Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Scenario planning”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Obtaining Public Opinion about sUAS Activity in an Urban Environment

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) research project has been developing and testing concept ideas for enabling small UAS (sUAS) operations in low altitude airspace (ground to 400 feet). To do this, a series of flight test demonstrations were organized over five years at seven test sites. Technology Capability Level-4 (TCL4), the most complex flight tests, were conducted in Texas, USA, during August 2019. This testing resulted in over 400 data collection flights using eight live rotorcraft, with nine flight crews flying pre-planned scenarios in the urban downtown and waterfront areas of Corpus Christi, Texas. Test scenarios were designed to include a variety of elements, including live and simulated vehicles, and personnel in many different roles, including flight crews and mission personnel. One group of people who did not have a role in the flight tests but will be affected by UAS operations as they become more ubiquitous, are the general public. What do the public think about sUAS operations in urban areas? In order to obtain a reference point that noted the public's view of the operations in the TCL4 demonstration, a short survey was developed and offered to members of the public who wished to comment on the sUAS activities they saw in their city during two weeks in August, 2019.Forty five people completed the online public opinion survey. Participants volunteered to take it, creating a self-selected sample. The survey included eleven questions that asked participants about their level of comfort and concerns with UAS activity; their knowledge of UAS operations; and, whether a traffic management system like UTM would increase their confidence in urban UAS activity. The general public in Corpus Christi showed a good level of knowledge of sUAS regulations, with almost half of their responses to the knowledge portion of the survey being correct. They expressed a moderate level of concern (x = 4.7 out of 7) at urban sUAS activity and, of those who cited a concern, the majority reported this was about privacy (54%), which are all responses in line with those reported in earlier research on public opinion. Views on UTM were mixed, with respondents indicating they thought the introduction of UTM will improve safety somewhat (5.2 out of 7) but it will also increase their concern a little (4.6 out of 7). This would indicate there needs to be more information and educational material about the UTM concept made available to the public with the aim to reduce public concerns about the system.

Caterina Grossi↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Obtaining Public Opinion About sUAS Activity in an Urban Environment

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) research project has been developing and testing concept ideas for enabling small UAS (sUAS) operations in low altitude airspace (ground to 400 feet). To do this, a series of flight test demonstrations were organized over five years at seven test sites. Technology Capability Level-4 (TCL4), the most complex flight tests, were conducted in Texas, USA, during August 2019. This testing resulted in over 400 data collection flights using eight live rotorcraft, with nine flight crews flying pre-planned scenarios in the urban downtown and waterfront areas of Corpus Christi, Texas. Test scenarios were designed to include a variety of elements, including live and simulated vehicles, and personnel in many different roles, including flight crews and mission personnel. One group of people who did not have a role in the flight tests but will be affected by UAS operations as they become more ubiquitous, are the general public. What do the public think about sUAS operations in urban areas? In order to obtain a reference point that noted the public’s view of the operations in the TCL4 demonstration, a short survey was developed and offered to members of the public who wished to comment on the sUAS activities they saw in their city during two weeks in August, 2019. Forty five people completed the online public opinion survey. Participants volunteered to take it, creating a self-selected sample. The survey included eleven questions that asked participants about their level of comfort and concerns with UAS activity; their knowledge of UAS operations; and, whether a traffic management system like UTM would increase their confidence in urban UAS activity. The general public in Corpus Christi showed a good level of knowledge of sUAS regulations, with almost half of their responses to the knowledge portion of the survey being correct. They expressed a moderate level of concern (x = 4.7 out of 7) at urban sUAS activity and, of those who cited a concern, the majority reported this was about privacy (54%), which are all responses in line with those reported in earlier research on public opinion. Views on UTM were mixed, with respondents indicating they thought the introduction of UTM will improve safety somewhat (5.2 out of 7) but it will also increase their concern a little (4.6 out of 7). This would indicate there needs to be more information and educational material about the UTM concept made available to the public with the aim to reduce public concerns about the system.

