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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Gateway Induced Environments Overview

Gateway will be a long duration space station orbiting the Moon in support of NASA’s Artemis campaign. Over its lifetime, Gateway will be exposed to a variety of induced environments, including materials outgassing, chemical and electric thruster plumes, vacuum vents, and lunar dust transport (from the Human Lander System, HLS). Induced Environments can impact vehicle performance and mission success. The multidisciplinary Gateway Induced Environments Team has developed requirements and methodologies to address the complex challenge of integrating multiple elements and visiting vehicles while maintaining the Gateway induced environments within prescribed limits. The Gateway Induced Environments requirements are summarized along with the integration / verification process and preliminary system analysis results.

Gateway↗
NASA NTRS1994

Collaborative engineering-design support system

Designing engineering objects requires many engineers' knowledge from different domains. There needs to be cooperative work among engineering designers to complete a design. Revisions of a design are time consuming, especially if designers work at a distance and with different design description formats. In order to reduce the design cycle, there needs to be a sharable design describing the engineering community, which can be electronically transportable. Design is a process of integrating that is not easy to define definitively. This paper presents Design Script which is a generic engineering design knowledge representation scheme that can be applied in any engineering domain. The Design Script is developed through encapsulation of common design activities and basic design components based on problem decomposition. It is implemented using CLIPS with a Windows NT graphical user interface. The physical relationships between engineering objects and their subparts can be constructed in a hierarchical manner. The same design process is repeatedly applied at each given level of hierarchy and recursively into lower levels of the hierarchy. Each class of the structure can be represented using the Design Script.

Lee, Dong HO↗
NASA NTRS2000

Web Exploration Tools for a Fast Federated Optical Survey Database

We implemented several new web-based tools to improve the efficiency and versatility of access to the APS Catalog of the POSS I (Palomar Observatory-National Geographic Sky Survey) and its associated image database. The most important addition was a federated database system to link the APS Catalog and image database into one Internet-accessible database. With the FDBS, the queries and transactions on the integrated database are performed as if it were a single database. We installed Myriad the FDBS developed by Professor Jaideep Srivastava and members of his group in the University of Minnesota Computer Science Department. It is the first system to provide schema integration, query processing and optimization, and transaction management capabilities in a single framework. The attached figure illustrates the Myriad architecture. The FDBS permits horizontal access to the data, not just vertical. For example, for the APS, queries can be made not only by sky position, but also by any parameter present in either of the databases. APS users will be able to produce an image of all the blue galaxies and stellar sources for comparison with x-ray source error ellipses from AXAF (X Ray Astrophysics Facility) (Chandra) for example. The FDBS is now available as a beta release with the appropriate query forms at our web site. While much of our time was occupied with adapting Myriad to the APS environment, we also made major changes in Star Base, our DBMS for the Catalog, at the web interface to improve its efficiency for issuing and processing queries. Star Base is now three times faster for large queries. Improvements were also made at the web end of the image database for faster access; although work still needs to be done to the image database itself for more efficient return with the FDBS. During the past few years, we made several improvements to the database pipeline that creates the individual plate databases queries by StarBase. The changes include improved positions especially for galaxies, using a new median centroider and integrated magnitudes for galaxies with an improved density-to-intensity calibration with a "sky" background subtraction. In the original version of StarBase the object classification fainter than 19.5-20.0 mag., was an extrapolation of the networks trained on brighter objects. We have used a new catalog of galaxies at the NGP to train a neural network on objects fainter than 20th mag. This improved classification is used in the new version of StarBase. We have also added a FITS table option for the returned data from queries on the object catalog. The APS image database includes images in both colors so we have added a tool for querying the image database in both colors simultaneously. The images can be displayed in parallel or blinked for comparison.

