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All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2007

Development of Sub-optimal Airway Protocols for the International Space Station (ISS) by the Medical Operation Support Team (MOST)

Airway management techniques are necessary to establish and maintain a patent airway while treating a patient undergoing respiratory distress. There are situations where such settings are suboptimal, thus causing the caregiver to adapt to these suboptimal conditions. Such occurrences are no exception aboard the International Space Station (ISS). As a result, the NASA flight surgeon (FS) and NASA astronaut cohorts must be ready to adapt their optimal airway management techniques for suboptimal situations. Based on previous work conducted by the Medical Operation Support Team (MOST) and other investigators, the MOST had members of both the FS and astronaut cohorts evaluate two oral airway insertion techniques for the Intubating Laryngeal Mask Airway (ILMA) to determine whether either technique is sufficient to perform in suboptimal conditions within a microgravity environment. Methods All experiments were conducted in a simulated microgravity environment provided by parabolic flight aboard DC-9 aircraft. Each participant acted as a caregiver and was directed to attempt both suboptimal ILMA insertion techniques following a preflight instruction session on the day of the flight and a demonstration of the technique by an anesthesiologist physician in the simulated microgravity environment aboard the aircraft. Results Fourteen participants conducted 46 trials of the suboptimal ILMA insertion techniques. Overall, 43 of 46 trials (94%) conducted were properly performed based on criteria developed by the MOST and other investigators. Discussion The study demonstrated the use of airway management techniques in suboptimal conditions relating to space flight. Use of these techniques will provide a crew with options for using the ILMA to manage airway issues aboard the ISS. Although it is understood that the optimal method for patient care during space flight is to have both patient and caregiver restrained, these techniques provide a needed backup should conditions not present themselves in an ideal manner.

Polk, James D.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Modeling Weather Impact on Airport Arrival Miles-in-Trail Restrictions

When the demand for either a region of airspace or an airport approaches or exceeds the available capacity, miles-in-trail (MIT) restrictions are the most frequently issued traffic management initiatives (TMIs) that are used to mitigate these imbalances. Miles-intrail operations require aircraft in a traffic stream to meet a specific inter-aircraft separation in exchange for maintaining a safe and orderly flow within the stream. This stream of aircraft can be departing an airport, over a common fix, through a sector, on a specific route or arriving at an airport. This study begins by providing a high-level overview of the distribution and causes of arrival MIT restrictions for the top ten airports in the United States. This is followed by an in-depth analysis of the frequency, duration and cause of MIT restrictions impacting the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) from 2009 through 2011. Then, machine-learning methods for predicting (1) situations in which MIT restrictions for ATL arrivals are implemented under low demand scenarios, and (2) days in which a large number of MIT restrictions are required to properly manage and control ATL arrivals are presented. More specifically, these predictions were accomplished by using an ensemble of decision trees with Bootstrap aggregation (BDT) and supervised machine learning was used to train the BDT binary classification models. The models were subsequently validated using data cross validation methods. When predicting the occurrence of arrival MIT restrictions under low demand situations, the model was able to achieve over all accuracy rates ranging from 84% to 90%, with false alarm ratios ranging from 10% to 15%. In the second set of studies designed to predict days on which a high number of MIT restrictions were required, overall accuracy rates of 80% were achieved with false alarm ratios of 20%. Overall, the predictions proposed by the model give better MIT usage information than what has been currently provided under current day operations. Traffic flow managers can use these predictions to identify potential MIT restrictions to eliminate (e.g., those occurring during low arrival demand periods), and to determine the days in which a significant number of restrictions may be required

Operation↗

NASA NTRS2016

Processing Near-Infrared Imagery of the Orion Heatshield During EFT-1 Hypersonic Reentry