UTM↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

SimUAM: A Comprehensive Microsimulation Toolchain to Evaluate the Impact of Urban Air Mobility in Metropolitan Areas

Over the past several years, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has galvanized enthusiasm from investors and researchers, marrying expertise in aircraft design, transportation, logistics, artificial intelligence, battery chemistry, and broader policymaking. However, two significant questions remain unexplored: (1) What is the value of UAM in a region’s transportation network? and (2) How can UAM be effectively deployed to realize and maximize this value to all stakeholders, including riders and local economies? To adequately understand the value proposition of UAM for metropolitan areas, the authors develop a holistic multi-modal toolchain, SimUAM, to model and simulate UAM and its impacts on travel behavior. This toolchain has several components: (1) Microsimulation Analysis for Network Traffic Assignment (MANTA): A fast, high-fidelity regional-scale traffic microsimulator, (2) VertiSim: Agranular, discrete-event vertiport and pedestrian simulator, (3) Flexible Engine for Fast-time Evaluation of Flight Environments (Fe3): A high-fidelity, trajectory-based aerial microsimulation. SimUAM, rooted in granular, GPU-based microsimulation, models millions of trips and their movements in the street network and in the air, producing interpretable and actionable performance metrics for UAM designs and deployments. Once the ground-air interface is modeled, the authors find that the market for UAM decreases across all network designs relative to models with static assumptions about transfer times. However, significant improvements can be made to balance the demand and optimize the networks for transfer time, likely increasing the number of benefited trips. The modularity, extensibility, and speed of the platform will allow for rapid scenario planning and sensitivity analysis, effectively acting as a detailed performance assessment tool.

urban air mobility↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

SimUAM: A Comprehensive Microsimulation Toolchain to Evaluate the Impact of Urban Air Mobility in Metropolitan Areas

Over the past several years, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has galvanized enthusiasm from investors and researchers, marrying expertise in aircraft design, transportation, logistics, artificial intelligence, battery chemistry, and broader policymaking. However, two significant questions remain unexplored: (1) What is the value of UAM in a region’s transportation network?, and (2) How can UAM be effectively deployed to realize and maximize this value to all stakeholders, including riders and local economies? To adequately understand the value proposition of UAM for metropolitan areas, we develop a holistic multi-modal toolchain, SimUAM, to model and simulate UAM and its impacts on travel behavior. This toolchain has several components: (1) MANTA: A fast, high-fidelity regional-scale traffic microsimulator, (2) VertiSim: A granular, discrete-event vertiport and pedestrian, (3) 3: A high-fidelity, trajectory-based aerial microsimulation. SimUAM, rooted in granular, GPU-based microsimulation, models millions of trips and their exact movements in the street network and in the air, producing interpretable and actionable performance metrics for UAM designs and deployments. The modularity, extensibility, and speed of the platform will allow for rapid scenario planning and sensitivity analysis, effectively acting as a detailed performance assessment tool. As a result, stakeholders in UAM can understand the impacts of critical infrastructure, and subsequently define policies, requirements, and investments needed to support UAM as a viable transportation mode.

Urban air mobility↗
NASA NTRS1998

Planning for "What If" Scenarios

Interval Logic Corporation is a graduate of the Ames Technology Commercialization Center (Ames Research Center's business incubator). The founders are the developers of the Spike Scheduling system, the most successful scheduling technology ever developed for NASA. This software was used to double the operational efficiency of the Hubble Space Telescope. Today the software is called Leverage and used to optimize all levels of semiconductor manufacturing.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1994

Working Group 1: Current plans of various organisations for lunar activities

Summaries of presentations by representatives of several space agencies and the International Academy of Astronautics concerning lunar activities are presented. Participating space agencies reported two different types of lunar planning, long term planning and scenarios and lunar missions competing within regular programs. The long term plans of the various agencies look remarkably similar. They all involve a phased approach (coincidentally all incorporating four phases) and all address three prime scientific elements: science of, on, and from the Moon. The missions under consideration by the second group of agencies could readily fit as elements in the longer term program. There is great interest in lunar astronomy. There is a great deal of potential infrastructure and lunar transport capability already available. There is also a wide range of interesting technological developments that could form part of a lunar program. A well concerted and coordinated international effort could lead to an affordable program. Recommendations are: an international conference on lunar exploration should be held every other year; an electronic network should be established for the daily exchange of information; and a mechanism should be established for regular working level coordination of activities.

