An Elliptic Filter Design for the Space Shuttle Vibro-acoustic Experiment

Abstract

NASA 's Get Away Special (GAS) program permits experimenters to place small, self-contained, autonomously controlled experiments in the Space Shuttle's cargo bay. In some experiments the need exists to start recording data just before launch without intervention by the astronauts. This paper describes an elliptic filter whose purpose is to detect the impending launch by listening for a 600 Hz tone characteristic of the Auxiliary Power Units (MU). These are activated between five and ten minutes prior to launch. The filter comprises the key element in an APU detection circuit, and it is implemented using a pair of Generalized Impededance Converters (GIC) in cascade. The GIC configuration is highly insensitive to changes in both its passive and its active parameters, is capable of implementing a large variety of biquadratic filter functions, and so is an excellent choice for active filters. The two GIC sections represent biquadratic factors which individually implement a high-puss and a low-pass notch filter. When placed in cascade, the result is a very narrow band elliptic filter. This paper includes measurements of the sensitivity of the filter to changes in its parameters.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA575001

Entities

People

  • Charles B. Cameron
  • Sherif Michael

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amplifiers
  • Auxiliary Power Units
  • Bandpass Filters
  • Bandwidth
  • Circuit Analysis
  • Circuits
  • Computers
  • Filters
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Response
  • Impedance
  • Notch Filters
  • Operational Amplifiers
  • Sensitivity
  • Simulations
  • Space Shuttles
  • Transfer Functions

Readers

  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Phased Array Antenna Design.
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space