Humphreys, Roberta M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The TAME Project: Towards improvement-oriented software environments

Experience from a dozen years of analyzing software engineering processes and products is summarized as a set of software engineering and measurement principles that argue for software engineering process models that integrate sound planning and analysis into the construction process. In the TAME (Tailoring A Measurement Environment) project at the University of Maryland, such an improvement-oriented software engineering process model was developed that uses the goal/question/metric paradigm to integrate the constructive and analytic aspects of software development. The model provides a mechanism for formalizing the characterization and planning tasks, controlling and improving projects based on quantitative analysis, learning in a deeper and more systematic way about the software process and product, and feeding the appropriate experience back into the current and future projects. The TAME system is an instantiation of the TAME software engineering process model as an ISEE (integrated software engineering environment). The first in a series of TAME system prototypes has been developed. An assessment of experience with this first limited prototype is presented including a reassessment of its initial architecture.

Basili, Victor R.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Cell output, cell cycle duration and neuronal specification: a model of integrated mechanisms of the neocortical proliferative process

The neurons of the neocortex are generated over a 6 day neuronogenetic interval that comprises 11 cell cycles. During these 11 cell cycles, the length of cell cycle increases and the proportion of cells that exits (Q) versus re-enters (P) the cell cycle changes systematically. At the same time, the fate of the neurons produced at each of the 11 cell cycles appears to be specified at least in terms of their laminar destination. As a first step towards determining the causal interrelationships of the proliferative process with the process of laminar specification, we present a two-pronged approach. This consists of (i) a mathematical model that integrates the output of the proliferative process with the laminar fate of the output and predicts the effects of induced changes in Q and P during the neuronogenetic interval on the developing and mature cortex and (ii) an experimental system that allows the manipulation of Q and P in vivo. Here we show that the predictions of the model and the results of the experiments agree. The results indicate that events affecting the output of the proliferative population affect both the number of neurons produced and their specification with regard to their laminar fate.

Evaluation Studies↗
NASA NTRS2011

Reusable Solid Rocket Motor - Accomplishments, Lessons, and a Culture of Success

The Reusable Solid Rocket Motor represents the largest solid rocket motor ever flown and the only human rated solid motor. Each Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) provides approximately 3-million lb of thrust to lift the integrated Space Shuttle vehicle from the launch pad. The motors burn out approximately 2 minutes later, separate from the vehicle and are recovered and refurbished. The size of the motor and the need for high reliability were challenges. Thrust shaping, via shaping of the propellant grain, was needed to limit structural loads during ascent. The motor design evolved through several block upgrades to increase performance and to increase safety and reliability. A major redesign occurred after STS-51L with the Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor. Significant improvements in the joint sealing systems were added. Design improvements continued throughout the Program via block changes with a number of innovations including development of low temperature o-ring materials and incorporation of a unique carbon fiber rope thermal barrier material. Recovery of the motors and post flight inspection improved understanding of hardware performance, and led to key design improvements. Because of the multidecade program duration material obsolescence was addressed, and requalification of materials and vendors was sometimes needed. Thermal protection systems and ablatives were used to protect the motor cases and nozzle structures. Significant understanding of design and manufacturing features of the ablatives was developed during the program resulting in optimization of design features and processing parameters. The project advanced technology in eliminating ozone-depleting materials in manufacturing processes and the development of an asbestos-free case insulation. Manufacturing processes for the large motor components were unique and safety in the manufacturing environment was a special concern. Transportation and handling approaches were also needed for the large hardware segments. The reusable solid rocket motor achieved significant reliability via process control, ground test programs, and postflight assessment. Process control is mandatory for a solid rocket motor as an acceptance test of the delivered product is not feasible. Process control included process failure modes and effects analysis, statistical process control, witness panels, and process product integrity audits. Material controls and inspections were maintained throughout the sub tier vendors. Material fingerprinting was employed to assess any drift in delivered material properties. The RSRM maintained both full scale and sub-scale test articles. These enabled continuous improvement of design and evaluation of process control and material behavior. Additionally RSRM reliability was achieved through attention to detail in post flight assessment to observe any shift in performance. The postflight analysis and inspections provided invaluable reliability data as it enables observation of actual flight performance, most of which would not be available if the motors were not recovered. These unique challenges, features of the reusable solid rocket motor, materials and manufacturing issues, and design improvements will be discussed in the paper.