Balsiger, H.↗
NASA NTRS2017

NASA Human Spaceflight Scenarios - Do All Our Models Still Say No?

Historically, NASA human spaceflight planning has included healthy doses of life cycle cost analysis. Planners put projects and their cost estimates in a budget context. Estimated costs became expected budgets. Regardless, real budgets rarely matched expectations. So plans would come and go as NASA canceled projects. New projects would arise and the cycle would begin again. Repeatedly, NASA schedule and performance ambitions come up against costs growing at double-digit rates while budgets barely rise a couple of percent a year. Significant skepticism greets proposed NASA programs at birth, as cost estimates for new projects are traditionally very high, and worse, far off the mark for those carried forward. In this environment the current "capability driven framework" for NASA human spaceflight evolved, where long term life cycle cost analysis are even viewed as possibly counter-productive. Here, a space exploration project, for example the Space Launch System, focuses on immediate goals. A life cycle is that of a project, not a program, and for only that span of time to a near term milestone like a first test launch. Unfortunately, attempting to avoid some pitfalls in long-term life cycle cost analysis breeds others. Government audits have noted that limiting the scope of cost analysis "does not provide the transparency necessary to assess long-term affordability" making it difficult to understand if NASA "is progressing in a cost-effective and affordable manner." Even in this short-term framework, NASA realizes the importance of long-term considerations, that it must "maximize the efficiency and sustainability of the Exploration Systems development programs", that this is "critical to free resources for re-investment...such as other required deep space exploration capabilities." Assuming the value of long-term life cycle cost analysis, where due diligence meets reconnaissance, and accepting past shortcomings, the work here approaches life cycle cost analysis for human spaceflight differently. 1) If costs have traditionally been so high that adding them up is discouraging, are there any new facts on the ground offering paths to significantly lower costs? 2) If NASA's spaceflight budget and process is an over-arching constraint, with its planning limitations favoring short-term outlooks, is there a way to step outside the budget box? 3) If life cycle answers have historically been too uncertain to be useful, is there a process where stakeholders gain valuable insights merely from emphasizing a common understanding around questions? We analyze the potential life cycle cost of assorted NASA human spaceflight architectures - an architecture as a sum of individual systems, working together. With the prior questions of high costs, limited budgets and uncertainties in mind, public private partnerships are central in these architectures. The cost data for current commercial public private partnerships is encouraging, as are cost estimates for future partnership approaches beyond low Earth orbit. Private capital, directly or indirectly, an ingredient of public private partnerships, may be a significant factor in finding a path around the limits of the NASA spaceflight budget. Also, understanding and reviewing the pros, cons and uncertainties of assorted architectures can assist in developing a common understanding around key questions as important if not more so than the numbers and answers. Lastly, a scenario planning technique is briefly explored that can mature a common understanding about the agencies situation at hand and how diverse stakeholders can go forward together. Scenario planning, rather than focusing on answers, places emphasis on stakeholders developing a common understanding about the future. Putting aside costs, this is especially true of questions about sustainability and growth, results, benefits and expectations. While efficiency exercises or analysis look to reduce resources in one place to apply them elsewhere, moving around slices in a pie, scenario planning can get at the heart of the matter, growing the pie, transforming it, and making the pieces relevant. Especially important is the question of sustainability for different scenarios in the broad sense of the word - not just the narrow ability to survive or continue, but also the ability to adapt, prosper and grow.

