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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Portable Cleanroom for NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission Deintegration

NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Infrastructure and Astromaterials Acquisition & Curation Office completed construction and commissioning of the OSIRIS-REx (OREx) Deintegration portable cleanroom at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The new portable cleanroom was designed to receive the OREx sample return capsule from the landing point on the range to an ISO7 environment. Scientists used the portable clean-room to deintegrate the sample canister from the sample return capsule. Once separated, the sample canister was put in a container under nitrogen purge for transportation to B31 at the Johnson Space Center for astromaterial sample extraction, preliminary analysis, and long-term curation. The portable cleanroom was built by a subcontractor at their facility and then deconstructed to be transported to the remote location at UTTR. Since construction was completed in a remote location all tools and materials had to be transported from contractor site in Dallas, TX. The cleanroom was constructed within an existing facility, which provided conditioned air, electric power, and protection from the elements. Careful coordination was required between the host facility, cleanroom contractor, mission scientists, and JSC facilities and curation personnel. An existing anteroom at JSC was transported to UTTR and added to the portable cleanroom after there was concern about contamination without one for personnel entry/exit. The scientific study of organics is critical for the mission, so a stringent contamination control plan was implemented for low organics. Given these mission requirements the cleanroom construction materials were carefully selected to not hinder the scientific search for amino acids and the study of organics in the samples. The same cleanroom contractor that built the long-term astromaterial curation cleanroom back at JSC Houston, TX was selected to build the portable cleanroom and instructed to use the same materials. The cleanroom had double doors to open and allow the sample return capsule to fit into the cleanroom on its stand and be transferred to a clean stand already in the cleanroom. The portable cleanroom successfully completed its mission and the sample canister was safely deintegrated and transported to JSC under nitrogen purge.

astromaterials curation↗
NASA NTRS2015

Science Training History of the Apollo Astronauts

Following President Kennedy’s initiation of Project Apollo, NASA underwent substantial changes in personnel, organization, and programs and faced a major question: what to do on the Moon after landing. Once a decision that science activities, particularly geoscience, should be pursued, considerable debate ensued over how to accomplish this. Questions arose over instruments and tools required, samples and photos to be returned, landing site selection, and crew composition. Answers to these questions required major efforts for planning traverses on the Moon and training the astronauts in the extensive procedures necessary in low gravity to use tools, set up instruments, take adequate photos, collect and document samples, and provide proper descriptions. In addition to astronauts on the surface, an astronaut in lunar orbit managed additional instruments, photography and verbal descriptions. Training for these activities averaged nearly one hundred hours per month for over a year for each crew. There were many problems as the training progressed: adjusting groups and backgrounds of the training personnel for the best combination of personalities and skills, overcoming logistical troubles, revising awkward procedures, determining optimum means of communications between all involved groups, and devising contingency procedures for real-time problems. By the last mission these problems were overcome.

Phinney, William C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A guideline for heavy ion radiation testing for Single Event Upset (SEU)

A guideline for heavy ion radiation testing for single event upset was prepared to assist new experimenters in preparing and directing tests. How to estimate parts vulnerability and select an irradiation facility is described. A broad brush description of JPL equipment is given, certain necessary pre-test procedures are outlined and the roles and testing guidelines for on-site test personnel are indicated. Detailed descriptions of equipment needed to interface with JPL test crew and equipment are not provided, nor does it meet the more generalized and broader requirements of a MIL-STD document. A detailed equipment description is available upon request, and a MIL-STD document is in the early stages of preparation.

