across spacetime. The book aims to achieve the greatest possible rigor. The background logic is set out in detail, as are the principles governing the notions of precedence and temporal location. The authors likewise devise a novel spacetime logic suited for the articulation, and comparative assessment, of relativistic theories of time. The book comes with three technical appendices which include soundness and completeness proofs for the systems corresponding to GBT and its competitors, in both their pre-relativistic and relativistic forms. The book is primarily directed at researchers and graduate students working on the philosophy of time or temporal logic, but is of interest to metaphysicians and philosophical logicians more generally.

This book addresses space science and communication - one of the main pillars of space science sustainability, an area that has recently become of great importance. In this regard, research and development play a crucial role in sustainability development. However, obtaining essential data in the physical world to interpret the universe and to predict what could happen in the future is a challenging undertaking. Accordingly, providing valid information to understand trends, evaluate needs, and create sustainable development policies and programs in the best interest of all the people is indispensable. This book was prepared in conjunction with the fifth meeting of the 2017 International Conference on Space Science and Communication (IconSpace2017), held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 3-5 May 2017 to introduce graduate stuandents, researchers, lecturers, engineers, geospatialists, meteorologists, climatologists, astronomers and practitioners to the latest applications of space science, telecommunications, meteorology, remote sensing and related fields. The individual papers discuss a broad range of space science and technology applications, e.g. the formation of global warming from space, environmental and remote sensing, communication systems, and smart materials for space applications.

This book presents a comprehensive geopolitical analysis of European space activities. By studying outer space as a physical and socio-economic space as well as a military-diplomatic area, the author helps readers understand outer space as a geopolitical environment. The book also offers insights into the behavior and strategies of different actors, with a special focus on the European space strategy and the nature of the European space program and diplomacy.

This book describes and contextualises collisionless plasma theory, and in particular collisionless plasma equilibria. The Vlasov-Maxwell theory of collisionless plasmas is an increasingly important tool for modern plasma physics research: our ability to sustain plasma in a steady-state, and to mitigate instabilities, determines the success of thermonuclear fusion power plants on Earth; and our understanding of plasma aids in the prediction and mitigation of Space Weather effects on terrestrial environments and satellites. Further afield, magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous energy release mechanism throughout the Universe, and modern satellites are now able to make in-situ measurements with kinetic scale resolution. To keep pace with these challenges and technological developments, a modern scientific discussion of plasma physics must enhance, and exploit, its 'literacy' in kinetic theory. For example, accurate analytical calculations and computer simulations of kinetic instabilities are predicated on a knowledge of Vlasov-Maxwell equilibria as an initial condition. This book highlights new fundamental work on Vlasov-Maxwell equilibria, of potential interest to mathematicians and physicists alike. Possible applications involve two of the most significant magnetic structures known to confine plasma and store energy: current sheets and flux tubes.

This book introduces readers to the navigation, guidance and control technologies involved in single-spacecraft, double-spacecraft, and multiple-spacecraft tasks in elliptical orbits. It comprehensively covers the key technologies of guidance, navigation and control (GNC) system design for spacecraft in elliptical orbits, including the orbit design, formation configuration design and maintenance, autonomous navigation technology and relative navigation technology, as well as autonomous rendezvous technology. The methods that this book introduces are very close to actual practical engineering applications and presented in an accessible style. The book can serve as reference teaching material for senior undergraduates and postgraduates with space navigation related majors, while also providing essential information and guidance for research personnel and engineering technical personnel engaged in the development of GNC systems for spacecraft.

At the intersection of astronautics, computer science, and social science, this book introduces the challenges and insights associated with computer simulation of human society in outer space, and of the dynamics of terrestrial enthusiasm for space exploration. Never before have so many dynamic representations of space-related social systems existed, some deeply analyzing the logical implications of social-scientific theories, and others open for experience by the general public as computer-generated virtual worlds. Fascinating software ranges from multi-agent artificial intelligence models of civilization, to space-oriented massively multiplayer online games, to educational programs suitable for schools or even for the world's space exploration agencies. At the present time, when actual forays by humans into space are scarce, computer simulations of space societies are an excellent way to prepare for a renaissance of exploration beyond the bounds of Earth.

