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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2008

Best Practices for Researching and Documenting Lessons Learned

Identification, resolution, and avoidance of technical and programmatic issues are important for ensuring safe and successful space missions. Although the importance of applying lessons learned to reduce risk is frequently stressed, there is little material available to help technical and management personnel research and document lessons learned. Collecting, researching, identifying, and documenting lessons learned that will be useful to current and future management and engineering personnel is not always a straightforward task. This white paper presents lessons learned and best practices concerning the research and documentation of technical and organizational lessons learned. It is intended to enable organizations to initiate or improve lessons learned research and documentation efforts. The content of this white paper is based on four technical lessons learned projects conducted by the United Space Alliance (USA) Flight Design and Dynamics Department, in support of the NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC) Flight Design and Dynamics Division. Each project published a report, titled as follows: (1) GPS Lessons Learned From the ISS, Space Shuttle and X-38; (2) Lessons Learned From Seven Space Shuttle Missions; (3) Space Shuttle Rendezvous and Proximity Operations Experience Report; and (4) Navigation Technical History with Lessons Learned. The four projects were different in availability of subject matter experts and primary source material, subject scope, and the level of effort required to produce the final report. However, generic lessons can be drawn from all of them. The best practices will be discussed by the phases of report research and development: (1) Defining Report Requirements, Project Organization, and Schedule; (2) Collection and Analysis of Source Material; (3) Writing and Integrating the Report; and (4) Review and Revision of the Report.

Goodman, John L.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Real-Time Visualization of Spacecraft Telemetry for the GLAST and LRO Missions

GlastCam and LROCam are closely-related tools developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for real-time visualization of spacecraft telemetry, developed for the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) missions, respectively. Derived from a common simulation tool, they use related but different architectures to ingest real-time spacecraft telemetry and ground predicted ephemerides, and to compute and display features of special interest to each mission in its operational environment. We describe the architectures of GlastCam and LROCam, the customizations required to fit into the mission operations environment, and the features that were found to be especially useful in early operations for their respective missions. Both tools have a primary window depicting a three-dimensional Cam view of the spacecraft that may be freely manipulated by the user. The scene is augmented with fields of view, pointing constraints, and other features which enhance situational awareness. Each tool also has another "Map" window showing the spacecraft's groundtrack projected onto a map of the Earth or Moon, along with useful features such as the Sun, eclipse regions, and TDRS satellite locations. Additional windows support specialized checkout tasks. One such window shows the star tracker fields of view, with tracking window locations and the mission star catalog. This view was instrumental for GLAST in quickly resolving a star tracker mounting polarity issue; visualization made the 180-deg mismatch immediately obvious. Full access to GlastCam's source code also made possible a rapid coarse star tracker mounting calibration with some on the fly code adjustments; adding a fine grid to measure alignment offsets, and introducing a calibration quaternion which could be adjusted within GlastCam without perturbing the flight parameters. This calibration, from concept to completion, took less than half an hour. Both GlastCam and LROCam were developed in the C language, with non-proprietary support libraries, for ease of customization and portability. This no-blackboxes aspect enables engineers to adapt quickly to unforeseen circumstances in the intense operations environment. GlastCam and LROCam were installed on multiple workstations in the operations support rooms, allowing independent use by multiple subsystems, systems engineers and managers, with negligible draw on telemetry system resources.

Stoneking, Eric T.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Achieving Operability via the Mission System Paradigm

In the past, flight and ground systems have been developed largely-independently, with the flight system taking the lead, and dominating the development process. Operability issues have been addressed poorly in planning, requirements, design, I&T, and system-contracting activities. In many cases, as documented in lessons-learned, this has resulted in significant avoidable increases in cost and risk. With complex missions and systems, operability is being recognized as an important end-to-end design issue. Never-the-less, lessons-learned and operability concepts remain, in many cases, poorly understood and sporadically applied. A key to effective application of operability concepts is adopting a 'mission system' paradigm. In this paradigm, flight and ground systems are treated, from an engineering and management perspective, as inter-related elements of a larger mission system. The mission system consists of flight hardware, flight software, telecom services, ground data system, testbeds, flight teams, science teams, flight operations processes, procedures, and facilities. The system is designed in functional layers, which span flight and ground. It is designed in response to project-level requirements, mission design and an operations concept, and is developed incrementally, with early and frequent integration of flight and ground components.