The Scientifically Calibrated In-Flight Imagery (SCIFLI) team captured high-resolution, calibrated, near-infrared imagery of the Orion capsule during atmospheric reentry of the EFT-1 mission. A US Navy NP-3D aircraft equipped with a multi-band optical sensor package, referred to as Cast Glance, acquired imagery of the Orion capsule's heatshield during a period when Orion was slowing from approximately Mach 10 to Mach 7. The line-of-sight distance ranged from approximately 65 to 40 nmi. Global surface temperatures of the capsule's thermal heatshield derived from the near-infrared intensity measurements complemented the in-depth (embedded) thermocouple measurements. Moreover, these derived surface temperatures are essential to the assessment of the thermocouples' reliance on inverse heat transfer methods and material response codes to infer the surface temperature from the in-depth measurements. The paper describes the image processing challenges associated with a manually-tracked, high-angular rate air-to-air observation. Issues included management of significant frame-to-frame motions due to both tracking jerk and jitter as well as distortions due to atmospheric effects. Corrections for changing sky backgrounds (including some cirrus clouds), atmospheric attenuation, and target orientations and ranges also had to be made. The image processing goal is to reduce the detrimental effects due to motion (both sensor and capsule), vibration (jitter), and atmospherics for image quality improvement, without compromising the quantitative integrity of the data, especially local intensity (temperature) variations. The paper will detail the approach of selecting and utilizing only the highest quality images, registering several co-temporal image frames to a single image frame to the extent frame-to-frame distortions would allow, and then co-adding the registered frames to improve image quality and reduce noise. Using preflight calibration data, the registered and averaged infrared intensity images were converted to surface temperatures on the Orion capsule's heatshield. Temperature uncertainties will be discussed relative to uncertainties of surface emissivity and atmospheric transmission loss. Comparison of limited onboard surface thermocouple data to the image derived surface temperature will be presented.

Spisz, Thomas S.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Challenges with Electrical, Electronics, and Electromechanical Parts for James Webb Space Telescope

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the space-based observatory that will extend the knowledge gained by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Hubble focuses on optical and ultraviolet wavelengths while JWST focuses on the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, to see the earliest stars and galaxies that formed in the Universe and to look deep into nearby dust clouds to study the formation of stars and planets. JWST, which commenced creation in 1996, is scheduled to launch in 2018. It includes a suite of four instruments, the spacecraft bus, optical telescope element, Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM, the platform to hold the instruments), and a sunshield. The mass of JWST is approximately 6200 kg, including observatory, on-orbit consumables and launch vehicle adaptor. Many challenges were overcome while providing the electrical and electronic components for the Goddard Space Flight Center hardware builds. Other difficulties encountered included developing components to work at cryogenic temperatures, failures of electronic components during development and flight builds, Integration and Test electronic parts problems, and managing technical issues with international partners. This paper will present the context of JWST from a EEE (electrical, electronic, and electromechanical) perspective with examples of challenges and lessons learned throughout the design, development, and fabrication of JWST in cooperation with our associated partners including the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), Lockheed Martin and their respective associated partners. Technical challenges and lessons learned will be discussed.

EEE Parts↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Designing Autonomy into Interfaces for Long-Duration Missions

As NASA develops technologies for long-duration crewed missions, we must understand how communication between ground control teams and astronauts differs from the current dynamic to adapt new concepts for long-duration mission operations. Today, ground control teams support astronauts with immediate availability to answer questions, resolve issues, and manage activities. In the near future, however, extended communication delays during long-duration missions will require astronauts to become more autonomous. As many of the responsibilities shift from the ground control teams to the astronauts on-board, the concept of operations must also change from how it functions today. With increased astronaut autonomy, software tools must be developed that enable efficient completion of mission tasks without increased mental workload. Designing software tools to facilitate crew autonomy requires development teams to know which data will enhance quick decision making while providing necessary context for situational awareness of systems being managed on-board. NASA's Autonomous Systems and Operations (ASO) team is presently developing a software interface tool, EXPRESS (EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments for Space Station) 2.5 to enable a long-duration crew to schedule activities for and operate autonomous systems. This paper describes details of the integrated human factors approach that drove the design of the elements of the software tool, including self-managed scheduling, constraint-driven planning, autonomous system fault recovery, and recommended troubleshooting actions. Additionally, this paper will chronicle ASO modifications of the user interface after the team's first flight demonstration, how it was based on lessons learned during software development, as well as from crew feedback in order to develop the current version which will be demonstrated on ISS in 2021. In the upcoming ISS demonstration, the astronaut crew will be given scenarios for scheduling and operating autonomous system activities, including off-nominal scenarios and autonomous system recoveries. The demonstration of the EXPRESS 2.5 tool is a step towards improved levels of autonomy as our new journeys take us farther into space.

autonomy↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Performance of a Regenerative Fuel Cell System for the Lunar Surface