This thesis develops and establishes several methods to determine the detailed geometric architecture of transiting exoplanetary systems (planets orbiting around, and periodically passing in front of, stars other than the sun) using high-precision photometric data collected by the Kepler space telescope. It highlights the measurement of stellar obliquity - the tilt of the stellar equator with respect to the planetary orbital plane(s) - and presents methods for more precise obliquity measurements in individual systems of particular interest, as well as for measurements in systems that have been out of reach of previous methods. Such information is useful for investigating the dynamical evolution of the planetary orbit, which is the key to understanding the diverse architecture of exoplanetary systems. The thesis also demonstrates a wide range of unique applications of high-precision photometric data, which expand the capability of future space-based photometry.

The proceedings published in this book document and foster the goals of the 11th International Space Conference on "Protection of Materials and Structures from Space Environment" ICPMSE-11 to facilitate exchanges between members of the various engineering and science disciplines involved in the development of space materials. Contributions cover aspects of interaction with space environment of LEO, GEO, Deep Space, Planetary environments, ground-based qualification and in-flight experiments, as well as lessons learned from operational vehicles that are closely interrelated to disciplines of atmospheric sciences, solar-terrestrial interactions and space life sciences.

This unique book presents a historical and philatelic survey of Earth exploration from space. It covers all areas of research in which artificial satellites have contributed in designing a new image of our planet and its environment: the atmosphere and ionosphere, the magnetic field, radiation belts and the magnetosphere, weather, remote sensing, mapping of the surface, observation of the oceans and marine environments, geodesy, and the study of life and ecological systems. Stamping the Earth from Space presents the results obtained with the thousands of satellites launched by the two former superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States, and also those of the many missions carried out by the ESA, individual European countries, Japan, China, India, and the many emerging space nations. Beautifully illustrated, it contains almost 1100 color reproductions of philatelic items. In addition to topical stamps and thematic postal documents, the book provides an extensive review of astrophilatelic items. The most important space missions are documented through event covers and cards canceled at launch sites, tracking stations, research laboratories, and mission control facilities.

This book is an informal autobiography by John West MD PhD. He obtained his medical degree in Adelaide, Australia and then spent 15 years mainly at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital in London where he, with others, used radioactive oxygen-15 to make the first description of the uneven regional distribution of blood flow in the lung. In 1960-1961, he was a member of the Himalayan Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary who had made the first ascent of Mt Everest 7 years before. During the expedition about 6 scientists spent up to three months at an altitude of 5800 m studying the effects of this very high altitude on human physiology. Because of his interests in the effects of gravity on the lung, Dr. West spent a year at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California in 1967-1968. While there he submitted a proposal to NASA to measure pulmonary function of astronauts in space, and this was funded. Later, in 1981 he organized the American Medical Research Expedition to Everest during which the first measurements of human physiology on the summit, altitude 8848 m, were obtained. In the 1990's, Dr. West's team made the first comprehensive measurements of pulmonary function of astronauts in space using SpaceLab which was taken up in the Shuttle.

