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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 37 records · Page 2

Space Station heat pipe advanced radiator element (SHARE) flight test results and analysis

The SHARE experiment, which consisted of a single 51 ft long by 1 ft wide prototypical Space Station heat pipe radiator panel, was flown aboard STS-29 in March 1989. Several problems were uncovered during the flight which limited performance. Extensive post-flight analysis has revealed that the manifold connecting the evaporator and condenser sections did not prime properly in 0-g, and that a mismatch in hydraulic diameters between the evaporator and condenser caused large bubbles to be present in the liquid channel at startup. These bubbles subsequently became trapped at the evaporator entrance, halting liquid flow and causing premature dryout of the evaporator wall grooves. The experiment did demonstrate heat pipe transport capability of up to 1572 W with near isothermality in both the evaporator and condenser for short periods of time.

Kosson, Robert↗

Issues in NASA program and project management

This volume is the fifth in an ongoing series on aerospace project management at NASA. Articles in this volume cover: an overview of the project cycle; SE&I management for manned space flight programs; shared experiences from NASA Programs and Projects - 1975; cost control for Mariner Venus/Mercury 1973; and the Space Shuttle - a balancing of design and politics. A section on resources for NASA managers rounds out the publication.

Hoban, Francis T.↗

The 1992 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium

The 1992 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium is a continuation of the Get Away Special Symposium convened from 1984 through 1988, and is proposed to continue as an annual conference. The focus of this conference is to educate potential Space Shuttle Payload Bay users as to the types of carrier systems provided and for current users to share experiment concepts.

Thomas, Lawrence R.↗

The 1993 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium

The 1993 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium is a combined symposia of the Get Away Special (GAS), Hitchhiker, and Complex Autonomous Payloads (CAP) programs, and is proposed to continue as an annual conference. The focus of this conference is to educate potential Space Shuttle Payload Bay users as to the types of carrier systems provided and for current users to share experiment concepts.

Thomas, Lawrence R.↗

Transportable Payload Operations Control Center reusable software: Building blocks for quality ground data systems

The Mission Operations Division (MOD) at Goddard Space Flight Center builds Mission Operations Centers which are used by Flight Operations Teams to monitor and control satellites. Reducing system life cycle costs through software reuse has always been a priority of the MOD. The MOD's Transportable Payload Operations Control Center development team established an extensive library of 14 subsystems with over 100,000 delivered source instructions of reusable, generic software components. Nine TPOCC-based control centers to date support 11 satellites and achieved an average software reuse level of more than 75 percent. This paper shares experiences of how the TPOCC building blocks were developed and how building block developer's, mission development teams, and users are all part of the process.

Mahmot, Ron↗

The 1995 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium

The 1995 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium is a combined symposia of the Get Away Special (GAS) and Hitchhiker programs, and is proposed to continue as an annual conference. The focus of this conference is to educate potential Space Shuttle Payload Bay users as to the types of carrier systems provided and for current users to share experiment concepts.

Goldsmith, Frann↗

Issues in NASA Program and Project Management. Special Report: 1997 Conference. Project Management Now and in the New Millennium

Topics Considered Include: NASA's Shared Experiences Program; Core Issues for the Future of the Agency; National Space Policy Strategic Management; ISO 9000 and NASA; New Acquisition Initiatives; Full Cost Initiative; PM Career Development; PM Project Database; NASA Fast Track Studies; Fast Track Projects; Earned Value Concept; Value-Added Metrics; Saturn Corporation Lessons Learned; Project Manager Credibility.

Hoffman, Edward J.↗

Fluids and Materials Science Studies Utilizing the Microgravity-vibration Isolation Mount (MIM)

Canada's Microgravity Sciences Program (MSP) is the smallest program of the ISS partners and so can participate in only a few, highly focused projects in order to make a scientific and technological impact. One focused project involves determining the effect of accelerations (g-jitter) on scientific measurements in a microgravity environment utilizing the Microgravity-vibration Isolation Mount (MIM). Many experiments share the common characteristic of having a fluid stage in their process. The quality of the experimental measurements have been expected to be affected by g-jitters which has lead the ISS program to include specifications to limit the level of acceleration allowed on a subset of experimental racks. From finite element analysis (FEM), the ISS structure will not be able to meet the acceleration specifications. Therefore, isolation systems are necessary. Fluid science results and materials science results show significant sensitivity to g-jitter. The work done to date should be viewed only as a first look at the issue of g-jitter sensitivity. The work should continue with high priority such that the international science community and the ISS program can address the requirement and settle on an agreed to overall approach as soon as possible.