Regenerative fuel cells (RFCs) are an attractive energy storage solution for lunar missions as a technology capable of providing a higher specific energy (i.e., W∙h/kg) than state-of-the-art packaged Li-ion battery systems. An RFC consists of the (1 & 2) electrochemical stacks (chemical to electrical energy conversion to supply electricity to an external load, i.e. the fuel cell reaction, and electrical to chemical energy conversion of supplied electrical power to dissociate water into hydrogen and oxygen gases, i.e. water electrolysis), (3) fluidic conditioning, (4) reactant storage, (5) avionics, (6) power management and distribution (PMAD), and (7) thermal management. NASA’s Glenn Research Center has designed, assembled, and tested a breadboard RFC sys-tem capable of operating autonomously for multiple simulated lunar day/night cycles in a laboratory environment. The system is comprised of a non-flow through proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack and a liquid-anode feed PEM electrolyzer (EZ) stack designed to electrochemically compress the reactants at balanced pressures up to 12.4 MPa (1800 psia). The fluidic conditioning, avionics, PMAD, and thermal management sub-systems are largely comprised of commercial-off-the-shelf components for this system-level development effort. The hardware is controlled by a CubeSat space processor running an operational program based on core flight architecture that can control the RFC hardware autonomously through a state machine with fault monitoring. The testing results highlighted here were completed with the system in an open-loop configuration such that reactants generated through water electrolysis were vented while gas cylinders supplied fuel cell operation. The breadboard operated autonomously, but there were five unplanned transitions to a safe state that required a manual restart after reviewing the data, determining a root cause, and implementing a solution. Four of the transitions were caused by the thermal management subsystem and the fifth was caused by a water management control issue in the EZ sub-system. The RFC system operated for over 550 hours with the final cycle being slightly abbreviated due to reasons unrelated to system performance.

Kerrigan Cain↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Performance of a Regenerative Fuel Cell System for the Lunar Surface

Kerrigan Cain↗

DOE OSTI2025

Idaho National Laboratory’s Mobile Hot Cell Transportation: Engineering Solutions for Global Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources.

Title: Idaho National Laboratory’s Mobile Hot Cell Transportation: Engineering Solutions for Global Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources. Abstract: The Mobile Hot Cell (MHC), currently under development by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for the Off-Site Source Recovery Project (OSRP), is designed to help international partners meet the unique challenges of end-of-life radioactive material management. The MHC will provide a critical resource for countries that require assistance securing and disposing of Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources (DSRS) and orphaned sources in challenging environments, allowing these sources to be secured against misuse and nefarious activities. The MHC is a rapidly deployable system for conditioning and preparing end-of-life radioactive sources for transportation or storage. It is designed to handle sources of up to 1,000 Ci Co-60 equivalent while maintaining full radiological and biological containment. It will be deployable within 48 hours of an alert, making it ideal for emergency situations. The MHC features an operational suite for control, support racks for electronics, pneumatics, and welding systems, and a modular robust steel structure providing radiological shielding and internal robotic support. This design allows configurations for multiple device types to be conditioned and the ability to safely manage routine issues such as leaking or damaged sources. The MHC has been designed with the transportation challenges of rapid deployment to difficult environments in mind. The system weighs approximately 150,000 pounds, with individual systems breaking down into pieces not exceeding 20,000 pounds. Components are to be transportable on standard 20ft ISO containers, with shielding shells on 20ft flat racks. It is estimated that a total of eight containers and flat racks will be required. The use of 20ft containers, as opposed to 40ft containers, minimizes the impact on less developed road infrastructures, enabling the MHC to be positioned in constrained environments such as hospital parking lots. The system’s modularity also allows for deployment using smaller equipment, such as a 10-ton boom truck or forklift, which is crucial given the potential logistical challenges in different countries. This transportation strategy, evaluated in collaboration with Utah State University, ensures the MHC can be deployed via ground, rail, sea, or air, addressing the primary concern of international transport logistics.