space systems life cycle costs↗
NASA NTRS2019

Lipid Decontamination Procedures for Life Detection Missions

Molecular biosignatures are key targets for current, proposed, and future life detection missions. With the high accuracy and low limit of detection (LOD) that new and future instruments will require, decontamination of life detection hardware is necessary to prevent false positives. Lipids are a molecular biosignature of interest, as they are ubiquitous to all life as we know it, can survive unaltered in the geologic record for longer than any other biomolecule (i.e. billions of years), and form through both biotic and abiotic processes. Lipids display origin-diagnostic molecular patterns that can reveal biotic or abiotic synthesis, so finding them and ascertaining their molecular features is important for potentially detecting evidence of life elsewhere. Traditional methods of decontamination, or contamination control (CC), primarily clean hardware through fabrication in sterile (cleanroom) environments, killing microbes, and removing/flushing contaminants off instrument and spacecraft components. However, research suggests that some standard cleaning methods are either unlikely to remove lipid contaminants or are incompatible with life detection instrument materials. To solve this problem, I propose to find, test, and verify a decontamination method that thoroughly cleans instruments by destroying lipid molecules, but is simultaneously compatible with major materials used in these instruments. I will study the effects of traditional CC methods (including Dry Heat Microbial Reduction and Vapor phase Hydrogen Peroxide) and experimental CC methods (Electron Beam Irradiation) on lipid molecules for application to life detection instrumentation. I will then develop a CC plan for a novel lipid detector (ExCALiBR, Extractor for Chemical Analysis of Lipid Biomarkers in Regolith) searching for lipids in either soil or icy world scenarios. This plan will uphold planetary protection regulation requirements and validate experimental analyses of in-situ life detection tests.

Decontamination↗
NASA NTRS2007

Genesis Contingency Planning and Mishap Recovery: The Sample Curation View

Planning for sample preservation and curation was part of mission design from the beginning. One of the scientific objectives for Genesis included collecting samples of three regimes of the solar wind in addition to collecting bulk solar wind during the mission. Collectors were fabricated in different thicknesses for each regime of the solar wind and attached to separate frames exposed to the solar wind during specific periods of solar activity associated with each regime. The original plan to determine the solar regime sampled for specific collectors was to identify to which frame the collector was attached. However, the collectors were dislodged during the hard landing making identification by frame attachment impossible. Because regimes were also identified by thickness of the collector, the regime sampled is identified by measuring fragment thickness. A variety of collector materials and thin films applied to substrates were selected and qualified for flight. This diversity provided elemental measurement in more than one material, mitigating effects of diffusion rates and/or radiation damage. It also mitigated against different material and substrate strengths resulting in differing effects of the hard landing. For example, silicon crystal substrates broke into smaller fragments than sapphire-based substrates and diamond surfaces were more resilient to flying debris damage than gold. The primary responsibility of the curation team for recovery was process documentation. Contingency planning for the recovery phase expanded this responsibility to include not only equipment to document, but also gather, contain and identify samples from the landing area and the recovered spacecraft. The team developed contingency plans for various scenarios as part of mission planning that included topographic maps to aid in site recovery and identification of different modes of transport and purge capability depending on damage. A clean tent, set-up at Utah Test & Training Range to control the environment for processing the sample return capsule and cleanly installing a nitrogen purge to the canister, was used to control the environment for extracting collector fragments from the damaged canister and to document and package over 10,000 collector fragments.