Herring, Rodney↗

Design of Composite Structures Using Knowledge-Based and Case Based Reasoning

A method of using knowledge based and case based reasoning to assist designers during conceptual design tasks of composite structures was proposed. The cooperative use of heuristics, procedural knowledge, and previous similar design cases suggests a potential reduction in design cycle time and ultimately product lead time. The hypothesis of this work is that the design process of composite structures can be improved by using Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) and Knowledge-Based (KB) reasoning in the early design stages. The technique of using knowledge-based and case-based reasoning facilitates the gathering of disparate information into one location that is easily and readily available. The method suggests that the inclusion of downstream life-cycle issues into the conceptual design phase reduces potential of defective, and sub-optimal composite structures. Three industry experts were interviewed extensively. The experts provided design rules, previous design cases, and test problems. A Knowledge Based Reasoning system was developed using the CLIPS (C Language Interpretive Procedural System) environment and a Case Based Reasoning System was developed using the Design Memory Utility For Sharing Experiences (MUSE) xviii environment. A Design Characteristic State (DCS) was used to document the design specifications, constraints, and problem areas using attribute-value pair relationships. The DCS provided consistent design information between the knowledge base and case base. Results indicated that the use of knowledge based and case based reasoning provided a robust design environment for composite structures. The knowledge base provided design guidance from well defined rules and procedural knowledge. The case base provided suggestions on design and manufacturing techniques based on previous similar designs and warnings of potential problems and pitfalls. The case base complemented the knowledge base and extended the problem solving capability beyond the existence of limited well defined rules. The findings indicated that the technique is most effective when used as a design aid and not as a tool to totally automate the composites design process. Other areas of application and implications for future research are discussed.

Lambright, Jonathan Paul↗

Serving Fisheries and Ocean Metadata to Communities Around the World

NASA's Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) assists the oceanographic community in the discovery, access, and sharing of scientific data by serving on-line fisheries and ocean metadata to users around the globe. As of January 2006, the directory holds more than 16,300 Earth Science data descriptions and over 1,300 services descriptions. Of these, nearly 4,000 unique ocean-related metadata records are available to the public, with many having direct links to the data. In 2005, the GCMD averaged over 5 million hits a month, with nearly a half million unique hosts for the year. Through the GCMD portal (http://qcrnd.nasa.qov/), users can search vast and growing quantities of data and services using controlled keywords, free-text searches or a combination of both. Users may now refine a search based on topic, location, instrument, platform, project, data center, spatial and temporal coverage. The directory also offers data holders a means to post and search their data through customized portals, i.e. online customized subset metadata directories. The discovery metadata standard used is the Directory Interchange Format (DIF), adopted in 1994. This format has evolved to accommodate other national and international standards such as FGDC and IS019115. Users can submit metadata through easy-to-use online and offline authoring tools. The directory, which also serves as a coordinating node of the International Directory Network (IDN), has been active at the international, regional and national level for many years through its involvement with the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), federal agencies (such as NASA, NOAA, and USGS), international agencies (such as IOC/IODE, UN, and JAXA) and partnerships (such as ESIP, IOOS/DMAC, GOSIC, GLOBEC, OBIS, and GoMODP), sharing experience, knowledge related to metadata and/or data management and interoperability.

Meaux, Melanie↗

Biases in Total Precipitable Water Vapor Climatologies from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer

