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NASA NTRS1998

Orbit selection and its impact on radiation warning architecture for a human mission to Mars

With the recent announcement of the discovery of the possibility of life on Mars, there is renewed interest in Mars missions, perhaps eventually in human missions. Astronauts on such missions are at risk to occasional periods of enhanced high energy particle flux from the sun known as Solar Particle Events. These events can pose a substantial risk to the health of the astronauts and to the on-board electronics. Effective forecast and warning of these events could provide time to take steps to minimize the risk (retreating to a safe haven, shutting down sensitive equipment, etc.) Providing that forecast capability, will require additional monitoring capability. The extent of this architecture is sensitive to the orbit selected for the transfer to and from Mars. This paper looks at the major classes of Mars missions (Conjunction and Opposition) and sub-categories of these classes and draws conclusions on the number of monitoring satellites needed for each, with a goal to reducing total system cost through optimum orbit selection.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2001

NASA Safety and Health (Short Form). Final rule

This final rule adopts with changes the interim rule published in the Federal Register on April 5, 2001 (65 FR 18051-18053), which amended the NASA FAR Supplement to implement a Safety and Health (Short Form) clause to address safety and occupational health in all NASA contracts above the micro-purchase threshold where the existing Safety and Health clause did not apply, and amended other safety and health clauses to be consistent with the new NASA Safety and Health (Short Form) clause.

Contract Services↗
NASA NTRS2007

Crew Exploration Vehicle Environmental Control and Life Support Fire Protection Approach

As part of preparing for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) worked on developing the requirements to manage the fire risk. The new CEV poses unique challenges to current fire protection systems. The size and configuration of the vehicle resembles the Apollo capsule instead of the current Space Shuttle or the International Space Station. The smaller free air volume and fully cold plated avionic bays of the CEV requires a different approach in fire protection than the ones currently utilized. The fire protection approach discussed in this paper incorporates historical lessons learned and fire detection and suppression system design philosophy spanning from Apollo to the International Space Station. Working with NASA fire and materials experts, this approach outlines the best requirements for both the closed out area of the vehicle, such as the avionics bay, and the crew cabin area to address the unique challenges due to the size and configuration of the CEV.

Lewis, John F.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Using SCOR as a Supply Chain Management Framework for Government Agency Contract Requirements

This paper will present a model that uses the Supply-Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model as a foundation for a framework to illustrate the information needed throughout a product lifecycle to support a healthy supply chain management function and the subsequent contract requirements to enable it. It will also show where in the supply chain the information must be extracted. The ongoing case study used to exemplify the model is NASA's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Ares I program for human spaceflight. Effective supply chain management and contract requirements are ongoing opportunities for continuous improvement within government agencies, specifically development of systems for human spaceflight operations. Multiple reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reinforce this importance. The SCOR model is a framework for describing a supply chain with process building blocks and business activities. It provides a set of metrics for measuring supply chain performance and best practices for continuously improving. This paper expands the application of the SCOR to also provide the framework for defining information needed from different levels of the supply chain and at different phases of the lifecycle. These needs can be incorporated into contracts to enable more effective supply chain management. Depending on the phase of the lifecycle, effective supply chain management will require involvement from different levels of the organization and different levels of the supply chain.

Paxton, Joseph↗
NASA NTRS2011

Human-Robot Interaction Directed Research Project

Human-robot interaction (HRI) is about understanding and shaping the interactions between humans and robots (Goodrich & Schultz, 2007). It is important to evaluate how the design of interfaces and command modalities affect the human s ability to perform tasks accurately, efficiently, and effectively (Crandall, Goodrich, Olsen Jr., & Nielsen, 2005) It is also critical to evaluate the effects of human-robot interfaces and command modalities on operator mental workload (Sheridan, 1992) and situation awareness (Endsley, Bolt , & Jones, 2003). By understanding the effects of interface design on human performance, workload, and situation awareness, interfaces can be developed that support the human in performing tasks with minimal errors and with appropriate interaction time and effort. Thus, the results of research on human-robot interfaces have direct implications for design. Because the factors associated with interfaces and command modalities in HRI are too numerous to address in 3 years of research, the proposed research concentrates on three manageable areas applicable to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) robot systems. These topic areas emerged from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 work that included extensive literature reviews and observations of NASA systems. The three topic areas are: 1) video overlays, 2) camera views, and 3) command modalities. Each area is described in detail below, along with relevance to existing NASA human-robot systems. In addition to studies in these three topic areas, a workshop is proposed for FY12. The workshop will bring together experts in human-robot interaction and robotics to discuss the state of the practice as applicable to research in space robotics. Studies proposed in the area of video overlays consider two factors in the implementation of augmented reality (AR) for operator displays during teleoperation. The first of these factors is the type of navigational guidance provided by AR symbology. In the proposed studies, participants performance during teleoperation of a robot arm will be compared when they are provided with command-guidance symbology (that is, directing the operator what commands to make) or situation-guidance symbology (that is, providing natural cues so that the operator can infer what commands to make). The second factor for AR symbology is the effects of overlays that are either superimposed or integrated into the external view of the world. A study is proposed in which the effects of superimposed and integrated overlays on operator task performance during teleoperated driving tasks are compared

