التدقيق الآلي للصواريخ والطائرات - الطائرات والملاحة الجوية .. الحاسبات تعمل

Automated Auditing of Missiles and Aircraft -
Aircraft and Air Navigation .. Computers Work

Automated Auditing of Missiles and Aircraft

Supersonic aircraft, guided missiles and rockets used in space experiments have become extremely complex, and the human worker may spend days or even weeks auditing the functions of all their devices. The auditing computer performs these operations at a very high speed, and examines each function separately and in the correct sequence without being exposed to errors that the human worker may commit inadvertently, fatigue or boredom. The computer only needs to change its programming to audit different devices.

The size of the auditing computer equipment varies greatly. Airlines and air forces use mobile equipment that is dragged to the aircraft and connected to it to audit the functions of all the aircraft's devices before takeoff. As for the auditing equipment for the American "Apollo" project to land on the surface of the moon, it is considered one of the largest equipment of its kind, as it included one hundred and twenty-five separate computers.

Automatically checking devices may require special means and measures in the design of their circuits in order to facilitate their checking, especially if the tests require measurements in active circuits. While it is easy for a human worker, for example, to disconnect an electrical circuit to measure the current in a specific conductor, this is not possible for a computer, which requires special measures in the design of the circuits or special procedures in the method of checking.

As a result of the continuous reduction in the size of electronic computers, it has become possible for each system to be audited to include a special auditing computer that determines the location of any malfunction that may occur. Then all these systems are connected to an external computer that in turn examines the auditing computers in each system and explains what must be done to repair the devices.

Navigation and satellites

Satellites are used to accurately determine the locations of ships wherever they are in the seas and oceans. This navigation method depends on three satellites whose orbit and speed are adjusted so that at least one of them can be seen from any spot on the surface of the earth at any time.

Each of the three satellites broadcasts special radio signals that identify it. The ship that uses this navigation system is equipped with a wireless receiver, a tracking antenna, an atomic clock that determines the time with extreme accuracy, and an electronic computer that stores information detailing the orbit of each of the three satellites. The receiver on the ship receives the radio signals emitted by the satellite that covers the ship's area with its signals, and the antenna that follows the movement of the satellite determines its elevation angle and its angular deviation relative to the ship. The electronic computer determines the position of the satellite relative to the Earth at a specific moment based on the atomic clock and the information stored about the satellite's orbit. The computer then takes into account the angle of elevation of the satellite and its angular deviation at that moment to accurately determine the position of the ship relative to the satellite, and thus the position of the ship on the surface of the Earth. This process is repeated as a whole for a few minutes and the computer issues a printed statement of the position of the ship. This method of navigation is characterized by its accuracy in all weather conditions and by being almost continuous and automatic and does not require human intervention.

A similar method is used in the navigation of steerable spacecraft that orbit the Earth or float in space. The vehicle transmits radio waves that are received by an antenna on the ground that follows the movement of the vehicle, and an electronic computer determines the position of the vehicle relative to the antenna and thus its position in space. Radio signals are sent to the vehicle to control its rocket engines as necessary to correct its course.

Computers control the engines of spacecraft. This control begins a few minutes before the launch time. The computers adjust the countdown and firing of the first rocket engine, then firing the rockets of the subsequent stages and correcting the path of the vehicle whenever necessary.