ground systems↗
NASA NTRS2010

Forum on Workforce Development

APPEL Mission: To support NASA's mission by promoting individual, team, and organizational excellence in program/project management and engineering through the application of learning strategies, methods, models, and tools. Goals: a) Provide a common frame of reference for NASA s technical workforce. b) Provide and enhance critical job skills. c) Support engineering, program and project teams. d) Promote organizational learning across the agency. e) Supplement formal educational programs.

Hoffman, Edward↗
NASA NTRS2010

Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) Implementation in Rocket Engine Testing

A pilot operational ISHM capability has been implemented for the E-2 Rocket Engine Test Stand (RETS) and a Chemical Steam Generator (CSG) test article at NASA Stennis Space Center. The implementation currently includes an ISHM computer and a large display in the control room. The paper will address the overall approach, tools, and requirements. It will also address the infrastructure and architecture. Specific anomaly detection algorithms will be discussed regarding leak detection and diagnostics, valve validation, and sensor validation. It will also describe development and use of a Health Assessment Database System (HADS) as a repository for measurements, health, configuration, and knowledge related to a system with ISHM capability. It will conclude with a discussion of user interfaces, and a description of the operation of the ISHM system prior, during, and after testing.

Figueroa, Fernando↗
NASA NTRS2010

Liquid Acquisition Strategies for Exploration Missions: Current Status 2010

NASA is currently developing the propulsion system concepts for human exploration missions to the lunar surface. The propulsion concepts being investigated are considering the use of cryogenic propellants for the low gravity portion of the mission, that is, the lunar transit, lunar orbit insertion, lunar descent and the rendezvous in lunar orbit with a service module after ascent from the lunar surface. These propulsion concepts will require the vapor free delivery of the cryogenic propellants stored in the propulsion tanks to the exploration vehicles main propulsion system (MPS) engines and reaction control system (RCS) engines. Propellant management devices (PMD s) such as screen channel capillary liquid acquisition devices (LAD s), vanes and sponges currently are used for earth storable propellants in the Space Shuttle Orbiter OMS and RCS applications and spacecraft propulsion applications but only very limited propellant management capability exists for cryogenic propellants. NASA has begun a technology program to develop LAD cryogenic fluid management (CFM) technology through a government in-house ground test program of accurately measuring the bubble point delta-pressure for typical screen samples using LO2, LN2, LH2 and LCH4 as test fluids at various fluid temperatures and pressures. This presentation will document the CFM project s progress to date in concept designs, as well ground testing results.

Chato, David J.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Anatomy of a Security Operations Center

Many agencies and corporations are either contemplating or in the process of building a cyber Security Operations Center (SOC). Those Agencies that have established SOCs are most likely working on major revisions or enhancements to existing capabilities. As principle developers of the NASA SOC; this Presenters' goals are to provide the GFIRST community with examples of some of the key building blocks of an Agency scale cyber Security Operations Center. This presentation viII include the inputs and outputs, the facilities or shell, as well as the internal components and the processes necessary to maintain the SOC's subsistence - in other words, the anatomy of a SOC. Details to be presented include the SOC architecture and its key components: Tier 1 Call Center, data entry, and incident triage; Tier 2 monitoring, incident handling and tracking; Tier 3 computer forensics, malware analysis, and reverse engineering; Incident Management System; Threat Management System; SOC Portal; Log Aggregation and Security Incident Management (SIM) systems; flow monitoring; IDS; etc. Specific processes and methodologies discussed include Incident States and associated Work Elements; the Incident Management Workflow Process; Cyber Threat Risk Assessment methodology; and Incident Taxonomy. The Evolution of the Cyber Security Operations Center viII be discussed; starting from reactive, to proactive, and finally to proactive. Finally, the resources necessary to establish an Agency scale SOC as well as the lessons learned in the process of standing up a SOC viII be presented.