Moore, Dennis R.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Lessons for WFIRST CGI from Ground-Based High-Contrast Systems

The Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) for NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) will constitute a dramatic step forward for high-contrast imaging, integral field spectroscopy, and polarimetry of exoplanets and circumstellar disks, aiming to improve upon the sensitivity of current ground-based direct imaging facilities by 2–3 orders of magnitude. Furthermore, CGI will serve as a pathfinder for future exo-Earth imaging and characterization missions by demonstrating wavefront control, coronagraphy, and spectral retrieval in a new contrast regime, and by validating instrument and telescope models at unprecedented levels of precision. To achieve this jump in performance, it is critical to draw on the experience of ground-based high-contrast facilities. We discuss several areas of relevant commonalities, including: wavefront control, post-processing of integral field unit data, and calibration and observing strategies.

Xuan, Wenhao↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar Science and Mission Systems Integration for Real-Time Long Duration Remote Robot Surface Operations

Conducting lunar science with a robot on the Moon that is commanded in real-time from Earth by distributed workgroups for long durations is a specific activity that has been developed by many projects including NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. VIPER’s nominal mission period for surface operations was set for 100 Earth days (four lunar days). VIPER’s science knowledge acquisition was set to focus on characterizing the distribution of water and volatiles across a range of thermal environments, within a traverse planned to optimize science return across up to 20 km. While VIPER’s status is the subject of discussion, there is research and analysis from the development and simulations phases that are of benefit to the lunar science community and future remote science operations projects. Discussed here are some findings on the process of integrating lunar science with mission system operations.

VIPER↗
NASA NTRS2016

Aerosol-Radiation-Cloud Interactions in the South-East Atlantic: First Results from the ORACLES-2016 Deployment and Plans for Future Activities

Southern Africa produces almost a third of the Earths biomass burning (BB) aerosol particles. Particles lofted into the mid-troposphere are transported westward over the South-East (SE) Atlantic, home to one of the three permanent subtropical stratocumulus (Sc) cloud decks in the world. The SE Atlantic stratocumulus deck interacts with the dense layers of BB aerosols that initially overlay the cloud deck, but later subside and may mix into the clouds. These interactions include adjustments to aerosol-induced solar heating and microphysical effects, and their global representation in climate models remains one of the largest uncertainties in estimates of future climate. Hence, new observations over the SE Atlantic have significant implications for regional and global climate change predictions.Our understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions in the SE Atlantic is severely limited. Most notably, we are missing knowledge on the absorptive and cloud nucleating properties of aerosols, including their vertical distribution relative to clouds, on the locations and degree of aerosol mixing into clouds, on the processes that govern cloud property adjustments, and on the importance of aerosol effects on clouds relative to co-varying synoptic scale meteorology.We describe first results from various synergistic, international research activities aimed at studying aerosol-cloud interactions in the region:NASAs airborne ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols Above Clouds and Their IntEractionS) deployment in AugustSeptember of 2016,the DoEs LASIC (Layered Atlantic Smoke Interactions with Clouds) deployment of the ARM Mobile Facility to Ascension Island (June 2016 October 2017), the ground-based components of CNRS AEROCLO-sA (Aerosols Clouds and Fog over the west coast of southern Africa), and ongoing regional-scale integrative, process-oriented science efforts as part of SEALS-sA (Sea Earth Atmosphere Linkages Study in southern Africa).We expect to describe experimental setups as well as showcase initial aerosol and cloud property distributions. Furthermore, we discuss the implementation of future activities in these programs in coordination with the UK Met Offices CLARIFY (CLoud-Aerosol-Radiation Interactions and Forcing) experiment in 2017.

aerosol↗
NASA NTRS2010

Updates of Land Surface and Air Quality Products in NASA MAIRS and NEESPI Data Portals