We examine differences in total precipitable water vapor (PWV) from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) experiments sharing the Aqua spacecraft platform. Both systems provide estimates of PWV over water surfaces. We compare AIRS and AMSR-E PWV to constrain AIRS retrieval uncertainties as functions of AIRS retrieved infrared cloud fraction. PWV differences between the two instruments vary only weakly with infrared cloud fraction up to about 70%. Maps of AIRS-AMSR-E PWV differences vary with location and season. Observational biases, when both instruments observe identical scenes, are generally less than 5%. Exceptions are in cold air outbreaks where AIRS is biased moist by 10-20% or 10-60% (depending on retrieval processing) and at high latitudes in winter where AIRS is dry by 5-10%. Sampling biases, from different sampling characteristics of AIRS and AMSR-E, vary in sign and magnitude. AIRS sampling is dry by up to 30% in most high-latitude regions but moist by 5-15% in subtropical stratus cloud belts. Over the northwest Pacific, AIRS samples conditions more moist than AMSR-E by a much as 60%. We hypothesize that both wet and dry sampling biases are due to the effects of clouds on the AIRS retrieval methodology. The sign and magnitude of these biases depend upon the types of cloud present and on the relationship between clouds and PWV. These results for PWV imply that climatologies of height-resolved water vapor from AIRS must take into consideration local meteorological processes affecting AIRS sampling.

Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)↗

International Project Management Committee: Overview and Activities

This slide presentation discusses the purpose and composition of the International Project Management Committee (IMPC). The IMPC was established by members of 15 space agencies, companies and professional organizations. The goal of the committee is to establish a means to share experiences and best practices with space project/program management practitioners at the global level. The space agencies that are involved are: AEB, DLR, ESA, ISRO, JAXA, KARI, and NASA. The industrial and professional organizational members are Comau, COSPAR, PMI, and Thales Alenia Space.

Hoffman, Edward↗

Thematic Design: My Story is Better When Your Story is Better

What does a well-designed thematic workshop look like? Walking into a presentation at a convention center or at a NASA center, one might see formal and informal educators receiving space science content from knowledgeable science experts, actively participating in topic-related activities, questioning, collaborating, and investigating, connecting topics and content to their education needs, and having fun. But what is really going on, and what did it take to get to this point-the point of delivery. This is an opportunity to share experience and knowledge pertaining to designing and conducting space science thematic workshops and trainings. It is an attempt to describe the thematic approach to space science education that has been demonstrated in Solar System Exploration Education Forum workshops over many years and to articulate the best practices pertain-ing to designing and presenting those workshops.

Tobola, Kay↗

Hindlimb Suspension as a Model to Study Ophthalmic Complications in Microgravity Status Report: Optimization of Rat Retina Flat Mounts Staining to Study Vascular Remodeling

Preliminary data from a prior tissue‐sharing experiment has suggested that early growth response protein‐1 (Egr1), a transcription factor involved in various stress responses in the vasculature, is induced in the rat retina after 14 days of hindlimb suspension (HS) and may be evidence that mechanical stress is occurring secondary to the cephalad fluid shift. This mechanical stress could cause changes in oxygenation of the retina, and the subsequent ischemia‐ or inflammation‐driven hypoxia may lead to microvascular remodeling. This microvascular remodeling process can be studied using image analysis of retinal vessels and can be then be quantified by the VESsel GENeration Analysis (VESGEN) software, a computational tool that quantifies remodeling patterns of branching vascular trees and capillary or vasculogenic networks. Our project investigates whether rodent HS is a valid model to study the effects of simulated‐weightlessness on ocular structures and their relationship with intracranial pressure (ICP). One of the hypotheses to be tested is that HS‐induced cephalad fluid shift is accompanied by vascular engorgement that produces changes in retinal oxygenation, leading to oxidative stress, hypoxia, microvascular remodeling, and cellular degeneration. We have optimized the procedure to obtain flat mounts of rat retina, staining of the endothelial lining in vasculature and acquisition of high quality images suitable for VESGEN analysis. Briefly, eyes were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 24 hours and retinas were detached and then mounted flat on microscope slides. The microvascular staining was done with endothelial cell‐specific isolectin binding, coupled to Alexa‐488 fluorophore. Image acquisition at low magnification and high resolution was performed using a new Leica SP8 confocal microscope in a tile pattern across the X,Y plane and multiple sections along the Z‐axis. This new confocal microscope has the added capability of dye separation using the Linear Unmixing method and allows us to remove the autofluorescence originating from the photoreceptor layer. In summary, we have an improved method for studying the retinal microvasculature that will provide an increase in the quality of images captured and will be applied throughout the various animal cohorts of the recentlyinitiated study that will evaluate rodent HS as a model to study ophthalmic complications in microgravity.