Rochlis, Jennifer↗
NASA NTRS2012

Advisory Systems Save Time, Fuel for Airlines

Heinz Erzberger never thought the sky was falling, but he knew it could benefit from enhanced traffic control. Throughout the 1990s, Erzberger led a team at Ames Research Center to develop a suite of automated tools to reduce restrictions and improve the efficiency of air traffic control operations. Called CTAS, or Center-TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control) Automation System, the software won NASA s Software of the Year award in 1998, and one of the tools in the suite - the traffic management advisor - was adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration and implemented at traffic control centers across the United States. Another one of the tools, Direct-To, has followed a different path. The idea behind Direct-To, explains Erzberger, a senior scientist at Ames, was that airlines could save fuel and money by shortening the routes they flew between take-off and landing. Aircraft are often limited to following established airways comprised of inefficient route segments. The routes are not easily adjusted because neither the pilot nor the aircraft controller can anticipate the constantly changing air traffic situation. To make the routes more direct while in flight, Erzberger came up with an idea for a software algorithm that could automatically examine air traffic in real-time, check to see if a shortcut was available, and then check for conflicts. If there were no conflicts and the shortcut saved more than 1 minute of flight time, the controller could be notified. "I was trying to figure out what goes on in the pilot and controller s minds when they decide to guide the aircraft in a certain way. That resulted in a different kind analysis," Erzberger says. As the engineer s idea went from theory to practice, in 2001, NASA demonstrated Direct-To in the airspace of Dallas-Ft. Worth. Estimations based on the demonstration found the technology was capable of saving 900 flying minutes per day for the aircraft in the test area.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA's Space Launch System: Affordability for Sustainability

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is charged with delivering a new capability for human exploration beyond Earth orbit in an austere economic climate. But the SLS value is clear and codified in United States (U.S.) budget law. The SLS Program knows that affordability is the key to sustainability and will provide an overview of initiatives designed to fit within the funding guidelines by using existing engine assets and hardware now in testing to meet a first launch by 2017 within the projected budget. It also has a long-range plan to keep the budget flat, yet evolve the 70-tonne (t) initial lift capability to 130-t lift capability after the first two flights. To achieve the evolved configuration, advanced technologies must offer appropriate return on investment to be selected through the competitive process. For context, the SLS will be larger than the Saturn V that took 12 men on 6 trips for a total of 11 days on the lunar surface some 40 years ago. Astronauts train for long-duration voyages on platforms such as the International Space Station, but have not had transportation to go beyond Earth orbit in modern times, until now. To arrive at the launch vehicle concept, the SLS Program conducted internal engineering and business studies that have been externally validated by industry and reviewed by independent assessment panels. In parallel with SLS concept studies, NASA is now refining its mission manifest, guided by U.S. space policy and the Global Exploration Roadmap, which reflects the mutual goals of a dozen member nations. This mission planning will converge with a flexible heavy-lift rocket that can carry international crews and the air, water, food, and equipment they need for extended trips to asteroids and Mars. In addition, the SLS capability will accommodate very large science instruments and other payloads, using a series of modular fairings and adapters to configure the rocket for the mission. The SLS affordability plan includes streamlining interfaces, applying risk-based insight into contracted work, centralizing systems engineering and integration, and nurturing a learning culture where the question Why? is often asked and the answer "Because we've always done it that way" is rarely heard. The SLS Program will deliver affordable space transportation solutions for the Orion Multi-Purpose Cargo Vehicle s first autonomous certification flight in 2017, followed by a crewed flight in 2021. As this briefing will show, the SLS will offer a global infrastructure asset for robotic and human scouts of all nations.