This book provides an introduction to the physics of interstellar gas in the Galaxy. It deals with the diffuse interstellar medium which supplies a complex environment for exploring the neutral gas content of a galaxy like the Milky Way and the techniques necessary for studying this non-stellar component. After an initial exposition of the phases of the interstellar medium and the role of gas in a spiral galaxy, the authors discuss the transition from atomic to molecular gas. They then consider basic radiative transfer and molecular spectroscopy with particular emphasis on the molecules useful for studying low-density molecular gas. Observational techniques for investigating the gas and the dust component of the diffuse interstellar medium throughout the electromagnetic spectrum are explored emphasizing results from the recent Herschel and Planck missions. A brief exposition on dust in the diffuse interstellar medium is followed by a discussion of molecular clouds in general and high-latitude molecular clouds in particular. Ways of calibrating CO observations with the molecular hydrogen content of a cloud are examined along with the dark molecular gas controversy. High-latitude molecular clouds are considered in detail as vehicles for applying the techniques developed in the book. Given the transient nature of diffuse and translucent molecular clouds, the role of turbulence in the origin and dynamics of these objects is examined in some detail. The book is targeted at graduate students or postdocs who are entering the field of interstellar medium studies.

This book develops a general approach that can be systematically refined to investigate the statics and dynamics of deformable solid bodies. These methods are then employed to small bodies in the Solar System. With several space missions underway and more being planned, interest in our immediate neighbourhood is growing. In this spirit, this book investigates various phenomena encountered in planetary science, including disruptions during planetary fly-bys, equilibrium shapes and stability of small rubble bodies, and spin-driven shape changes. The flexible procedure proposed here will help readers gain valuable insights into the mechanics of solar system bodies, while at the same time complementing numerical investigations. The technique itself is built upon the virial method successfully employed by Chandrasekhar (1969) to study the equilibrium shapes of spinning fluid objects. However, here Chandrasekhar's approach is modified in order to study more complex dynamical situations and include objects of different rheologies, e.g., granular aggregates, or "rubble piles". The book is largely self-contained, though some basic familiarity with continuum mechanics will be beneficial.

This book introduces readers to the application of orbital data on space objects in the contexts of conjunction assessment and space situation analysis, including theories and methodologies. It addresses the main topics involved in space object conjunction assessment, such as: orbital error analysis of space objects; close approach analysis; the calculation, analysis and application of collision probability; and the comprehensive assessment of collision risk. In addition, selected topics on space situation analysis are also presented, including orbital anomaly and space event analysis, and so on. The book offers a valuable guide for researchers and engineers in the fields of astrodynamics, space telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C), space surveillance, space situational awareness, and space debris, as well as for graduates majoring in flight vehicle design and related fields.

This thesis focuses on the very high Mach number shock wave that is located sunward of Saturn's strong magnetic field in the continuous high-speed flow of charged particles from the Sun (the solar wind). The author exploits the fact that the Cassini spacecraft is the only orbiter in a unique parameter regime, far different from the more familiar near-Earth space, to provide in-situ insights into the unreachable exotic regime of supernova remnants. This thesis bridges the gap between shock physics in the Solar System and the physics of ultra-high Mach number shocks around the remnants of supernova explosions, since to date research into the latter has been restricted to theory, remote observations, and simulations.

Have you ever wondered what could happen when we discover another communicating species outside the Earth? This book addresses this question in all its complexity. In addition to the physical barriers for communication, such as the enormous distances where a message can take centuries to reach its recipient, the book also examines the biological problems of communicating between species, the problems of identifying a non-Terrestrial intelligence, and the ethical, religious, legal and other problems of conducting discussions across light years. Most of the book is concerned with issues that could impinge on your life: how do we share experiences with ETI? Can we make shared laws? Could we trade? Would they have religion? The book addresses these and related issues, identifying potential barriers to communication and suggesting ways we can overcome them. The book explores this topic through reference to human experience, through analogy and thought experiment, while relying on what is known to-date about ourselves, our world, and the cosmos we live in.

"Space Pharmacology" is a review of the current knowledge regarding the use of pharmaceuticals during spaceflights. It is a comprehensive review of the literature, addressing each area of pharmacokinetics and each major physiological system in turn. Every section begins with a topic overview, and is followed by a discussion of published data from spaceflight, and from ground experiments meant to model the spaceflight situation. Includes a discussion looking forward to the new medical challenges we are likely to face on longer duration exploration missions. This book is a snapshot of our current knowledge that also highlights areas of unknown.