The all sky surveys done by the Palomar Observatory Schmidt, the European Southern Observatory Schmidt, and the United Kingdom Schmidt, the InfraRed Astronomical Satellite, and the Two Micron All Sky Survey have proven to be extremely useful tools for astronomy with value that lasts for decades. The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is mapping the whole sky following its launch on 2009 December 14. WISE began surveying the sky on 2010 January 14 and completed its first full coverage of the sky on July 17. The survey will continue to cover the sky a second time until the cryogen is exhausted (anticipated in 2010 November). WISE is achieving 5σ point source sensitivities better than 0.08, 0.11, 1, and 6 mJy in unconfused regions on the ecliptic in bands centered at wavelengths of 3.4, 4.6, 12, and 22 μm. Sensitivity improves toward the ecliptic poles due to denser coverage and lower zodiacal background. The angular resolution is 6. 1, 6. 4, 6. 5, and 12. 0 at 3.4, 4.6, 12, and 22 μm, and the astrometric precision for high signal-to-noise sources is better than 0. 15.

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft has been brought out of hibernation and has resumed surveying the sky at 3.4 and 4.6 μm. The scientific objectives of the NEOWISE reactivation mission are to detect, track, and characterize near-Earth asteroids and comets. The search for minor planets resumed on 2013 December 23, and the first new near-Earth object (NEO) was discovered 6 days later. As an infrared survey, NEOWISE detects asteroids based on their thermal emission and is equally sensitive to high and low albedo objects; consequently, NEOWISE-discovered NEOs tend to be large and dark. Over the course of its three-year mission, NEOWISE will determine radiometrically derived diameters and albedos for ∼2000 NEOs and tens of thousands of Main Belt asteroids. The 32 months of hibernation have had no significant effect on the mission's performance. Image quality, sensitivity, photometric and astrometric accuracy, completeness, and the rate of minor planet detections are all essentially unchanged from the prime mission's post-cryogenic phase.

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Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp participated in a Space Act Agreement with NASA GRC to determine the fe asibility of accommodating enough Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) on the Ball ESPA-c1ass bus to result in a mission of interest to Ball customers. The baseline for the study was the ESPA class BCP-I00 bus. Since the BCP-I00 bus has flight heritage on USAF programs, the approach for the study was to use the existing bus design and minimize changes to only those necessary to accommodate the SEP system. This approach maintains high heritage and mIDlmlzes the amount of Non-Recurring Engineering required for the bus. High heritage components were also selected for the SEP system when available, including an off-the-shelf Xenon tank, existing cathode, HET thruster and Xenon fe ed control, allowing fu ture development fu nding to be fo cused on a PPU compatible with the existing BCP-100 28 V power bus.The results of the study show that while meeting the ESPA envelope and mass requirements, the BCP-I00 can accommodate enough SEP capability to allow the orbit to be raised or lowered anywhere within LEO or change the inclination up to 10° fr om a LEO starting point. From a GTO starting point, an elliptical orbit with apogee at GEO is also possible.

The paper sets out to consider the present-day practice in British automotive electrical equipment, comparing this frequently with British practice prior to 1939 or current American practice wherever appropriate. It commences by considering the generating and energy-storage part of the system, dealing briefly with the provision of A.C. or D.C. equipment and the relative merits of 12-volt and 6-volt equipment. It then goes on to consider the operating and power-consuming parts of the system in fairly considerable detail, making particular note of the reduction in size and weight of generators which has been made possible in recent years by the use of new insulating enamels and of light alloys where practicable. The use of higher speeds is generally possible only where maximum car speeds are not very high, due to limitations imposed by centrifugal forces on armatures and the need to provide the rated output at a fairly constant road speed. Voltage regulators are dealt with in some detail with a general description of the British compensated voltage-control system and the transatlantic current-voltage type using two separate regulating circuits in series. With regard to batteries, the main development has been an improved paste which was developed during the 1939–45 war for dealing with low temperatures and which is now in general production. The problems of noise, power, and premature pinion ejection concerning starter-motors are discussed, with a comparison of the performance of 6- and 12-volt machines and of the various types of pinion-engaging mechanisms of the positive-mesh and inertia-meshing types, together with a reference to the comparatively large amount of power required to start a small engine. Developments in ignition equipment have not been great in recent years, but the point is made that an improved system will need to be developed for the higher compression ratios which are impending. The paper deals briefly with windscreen wipers, heaters, demisters, horns, direction indicators of the semaphore and flashing signal type, instruments, actuating motors, relays and protective devices, and also touches briefly on the subject of radio suppression for car radio and television. The paper concludes with a discussion on head lighting and dazzle.