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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10

Analysis and Monitoring of Cyber-Physical Systems via Environmental Domain Knowledge & Modeling

While verifying adherence to a specification (i.e., specification-based testing) is important, the results are only as valid as the specification itself. Problematically, verifying a system specification must be done within the context of changing or even unknown environmental domain knowledge that could render the specification ineffective or incorrect. This issue is even more apparent in the context of self-adaptive systems, where uncertainty in both the system configuration and environment can impact the validity of the system. This paper introduces a method to explicitly model domain knowledge of the environment as a secondary system to enable design-time verification against documented environmental assumptions (i.e., those elements external to the system). In addition, run-time monitors are used to detect scenarios in the actual environment not specified by the modeled environmental domain knowledge. Rather than simply identifying unexpected inputs, our approach is able to identify run-time violations of the environmental domain knowledge, even when inputs appear valid based on the domain assumptions embedded in the system specification. These violations can then be used to correspondingly update the system and environmental specifications via automated run-time adaptation or subsequent design-time revisions. We illustrate our approach by applying our method to a running example of a goal-based model of a baby monitor.

Byron DeVries↗

Testing the Gravitational Redshift With an Inner Solar System Probe: the Veritas Case

The NASA Discovery-class mission VERITAS, selected in June 2021, will be launched towards Venus after 2027. In addition to the science instrumentation that will build global foundational geophysical datasets, VERITAS proposed to conduct a technology demonstration for the Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC-2). A first DSAC successfully operated in low-Earth orbit for more than two years, demonstrated the trapped ion atomic clock technology, and established a new level of performance for clocks in space. DSAC-2 would have further improvements in size, power, and performance. It would host a 1× 10 -13 grade USO to produce a frequency output with short-term stability of less than 2× 10 -13 /√ τ (where τ is the averaging time).However, due to funding shortfalls, DSAC-2, had to be canceled. The initially foreseen presence of an atomic clock on board the probe, however, raised the question whether this kind of instrumentation could be useful not only for navigation and time transfer but also for fundamental physics tests. In this work, we consider the DSAC-2 atomic clock and VERITAS mission as a specific example to measure possible discrepancies in the redshift predicted by General Relativity by using an atomic clock onboard an interplanetary spacecraft. In particular we investigate the possibility of measuring possible violations of the Local Lorentz Invariance and Local Position Invariance principles. We perform accurate simulations of the experiment during the VERITAS cruise phase. We consider different parametrizations of the possible violations of the General Relativity, different operational conditions, and several different assumptions on the expected measurement performance. We show that DSAC-2 onboard VERITAS would provide new and improved constraints with respect to the current knowledge. Our analysis shows the scientific value of atomic clocks like DSAC-2 hosted onboard interplanetary spacecraft.

Fabrizio De Marchi↗

A Human-In-The-Loop Simulation for Urban Air Mobility in the Terminal Area

In this paper researchers propose a human-in-the-loop experiment to study human performance when tasked with tactical deconfliction in terminal area air taxi operations. The air taxi operations being considered herein are an advanced air transportation concept called Urban Air Mobility (UAM). The UAM concept aims to support not only air taxi operations, but also package delivery and emergency response among other use cases. The key innovation over current air transportation lies with the introduction of highly automated aircraft and air traffic management systems. Development of the UAM system will include transitional midterm phases where some operational services will be provided by a mixture of automation and human actors. Midterm operations present a unique challenge, since the scope of responsibility of automated systems is largely undefined, suggesting the need for direct human participation with little to inform how much human intervention is necessary. Here it is assumed that traffic management responsibilities require coordination between human actors and automated systems and focus on arrival flows for midterm operations. In the proposed human-in-the-loop simulation, virtual UAM traffic is strategically deconflicted by a Provider of Services for UAM at departure, then tactically managed by a human at the arrival facility. Generated traffic consists of UAM participants flying in UAM exclusive airspace structures, thus isolated from traditional traffic. The human operator is tasked with managing spacing of arrival traffic and executing speed adjustments as deemed necessary. Researchers propose the investigation of three levels of automation assistance: 1) no assistance; 2) spacing violation detection; 3) spacing violation detection and speed adjustment recommendations. Quantitative measures like throughput and delay are used to assess the human's capacity for accommodating airborne delays. Qualitative evaluations such as surveys and open-ended feedback are used to gain insight into human factors. These factors could introduce additional capacity constraints on traffic, independent of physical or technical constraints. Although findings for this study will not be reported as the study has not yet been executed, the authors conclude with potential outcomes informed by previous simulations in the literature and suggestions for the structure and procedures of midterm human-automation air traffic management.

UAM↗

A Human-In-The-Loop Simulation for Urban Air Mobility in the Terminal Area

In this presentation we propose a human-in-the-loop experiment to study the potential impact of human engagement in tactical mitigation of delay in terminal area air taxi operations. The air taxi operations being considered herein is an advanced air transportation concept called Urban Air Mobility (UAM). The UAM concept aims to support not only air taxi operations, but also package delivery and emergency response among other use cases. The key innovation over current air transportation lies with the introduction of autonomous aircraft and autonomous air traffic management systems. Development of the UAM system will include transitional midterm phases where some operational services will be provided by a mixture of automation and human actors. Midterm operations present a unique challenge, since the scope of responsibility of automated systems is largely undefined, suggesting the need for direct human participation with little to inform how much human intervention is necessary. Here we assume that traffic management responsibilities require coordination between human actors and automated systems and focus on arrival flows for midterm operations. In the proposed human-in-the-loop simulation, virtual UAM traffic is strategically deconflicted by a Provider of Services for UAM at departure, then tactically managed by a human at the arrival facility. Generated traffic consists of UAM participants flying in UAM exclusive airspace structures, thus isolated from traditional traffic. The human operator is tasked with managing spacing of arrival traffic and executing speed adjustments as deemed necessary. We propose the investigation of three levels of automation assistance: 1) no assistance; 2) spacing violation detection; 3) spacing violation detection and speed adjustment recommendations. Quantitative measures like throughput and delay are used to assess the human's capacity for accommodating airborne delays. Qualitative evaluations such as surveys and open-ended feedback are used to gain insight into human factors. These factors could introduce additional capacity constraints on traffic, independent of physical or technical constraints. Although findings for this study will not be reported as the study has not yet been executed, we conclude with potential outcomes informed by previous simulations in the literature and suggestions for the structure and procedures of midterm human-automation air traffic management.