May, Todd A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA Space Launch System Operations Strategy

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), is charged with delivering a new capability for human and scientific exploration beyond Earth orbit (BEO). The SLS may also provide backup crew and cargo services to the International Space Station, where astronauts have been training for long-duration voyages to destinations such as asteroids and Mars. For context, the SLS will be larger than the Saturn V, providing 10 percent more thrust at liftoff in its initial 70 metric ton (t) configuration and 20 percent more in its evolved 130-t configuration. The SLS Program knows that affordability is the key to sustainability. This paper will provide an overview of its operations strategy, which includes initiatives to reduce both development and fixed costs by using existing hardware and infrastructure assets to meet a first launch by 2017 within the projected budget. It also has a long-range plan to keep the budget flat using competitively selected advanced technologies that offer appropriate return on investment. To arrive at the launch vehicle concept, the SLS Program conducted internal engineering and business studies that have been externally validated by industry and reviewed by independent assessment panels. A series of design reference missions has informed the SLS operations concept, including launching the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) on an autonomous demonstration mission in a lunar flyby scenario in 2017, and the first flight of a crew on Orion for a lunar flyby in 2021. Additional concepts address the processing of very large payloads, using a series of modular fairings and adapters to flexibly configure the rocket for the mission. This paper will describe how the SLS, Orion, and Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) programs are working together to create streamlined, affordable operations for sustainable exploration for decades to come.

Singer, Joan A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA Space Launch System Operations Strategy

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is charged with delivering a new capability for human and scientific exploration beyond Earth orbit. The SLS also will provide backup crew and cargo services to the International Space Station, where astronauts have been training for long-duration voyages to destinations such as asteroids and Mars. For context, the SLS will be larger than the Saturn V, providing 10 percent more thrust at liftoff in its initial 70 metric ton (t) configuration and 20 percent more in its evolved 130 t configuration. The SLS Program knows that affordability is the key to sustainability. This paper will provide an overview of its operations strategy, which includes initiatives to reduce both development and fixed costs by using existing hardware and infrastructure assets to meet a first launch by 2017 within the projected budget. It also has a long-range plan to keep the budget flat using competitively selected advanced technologies that offer appropriate return on investment. To arrive at the launch vehicle concept, the SLS Program conducted internal engineering and business studies that have been externally validated by industry and reviewed by independent assessment panels. A series of design reference missions has informed the SLS operations concept, including launching the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle on an autonomous demonstration mission in a lunar flyby scenario in 2017, and the first flight of a crew on Orion for a lunar flyby in 2021. Additional concepts address the processing of very large payloads, using a series of modular fairings and adapters to flexibly configure the rocket for the mission. This paper will describe how the SLS, Orion, and 21st Century Ground Systems programs are working together to create streamlined, affordable operations for sustainable exploration.

Singer, Joan A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA's Space Launch System: A Flagship for Exploration Beyond Earth's Orbit

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is making progress toward delivering a new capability for exploration beyond Earth orbit in an austere economic climate. This fact drives the SLS team to find innovative solutions to the challenges of designing, developing, fielding, and operating the largest rocket in history. To arrive at the current SLS plan, government and industry experts carefully analyzed hundreds of architecture options and arrived at the one clear solution to stringent requirements for safety, affordability, and sustainability over the decades that the rocket will be in operation. This paper will explore ways to fit this major development within the funding guidelines by using existing engine assets and hardware now in testing to meet a first launch by 2017. It will explain the SLS Program s long-range plan to keep the budget within bounds, yet evolve the 70 metric ton (t) initial lift capability to 130-t lift capability after the first two flights. To achieve the evolved configuration, advanced technologies must offer appropriate return on investment to be selected through a competitive process. For context, the SLS will be larger than the Saturn V that took 12 men on 6 trips for a total of 11 days on the lunar surface over 4 decades ago. Astronauts train for long-duration voyages on the International Space Station, but have not had transportation to go beyond Earth orbit in modern times, until now. NASA is refining its mission manifest, guided by U.S. Space Policy and the Global Exploration Roadmap. Launching the Orion Multi-Purpose Cargo Vehicle s first autonomous certification flight in 2017, followed by a crewed flight in 2021, the SLS will offer a robust way to transport international crews and the air, water, food, and equipment they need for extended trips to asteroids, Lagrange Points, and Mars. In addition, the SLS will accommodate high-priority science experiments. SLS affordability initiatives include streamlining interfaces, applying risk-based insight into contracted work, centralizing systems engineering and integration, and nurturing a learning culture that continually benchmarks its performance against successful ventures. As this paper will explain, the SLS is making measurable progress toward becoming a global infrastructure asset for robotic and human scouts of all nations by harnessing business and technological innovations to deliver sustainable solutions for space exploration.

