Using the Power Grid for Geophysical Imaging

The typical remedy for space radiation hazards has been to harden the space vehicle's electronics and software from these high-speed particles and placing heavy shielding in these manned or sensitive areas. This adds considerable weight and cost to the launch vehicle, reduces payload capacity, and is passive in nature. SEPs and CMEs can be deflected by a magnetic field to pass around the spacecraft and not be absorbed by it. This deflection of solar wind and radiation is due to the Lorentz force. However, a magnetic field that is attached to the spacecraft and enclosing it would cause other shielding issues with equipment and would require much more electrical power to operate due to the need to enclose the entire spacecraft within that attached magnetic field. This would also perturb the data collection and transmissions of the spacecraft. Additionally, the generated magnetic field can capture some of the solar radiation as a plasma within the magnetic torus further impeding scientific data collection due to its close position to the spacecraft. DERDS is deployed in space away from the protected spacecraft to remain between the radiation source and the spacecraft. It utilizes on board cosmic ray sensors to note the need for the strength of the magnetic field, and on-board sensors to position itself directly in line between the radiation source and the protected spacecraft or station. Onboard computers and thrusters maintain the required position, so that the magnetic field is positioned for the best deflection angle based on incoming radiation. The DERDS magnetic field can be varied in both direction, intensity, and time by use of both AC and DC electrical power inputs and varied as needed to optimize the deflection angle and power requirements. The magnetic field can also be perturbed in irregular or set patterns by onboard computers and sensors as needed to maintain the proper deflection of SEPs, CMEs, and other cosmic rays. DERDS creates a magnetic field that will not need to be so large (with a much larger power requirement) as to encompass the entire protected spacecraft, and the magnetic field will not interfere with the spacecraft.

This technology comprises a novel system of detecting, inspecting and analyzing a corona discharge using an ultra-violet camera. It is useful for a number of potential applications, most notably, power line fault detection. The most novel feature is that it uses UV instead of IR which has been problematical for corona discharge detection because there is too much interference from other sources. UV detection offers images that isolate the location of the corona discharge with far greater precision.

The electrical transmission lines used to transmit power are optimized for 50 to 60 Hz waveforms, but are suitable for waveforms of higher frequencies, into the megahertz range. Therefore, powerline conductors are capable of transmitting signals which could be used for geolocation. Indeed, frequencies in the 100 kHz range are used for diagnostic purposes in contemporary power grids today. Signals transmitted in this band are used to verify the operation of sites along the power grid, are used to configure the power grid (for example, throw a circuit breaker). The technology takes advantage of the suitability of electrical conductors employed in power transmission for signal transmission in the sub-megahertz range, and, in the preferred embodiment, utilizes the existing diagnostics signals in this range for geolocation.

The Wind Event Warning System (WEWS) is high-energy Doppler LIDAR sensor that measures approaching changes of wind such as an oncoming variation of wind speed that will change the power output of a wind farm. Different from low-energy, the high-energy Doppler LIDAR has the energy to reach the long distances necessary to provide adequate warning time of a wind event. With the time provided by WEWS, the blades of a wind turbine could be feathered to prevent strong wind from damaging the turbine. In addition, airports could use WEWS to protect aircraft from sudden wind hazards.

The Space Weather DONKI builds a catalog of past, present, ongoing, and expected Space Weather events. The catalog contains both forecaster logs and notifications. DONKI version 2.0 of has a comprehensive web-service API access for users to obtain space weather events stored in the database. The database consists of a backend and a web application. The database uses a framework that allows modularization of code and promotes code reuse. DONKI is the first application to allow space weather scientists to store all space weather events in one centralized data center. The comprehensive database provides search capability to support scientists allowing them to look into linkages, relationships, and cause-and-effects between space weather activities.