Wang, John↗
NASA NTRS2011

Software Development Standard Processes (SDSP)

A JPL-created set of standard processes is to be used throughout the lifecycle of software development. These SDSPs cover a range of activities, from management and engineering activities, to assurance and support activities. These processes must be applied to software tasks per a prescribed set of procedures. JPL s Software Quality Improvement Project is currently working at the behest of the JPL Software Process Owner to ensure that all applicable software tasks follow these procedures. The SDSPs are captured as a set of 22 standards in JPL s software process domain. They were developed in-house at JPL by a number of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) residing primarily within the Engineering and Science Directorate, but also from the Business Operations Directorate and Safety and Mission Success Directorate. These practices include not only currently performed best practices, but also JPL-desired future practices in key thrust areas like software architecting and software reuse analysis. Additionally, these SDSPs conform to many standards and requirements to which JPL projects are beholden.

Lavin, Milton L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Orion GN and C Model Based Development: Experience and Lessons Learned

The Orion Guidance Navigation and Control (GN&C) team is charged with developing GN&C algorithms for the Exploration Flight Test One (EFT-1) vehicle. The GN&C team is a joint team consisting primarily of Prime Contractor (Lockheed Martin) and NASA personnel and contractors. Early in the GN&C development cycle the team selected MATLAB/Simulink as the tool for developing GN&C algorithms and Mathworks autocode tools as the means for converting GN&C algorithms to flight software (FSW). This paper provides an assessment of the successes and problems encountered by the GN&C team from the perspective of Orion GN&C developers, integrators, FSW engineers and management. The Orion GN&C approach to graphical development, including simulation tools, standards development and autocode approaches are scored for the main activities that the team has completed through the development phases of the program.

Jackson, Mark C.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Calculating and Mitigating the Risk of a Cut Glove to a Space Walking Astronaut

One of the high risk operations on the International Space Station (ISS) is conducting a space walk, or an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA). Threats to the space walking crew include airlock failures, space suit failures, and strikes from micro ]meteoroids and orbital debris (MM/OD). There are risks of becoming untethered from the space station, being pinched between the robotic arm and a piece of equipment, tearing your suit on a sharp edge, and other human errors that can be catastrophic. For decades NASA identified and tried to control sharp edges on external structure and equipment by design; however a new and unexpected source of sharp edges has since become apparent. Until recently, one of the underappreciated environmental risks was damage to EVA gloves during a spacewalk. The ISS has some elements which have been flying in the environment of space for over 14 years. It has and continues to be bombarded with MM/OD strikes that have created small, sharp craters all over the structure, including the dedicated EVA handrails and surrounding structure. These craters are capable of cutting through several layers of the EVA gloves. Starting in 2006, five EVA crewmembers reported cuts in their gloves so large they rendered the gloves unusable and in some cases cut the spacewalk short for the safety of the crew. This new hazard took engineers and managers by surprise. NASA has set out to mitigate this risk to safety and operations by redesigning the spacesuit gloves to be more resilient and designing a clamp to isolate MM/OD strikes on handrails, and is considering the necessity of an additional tool to repair strikes on non ]handrail surfaces (such as a file). This paper will address how the ISS Risk Team quantified an estimate of the MM/OD damage to the ISS, and the resulting likelihood of sustaining a cut glove in order to measure the effectiveness of the solutions being investigated to mitigate this risk to the mission and crew.