May, Todd↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA's Space Launch System: A Flagship for Exploration Beyond Earth's Orbit

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is making progress toward delivering a new capability for exploration beyond Earth orbit in an austere economic climate. This fact drives the SLS team to find innovative solutions to the challenges of designing, developing, fielding, and operating the largest rocket in history. To arrive at the current SLS plan, government and industry experts carefully analyzed hundreds of architecture options and arrived at the one clear solution to stringent requirements for safety, affordability, and sustainability over the decades that the rocket will be in operation. This paper will explore ways to fit this major development within the funding guidelines by using existing engine assets and hardware now in testing to meet a first launch by 2017. It will explain the SLS Program s long-range plan to keep the budget within bounds, yet evolve the 70 metric ton (t) initial lift capability to 130-t lift capability after the first two flights. To achieve the evolved configuration, advanced technologies must offer appropriate return on investment to be selected through a competitive process. For context, the SLS will be larger than the Saturn V that took 12 men on 6 trips for a total of 11 days on the lunar surface over 4 decades ago. Astronauts train for long-duration voyages on the International Space Station, but have not had transportation to go beyond Earth orbit in modern times, until now. NASA is refining its mission manifest, guided by U.S. Space Policy and the Global Exploration Roadmap. Launching the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle s (MPCV s) first autonomous certification flight in 2017, followed by a crewed flight in 2021, the SLS will offer a robust way to transport international crews and the air, water, food, and equipment they need for extended trips to asteroids, Lagrange Points, and Mars. In addition, the SLS will accommodate high-priority science experiments. SLS affordability initiatives include streamlining interfaces, applying risk-based insight into contracted work, centralizing systems engineering and integration, and nurturing a learning culture that continually benchmarks its performance against successful ventures. As this paper will explain, the SLS is making measurable progress toward becoming a global infrastructure asset for robotic and human scouts of all nations by harnessing business and technological innovations to deliver sustainable solutions for space exploration.

May, Todd A.↗
NASA NTRS2013

NASA's Space Launch System: One Vehicle, Many Destinations

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is making progress toward delivering a new capability for exploration beyond Earth orbit (BEO). Developed with the goals of safety, affordability and sustainability in mind, SLS will start with 10 percent more thrust than the Saturn V rocket that launched astronauts to the Moon 40 years ago. From there it will evolve into the most powerful launch vehicle ever flown, via an upgrade approach that will provide building blocks for future space exploration and development. The International Space Exploration Coordination Group, representing 12 of the world's space agencies, has worked together to create the Global Exploration Roadmap, which outlines paths towards a human landing on Mars, beginning with capability-demonstrating missions to the Moon or an asteroid. The Roadmap and corresponding NASA research outline the requirements for reference missions for all three destinations. This paper will explore the requirements needed for missions to BEO destinations, and the capability of SLS to meet those requirements and enable those missions. It will explain how NASA will execute this development within flat budgetary guidelines by using existing engines assets and heritage technology, from the initial 70 metric ton (t) lift capability through a block upgrade approach to an evolved 130-t capability. The SLS will offer a robust way to transport international crews and the air, water, food, and equipment they would need for extended trips to asteroids, the Moon, and Mars. In addition, this paper will detail SLS's capability to support missions beyond the human exploration roadmap, including robotic precursor missions to other worlds or uniquely high-mass space operation facilities in Earth orbit. As this paper will explain, the SLS provides game-changing mass and volume lift capability that makes it enhancing or enabling for a variety of unprecedented human and robotic missions.