UAM↗

Validation of Self-Scheduling Countermeasures in NASA's HERA Campaign 6

Enhancing crew capabilities for planning and scheduling activities is critical for periods of increased crew autonomy in future long-duration missions where communication delays preclude real-time ground support from Earth. Our study focuses on how to empower astronauts to manage their timelines independently from the experts in the mission control center (MCC). Our objective was to evaluate the impact of scheduling countermeasures on crew scheduling performance, workload, and usability in an analog mission environment. The study involved 16 crew members across four missions in the Limited Autonomy phase of Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Campaign 6. Crew members used Playbook to schedule one operational day for the entire crew. Half the participants accessed scheduling aids, and we compared their performance to a control group with no aids. Performance, workload, and usability were assessed using time on task, violation counts, NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), and System Usability Scale (SUS). Participants using scheduling aids completed sessions 20% faster and committed 33% fewer violations. While these differences were not statistically significant due to the study’s operational limitations, trends indicate that scheduling aids may reduce errors and improve efficiency. These results can inform the design of scheduling tools to enhance astronauts’ autonomy in long-duration space missions, contributing to improved crew performance and reduced reliance on ground support.

space robotics↗

Validation of Self-Scheduling Countermeasures in NASA's HERA Campaign 6

Enhancing crew capabilities for planning and scheduling activities is critical for periods of increased crew autonomy in future long-duration missions where communication delays preclude real-time ground support from Earth. Our study focuses on how to empower astronauts to manage their timelines independently from the experts in the mission control center (MCC). Our objective was to evaluate the impact of scheduling countermeasures on crew scheduling performance, workload, and usability in an analog mission environment. The study involved 16 crew members across four missions in the Limited Autonomy phase of Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Campaign 6. Crew members used Playbook to schedule one operational day for the entire crew. Half the participants accessed scheduling aids, and we compared their performance to a control group with no aids. Performance, workload, and usability were assessed using time on task, violation counts, NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), and System Usability Scale (SUS). Participants using scheduling aids completed sessions 20% faster and committed 33% fewer violations. While these differences were not statistically significant due to the study’s operational limitations, trends indicate that scheduling aids may reduce errors and improve efficiency. These results can inform the design of scheduling tools to enhance astronauts’ autonomy in long-duration space missions, contributing to improved crew performance and reduced reliance on ground support.

space robotics↗

A Supersonic/Hypersonic Aerodynamic Investigation of the Saturn 1B/Apollo Upper Stage

The static stability and axial force characteristics of an upper stage Saturn 1B/Apollo model were investigated in a series of wind tunnel tests at Mach numbers between 1. 93 and 8. 05. This report presents and analyzes the results of these small-scale studies. Test procedures and models are described, and consideration of boundary layer characteristics and violated modeling rules yields an assessment of the validity of the data. Four basic models provided evaluation of the basic launch vehicle characteristics, as well as the effects of two modes of mission abort and jettison of the launch escape system. The launch configuration experienced sudden, strong changes in stability derivatives and axial force coefficients near Mach 5. No similar changes were observed on the other configurations. Effects of Reynolds number, Mach number and boundary layer trips were obtained for each shape. The faired curves are believed to be valid for full-scale flight of the Saturn 1B/Apollo upper stage.

Source record↗

Source of outer zone protons.

Acceleration processes of outer zone protons investigated, using Kellogg hypothesis of radiation belt formation through magnetic disturbances where third adiabatic invariant is violated

OUTER RADIATION BELT↗

Mislift and miss-drag programs

Method, developed and coded for digital computation, predicts aerodynamic loading on configurations for which linear theory assumptions are violated. Program is written in FORTRAN 4 for use on CDC-6000 series computers.

Jackson, C. M., Jr.↗

Design criteria monograph on turbopump inducers

State of the art and design criteria for liquid rocket engine turbopump inducers are summarized for optimal fabrication. Design criteria optimize hydrodynamic parameters to obtain highest suction specific speed without violating structural and mechanical constraints.

Source record↗

On optimal scheduling and air traffic control in the near terminal area

A scheme is proposed for automated air traffic control of landing aircraft in the vicinity of the airport. Each aircraft is put under the control of an airport-based computer as soon as it enters the near-terminal area (NTA). Scheduling is done immediately thereafter. The aircraft is given a flight plan which, if followed precisely, will lead it to the runway at a prespecified time. The geometry of the airspace in the NTA is chosen so that delays are executed far from the outer marker, and violations of minimum altitude and lateral separations are avoided. Finally, a solution to the velocity mix problem is proposed.

Sarris, A. H.↗

An Eotvos experiment in earth orbit

The gravitational interactions of mass energy stored in the weak interaction are being investigated. The magnitude of possible Eotvos anomalies, such as weak interaction, gravitational self-energy, spin-orbit interactions, and electromagnetic radiation reaction, are considered. A sensitive experiment was designed to determine whether weak interaction energy violates the equivalence principle. Factors to be considered in spacecraft design for the experiment are presented.

Chapman, P. K.↗