Nichols, D. K.↗
NASA NTRS2009

The Functional Breakdown Structure (FBS) and Its Relationship to Life Cycle Cost

The Functional Breakdown Structure (FBS) is a structured, modular breakdown of every function that must be addressed to perform a generic mission. It is also usable for any subset of the mission. Unlike a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), the FBS is a function-oriented tree, not a product-oriented tree. The FBS details not products, but operations or activities that should be performed. The FBS is not tied to any particular architectural implementation because it is a listing of the needed functions, not the elements, of the architecture. The FBS for Space Transportation Systems provides a universal hierarchy of required functions, which include ground and space operations as well as infrastructure - it provides total visibility of the entire mission. By approaching the systems engineering problem from the functional view, instead of the element or hardware view, the SPST has created an exhaustive list of potential requirements which the architecture designers can use to evaluate the completeness of their designs. This is a new approach that will provide full accountability of all functions required to perform the planned mission. It serves as a giant check list to be sure that no functions are omitted, especially in the early architectural design phase. A significant characteristic of a FBS is that if architecture options are compared using this approach, then any missing or redundant elements of each option will be ' identified. Consequently, valid Life Cycle Costs (LCC) comparisons can be made. For example, one architecture option might not need a particular function while another option does. One option may have individual elements to perform each of three functions while another option needs only one element to perform the three functions. Once an architecture has been selected, the FBS will serve as a guide in development of the work breakdown structure, provide visibility of those technologies that need to be further developed to perform required functions, and help identify the personnel skills required to develop and operate the architecture. It also wifi allow the systems engineering activities to totally integrate each discipline to the maximum extent possible and optimize at the total system level, thus avoiding optimizing at the element level (stove-piping). In addition, it furnishes a framework that wifi help prevent over or under specifying requirements because all functions are identified and all elements are aligned to functions.

DeHoff, Bryan↗
NASA NTRS1994

Reliability analysis in the Office of Safety, Environmental, and Mission Assurance (OSEMA)

The technical personnel in the SEMA office are working to provide the highest degree of value-added activities to their support of the NASA Langley Research Center mission. Management perceives that reliability analysis tools and an understanding of a comprehensive systems approach to reliability will be a foundation of this change process. Since the office is involved in a broad range of activities supporting space mission projects and operating activities (such as wind tunnels and facilities), it was not clear what reliability tools the office should be familiar with and how these tools could serve as a flexible knowledge base for organizational growth. Interviews and discussions with the office personnel (both technicians and engineers) revealed that job responsibilities ranged from incoming inspection to component or system analysis to safety and risk. It was apparent that a broad base in applied probability and reliability along with tools for practical application was required by the office. A series of ten class sessions with a duration of two hours each was organized and scheduled. Hand-out materials were developed and practical examples based on the type of work performed by the office personnel were included. Topics covered were: Reliability Systems - a broad system oriented approach to reliability; Probability Distributions - discrete and continuous distributions; Sampling and Confidence Intervals - random sampling and sampling plans; Data Analysis and Estimation - Model selection and parameter estimates; and Reliability Tools - block diagrams, fault trees, event trees, FMEA. In the future, this information will be used to review and assess existing equipment and processes from a reliability system perspective. An analysis of incoming materials sampling plans was also completed. This study looked at the issues associated with Mil Std 105 and changes for a zero defect acceptance sampling plan.

Kauffmann, Paul J.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Science Diplomacy Through Cities: Applying NASA Earth Observations at the Urban Scale

NASA's scientific expertise and data products are enhancing cities' environmental monitoring activities by pioneering applications of remote sensing and model-based Earth Observations at the urban scale. The above activities have greatly benefitted from engaging stakeholders and city practitioners from the start. Further, NASA's collaborations with cities have: Advanced NASA science, in testing new products and validating of satellite datasets, while meeting the needs of city governments. Broadened Rio de Janeiro's regional viewpoint and strengthened its relationships with neighboring cities. Scientific collaborations with cities benefit from: Selecting city partners with a high level of technical capacity and willing to make strong investments in joint projects. Sustained communication and face-to-face interactions. Well-defined deliverables, with dedicated resources and personnel. Pairing global datasets and projections with in situ measurements and local knowledgeSensitivity to local working culture and politics.

urban environment↗
NASA NTRS1972

Computer-controlled environmental test systems - Criteria for selection, installation, and maintenance.

Applications for presently marketed, new computer-controlled environmental test systems are suggested. It is shown that capital costs of these systems follow an exponential cost function curve that levels out as additional applications are implemented. Some test laboratory organization changes are recommended in terms of new personnel requirements, and facility modification are considered in support of a computer-controlled test system. Software for computer-controlled test systems are discussed, and control loop speed constraints are defined for real-time control functions. Suitable input and output devices and memory storage device tradeoffs are also considered.