Castillo, Theresa↗
NASA NTRS2008

Space Transportation Systems Life Cycle Cost Assessment and Control

Civil and military applications of space transportation have been pursued for just over 50 years and there has been, and still is, a need for safe, dependable, affordable, and sustainable space transportation systems. Fully expendable and partially reusable space transportation systems have been developed and put in operation that have not adequately achieved this need. Access to space is technically achievable, but presently very expensive and will remain so until there is a breakthrough in the way we do business. Since 1991 the national Space Propulsion Synergy Team (SPST) has reviewed and assessed the lessons learned from the major U.S. space programs of the past decades focusing on what has been learned from the assessment and control of Life Cycle Cost (LCC) from these systems. This paper presents the results of a selected number of studies and analyses that have been conducted by the SPST addressing the need, as well as the solutions, for improvement in LCC. The major emphasis of the SPST processes is on developing the space transportation system requirements first (up front). These requirements must include both the usual system flight performance requirements and also the system functional requirements, including the infrastructure on Earth's surface, in-space and on the Moon and Mars surfaces to determine LCC. This paper describes the development of specific innovative engineering and management approaches and processes. This includes a focus on flight hardware maturity for reliability, ground operations approaches, and business processes between contractor and government organizations. A major change in program/project cost control is being proposed by the SPST to achieve a sustainable space transportation system LCC - controlling cost as a program metric in addition to the existing practice of controlling performance and weight. Without a firm requirement and methodically structured cost control, it is unlikely that an affordable and sustainable space transportation system LCC will ever be achieved. '

Robinson, John W.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Aircraft Engine Gas Path Diagnostic Methods: Public Benchmarking Results

Recent technology reviews have identified the need for objective assessments of aircraft engine health management (EHM) technologies. To help address this issue, a gas path diagnostic benchmark problem has been created and made publicly available. This software tool, referred to as the Propulsion Diagnostic Method Evaluation Strategy (ProDiMES), has been constructed based on feedback provided by the aircraft EHM community. It provides a standard benchmark problem enabling users to develop, evaluate and compare diagnostic methods. This paper will present an overview of ProDiMES along with a description of four gas path diagnostic methods developed and applied to the problem. These methods, which include analytical and empirical diagnostic techniques, will be described and associated blind-test-case metric results will be presented and compared. Lessons learned along with recommendations for improving the public benchmarking processes will also be presented and discussed.

Simon, Donald L.↗
NASA NTRS2013

NASA Pathways Co-op Tour Johnson Space Center Fall 2013

This report outlines the tasks and objectives completed during a co‐operative education tour with National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. I worked for the Attitude & Pointing group of the Flight Dynamics Division within the Mission Operations Directorate at Johnson Space Center. NASA's primary mission is to support and expand the various ongoing space exploration programs and any research and development activities associated with it. My primary project required me to develop and a SharePoint web application for my group. My secondary objective was to become familiar with the role of my group which was primarily to provide spacecraft attitude and line of sight determination, including Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) communications coverage for various NASA, International, and commercial partner spacecraft. My projects required me to become acquainted with different software systems, fundamentals of aerospace engineering, project management, and develop essential interpersonal communication skills. Overall, I accomplished multiple goals which included laying the foundations for an updated SharePoint which will allow for an organized platform to communicate and share data for group members and external partners. I also successfully learned about the operations of the Attitude & Pointing Group and how it contributes to the Missions Operations Directorate and NASA's Space Program as a whole

Masood, Amir↗
NASA NTRS2008

Cassini Attitude Control Operations Flight Rules and How They are Enforced

The Cassini spacecraft was launched on October 15, 1997 and arrived at Saturn on June 30, 2004. It has performed detailed observations and remote sensing of Saturn, its rings, and its satellites since that time. Cassini deployed the European-built Huygens probe which descended through the Titan atmosphere and landed on its surface on January 14, 2005. Operating the Cassini spacecraft is a complex scientific, engineering, and management job. In order to safely operate the spacecraft, a large number of flight rules were developed. These flight rules must be enforced throughout the lifetime of the Cassini spacecraft. Flight rules are defined as any operational limitation imposed by the spacecraft system design, hardware, and software, violation of which would result in spacecraft damage, loss of consumables, loss of mission objectives, loss and/or degradation of science, and less than optimal performance. Flight rules require clear description and rationale. Detailed automated methods have been developed to insure the spacecraft is continuously operated within these flight rules. An overview of all the flight rules allocated to the Cassini Attitude Control and Articulation Subsystem and how they are enforced is presented in this paper.