May, Todd A.↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA Space Launch System Operations Outlook

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), is working with the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program, based at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), to deliver a new safe, affordable, and sustainable capability for human and scientific exploration beyond Earth's orbit (BEO). Larger than the Saturn V Moon rocket, SLS will provide 10 percent more thrust at liftoff in its initial 70 metric ton (t) configuration and 20 percent more in its evolved 130-t configuration. The primary mission of the SLS rocket will be to launch astronauts to deep space destinations in the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), also in development and managed by the Johnson Space Center. Several high-priority science missions also may benefit from the increased payload volume and reduced trip times offered by this powerful, versatile rocket. Reducing the life-cycle costs for NASA's space transportation flagship will maximize the exploration and scientific discovery returned from the taxpayer's investment. To that end, decisions made during development of SLS and associated systems will impact the nation's space exploration capabilities for decades. This paper will provide an update to the operations strategy presented at SpaceOps 2012. It will focus on: 1) Preparations to streamline the processing flow and infrastructure needed to produce and launch the world's largest rocket (i.e., through incorporation and modification of proven, heritage systems into the vehicle and ground systems); 2) Implementation of a lean approach to reachback support of hardware manufacturing, green-run testing, and launch site processing and activities; and 3) Partnering between the vehicle design and operations communities on state-ofthe- art predictive operations analysis techniques. An example of innovation is testing the integrated vehicle at the processing facility in parallel, rather than sequentially, saving both time and money. These themes are accomplished under the context of a new cross-program integration model that emphasizes peer-to-peer accountability and collaboration towards a common, shared goal. Utilizing the lessons learned through 50 years of human space flight experience, SLS is assigning the right number of people from appropriate backgrounds, providing them the right tools, and exercising the right processes for the job. The result will be a powerful, versatile, and capable heavy-lift, human-rated asset for the future human and scientific exploration of space.

Hefner, William Keith↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA Space Launch System Operations Outlook

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), is working with the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program, based at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), to deliver a new safe, affordable, and sustainable capability for human and scientific exploration beyond Earth's orbit (BEO). Larger than the Saturn V Moon rocket, SLS will provide 10 percent more thrust at liftoff in its initial 70 metric ton (t) configuration and 20 percent more in its evolved 130-t configuration. The primary mission of the SLS rocket will be to launch astronauts to deep space destinations in the Orion Multi- Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), also in development and managed by the Johnson Space Center. Several high-priority science missions also may benefit from the increased payload volume and reduced trip times offered by this powerful, versatile rocket. Reducing the lifecycle costs for NASA's space transportation flagship will maximize the exploration and scientific discovery returned from the taxpayer's investment. To that end, decisions made during development of SLS and associated systems will impact the nation's space exploration capabilities for decades. This paper will provide an update to the operations strategy presented at SpaceOps 2012. It will focus on: 1) Preparations to streamline the processing flow and infrastructure needed to produce and launch the world's largest rocket (i.e., through incorporation and modification of proven, heritage systems into the vehicle and ground systems); 2) Implementation of a lean approach to reach-back support of hardware manufacturing, green-run testing, and launch site processing and activities; and 3) Partnering between the vehicle design and operations communities on state-of-the-art predictive operations analysis techniques. An example of innovation is testing the integrated vehicle at the processing facility in parallel, rather than sequentially, saving both time and money. These themes are accomplished under the context of a new cross-program integration model that emphasizes peer-to-peer accountability and collaboration towards a common, shared goal. Utilizing the lessons learned through 50 years of human space flight experience, SLS is assigning the right number of people from appropriate backgrounds, providing them the right tools, and exercising the right processes for the job. The result will be a powerful, versatile, and capable heavy-lift, human-rated asset for the future human and scientific exploration of space.

Hefner, William Keith↗
NASA NTRS2015

3-D Printed Ultem 9085 Testing and Analysis

The purpose of this document is to analyze the mechanical properties of 3-D printed Ultem 9085. This document will focus on the capabilities, limitations, and complexities of 3D printing in general, and explain the methods by which this material is tested. Because 3-D printing is a relatively new process that offers an innovative means to produce hardware, it is important that the aerospace community understands its current advantages and limitations, so that future endeavors involving 3-D printing may be completely safe. This document encompasses three main sections: a Slosh damage assessment, a destructive test of 3-D printed Ultem 9085 samples, and a test to verify simulation for the 3-D printed SDP (SPHERES Docking Port). Described below, 'Slosh' and 'SDP' refer to two experiments that are built using Ultem 9085 for use with the SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) program onboard the International Space Station (ISS) [16]. The SPHERES Facility is managed out of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center in California.