Following successful support of the Northern Eurasia Earth Sciences Partner Initiative (NEESPI) project with NASA satellite remote sensing data, from Spring 2009 the NASA GES DISC (Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center) has been working on collecting more satellite and model data to support the Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Study (MAIRS) project. The established data management and service infrastructure developed for NEESPI has been used and improved for MAIRS support.Data search, subsetting, and download functions are available through a single system. A customized Giovanni system has been created for MAIRS.The Web-based on line data analysis and visualization system, Giovanni (Goddard Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure) allows scientists to explore, quickly analyze, and download data easily without learning the original data structure and format. Giovanni MAIRS includes satellite observations from multiple sensors and model output from the NASA Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), and from the NASA atmospheric reanalysis project, MERRA. Currently, we are working on processing and integrating higher resolution land data in to Giovanni, such as vegetation index, land surface temperature, and active fire at 5km or 1km from the standard MODIS products. For data that are not archived at the GESDISC,a product metadata portal is under development to serve as a gateway for providing product level information and data access links, which include both satellite, model products and ground-based measurements information collected from MAIRS scientists.Due to the large overlap of geographic coverage and many similar scientific interests of NEESPI and MAIRS, these data and tools will serve both projects.

Shen, Suhung↗
NASA NTRS2006

Emerging Propulsion Technologies

The Emerging Propulsion Technologies (EPT) investment area is the newest area within the In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) Project and strives to bridge technologies in the lower Technology Readiness Level (TRL) range (2 to 3) to the mid TRL range (4 to 6). A prioritization process, the Integrated In-Space Transportation Planning (IISTP), was developed and applied in FY01 to establish initial program priorities. The EPT investment area emerged for technologies that scored well in the IISTP but had a low technical maturity level. One particular technology, the Momentum-eXchange Electrodynamic-Reboost (MXER) tether, scored extraordinarily high and had broad applicability in the IISTP. However, its technical maturity was too low for ranking alongside technologies like the ion engine or aerocapture. Thus MXER tethers assumed top priority at EPT startup in FY03 with an aggressive schedule and adequate budget. It was originally envisioned that future technologies would enter the ISP portfolio through EPT, and EPT developed an EPT/ISP Entrance Process for future candidate ISP technologies. EPT has funded the following secondary, candidate ISP technologies at a low level: ultra-lightweight solar sails, general space/near-earth tether development, electrodynamic tether development, advanced electric propulsion, and in-space mechanism development. However, the scope of the ISPT program has focused over time to more closely match SMD needs and technology advancement successes. As a result, the funding for MXER and other EPT technologies is not currently available. Consequently, the MXER tether tasks and other EPT tasks were expected to phased out by November 2006. Presentation slides are presented which provide activity overviews for the aerocapture technology and emerging propulsion technology projects.

Keys, Andrew S.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Integration, Test, and On-Orbit Operation of a Ka-band Parabolic Deployable Antenna (KaPDA) for CubeSats

In the past decade, CubeSats have undergone a revolution, moving from universityresearch projects to enabling industry opportunities and government missions. Six yearsago, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (JPL/Caltech)initiated a research and technology development effort to advance CubeSat communicationcapabilities, with one of the key thrusts being the Ka-band parabolic deployable antenna(KaPDA). This antenna started with the ambitious goal of fitting a 42 dB, 0.5 meter, 35 GHzantenna in a 1.5U canister. At that time, there had been very limited development in the areaof high gain CubeSat antennas which are critical for both high data rate communicationsand remote sensing science. A Ka-band high gain antenna would provide a 10,000 timesincrease in data communication rates over an X-band patch antenna and a 100 timesincrease over state-of-the-art S-band parabolic antennas. This paper discusses the process ofbuilding, integrating, and operating the flight antenna, its final performance and lessonslearned. KaPDA was an enabling technology for RainCube mission, the first Earth ScienceCubeSat to have an active instrument. RainCube was launched in May of 2018, makingKaPDA the second deployable parabolic antenna to fly on a CubeSat and the first of its kindto operate at Ka-band enabling a number of opportunities for high rate, deep space antennacommunications and remote sensing science.