Burk, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS2001

Progress on the International Space Station - We're Part Way up the Mountain

The first phase of the International Space Station construction has been completed, and research has begun. Russian, U.S., and Canadian hardware is on orbit, and Italian logistics modules have visited often. With the delivery of the U.S. Laboratory, Destiny, significant research capability is in place, and dozens of U.S. and Russian experiments have been conducted. Crew members have been on orbit continuously since November 2000. Several "bumps in the road" have occurred along the way, and each has been systematically overcome. Enormous amounts of hardware and software are being developed by the International Space Station partners and participants around the world and are largely on schedule for launch. Significant progress has been made in the testing of completed elements at launch sites in the United States and Kazakhstan. Over 250,000 kilograms of flight hardware have been delivered to the Kennedy Space Center and integrated testing of several elements wired together has progressed extremely well. Mission control centers are fully functioning in Houston, Moscow, and Canada, and operations centers Darmstadt, Tsukuba, Turino, and Huntsville will be going on line as they are required. Extensive coordination efforts continue among the space agencies of the five partners and two participants, involving 16 nations. All of them continue to face their own challenges and have achieved significant successes. This paper will discuss the contributions of the International Space Station partners and participants, their accomplished milestones, and upcoming events. The International Space Station program, the largest and most complicated peacetime project in history, has progressed part way up the mountain, and the partners are continuing their journey to the top. The International Space Station (ISS) is unprecedented in its technological, engineering, and management complexity, and is one of the largest international collaborations ever undertaken. The ISS is a dramatic example of the ability of nations to work together as a team toward common goals and dreams. The challenges encountered and overcome by the international ISS team have been likened to climbing a mountain. Construction of the ISS has progressed rapidly in the past year. ISS is now a functioning microgravity laboratory in space hosting a permanent human presence, prompting the characterization that we are "part way up the mountain, and the team continues its climb."

Fortenberry, Lindy↗
NASA NTRS2015

Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS) Project Overview

The main objective of the Total and Spectral solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS) is to acquire measurements to determine the direct and indirect effects of solar radiation on climate. TSIS total solar irradiance measurements will extend a 37-year long uninterrupted measurement record of incoming solar radiation, the dominant energy source driving the Earths climate and the most precise indicator of changes in the Suns energy output. TSIS solar spectral irradiance measurements will determine the regions of the Earths multi-layered atmosphere that are affected by solar variability, from which the solar forcing mechanisms causing changes in climate can be quantified. TSIS includes two instruments: the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) and the Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM), integrated into a single payload. The TSIS TIM and SIM instruments are upgraded versions of the two instruments that are flying on the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) mission launched in January 2003. TSIS was originally planned for the nadir-pointing National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) spacecraft. The TSIS instrument passed a Critical Design Review (CDR) for NPOESS in December 2009. In 2010, TSIS was re-planned for the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Polar Free Flyer (PFF). The TSIS TIM, SIM, and associated electronics were built, tested, and successfully completed pre-ship review as of December 2013.In early 2014, NOAA and NASA agreed to fly TSIS on the International Space Station (ISS). In the FY16 Presidents Budget, NASA assumes responsibility for the TSIS mission on ISS. The TSIS project includes requirements, interface, design, build and test of the TSIS payload, including an updated pointing system, for accommodation on the ISS. It takes advantage of the prior development of the TSIS sensors and electronics. The International Space Station (ISS) program contributions include launch services and robotic installation of the TSIS payload onto an ISS Express Logistics Carrier, mission operations, and communications. Total and Spectral solar irradiance data products will be produced, calibrated, and made publically available through the Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).The NASA GSFC TSIS project at GSFC is responsible for project management, system engineering, safety and mission assurance, and engineering oversight for the TSIS payload. The TSIS project has contracted with the University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) for the design, development and testing of TSIS, support for ISS integration, science operations of the TSIS instrument, data processing, data evaluation and delivery to the GES DISC. TSIS will be delivered to Kennedy Space Center for integration in 2017, with launch and installation onto ISS planned for late 2017-early 2018. After a 90-day check-out period, NASA plans five years of TSIS operations.

