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At least 379 records · Page 21

Mixtrinsic Evolution

This paper introduces a third approach to Evolvable Hardware (EHW) called mixtrinsic EHW (MEHW).

evolvable hardware reconfigurable hardware genetic↗

Application of the Hilbert-Huang Transform to the Search for Gravitational Waves

We present the application of a novel method of time-series analysis, the Hilbert-Huang Transform, to the search for gravitational waves. This algorithm is adaptive and does not impose a basis set on the data, and thus the time-frequency decomposition it provides is not limited by time-frequency uncertainty spreading. Because of its high time-frequency resolution it has important applications to both signal detection and instrumental characterization. Applications to the data analysis of the ground and space based gravitational wave detectors, LIGO and LISA, are described.

Camp, Jordan B.↗

Remote Sensing of the Radiative and Microphysical Properties of Clouds during TC4: Results from MAS, MASTER, MODIS, and MISR

The MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) and MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) were used to obtain measurements of the bidirectional reflectance and brightness temperature of clouds at 50 discrete wavelengths between 0.47 and 14.3 (12.9 m for MASTER). These observations were obtained from the NASA ER-2 aircraft as part of the Tropical Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4) conducted over Central America and surrounding Pacific and Atlantic Oceans between July 17 and August 8, 2007. Multispectral images in eight distinct bands were used to derive a confidence in clear sky (or alternatively the probability of cloud) over land and ocean ecosystems. Based on the results of individual tests run as part of this cloud mask, an algorithm was developed to estimate the phase of the clouds (liquid water, ice, or undetermined phase). Finally, the cloud optical thickness and effective radius were derived for both liquid water and ice clouds that were detected during each flight, using a nearly identical algorithm as that implemented operationally to process MODIS cloud data from the Aqua and Terra satellites (Collection 5). This analysis shows that the cloud mask developed for operational use on MODIS, and tested using MAS and MASTER date in TC4, is quite capable of distinguishing both liquid water and ice clouds during daytime conditions over both land and ocean. The cloud optical thickness and effective radius retrievals used three distinct bands of the MAS (or MASTER), and these results were compared with nearly simultaneous retrievals of MODIS on the Terra spacecraft. Finally, this MODIS-based algorithm was adapted to MISR data to infer the cloud optical thickness of liquid water clouds from MISR. Results of this analysis will be presented and discussed.

King, Michael D.↗

Adaptive QoS in 802.11e Wireless Networks for Lunar Communications

This slide presentation reviews the issues around Adaptive Quality of Service (QoS) in wireless networks for lunar communications, and how a dynamic 802.11e standard meets the requirements for all aspects of communications for lunar surface missions. This paper focuses on the use of Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA). It includes a description of an adaptive QoS Algorithm, a review of the set up of the simulation of the 802.11e standard, and the results of the simulation are included.

quality of service,↗

Reactive Collision Avoidance Algorithm

The reactive collision avoidance (RCA) algorithm allows a spacecraft to find a fuel-optimal trajectory for avoiding an arbitrary number of colliding spacecraft in real time while accounting for acceleration limits. In addition to spacecraft, the technology can be used for vehicles that can accelerate in any direction, such as helicopters and submersibles. In contrast to existing, passive algorithms that simultaneously design trajectories for a cluster of vehicles working to achieve a common goal, RCA is implemented onboard spacecraft only when an imminent collision is detected, and then plans a collision avoidance maneuver for only that host vehicle, thus preventing a collision in an off-nominal situation for which passive algorithms cannot. An example scenario for such a situation might be when a spacecraft in the cluster is approaching another one, but enters safe mode and begins to drift. Functionally, the RCA detects colliding spacecraft, plans an evasion trajectory by solving the Evasion Trajectory Problem (ETP), and then recovers after the collision is avoided. A direct optimization approach was used to develop the algorithm so it can run in real time. In this innovation, a parameterized class of avoidance trajectories is specified, and then the optimal trajectory is found by searching over the parameters. The class of trajectories is selected as bang-off-bang as motivated by optimal control theory. That is, an avoiding spacecraft first applies full acceleration in a constant direction, then coasts, and finally applies full acceleration to stop. The parameter optimization problem can be solved offline and stored as a look-up table of values. Using a look-up table allows the algorithm to run in real time. Given a colliding spacecraft, the properties of the collision geometry serve as indices of the look-up table that gives the optimal trajectory. For multiple colliding spacecraft, the set of trajectories that avoid all spacecraft is rapidly searched on-line. The optimal avoidance trajectory is implemented as a receding-horizon model predictive control law. Therefore, at each time step, the optimal avoidance trajectory is found and the first time step of its acceleration is applied. At the next time step of the control computer, the problem is re-solved and the new first time step is again applied. This continual updating allows the RCA algorithm to adapt to a colliding spacecraft that is making erratic course changes.