Thomson, Mark W.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Introduction to Remote Sensing Image Registration

For many applications, accurate and fast image registration of large amounts of multi-source data is the first necessary step before subsequent processing and integration. Image registration is defined by several steps and each step can be approached by various methods which all present diverse advantages and drawbacks depending on the type of data, the type of applications, the a prior information known about the data and the type of accuracy that is required. This paper will first present a general overview of remote sensing image registration and then will go over a few specific methods and their applications

Pattern Recognition↗
NASA NTRS2017

Introduction to Remote Sensing Image Registration

For many applications, accurate and fast image registration of large amounts of multi-source data is the first necessary step before subsequent processing and integration. Image registration is defined by several steps and each step can be approached by various methods which all present diverse advantages and drawbacks depending on the type of data, the type of applications, the a priori information known about the data and the type of accuracy that is required. This paper will first present a general overview of remote sensing image registration and then will go over a few specific methods and their applications.

Pattern Recognition↗
NASA NTRS1987

Integrated Optical Processor

Images processed rapidly in rugged, compact device. Conceptual integrated optical image processor performs complicated analog calculations, including Fourier transforms, convolutions, correlations, and matrix multiplications. Compact and rugged on account of monolithic structure, processor faster than equivalent all-electronic devices because calculations require only time for light to travel across device; processing speed limited by electronic input and output circuits.

Stephens, William E.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Verifying Mars 2020 Sampling and Caching Robotic Functions with Position Budgeting Process and Tool

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover was launched on July 30th, 2020 with one of the most complex robotic systems ever implemented on an interplanetary mission. Much of this robotic complexity resides in the Rover Sampling and Caching Subsystem (SCS) to enable collection of Martian samples for eventual return to earth and preparation of surfaces for close-up surface science observations. Two robotic arms are used by SCS: the large Robotic Arm (RA) positions the coring drill and science instruments mounted to the Turret for surface interactions, and the smaller Sample Handling Assembly (SHA) manipulates Sample Tube Assemblies (STA) within the Adaptive Caching Assembly (ACA) to prepare them for sample collection, processing, and hermetic sealing. The robotic arms interact with the Martian surface and other SCS components in many ways and in a variety of configurations, with positioning accuracy requirements ranging from tens of millimeters for some surface interactions down to sub-millimeter accuracy for some ACA interactions.This paper describes the process and tool used to calculate the SCS robotic interaction positioning budgets and verify the as-built hardware when delivered. To ensure that these robotic systems are able to perform their tasks, each robotic interaction with another element was broken down into its composite functions. To calculate a positioning budget margin for each function, an allowable was defined and then compared to the list of error sources that contribute to misalignment. Across the subsystem, over 250 functions were identified to be assessed, with almost 500 error sources feeding into their budget calculations. In addition to using as-built values in the budgets for SCS Verification and Validation (V&V) after the hardware was complete, these budgets were populated with design data during the design phase to identify areas of concern and guide hardware design to ensure positive position budget margins.Because of the size of the SCS team that had inputs to the positioning budgets and the sheer number of items in the budgets that needed to be created, updated, and verified, having a tool that would allow for simultaneous access and robust data integrity and processing was imperative. To accomplish this, a web-based MySQL database was created that allowed users to create function position budgets, link individual errors and allowables to them, and view function position budget margin reports. Each error and allowable records data for lateral, normal, angular, and clocking errors, with the ability to add as-built data for up to four different hardware builds. Margin reports can be generated for either design values alone or replacing design data with as-built data when available. These as-built reports are used for final verification of the SCS positioning requirements. Ultimately, the SCS positioning budget process and database tool led to successful interactions during test and an SCS robotic system that is ready to perform sample acquisition and caching on the surface of Mars.

Williams, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS1975

Remote Sensing: A valuable tool in the Forest Service decision making process

Forest Service studies for integrating remotely sensed data into existing information systems highlight a need to: (1) re-examine present methods of collecting and organizing data, (2) develop an integrated information system for rapidly processing and interpreting data, (3) apply existing technological tools in new ways, and (4) provide accurate and timely information for making right management decisions. The Forest Service developed an integrated information system using remote sensors, microdensitometers, computer hardware and software, and interactive accessories. Their efforts substantially reduce the time it takes for collecting and processing data.

Stanton, F. L.↗