99 - GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Universal Waste Management System and Toilet Integration Hardware Operations on ISS – Issues, Modifications and Accomplishments

The Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), which has the ISS operational nomenclature “Toilet”, was initially installed on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2020with final installation completed in 2021. Although technical issues were encountered that delayed installation and operations, progress was made towards the objectives of the project. Technical issue work arounds resulted in operation of the Toilet with use by male and female crew members in a controlled extended checkout and a longer nominal use. This paper will summarize operations of the Toilet and Toilet Integration Hardware in both of those configurations, problems encountered during installation and checkout, the modifications made to allow further usage on ISS, and the future modifications planned for nominal use. It will also describe the portions of the technology demonstration that were completed and the benefits from that work and how that knowledge informs the Orion-installed UWMS unit and future manifesting of consumables for both Orion and ISS.

life support↗

NASA NTRS1988

Concurrent development of fault management hardware and software in the SSM/PMAD

Space Station issues in fault management are discussed. The system background is described with attention given to design guidelines and power hardware. A contractually developed fault management system, FRAMES, is integrated with the energy management functions, the control switchgear, and the scheduling and operations management functions. The constraints that shaped the FRAMES system and its implementation are considered.

Freeman, Kenneth A.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Universal Waste Management System and Toilet Integration Hardware Operations on ISS – Issues, Modifications and Accomplishments

The Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), which has the ISS operational nomenclature “Toilet”, was initially installed on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2020 with final installation completed in 2021. Although technical issues were encountered that delayed installation and operations, progress was made towards the objectives of the project. Technical issue work-arounds resulted in operation of the Toilet with use by male and female crew members in a controlled extended checkout. This paper will summarize operations of the Toilet and Toilet Integration Hardware in this limited configuration, problems encountered during installation and checkout, the modifications made to allow further usage on ISS, and the future modifications planned for nominal use. It will also describe the portions of the technology demonstration that were completed and the benefits from that work and how that knowledge informs the Orion-installed UWMS unit and future manifesting of consumables for both Orion and ISS.

Toilet↗

NASA NTRS1996

Review of Issues Associated with Safe Operation and Management of the Space Shuttle Program

At the request of the President of the United States through the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the NASA Administrator tasked the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel with the responsibility to identify and review issues associated with the safe operation and management of the Space Shuttle program arising from ongoing efforts to improve and streamline operations. These efforts include the consolidation of operations under a single Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC), downsizing the Space Shuttle workforce and reducing costs of operations and management. The Panel formed five teams to address the potentially significant safety impacts of the seven specific topic areas listed in the study Terms of Reference. These areas were (in the order in which they are presented in this report): Maintenance of independent safety oversight; implementation plan for the transition of Shuttle program management to the Lead Center; communications among NASA Centers and Headquarters; transition plan for downsizing to anticipated workforce levels; implementation of a phased transition to a prime contractor for operations; Shuttle flight rate for Space Station assembly; and planned safety and performance upgrades for Space Station assembly. The study teams collected information through briefings, interviews, telephone conversations and from reviewing applicable documentation. These inputs were distilled by each team into observations and recommendations which were then reviewed by the entire Panel.

Johnstone, Paul M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Fault management for data systems

Issues related to automating the process of fault management (fault diagnosis and response) for data management systems are considered. Substantial benefits are to be gained by successful automation of this process, particularly for large, complex systems. The use of graph-based models to develop a computer assisted fault management system is advocated. The general problem is described and the motivation behind choosing graph-based models over other approaches for developing fault diagnosis computer programs is outlined. Some existing work in the area of graph-based fault diagnosis is reviewed, and a new fault management method which was developed from existing methods is offered. Our method is applied to an automatic telescope system intended as a prototype for future lunar telescope programs. Finally, an application of our method to general data management systems is described.

Boyd, Mark A.↗

NASA NTRS2021

Microgravity Science Database Development

Throughout NASA’s history, the agency has developed a plethora of complex systems, such as the International Space Station and the space shuttle, and performed research in several fields spanning the gamut from psychology to welding and materials research. Throughout these studies, an extensive amount of data has been generated and unfortunately at times regenerated. As Barend Mons states “Huge sums of taxpayer funds go to waste because such data cannot be reused.”[2] While his comments were directed at the state of data management in the European Union, it is no less valid for data management practices in the United States. The issues surrounding data management, including storage, retrieval, and analysis, will continue to be of utmost importance as the agency aims to responsibly utilize funds and gather the maximum benefit from flight and ground experiments.