Scharf, Daniel↗

Remote Sensing of Radiative and Microphysical Properties of Clouds During TC (sup 4): Results from MAS, MASTER, MODIS, and MISR

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Airborne Simulator (MAS) and MODIS/Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Airborne Simulator (MASTER) were used to obtain measurements of the bidirectional reflectance and brightness temperature of clouds at 50 discrete wavelengths between 0.47 and 14.2 microns (12.9 microns for MASTER). These observations were obtained from the NASA ER-2 aircraft as part of the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling (TC4) experiment conducted over Central America and surrounding Pacific and Atlantic Oceans between 17 July and 8 August 2007. Multispectral images in eleven distinct bands were used to derive a confidence in clear sky (or alternatively the probability Of cloud) over land and ocean ecosystems. Based on the results of individual tests run as part of the cloud mask, an algorithm was developed to estimate the phase of the clouds (liquid water, ice, or undetermined phase). The cloud optical thickness and effective radius were derived for both liquid water and ice clouds that were detected during each flight, using a nearly identical algorithm to that implemented operationally to process MODIS Cloud data from the Aqua and Terra satellites (Collection 5). This analysis shows that the cloud mask developed for operational use on MODIS, and tested using MAS and MASTER data in TC(sup 4), is quite capable of distinguishing both liquid water and ice clouds during daytime conditions over both land and ocean. The cloud optical thickness and effective radius retrievals use five distinct bands of the MAS (or MASTER), and these results were compared with nearly simultaneous retrievals of marine liquid water clouds from MODIS on the Terra spacecraft. Finally, this MODIS-based algorithm was adapted to Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) data to infer the cloud optical thickness Of liquid water clouds from MISR. Results of this analysis are compared and contrasted.

King, Michael D.↗

High Energy Laser Beam Propagation in the Atmosphere: The Integral Invariants of the Nonlinear Parabolic Equation and the Method of Moments

The method of moments is used to define and derive expressions for laser beam deflection and beam radius broadening for high-energy propagation through the Earth s atmosphere. These expressions are augmented with the integral invariants of the corresponding nonlinear parabolic equation that describes the electric field of high-energy laser beam to propagation to yield universal equations for the aforementioned quantities; the beam deflection is a linear function of the propagation distance whereas the beam broadening is a quadratic function of distance. The coefficients of these expressions are then derived from a thin screen approximation solution of the nonlinear parabolic equation to give corresponding analytical expressions for a target located outside the Earth s atmospheric layer. These equations, which are graphically presented for a host of propagation scenarios, as well as the thin screen model, are easily amenable to the phase expansions of the wave front for the specification and design of adaptive optics algorithms to correct for the inherent phase aberrations. This work finds application in, for example, the analysis of beamed energy propulsion for space-based vehicles.

Manning, Robert M.↗

Adaptive control based on retrospective cost optimization

A discrete-time adaptive control law for stabilization, command following, and disturbance rejection that is effective for systems that are unstable, MIMO, and/or nonminimum phase. The adaptive control algorithm includes guidelines concerning the modeling information needed for implementation. This information includes the relative degree, the first nonzero Markov parameter, and the nonminimum-phase zeros. Except when the plant has nonminimum-phase zeros whose absolute value is less than the plant's spectral radius, the required zero information can be approximated by a sufficient number of Markov parameters. No additional information about the poles or zeros need be known. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the algorithm's effectiveness in handling systems with errors in the required modeling data, unknown latency, sensor noise, and saturation.