Stansbery, E. K.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Requirements, Resource Planning, and Management for Decrewing/Recrewing Scenarios of the International Space Station

Following the failure of 44 Progress (44P) on launch in August 2011, and the subsequent grounding of all Russian Soyuz rocket based launches, the International Space Station (ISS) ground teams engaged in an effort to determine how long the ISS could remain crewed, what would be required to safely configure the ISS for decrewing, and what would be required to recrew the ISS upon resumption of Soyuz rocket launches if decrewing became necessary. This White Paper was written to capture the processes and lessons learned from real-time time events and to provide a reference and training document for ISS Program teams in the event decrewing of the ISS is needed. Through coordination meetings and assessments, teams identified six decrewing priorities for ground and crew operations. These priorities were integrated along with preflight priorities through the Increment re-planning process. Additionally, the teams reviewed, updated, and implemented changes to the governing documentation for the configuration of the ISS for a contingency decrewing event. Steps were taken to identify critical items for disposal prior to decrewing, as well as identifying the required items to be strategically staged or flown with the astronauts and cosmonauts who would eventually recrew the ISS. After the successful launches and dockings of both 45P and 28 Soyuz (28S), the decrewing team transitioned to finalizing and publishing the documentation for standardizing the decrewing flight rules. With the continued launching of crews and cargo to the ISS, utilization and science is again a high priority; both Increment pairs 29 and 30, and Increment 31 and 32 reaching the milestone of at least 35 hours per week average utilization.

Bach, David A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Numerical Arc Segmentation Algorithm for a Radio Conference-NASARC (version 4.0) technical manual

The information contained in the NASARC (Version 4.0) Technical Manual and NASARC (Version 4.0) User's Manual relates to the Numerical Arc Segmentation Algorithm for a Radio Conference (NASARC) software development through November 1, 1988. The Technical Manual describes the NASARC concept and the algorithms used to implement the concept. The User's Manual provides information on computer system considerations, installation instructions, description of input files, and program operation instructions. Significant revisions were incorporated in the Version 4.0 software over prior versions. These revisions have further enhanced the modeling capabilities of the NASARC procedure and provide improved arrangements of predetermined arcs within the geostationary orbits. Array dimensions within the software were structured to fit within the currently available 12 megabyte memory capacity of the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB) computer facility. A piecewise approach to predetermined arc generation in NASARC (Version 4.0) allows worldwide planning problem scenarios to be accommodated within computer run time and memory constraints with enhanced likelihood and ease of solution.

Whyte, Wayne A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Numerical Arc Segmentation Algorithm for a Radio Conference (NASARC), version 4.0: User's manual

The information in the NASARC (Version 4.0) Technical Manual (NASA-TM-101453) and NASARC (Version 4.0) User's Manual (NASA-TM-101454) relates to the state of Numerical Arc Segmentation Algorithm for a Radio Conference (NASARC) software development through November 1, 1988. The Technical Manual describes the NASARC concept and the algorithms used to implement the concept. The User's Manual provides information on computer system considerations, installation instructions, description of input files, and program operation instructions. Significant revisions were incorporated in the Version 4.0 software over prior versions. These revisions have further enhanced the modeling capabilities of the NASARC procedure and provide improved arrangements of predetermined arcs within the geostationary orbit. Array dimensions within the software were structured to fit within the currently available 12-megabyte memory capacity of the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB) computer facility. A piecewise approach to predetermined arc generation in NASARC (Version 4.) allows worldwide planning problem scenarios to be accommodated within computer run time and memory constraints with enhanced likelihood and ease of solution.

Whyte, Wayne A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The Systems Autonomy Demonstration Project - Catalyst for Space Station advanced automation

The Systems Autonomy Demonstration Project (SADP) was initiated by NASA to address the advanced automation needs for the Space Station program. The application of advanced automation to the Space Station's operations management system (OMS) is discussed. The SADP's future goals and objectives are discussed with respect to OMS functional requirements, design, and desired evolutionary capabilities. Major technical challenges facing the designers, developers, and users of the OMS are identified in order to guide the definition of objectives, plans, and scenarios for future SADP demonstrations, and to focus the efforts on the supporting research.