Chapman, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Nondestructive evaluation of regeneratively cooled thrust chambers for rocket engines

Review of a development program for nondestructive tests applicable to hardware with electroformed nickel bonds. The four steps of the program include the selection of some most promising nondestructive evaluation methods out of existing methods, the fabrication of test panels for simulation of cooled thrust chamber walls with bonds of various integrities, the evaluation of the test panels by personnel without previous knowledge of the planned bond integrity, and the verification of actual bond strength in the test panels by destructive tests. Ultrasonics, acoustic emission and holography are evaluated in nondestructive testing applications.

Stauffis, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Reusable rocket engine turbopump condition monitoring

Significant improvements in engine readiness with reductions in maintenance costs and turn-around times can be achieved with an engine condition monitoring systems (CMS). The CMS provides health status of critical engine components, without disassembly, through monitoring with advanced sensors. Engine failure reports over 35 years were categorized into 20 different modes of failure. Rotor bearings and turbine blades were determined to be the most critical in limiting turbopump life. Measurement technologies were matched to each of the failure modes identified. Three were selected to monitor the rotor bearings and turbine blades: the isotope wear detector and fiberoptic deflectometer (bearings), and the fiberoptic pyrometer (blades). Signal processing algorithms were evaluated for their ability to provide useful health data to maintenance personnel. Design modifications to the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) high pressure turbopumps were developed to incorporate the sensors. Laboratory test fixtures have been designed for monitoring the rotor bearings and turbine blades in simulated turbopump operating conditions.

Hampson, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Menstrual Cycle Control in Female Astronauts and the Associated Risk of Venous Thromboembolism

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common and serious condition affecting approximately 1‐2 per 1000 people in the USA every year. There have been no documented case reports of VTE in female astronauts during spaceflight in the published literature. Some female astronauts use hormonal contraception to control their menstrual cycles and it is currently unknown how this affects their risk of VTE. Current terrestrial risk prediction models do not account for the spaceflight environment and the physiological changes associated with it. We therefore aim to estimate a specific risk score for female astronauts who are taking hormonal contraception for menstrual cycle control, to deduce whether they are at an elevated risk of VTE. A systematic review of the literature was conducted in order to identify and quantify known terrestrial risk factors for VTE. Studies involving analogues for the female astronaut population were also reviewed, for example, military personnel who use the oral contraceptive pill for menstrual suppression. Well known terrestrial risk factors, for example, obesity or smoking would not be applicable to our study population as these candidates would have been excluded during astronaut selection processes. Other risk factors for VTE include hormonal therapy, lower limb paralysis, physical inactivity, hyperhomocysteinemia, low methylfolate levels and minor injuries, all of which potentially apply to crew members LSAH data will be assessed to identify which of these risk factors are applicable to our astronaut population. Using known terrestrial risk data, an overall estimated risk of VTE for female astronauts using menstrual cycle control methods will therefore be calculated. We predict this will be higher than the general population but not significantly higher requiring thromboprophylaxis. This study attempts to delineate what is assumed to be true of our astronaut population, for example, they are known to be a healthy fit cohort of individuals, and combine physiological impacts of spaceflight (cephalic fluid shifts, lower limb inactivity) to understand specific risks associated with hormonal contraception.

Jain, Varsha↗
NASA NTRS2004

A Decision Support Framework for Feasibility Analysis of International Space Station (ISS) Research Capability Enhancing Options

The assembly and operation of the ISS has generated significant challenges that have ultimately impacted resources available to the program's primary mission: research. To address this, program personnel routinely perform trade-off studies on alternative options to enhance research. The approach, content level of analysis and resulting outputs of these studies vary due to many factors, however, complicating the Program Manager's job of selecting the best option. To address this, the program requested a framework be developed to evaluate multiple research-enhancing options in a thorough, disciplined and repeatable manner, and to identify the best option on the basis of cost, benefit and risk. The resulting framework consisted of a systematic methodology and a decision-support toolset. The framework provides quantifiable and repeatable means for ranking research-enhancing options for the complex and multiple-constraint domain of the space research laboratory. This paper describes the development, verification and validation of this framework and provides observations on its operational use.