Santillo, Mario A.↗

PredGuid+A: Orion Entry Guidance Modified for Aerocapture

PredGuid+A software was developed to enable a unique numerical predictor-corrector aerocapture guidance capability that builds on heritage Orion entry guidance algorithms. The software can be used for both planetary entry and aerocapture applications. Furthermore, PredGuid+A implements a new Delta-V minimization guidance option that can take the place of traditional targeting guidance and can result in substantial propellant savings. PredGuid+A allows the user to set a mode flag and input a target orbit's apoapsis and periapsis. Using bank angle control, the guidance will then guide the vehicle to the appropriate post-aerocapture orbit using one of two algorithms: Apoapsis Targeting or Delta-V Minimization (as chosen by the user). Recently, the PredGuid guidance algorithm was adapted for use in skip-entry scenarios for NASA's Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle (MPCV). To leverage flight heritage, most of Orion's entry guidance routines are adapted from the Apollo program.

Lafleur, Jarret↗

Photopolarimetric Retrievals of Snow Properties

Polarimetric observations of snow surfaces, obtained in the 410-2264 nm range with the Research Scanning Polarimeter onboard the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft, are analyzed and presented. These novel measurements are of interest to the remote sensing community because the overwhelming brightness of snow plagues aerosol and cloud retrievals based on airborne and spaceborne total reflection measurements. The spectral signatures of the polarized reflectance of snow are therefore worthwhile investigating in order to provide guidance for the adaptation of algorithms currently employed for the retrieval of aerosol properties over soil and vegetated surfaces. At the same time, the increased information content of polarimetric measurements allows for a meaningful characterization of the snow medium. In our case, the grains are modeled as hexagonal prisms of variable aspect ratios and microscale roughness, yielding retrievals of the grains' scattering asymmetry parameter, shape and size. The results agree with our previous findings based on a more limited data set, with the majority of retrievals leading to moderately rough crystals of extreme aspect ratios, for each scene corresponding to a single value of the asymmetry parameter.

aspect ratio↗

Preliminary Study of JPSS-1/NOAA-20 VIIRS Day-Night Band Straylight Characterization and Correction Methods

The JPSS-1 (now named NOAA-20) VIIRS instrument has successfully operated since its launch in November 18, 2017. A panchromatic channel onboard NOAA-20 VIIRS is called the day-night band (DNB). With its large dynamic range and high sensitivity, the DNB detectors can make observations during both daytime and nighttime. However, the DNB night image quality is affected by the straylight contamination. In this study, we focused on Earth view data in the midto-high latitude of the northern and southern hemispheres when spacecraft is crossing the day/night terminators at the beginning of NOAA-20 mission. Based on on-orbit data analysis from previous VIIRS sensor onboard S-NPP mission, straylight contamination mainly depends on the Earth-Sun-spacecraft geometry, and it is also detector and scan-angle dependent. Inter-comparison investigation of straylight behavior in both SNPP and NOAA-20 instruments will be conducted to better understand straylight characteristics. The preliminary study has been performed in this paper to mitigate straylight contamination for NOAA-20VIIRS DNB night images. The effectiveness of the straylight correction algorithm, directly adapted from the S-NPP DNB, is assessed for night images in the day/night terminators. Further work has been identified to improve current straylight correction methodology and DNB-based environmental data products.NOAA-20.

