These are the proceedings of the "AstroNet-II International Final Conference". This conference was one of the last milestones of the Marie-Curie Research Training Network on Astrodynamics "AstroNet-II", that has been funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme. The aim of the conference, and thus this book, is to communicate work on astrodynamics problems to an international and specialised audience. The results are presented by both members of the network and invited specialists. The topics include: trajectory design and control, attitude control, structural flexibility of spacecraft and formation flying. The book addresses a readership across the traditional boundaries between mathematics, engineering and industry by offering an interdisciplinary and multisectorial overview of the field.

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 is a follow-on book to the introductory textbook "Physics of the Solar Corona" previously published in 2004 by the same author, which provided a systematic introduction and covered mostly scientific results from the pre-2000 era. Using a similar structure as the previous book the second volume provides a seamless continuation of numerous novel research results in solar physics that emerged in the new millennium (after 2000) from the new solar missions of RHESSI, STEREO, Hinode, CORONAS, and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) during the era of 2000-2018. The new solar space missions are characterized by unprecedented high-resolution imaging, time resolution, spectral capabilities, stereoscopy and tomography, which reveal the intricate dynamics of magneto-hydrodynamic processes in the solar corona down to scales of 100 km. The enormous amount of data streaming down from SDO in Terabytes per day requires advanced automated data processing methods. The book focuses exclusively on new research results after 2000, which are reviewed in a comprehensive manner, documented by over 3600 literature references, covering theory, observations, and numerical modeling of basic physical processes that are observed in high-temperature plasmas of the Sun and other astrophysical objects, such as plasma instabilities, coronal heating, magnetic reconnection processes, coronal mass ejections, plasma waves and oscillations, or particle acceleration.

This authoritative new resource explores the communications aspect of electronic warfare and presents the major technical issues that drive the practice of land EW to help practitioners with their work in the field. The book offers a detailed understanding of the structure of tactical communications electronic warfare systems, the relationship between these systems and their targets, and the likely future development path of land electronic warfare. Written in a clear, easy-to-understand style, with accessible descriptions of tactical communications EW techniques, the book is a useful reference for technical and non-technical professionals alike.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of spherical microphone arrays, and was written for graduate students, researchers and engineers who work with spherical microphone arrays in a wide range of applications. The new edition includes additions and modifications, and references supplementary Matlab code to provide the reader with a straightforward start for own implementations. The book is also accompanied by a Matlab manual, which explains how to implement the examples and simulations presented in the book. The first two chapters provide the reader with the necessary mathematical and physical background, including an introduction to the spherical Fourier transform and the formulation of plane-wave sound fields in the spherical harmonic domain. In turn, the third chapter covers the theory of spatial sampling, employed when selecting the positions of microphones to sample sound pressure functions in space. Subsequent chapters highlight various spherical array configurations, including the popular rigid-sphere-based configuration. Beamforming (spatial filtering) in the spherical harmonics domain, including axis-symmetric beamforming, and the performance measures of directivity index and white noise gain are introduced, and a range of optimal beamformers for spherical arrays, including those that achieve maximum directivity and maximum robustness are developed, along with the Dolph-Chebyshev beamformer. The final chapter discusses more advanced beamformers, such as MVDR (minimum variance distortionless response) and LCMV (linearly constrained minimum variance) types, which are tailored to the measured sound field. Mathworks kindly distributes the Matlab sources for this book on https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/68655-fundamentals-of-spherical-array-processing.

Electroacoustic transducers (EAT) are devices, which transform electric energy to energy of acoustic fluctuations. Principles of action, design of transducers for work in air and water as well as for non-destructive control are described in the book. New technologies of designing EAT, not only expanding designing possibilities, are described. They also allow to create transducers with improved characteristics. In particular, methods to increase target capacity (sound pressure), decrease working (resonant) frequency of transducers and expand frequencies of projectors and sound receivers are developed. Methods and control units of transducers in batch production of transducers are described, too.

This textbook provides a detailed introduction to the use of software in combination with simple and economical hardware (a sound level meter with calibrated AC output and a digital recording system) to obtain sophisticated measurements usually requiring expensive equipment. It emphasizes the use of free, open source, and multiplatform software. Many commercial acoustical measurement systems use software algorithms as an integral component; however the methods are not disclosed. This book enables the reader to develop useful algorithms and provides insight into the use of digital audio editing tools to document features in the signal. Topics covered include acoustical measurement principles, in-depth critical study of uncertainty applied to acoustical measurements, digital signal processing from the basics, and metrologically-oriented spectral and statistical analysis of signals. The student will gain a deep understanding of the use of software for measurement purposes; the ability to implement software-based measurement systems; familiarity with the hardware necessary to acquire and store signals; an appreciation for the key issue of long-term preservation of signals; and a full grasp of the often neglected issue of uncertainty in acoustical measurements. Pedagogical features include in-text worked-out examples, end-of-chapter problems, a glossary of metrology terms, and extensive appendices covering statistics, proofs, additional examples, file formats, and underlying theory.