Ortiz, James N.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Listing of data systems elements authorities

The NASA personnel have a need to be aware of and to interact with key technical experts in all areas of data systems. This report presents a partial listing (names, addresses and telephone numbers) of individuals known to be authorities in selected areas of data systems of interest to NASA. The listings are based primarily on recent publications by the named individuals.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1985

The role of psychologists in future spaceflight

The need for psychologists to have a more active role in planning space missions is discussed. It is suggested that it would be beneficial if psychologists conducted research aimed at optimizing the organization, composition, and performance of crews; participated in the selection and training of crews; and monitored the actual performance and adjustment of crews during missions. The areas which require further research and the types of research strategies to be implemented are described. The desirable traits for future space personnel and the role of psychologists in mission control are examined.

Helmreich, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Making adaptable systems work for mission operations: A case study

The Advanced Multimission Operations System (AMMOS) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is based on a highly adaptable multimission ground data system (MGDS) for mission operations. The goal for MGDS is to support current flight project science and engineering personnel and to meet the demands of future missions while reducing associated operations and software development costs. MGDS has become a powerful and flexible mission operations system by using a network of heterogeneous workstations, emerging open system standards, and selecting an adaptable tools-based architecture. Challenges in developing adaptable systems for mission operations and the benefits of this approach are described.

Holder, Barbara E.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Screening EEG in Aircrew Selection: Clinical Aerospace Neurology Perspective

As clinical aerospace neurologists we do not favor using screening EEG in pilot selection on unselected and otherwise asymptomatic individuals. The role of EEG in aviation screening should be as an adjunct to diagnosis, and the decision to disqualify a pilot should never be based solely on the EEG. Although a policy of using a screening EEG in an unselected population might detect an individual with a potentially increased relative risk, it would needlessly exclude many applicants who would probably never have a seizure. A diagnostic test performed on an asymptomatic individual without clinical indications, in a population with a low prevalence of disease (seizure) may be of limited or possibly detrimental value. We feel that rather than do EEGs on all candidates, a better approach would be to perform an EEG for a specific indication, such as family history of seizure, single convulsion (seizure) , history of unexplained loss of consciousness or head injury. Routine screening EEGs in unselected aviation applications are not done without clinical indication in the U.S. Air Force, Navy, or NASA. The USAF discontinued routine screening EEGs for selection in 1978, the U.S. Navy discontinued it in 1981 , and NASA discontinued it in 1995. EEG as an aeromedical screening tool in the US Navy dates back to 1939. The US Navy routinely used EEGs to screen all aeromedical personnel from 1961 to 1981. The incidence of epileptiform activity on EEG in asymptomatic flight candidates ranges from 0.11 to 2.5%. In 3 studies of asymptomatic flight candidates with epileptiform activity on EEG followed for 2 to 15 years, 1 of 31 (3.2%), 1 of 30 (3.3%), and 0 of 14 (0%) developed a seizure, for a cumulative risk of an individual with an epileptiform EEG developing a seizure of 2.67% (2 in 75). Of 28,658 student naval aviation personnel screened 31 had spikes and/or slow waves on EEG, and only 1 later developed a seizure. Of the 28,627 who had a normal EEG, 4 later developed seizures, or .0139% (4/28627). After review of the value of the EEG as a screening tool, the US Navy now uses EEG only for certain clinical indications (head injury, unexplained loss of consciousness, family history of epilepsy, and abnormal neurological exam). Currently the US Navy does not use EEG for screening for any flight applicant without a neurologic indication. In the US Navy, an electroencephalographic pattern is determined to be epileptiform by a neurologist.

Clark, Jonathan B.↗
NASA NTRS1997

NASA Research Announcement Phase 2 Final Report for the Development of a Power Assisted Space Suit Glove

The main goal of this program was to develop an unobtrusive power-assisted EVA glove metacarpalphalangeal (MCP) joint that could provide the crew member with as close to nude body performance as possible, and to demonstrate the technology feasibility of power assisted space suit components in general. The MCP joint was selected due to its being representative of other space suit joints, such as the shoulder, hip and carpometacarpal joint, that would also greatly benefit from this technology. In order to meet this objective, a development team of highly skilled and experienced personnel was assembled. The team consisted of two main entities. The first was comprised of ILC's experienced EVA space suit glove designers, who had the responsibility of designing and fabricating a low torque MCP joint which would be compatible with power assisted technology. The second part of the team consisted of space robotics experts from the University of Maryland's Space Systems Laboratory. This team took on the responsibility of designing and building the robotics aspects of the power-assist system. Both parties addressed final system integration responsibilities.