Day-Night Band↗

Discovery and Vetting of Exoplanets. I. Benchmarking K2 Vetting Tools

We have adapted the algorithmic tools developed during the Kepler mission to vet the quality of transit-like signals for use on the K2 mission data. Using the four sets of publicly available light curves at MAST, we produced a uniformly vetted catalog of 772 transiting planet candidates from K2 as listed at the NASA Exoplanet Archive in the K2 Table of Candidates. Our analysis marks 676 of these as planet candidates and 96 as false positives. All confirmed planets pass our vetting tests. Sixty of our false positives are new identifications, effectively doubling the overall number of astrophysical signals mimicking planetary transits in K2 data. Most of the targets listed as false positives in our catalog show either prominent secondary eclipses, transit depths suggesting a stellar companion instead of a planet, or significant photocenter shifts during transit. We packaged our tools into the open-source, automated vetting pipeline Discovery and Vetting of Exoplanets (DAVE), designed to streamline follow-up efforts by reducing the time and resources wasted observing targets that are likely false positives. DAVE will also be a valuable tool for analyzing planet candidates from NASA's TESS mission, where several guest-investigator programs will provide independent light-curve sets—and likely many more from the community. We are currently testing DAVE on recently released TESS planet candidates and will present our results in a follow-up paper.

Kostov, Veselin B.↗

A Generalized Guidance Approach to In-Space Solid-Propellant Vehicle Maneuvers

Exploration-class vehicles that require fully autonomous ascent and descent must employ robust, explicit path-adaptive guidance algorithms that can operate in a wide range of physical environments. Vehicle designs that employ solid-propellant rocket motors (SRMs) for maneuvers are attractive from a systems engineering perspective because of their simplicity and reliability, but may cause complications for both mission designers and GNC engineers when dealing with total impulse uncertainty, as well as proper energy management of a motor with an uncontrolled cutoff time. This paper presents a simplified guidance algorithm, named Simple Cross-Product Steering (SxS), that was derived during early studies of NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission’s Mars Ascent Vehicle. The algorithm takes roots in a flight-proven guidance algorithm commonly referred to as Cross-Product Steering. SxS has been shown to provide sufficient guidance accuracy for in-space SRM burns in a simulated Martian environment, and preliminary studies have been conducted to test the algorithm in a solid-propellant lunar braking scenario. A method for predicting proper motor ignition time during execution of the Cross-Product Steering algorithm is the primary contribution of this paper. Mechanization notes are also provided that were realized in early phases of MAV. Results are shown for an example ascent vehicle in a simulated Mars environment.

GNC↗

A Generalized Guidance Approach to In-Space Solid-Propellant Vehicle Maneuvers

Exploration-class vehicles that require fully autonomous ascent and descent must employ robust, explicit path-adaptive guidance algorithms that can operate in a wide range of physical environments. Vehicle designs that employ solid-propellant rocket motors (SRMs) for maneuvers are attractive from a system engineering perspective because of their simplicity and reliability but may cause complications for both mission designers and GNC engineers when dealing with total impulse uncertainty, as well as proper energy management of a motor with an uncontrolled cutoff time. This paper presents a simplified guidance algorithm, named Simple Cross-Product Steering (SxS), that was derived during early studies of NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission’s Mars Ascent Vehicle. The algorithm takes roots in a flight-proven guidance algorithm commonly referred to as Cross-Product Steering. This algorithm has been shown to provide sufficient guidance accuracy for in-space SRM burns in a simulated Martian environment, and preliminary studies have been conducted to test the algorithm in a solid-propellant lunar braking scenario. A method for predicting proper motor ignition time during execution of the Cross-Product Steering algorithm is the primary contribution of this paper. Mechanization notes are also provided that were realized in early phases of MAV. Results are shown for an example ascent vehicle a simulated Mars environment.

Jason M Everett↗

An Adaptive Buddy Check for Observational Quality Control

An adaptive buddy check algorithm is presented that adjusts tolerances for outlier observations based on the variability of surrounding data. The algorithm derives from a statistical hypothesis test combined with maximum-likelihood covariance estimation. Its stability is shown to depend on the initial identification of outliers by a simple background check. The adaptive feature ensures that the final quality control decisions are not very sensitive to prescribed statistics of first-guess and observation errors, nor on other approximations introduced into the algorithm. The implementation of the algorithm in a global atmospheric data assimilation is described. Its performance is contrasted with that of a non-adaptive buddy check, for the surface analysis of an extreme storm that took place in Europe on 27 December 1999. The adaptive algorithm allowed the inclusion of many important observations that differed greatly from the first guess and that would have been excluded on the basis of prescribed statistics. The analysis of the storm development was much improved as a result of these additional observations.

Dee, Dick P.↗