Aguilar, Daniel↗
NASA NTRS2016

A Vision and Roadmap for Increasing User Autonomy in Flight Operations in the National Airspace

The purpose of Air Transportation is to move people and cargo safely, efficiently and swiftly to their destinations. The companies and individuals who use aircraft for this purpose, the airspace users, desire to operate their aircraft according to a dynamically optimized business trajectory for their specific mission and operational business model. In current operations, the dynamic optimization of business trajectories is limited by constraints built into operations in the National Airspace System (NAS) for reasons of safety and operational needs of the air navigation service providers. NASA has been developing and testing means to overcome many of these constraints and permit operations to be conducted closer to the airspace user's changing business trajectory as conditions unfold before and during the flight. A roadmap of logical steps progressing toward increased user autonomy is proposed, beginning with NASA's Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) concept that enables flight crews to make informed, deconflicted flight-optimization requests to air traffic control. These steps include the use of data communications for route change requests and approvals, integration with time-based arrival flow management processes under development by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), increased user authority for defining and modifying downstream, strategic portions of the trajectory, and ultimately application of self-separation. This progression takes advantage of existing FAA NextGen programs and RTCA standards development, and it is designed to minimize the number of hardware upgrades required of airspace users to take advantage of these advanced capabilities to achieve dynamically optimized business trajectories in NAS operations. The roadmap is designed to provide operational benefits to first adopters so that investment decisions do not depend upon a large segment of the user community becoming equipped before benefits can be realized. The issues of equipment certification and operational approval of new procedures are addressed in a way that minimizes their impact on the transition by deferring a change in the assignment of separation responsibility until a large body of operational data is available to support the safety case for this change in the last roadmap step.This paper will relate the roadmap steps to ongoing activities to clarify the economics-based transition to these technologies for operational use.

Cotton, William B.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Assessing C2 Communications

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project works to develop tools and technologies essential for safely enabling civilian low-altitude UAS operations. Currently there is no established infrastructure to enable and safely manage the widespread use of low-altitude airspace and UAS operations, regardless of the type of UAS. The UTM technical challenge will develop comprehensive and validated airspace operations and integration requirements to safely enable large-scale persistent access to visual line of sight and autonomous beyond visual line of sight small UAS in low-altitude airspace. Within the UTM project, a number of communications technologies to support UTM command and control (C2) are under investigation. In particular, commercial networked cellular systems are being tested and assessed for their ability to meet the reliability, scalability, cybersecurity and redundancy required. NASA Glenn Research Center is studying some of the aspects of employing such networks for UTM C2 communications. This includes the development of a test platform for sensing and characterizing the airborne C2 communications environment at various altitudes and in various terrains and topologies, measuring such aspects as received signal strength and interference. System performance aspects such as latency in the link, handover performance, packet error loss rate, drop outs, coverage gaps and other aspects impacting UTM operation will also be assessed. In this paper we explore some of the C2 approaches being proposed and demonstrated in the UTM project, the reliability, availability and other general C2 performance requirements, and approaches to evaluating and analyzing UTM C2 links based on commercial cellular networks.

aircraft communications↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

2022 Spring Internship Exit Presentation

As efforts of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continue to digitize the air traffic management (ATM) domain, there is countless times of need for downstream natural language processing (NLP) tasks such as named entity recognition, text summarization, classification, and more. Although there are a plethora of open-sourced pre-trained transformer models in the NLP field such as BERT, RoBERTa, XLNet, and GPT-3, these models are trained on general corpora and perform poorly on domain-specific terminology and phraseology seen in ATM documents such as Notice to Airmen (NOTAMs) and Letters of Agreement (LoA). Our proposed research objective will be to first gather a large corpus of air traffic management related documents, orders, notices, books, technical papers, conference papers, articles, and other miscellaneous sources of text data from the FAA, NASA, and accredited conference and publication societies. After gathering this data, many steps will have to be taken to collate and preprocess the data into a format understandable by our test transformer models. Thirdly, we will set up training pipelines to train the RoBERTa model on its unsupervised training task masked language modelling (MLM) using resources provided by the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) facilities. Finally, these fine-tuned transformer models will be evaluated on their performance on down-stream NLP tasks as mentioned above, to show whether they will be effective when working with ATM related data or not. Once complete, this model could be made open-sourced on the HuggingFace website, where the rest of the ATM community can access and utilize this tool.

NLP↗