In the last 11 years, a lot has changed in this field. That's to be expected in a technology that is driven by Moore's Law, where complexity doubles every 18 months or so. So we have a factor of 7 or so, but actually the rate of change is increasing.Where we are today is machines built with multiple cores on one chip, each core being a complete computer. The same communication schemes discussed in this book are used, with the same trade-off's, shared memory or communication channel....

This book discusses the application of Cubesat Clusters, Constellations, and Swarms in the exploration of the solar systems. This includes the Sun, the 8 primary planets and Pluto, many moons, the asteroid belt, comets, the ring systems of the four gas giants, and comets. There is a lot to explore. U.S. Spacecraft have been to all of the planets in the solar system. Although the planets (and Pluto) have been visited by spacecraft, Earth's moon has been somewhat explored, and many of the ot...

The Town of Lonaconing was located centrally in the Georges Creek Valley, between Frostburg at the north, and Westernport at the south. Both towns at the extremes had rail junctions. There were plans to extend the canal through Westernport. Lonaconing became the largest among the dozen or so towns along the Georges Creek, serving as a manufacturing center, a home for companies and miners, and a major retail center. Today Lonaconing is a town of some 1,200, still the largest among the Georg...

This book documents the development of missile and spacecraft guidance computers from the earliest efforts to the current Space Station and satellite onboard systems. This book developed from the author's presentation at the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory in 2009 for the Workshop on Flight Software. The second and third editions were expanded with new material and references. The fourth edition updated the material to the state of the art in 2014, with discussions of...

The book discusses the topic of the search for Extraterrestrial life, that is, life not on Earth. The search is taking place in the planets and moons of our solar system, and on Exoplanets, elsewhere in our galaxy. The problem is, we only have 1, albeit vastly diversified, example of life. We can conjecture that life only has a chance in certain thermal ranges (the Goldilocks zone), so that's where we look. Unfortunately, strange life was observed at deep ocean thermal vents, with chemical...

This book discusses some of the computers I had direct hands-on experience with. It covers both hardware and software.The author's first computer experience was on a Bendix G-20 mainframe, a 32-bit machine, using the Algol language. His first assembly language was on an IBM S/360 mainframe, specifically the Model 67 variant, with virtual memory. He went on to program the Univac 1108 series mainframe (a 1's complement machine), the DEC PDP-8, 9, 10, and 11, the Bendix G-15, the Athe...

This book discusses the subject of lava tubes on Earth, the Moon and Mars, and their potential applications for habitats and planetary settlements. To implement this, we need robotic explorers that can scout the lava tubes. This book will discuss an approach for that, using Cube-Xs, which are standardized architectures, based on the Cubesat model. Lava tubes are primary caves, not formed from the erosion of softer rock. We will discuss autonomous exploration of the Lava tubes by multiple u...

This is a book on energy storage. Most electrical energy is AC, and is used when generated. Direct current is stored in battery, but there is no such things as an AC battery. There are other ways to store the energy. Solar cells only produce electricity during the day, and we might need the energy at night. Hydro power system generate power when there is a sufficient amount of water flow. Nuclear plants generate power as needed. Power from geothermal wells is generally available 24x7.

This book discusses the next generation of robot explorers for the surface of the Earth, our Moon and Mars. Up to this point, surface exploration has used one or two car-sized vehicles, operating on their own, or perhaps just a drone. Mars exploration has involved one or two rovers covering a small area around a landing site.A paradigm ship in spacecraft architecture has been the Cubesat approach, a standardized, open source design. Cubesats have become more capable. The standardiz...

This book will discuss the exploration of the four largest planets in our solar system, all located beyond the orbit of Mars. The first two, Jupiter and Saturn are termed the Gas Giants, and the next two, Neptune and Uranus, are the Ice Giants.Each has an extensive set of moons, and a ring system. Each is unique in many ways. They have been explored extensively, and more information is gained every day about their composition and behavior. It's thought that some of the larger moons...

As we stretch our exploration of our solar system, it gets much more challenging. This is due to the distances involved, and the vast diversity of the places we are visiting. W have issues of power and communication as we reach further out to our neighbors. We are seeking answers to questions such as, are we alone here? Can we live here? Are there materials we can use?Due both to their numbers and their diversity, exploration of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn will be costly and di...

Rich in very diverse railroad history CSX Transportation (CSXT) is the largest eastern railroad and also one of the safest in the country. CSXT is the end result of over 150 years of railroad evolution in the United States. The largest part of CSXT consists of elements of the Chessie System and the Seaboard Coast Lines. Dozens of “fallen flag” lines such as the Baltimore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio, Western Maryland, Atlantic Coast Line, Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac, Family Line,s a...