spectral emission↗
NASA NTRS2016

Modifying a Commercial Centrifuge to Reduce Electromagnetic Interference and Evaluating Functionality of Ultrasound Equipment

The Project Management and Engineering Branch (SF4) supports the Human Health and Performance Directorate (HH&P) and is responsible for developing and supporting human systems hardware for the International Space Station (ISS). When a principal investigator's (PI) medical research project on the ISS is accepted, SF4 develops the necessary hardware and software to transport to the ISS. The two projects I primarily worked on were the centrifuge and ultrasound projects. Centrifuge: One concern with spacecraft such as the ISS is electromagnetic interference (EMI) from onboard equipment, typically from radio waves (frequencies of ~3 kHz to ~300 GHz), which can negatively affect nearby circuitry. Standard commercial centrifuges produce EMI above safety limits, so my task was to help reduce EMI production from this equipment. Two centrifuges were tested: one unmodified as a control and one modified. To reduce EMI below safety limits, one centrifuge was modified to become a Faraday shield, in which significant electrical contact was made between all regions of the centrifuge housing. This included removing non-conductive paint, applying conductive fabric to the lid and foam sealer, adding a 10,000 μF decoupling capacitor across the power supply, and adding copper adhesive-mount gaskets to the housing interior. EMI testing of both centrifuges was performed in the EMI/EMC Control Test and Measurement Facility. EMI for both centrifuges was below safety limits for frequencies between 10 MHz and 15 GHz (pass); however, between 14 kHz and 10 MHz, EMI for the unmodified centrifuge exceeded safety limits (fail) as expected. Alternatively, for the modified centrifuge with the Faraday shield, EMI was below the safely limit of 55 dBμV/m for electromagnetic frequencies between 14 kHz and 10 MHz. This result indicates our modifications were successful. The successful EMI test allowed us to communicate with the vendor what modifications they needed to make to their commercial unit to meet our specifications and to understand what needs to be done in lab to the new centrifuge. Our modifications will provide a standard for readying centrifuges for future missions. Once the new modified centrifuge arrives by the vendor, it will need to undergo EMI testing again for validation. The centrifuge is also in the process of compatibility testing with a custom stowage drawer, which is an ongoing project in SF4. Both of these items will be payloads on future missions to the ISS for various research purposes. Ultrasound: ISS currently has an onboard ultrasound (Ultrasound 2 system) for research and medical purposes. Every piece of medical flight hardware has an equivalent ground-unit so instrumentation can be routinely evaluated and transported to the ISS if necessary. The ground-unit ultrasound equipment must be evaluated every six months using a task performance sheet (TPS). A TPS is a document, written by the appropriate scientists and engineers, which describes how to run equipment and is written in such a way that astronauts with unspecialized training can follow the tasks. I was responsible for performing six TPSs on a combination of three ultrasounds and two video power converters (VPCs). Performing a TPS involves checking out and computationally documenting each piece of equipment removed from storage locations, setting up hardware and software, performing tasks to verify functionality, returning equipment, and logging items back into the computerized system. My work revealed all ground-unit ultrasounds were functioning properly. Because of proper function, a discrepancy report (DR) did not have to be opened. The TPS was then passed along to the Quality Engineering (QE) for review and ultimately given to Quality Assurance (QA). Other projects: In addition to my main projects, I participated in other tasks including troubleshooting an EEG headband, volunteering for an ultrasound training research study, and conformal coating printed circuit boards. My internship at SF4 has helped me understand how space systems hardware development for the ISS fits into NASA's mission and vision.

Greening, Gage J.↗