Theriot, Corey A.↗

Crossing the Boundaries in Planetary Atmospheres - From Earth to Exoplanets

The past decade has been an especially exciting time to study atmospheres, with a renaissance in fundamental studies of Earths general circulation and hydrological cycle, stimulated by questions about past climates and the urgency of projecting the future impacts of humankinds activities. Long-term spacecraft and Earth-based observation of solar system planets have now reinvigorated the study of comparative planetary climatology. The explosion in discoveries of planets outside our solar system has made atmospheric science integral to understanding the diversity of our solar system and the potential habitability of planets outside it. Thus, the AGU Chapman Conference Crossing the Boundaries in Planetary Atmospheres From Earth to Exoplanets, held in Annapolis, MD from June 24-27, 2013 gathered Earth, solar system, and exoplanet scientists to share experiences, insights, and challenges from their individual disciplines, and discuss areas in which thinking broadly might enhance our fundamental understanding of how atmospheres work.

hydrological cycle↗

Enabling Innovation and Collaboration Across Geography and Culture: A Case Study of NASA's Systems Engineering Community of Practice

In 2004, NASA faced major knowledge sharing challenges due to geographically isolated field centers that inhibited personnel from sharing experiences and ideas. Mission failures and new directions for the agency demanded better collaborative tools. In addition, with the push to send astronauts back to the moon and to Mars, NASA recognized that systems engineering would have to improve across the agency. Of the ten field centers, seven had not built a spacecraft in over 30 years, and had lost systems engineering expertise. The Systems Engineering Community of Practice came together to capture the knowledge of its members using the suite of collaborative tools provided by the NASA Engineering Network (NEN.) The NEN provided a secure collaboration space for over 60 practitioners across the agency to assemble and review a NASA systems engineering handbook. Once the handbook was complete, they used the open community area to disseminate it. This case study explores both the technology and the social networking that made the community possible, describes technological approaches that facilitated rapid setup and low maintenance, provides best practices that other organizations could adopt, and discusses the vision for how this community will continue to collaborate across the field centers to benefit the agency as it continues exploring the solar system.

NEN↗

Plant Habitat 04 Citizen Outreach: The Space Chile Grow a Pepper Plant Challenge (2020-2021)

The Space Chile Grow a Pepper Plant Challenge (SCGAPPC) is a citizen outreach activity performed in conjunction with NASA technical demonstration, Plant Habitat (PH)-04 which grew a New Mexico chile pepper as the first fruit in the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH). Growing a related pepper variety from Chimayo, New Mexico, the activity tasked citizen “Space Farmers” to grow a pepper plant indoors, at home, or in controlled environments to document the details of growth, and search for solutions to growing consistently productive and flavorful peppers under these conditions. Launched in February of 2020, a scientist on the PH04 team shared an introduction on social media to provide information about the activity and instructions on how to participate. Each space farmer received an envelopecontaining seeds and a mission sticker. They conducted their own pepper growth trials to record environment and horticultural data and submit one pepper to the University of New Mexico for capsaicin analysis. This activity was available online at the onset of the COVID-19 shutdown. During 2020-2021, over 1,800 envelopes were mailed across the globe, tens of thousands of seed pouches were shared, the SCGAPPC was featured during a virtual Growing Beyond Earth Educator Workshop with the challenge of becoming a critical part of that program when students were working remotely. Citizen space farmers around the world contributed to space biology and crop production research while learning about CE agriculture. Members of the space biology community volunteered participation, skills, and interaction. An online community page provided a format for scientists, and the general publicto interact. A portion of data was documented in an online database. The primary outcome served to inform the publicabout NASA space crop production, while creating a channel to share experiences and compare results from a singlecrop growing under varying controlled environments.

Jacob Torres↗

Design of the SHARE II monogroove heat pipe

The SHARE II experiment will fly on STS-43, scheduled for mid-1991. The experiment consists of two prototypical heat pipe radiator elements, one of which is supplied by Grumman Aerospace Corp. The heat pipes are designed to overcome the shortcomings of the SHARE experiment, which flew on STS-29 in March 1989 and was only partially successful. This paper reviews the SHARE experiment and the results of its flight test. The design solutions considered for use in the Grumman SHARE II heat pipe are discussed. A description of the reduced gravity testing of the design solutions is provided, as is a discussion of the final SHARE II design. In addition, the 1-g acceptance testing and thermal/vacuum certification testing of the Grumman SHARE II flight article is described.

Brown, Richard↗