Healey, Kathleen J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Decision Support Systems for Research and Management in Advanced Life Support

Decision support systems have been implemented in many applications including strategic planning for battlefield scenarios, corporate decision making for business planning, production planning and control systems, and recommendation generators like those on Amazon.com(Registered TradeMark). Such tools are reviewed for developing a similar tool for NASA's ALS Program. DSS are considered concurrently with the development of the OPIS system, a database designed for chronicling of research and development in ALS. By utilizing the OPIS database, it is anticipated that decision support can be provided to increase the quality of decisions by ALS managers and researchers.

Rodriquez, Luis F.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Requirements, Resource Planning and Management for Decrewing/Recrewing Scenarios of the International Space Station

Following the failure of 44P on launch in August 2011, and the subsequent grounding of all Russian Soyuz rocket based launches, the ISS ground teams engaged in an effort to determine how long the ISS could remain crewed, what would be required to safely configure the ISS for decrewing, and what would be required to recrew the ISS upon resumption of Soyuz rocket launches if decrewing became necessary. This White Paper was written to capture the processes and lessons learned from real-time time events and to provide a reference and training document for ISS Program teams in the event decrewing of the ISS is needed. Through coordination meetings and assessments, teams identified six decrewing priorities for ground and crew operations. These priorities were integrated along with preflight priorities through the Increment replanning process. Additionally, the teams reviewed, updated, and implemented changes to the governing documentation for the configuration of the ISS for a contingency decrewing event. Steps were taken to identify critical items for disposal prior to decrewing, as well as identifying the required items to be strategically staged or flown with the astronauts and cosmonauts who would eventually recrew the ISS. After the successful launches and dockings of both 45P and 28S, the decrewing team transitioned to finalizing and publishing the documentation for standardizing the decrewing flight rules. With the continued launching of crews and cargo to the ISS, utilization and science is again a high priority, with the Increment pairs 29 and 30, and 31 and 32 reaching the milestone of at least 35 hours per week average utilization.

Bach, David A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Relay Support for the Mars Science Laboratory and the Coming Decade of Mars Relay Network Evolution

In the past decade, an evolving network of Mars relay orbiters has provided telecommunication relay services to the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and to the Mars Phoenix Lander, enabling high-bandwidth, energy-efficient data transfer and greatly increasing the volume of science data that can be returned from the Martian surface, compared to conventional direct-to-Earth links. The current relay network, consisting of NASA's Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and augmented by ESA's Mars Express Orbiter, stands ready to support the Mars Science Laboratory, scheduled to arrive at Mars on Aug 6, 2012, with new capabilities enabled by the Electra and Electra-Lite transceivers carried by MRO and MSL, respectively. The MAVEN orbiter, planned for launch in 2013, and the ExoMars/Trace Gas Orbiter, planned for launch in 2016, will replenish the on-orbit relay network as the current orbiter approach their end of life. Currently planned support scenarios for this future relay network include an ESA EDL Demonstrator Module deployed by the 2016 ExoMars/TGO orbiter, and the 2018 NASA/ESA Joint Rover, representing the first step in a multimission Mars Sample Return campaign.

MAVEN↗
NASA NTRS2010

Relay Telecommunications for the Coming Decade of Mars Exploration

Over the past decade, an evolving network of relay-equipped orbiters has advanced our capabilities for Mars exploration. NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, 2001 Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), as well as ESA's Mars Express Orbiter, have provided telecommunications relay services to the 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and to the 2007 Phoenix Lander. Based on these successes, a roadmap for continued Mars relay services is in place for the coming decade. MRO and Odyssey will provide key relay support to the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, including capture of critical event telemetry during entry, descent, and landing, as well as support for command and telemetry during surface operations, utilizing new capabilities of the Electra relay payload on MRO and the Electra-Lite payload on MSL to allow significant increase in data return relative to earlier missions. Over the remainder of the decade a number of additional orbiter and lander missions are planned, representing new orbital relay service providers and new landed relay users. In this paper we will outline this Mars relay roadmap, quantifying relay performance over time, illustrating planned support scenarios, and identifying key challenges and technology infusion opportunities.

Edwards, C.↗