From the beginning of its existence, SRC has been
maintaining a team in charge of actual heliogeophysical
data acquisition and prediction. The team has been
working within the ISES organization (International
Space Environment Service). Within this organization,
observatories and other research institutions exchange
measurements of parameters of the Sun, the Earth
and the Earth's environment. The Warsaw centre is
a Regional Warning Centre (RWC) (http://www.cbk.waw.pl/rwc/rwc.html)
The Warsaw facility collects data from all other
Warning Centres in Boulder, Meudon, Tokyo, Sydney,
and Moscow and from all the observation posts in
Poland. A big portion of the data is obtained directly
from observatories around the world. The base of
the system of permanent monitoring of the conditions
of radio waves propagation over Poland is the ionosonde
KOS/89 developed in SRC. The magnetic activity K
index is supplied by the Central Geophysical Observatory
PAS in Belsk.
SRC hosts the Ionospheric Despatch Centre for Europe
(IDCE). The IDCE facility was established within
the framework of the European COST 251 Action IITS
(Improved Quality of Ionospheric Telecommunications
Systems Planning and Operation). It has been operating
since the beginning of 1997 as part of the Prediction
Service. IDCE facilitates convenient access to most
up-to-date measurements from ionosondes throughout
Europe and to data from the ISES network. The data
from the foregoing and actual month are available.
The current month data are presented from the beginning
of the month till the most recent measurements.
The IDCE offers ionospheric catalogues of quiet
and disturbed days as well as a list of ionospheric
disturbances observed by multiple ionospheric stations,
ionospheric indices MF2, and maps of foF2 for 0
and 12 h UT from the preceding day. The catalogues
list data from the beginning of 1997.
Using the data from observations collected throughout
the world the SRC Heliogeophysical Prediction Service
issues special announcements which are distributed
over the IUWDS network (URSI-GRAM WARSAW), but first
of all they make basis of daily forecasts and announcements
on helioge-ophysical activity and communications
conditions. This work is carried out with the use
of software packages HELGEO, developed in SRC, and
Ray-Route. The HELGEO is an automatic system processing
heliogeophysical data and the Ray-Route is a system
of forecasting the HF-communications conditions.
Different versions of the forecasts are distributed
among interested communications professionals and
radio hams. The data are accessible from a WWW site
of the service
(http://www.cbk.waw.pl/rwc.html)
and from anonymous FTP site ftp.cbk.waw.pl.
Apart from the day-to-day forecasting, SRC has been
conducting research on refinement of the prediction
technology, developing advanced computer forecasting
systems and solving scientific problems concerning
development of various phenomena in the terrestrial
environment. Also theoretical studies on modelling
of the ionosphere and terrestrial magnetism, of
the links between them and on mathematical description
of related processes are carried out. One of the
principal achievements of the SRC team is development
of an operational model of instantaneous mapping
of ionospheric parameters. Instantaneous mapping
is a technology which permits to reproduce full
geographic map of ionospheric parameters for a given
moment of time based on data simultaneously collected
in several sites at a specific time. The model proved
to be the best in tests carried out within the COST
251 project and was recommended by the Management
Committee of the COST 251 Project to the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU). (Head of the Service:
I. Stanislawska)
2. Time service
The time service is responsible for keeping the
precise time and providing teh laser and GPS obse-rvatory
and commercial customers with a high quality reference
frequency. Two caesium templates and GPS time receivers
provide link to the Universal Time with the accuracy
exceeding 2 ns. Among the customers of the time
service are the cellular phone company POLKOMTEL
S.A. (Plus GSM) and the Polish Telecomm S.A. who
receive time and reference frequency from the beginning
of 1999. The Borowiec Observatory provides them
continuously with the reference frequency from the
caesium templates (2048 kHz, sinusoid, 1 V RMS)
with the stability exceeding 3x10-12 and with the
reference second signal with the accuracy exceeding
1 microsecond. (Head: J. Nawrocki)
3. Space technology applications
a) Differential GPS (DGPS) technology
In continuation of development of a positioning
system with the use of differential GPS (DGPS) and
the precise Real Time Kinetic (RTK) technologies,
a design of positioning system for the Warsaw province
was completed. The system should provide users with
a positioning capability of a few meters in the
DGPS system and of a few centimetres in the RTK
system throughout the area covered by the project.
A user equipped with a positioning receiver should
be able to determine position in real time. For
RTK positioning, the waiting time should be a few
seconds. The system will be useful for transport,
utility services, emergency services etc. A system
of precise RTK positioning could make basis for
local geodetic surveys.
The basic configuration of the system involves three
base stations in locations suitable for reliable
broadcasting of correction signals to the users
throughout the area covered by the system. The base
stations will have equipment for GPS/GLONASS measurements,
corrections generation, and system health control,
as well communications devices for corrections broadcasting
and system status messaging.
SRC worked up a project of contract for the system
that will be proposed to the SCSR and the government
of the province. The contract obtained a preliminary
acceptance from the SCSR and is currently negotiated
in the final form with the body and with the government
of the Warsaw province. SRC will be the principal
contractor. (Head: J. Latka)
b) A control, diagnose, and management system of
a communications network Based on technology used
for complex testing of space-qualified hardware
and on technology of construction of on-board control
computers that fulfil aerospace quality requirements,
SRC developed in cooperation with the Military Institute
of Communications a device that operates as a subsystem
element of a management system of a digital communications
network. The system features also application functions
of management, remote network configuration, communications
quality control, signalling and security. The design
is versatile enough to permit also for other applications.
In 1998, two prototype models were manufactured.
(Head: Z. Klos)
|
A
prototype MD2/PC mediator device for management
of a communications network.
|
c) A field spectrometer
1. Development of a four-channel spectrometer for
remote sensing applications for the Remote Sensing
Division of the Geography Department of Warsaw University:
A battery power supply STEP/UP converter was manufactured.
A software for the control unit of the spectrometer
and a program to receive and store measurements
data on a PC computer was developed.
2. Development of a Fourier spectrometer for studies
of atmosphere pollution the Institute of Micro-mechanics
and Photonics of the Warsaw Technical University:
A power supply system for different blocks of the
device was manufactured. The power supplies are
designed in the distributed power architecture.
The software for the control unit of the spectrometer
and a program for visualisation and storing of the
data from the spectrometer were developed. (Head:
M. Rataj)
4. Other activities
SRC has six electronic labs (including one in the
Wroc³aw division) and a mechanical workshop. It
has developed a suitable technological basis for
development of equipment fulfilling the MIL-STD
specifications and space hardware requirements,
including:
- software
packages for development of electronic printed
circuits and PLD system circuits;
-
a system for manufacturing of electronic two-layer
printed circuits with metallisation;
- a
system for PLD systems programming;
-
a technological system for surface assembling
of electronic components;
-
an optical test lab;
- an
environmental, mechanical and electromagnetic
compatibility tests lab.
The structure and technical activity of the institute
are currently being restructured to fulfil the requirements
to obtain ISO-9001 certificate for electronic and
mechanic construction of space qualified hardware.
The restructuring involves development of quality
assurance procedures as well as documentation of
activities and proper training of the technical
staff with respect to standards and specifications
used by the European Space Agency.