Lingo, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2000

Indicator Devices for Detection of Trace Gaseous Hydrazines

The relatively recent decrease in the acceptable time-weighted-average for hydrazines from 100 parts-per-billion (ppb) to 10 ppb rendered many trace hydrazine detectors either insensitive or inaccurate. Development of a rapid detection method for hydrazines at the new 10-ppb concentration was necessary so that test area personnel could reliably assess airborne hydrazines concentrations of a potentially contaminated area prior to entry. The reduction of Au(III) to Au(0) by hydrazines is a well characterized reaction and application of the corresponding yellow to purple color change was selected as a potentially useful means for detection of trace hydrazines in air. Tests with small quantities of KAuCl4 deposited on a variety of substrates were conducted using verified sources of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, methylhydrazine, and hydrazine at approximately 10 ppb in air. Substrates tested were glass fiber filter paper, glass beads, anion exchange resin (AuCl4- form), and diatomaceous earth. The most successful of these substrates were glass fiber filter paper and diatomaceous earth. The KAuC14 impregnated glass fiber filter paper appeared to be somewhat light sensitive so further tests were conducted using the diatomaceous earth substrate. KAuCl4 concentration, substrate particle size, and sampler configuration were evaluated. Based on these tests, the device selected for further evaluation was a 5mm OD by 50mm glass tube containing 0.02-0.03g of 45/60 mesh diatomaceous earth coated with 2 percent KAuCl4. When connected to a sampling pump, response of the device to changes in relative humidity, ambient light, and high levels of other fluids, which might also be found in a propellant test area, was evaluated. False positive responses were not detected for exposures to relative humidity changes from 10 to 80 percent, sunlight for greater than 10 minutes, or percent levels of ammonia, isopropyl alcohol, nitrogen dioxide, and hydrogen. In addition, body emissions did not produce a false positive response in view of potential application for use inside protective clothing. The device was shown to reliably detect less than 10 ppb of the hydrazines tested using a 10 to 20L sample followed by a 2 to 5 minute color development time. Some field tests were conducted in parallel with conventional acidic firebrick sorbent tubes. There was generally very good agreement between the devices and firebrick sorbent tubes when greater than 10 ppb of a hydrazine was present.

Dee, Lou A.↗
NASA NTRS2014

EMU Suit Performance Simulation

Introduction: Designing a planetary suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade‐offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. To verify that new suit designs meet requirements, full prototypes must be built and tested with human subjects. However, numerous design iterations will occur before the hardware meets those requirements. Traditional draw‐prototype‐test paradigms for research and development are prohibitively expensive with today's shrinking Government budgets. Personnel at NASA are developing modern simulation techniques that focus on a human‐centric design paradigm. These new techniques make use of virtual prototype simulations and fully adjustable physical prototypes of suit hardware. This is extremely advantageous and enables comprehensive design down‐selections to be made early in the design process. Objectives: The primary objective was to test modern simulation techniques for evaluating the human performance component of two EMU suit concepts, pivoted and planar style hard upper torso (HUT). Methods: This project simulated variations in EVA suit shoulder joint design and subject anthropometry and then measured the differences in shoulder mobility caused by the modifications. These estimations were compared to human‐in‐the‐loop test data gathered during past suited testing using four subjects (two large males, two small females). Results: Results demonstrated that EVA suit modeling and simulation are feasible design tools for evaluating and optimizing suit design based on simulated performance. The suit simulation model was found to be advantageous in its ability to visually represent complex motions and volumetric reach zones in three dimensions, giving designers a faster and deeper comprehension of suit component performance vs. human performance. Suit models were able to discern differing movement capabilities between EMU HUT configurations, generic suit fit concerns, and specific suit fit concerns for crewmembers based on individual anthropometry

Cowley, Matthew S.↗