Data↗

NASA NTRS1988

Image management research

Two types of research issues are involved in image management systems with space station applications: image processing research and image perception research. The image processing issues are the traditional ones of digitizing, coding, compressing, storing, analyzing, and displaying, but with a new emphasis on the constraints imposed by the human perceiver. Two image coding algorithms have been developed that may increase the efficiency of image management systems (IMS). Image perception research involves a study of the theoretical and practical aspects of visual perception of electronically displayed images. Issues include how rapidly a user can search through a library of images, how to make this search more efficient, and how to present images in terms of resolution and split screens. Other issues include optimal interface to an IMS and how to code images in a way that is optimal for the human perceiver. A test-bed within which such issues can be addressed has been designed.

Watson, Andrew B.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Manganese in drinking-water reservoirs: a multi-disciplinary review of current issues, biogeochemical controls, and oxygenation-based management

Decreased water quality and increased treatment costs due to excess manganese (Mn) in drinking-water supplies are critical issues globally. To combat on-going and emerging taste and odour issues with Mn and other contaminants (e.g., algal toxins), many utilities are using engineered oxygenation or aeration (EOA) systems to improve water quality in lakes and reservoirs. Resultant shifts in key biogeochemical and physical processes are still poorly understood, often leading to inefficiently managed systems. Paired with knowledge gaps regarding environmental drivers of Mn and the complexity of Mn redox kinetics, Mn problems persist. This review presents the state of current research in areas critical to optimisation of EOA mitigation of Mn, with focus on i) Mn biogeochemical cycling within drinking-water reservoirs; ii) influences of local catchment geology, hydrology, and land use on Mn dynamics; and iii) Mn management using different EOA approaches. The importance of considering the combined implications of these factors for successful Mn management in reservoirs is highlighted by an evaluation of relevant field-based studies; a wide range in EOA performance is observed, from a 97 % decrease in soluble Mn up to a ∼400 % increase in total Mn. Despite the breadth of studies that consider Mn in water-supply systems, there are still several areas of research which warrant further investigation, including: the influence of natural sources and anthropogenic activities on Mn within a given catchment, Mn speciation and transport in stratified and destratified lakes and reservoirs, and optimal site-specific EOA strategies for Mn mitigation.

Aeration↗

NASA NTRS2001

Academy Sharing Knowledge (ASK). The NASA Source for Project Management Magazine

How big is your project world? Is it big enough to contain other cultures, headquarters, hierarchies, and weird harpoon-like guns? Sure it is. The great American poet Walt Whitman said it best, 'I am large/I contain multitudes.' And so must you, Mr. and Ms. Project Manager. In this issue of ASK, we look outside the project box. See how several talented project managers have expanded their definition of project scope to include managing environments outside the systems and subsystems under their care. Here's a sampling of what we've put together for you this issue: In 'Three Screws Missing,' Mike Skidmore tells about his adventures at the Plesetek Cosmodrome in northern Russia. Ray Morgan in his story, 'Our Man in Kauai,' suggests we take a broader view of what's meant by 'the team.' Jenny Baer-Riedhart, the NASA program manager on the same Pathfinder solar-powered airplane, schools us in how to sell a program to Headquarters in 'Know Thyself--But Don't Forget to Learn About the Customer Too.' Scott Cameron of Proctor and Gamble talks about sharpening your hierarchical IQ in 'The Project Manager and the Hour Glass.' Mike Jansen in 'The Lawn Dart' describes how he and the 'voodoo crew' on the Space Shuttle Advanced Solid Rocket Motor program borrowed a harpoon-like gun from the Coast Guard to catch particles inside of a plume. These are just some of the stories you'll find in ASK this issue. We hope they cause you to stop and reflect on your own project's relationship to the world outside. We are also launching a new section this issue, 'There are No Mistakes, Only Lessons.' No stranger to ASK readers, Terry Little inaugurates this new section with his article 'The Don Quixote Complex.'

Post, Todd↗

NASA NTRS1990

Issues in NASA program and project management

This volume is the third in an ongoing series on aerospace project management at NASA. Articles in this volume cover the attitude of the program manager, program control and performance measurement, risk management, cost plus award fee contracting, lessons learned from the development of the Far Infrared Absolute Spectrometer (FIRAS), small projects management, and age distribution of NASA scientists and engineers. A section on resources for NASA managers rounds out the publication.

Hoban, Francis T.↗