This book provides results of analysis of typical solar events, statistical analysis, the diagnostics of energetic electrons and magnetic field, as well as the global behavior of solar flaring loops such as their contraction and expansion. It pays particular attention to analyzing solar flare loops with microwave, hard X-ray, optical and EUV emissions, as well as the theories of their radiation, and electron acceleration/transport. The results concerning influence of the pitch-angle anisotropy of non-thermal electrons on their microwave and hard X-ray emissions, new spectral behaviors in X-ray and microwave bands, and results related to the contraction of flaring loops, are widely discussed in the literature of solar physics. The book is useful for graduate students and researchers in solar and space physics.

This book highlights the manufacturing and applications of acoustic textiles in various industries. It also includes examples from different industries in which acoustic textiles can be used to absorb noise and help reduce the impact of noise at the workplace. Given the importance of noise reduction in the working environment in several industries, the book offers a valuable guide for companies, educators and researchers involved with acoustic materials.

Race to the Moon is a suspenseful thriller about the 30-year clash between the United States and the Soviet Union to be the first to put a man on the moon. This true account is heavy with intrigue, espionage, and controversy. Beginning with a 1961 pledge by President John F. Kennedy to plant the Stars and Stripes on the lunar surface by the end of the decade, the story flashes back to the first days of World War II. At that time, England was tipped off by a high Nazi official that the Third Reich was developing revolutionary long-range rockets. This same source clandestinely provided documents that shocked British scientists: The Germans were 25 years ahead of England and the United States in rocket development! And then, in September 1944, 60-foot-long V-2 rockets, for which there was no defense, began raining down on London, causing enormous destruction and loss of life. Even while the fighting was still raging in Germany in the spring of 1945, a handful of young U.S. Army officers scored a colossal coup: They connived to steal 100 of the huge V-2s that had been found in an underground factory. They were dismantled and slipped by train out of Germany, destination White Sands, New Mexico. Then began a no-holds-barred search for German rocket scientists in the chaos of a defeated Third Reich, with the Americans and British on one side and the Russians on the other. Within weeks of the close of the war, Wernher von Braun and 126 of his rocket team members were corraled, shipped to the United States, and began working secretly on missile development. At the same time, the Soviets literally kidnapped other German rocket scientists and sent them to Russia to continue their space work. In the years ahead, Wernher von Braun and his German rocket team, nearly all of whom became naturalized citizens of the United States, collaborated with American scientists to overcome enormous space achievements by the Soviets--and bungling by Washington politicians--to send Neil Armstrong scampering about on the moon in 1969.

This book highlights the symmetry properties of acoustic fields and describes the gauge invariance approach, which can be used to reveal those properties. Symmetry is the key theoretical framework of metamaterials, as has been demonstrated by the successful fabrication of acoustical metamaterials. The book first provides the necessary theoretical background, which includes the covariant derivative, the vector potential, and invariance in coordinate transformation. This is followed by descriptions of global gauge invariance (isotropy), and of local gauge invariance (anisotropy). Sections on time reversal symmetry, reflection invariance, and invariance of finite amplitude waves round out the coverage.

Presents a comprehensive synopsis of the current state of cosmic rays, their modulation and their effects in the Earth's atmosphere. Leading scientists in the field assess the current state of our understanding of the spatial and temporal variations of galactic and anomalous cosmic rays in the Heliosphere, and their relation to effects of the Sun. The main objective is to understand the spatial and temporal variation of galactic and anomalous cosmic rays in the light of recent observations, theory and modeling by identifying the key mechanism(s) of cosmic ray modulation and how changes on the Sun relate to changes in the observed characteristics of cosmic rays in the Heliosphere; examining the current long-lasting solar minimum and understand its implications for solar-cycle variations and long-term variations; and interpreting the long-term variations of cosmogenic radionuclides in terms of solar variability and climate change on Earth. This volume is aimed at graduate students active in the fields of solar physics, space science, and cosmic ray physics. Originally published in Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 176/1-4, 2013.

A collection of papers edited by four experts in the field, this book sets out to describe the way solar activity is manifested in observations of the solar interior, the photosphere, the chromosphere, the corona and the heliosphere. The 11-year solar activity cycle, more generally known as the sunspot cycle, is a fundamental property of the Sun. This phenomenon is the generation and evolution of magnetic fields in the Sun's convection zone, the photosphere. It is only by the careful enumeration and description of the phenomena and their variations that one can clarify their interdependences. The sunspot cycle has been tracked back about four centuries, and it has been recognized that to make this data set a really useful tool in understanding how the activity cycle works and how it can be predicted, a very careful and detailed effort is needed to generate sunspot numbers. This book deals with this topic, together with several others that present related phenomena that all indicate the physical processes that take place in the Sun and its exterior environment. The reviews in the book also present the latest theoretical and modelling studies that attempt to explain the activity cycle. It remains true, as has been shown in the unexpected characteristics of the first two solar cycles in the 21st century, that predictability remains a serious challenge. Nevertheless, the highly expert and detailed reviews in this book, using the very best solar observations from both ground- and space based telescopes, provide the best possible report on what is known and what is yet to be discovered. Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Vol 186, Issues 1-4, 2014.