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At least 433 records · Page 24

Debugging embedded computer programs

Every embedded computer program must complete its debugging cycle using some system that will allow real time debugging. Many of the common items addressed during debugging are listed. Seven approaches to debugging are analyzed to evaluate how well they treat those items. Cost evaluations are also included in the comparison. The results indicate that the best collection of capabilities to cover the common items present in the debugging task occurs in the approach where a minicomputer handles the environment simulation with an emulation of some kind representing the embedded computer. This approach can be taken at a reasonable cost. The case study chosen is an embedded computer in a tactical missile. Several choices of computer for the environment simulation are discussed as well as different approaches to the embedded emulator.

Kemp, G. H.↗

Scheduling and Delivering Aircraft to Departure Fixes in the NY Metroplex with Controller-Managed Spacing Tools

In this paper, successful Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM) scheduling systems for arrivals are considered and adapted to apply to departures. We present a concept of operations that integrates Controller-Managed Spacing tools for departures (CMS-D) with existing tactical departure scheduling tools to coordinate demand at departure fixes in a metroplex environment. We tested our concept in a Human-in-the-Loop simulation and compared the effect of two scheduling conditions: 1) "Departure Scheduling" consisting of an emulation of the Integrated Departure and Arrival Capability (IDAC) where Towers and a Planner (Traffic Management Coordinator at the appropriate facility) coordinate aircraft scheduled takeoff times to departure fixes; and 2) "Arrival Sensitive Departure Scheduling" where, in addition, the Tower and Planner also consider arrival Scheduled Time of Arrivals (STAs) at the airport's dependent runway. Results indicate little difference between the two scheduling conditions, but a large difference between the No Tools and the two scheduling conditions with CMS-D tools. The scheduling/CMS-D tools conditions markedly reduced heading, speed clearances, and workload for controllers who were merging flows at the departure fixes. In the tool conditions, departure controllers conditioned departures earlier rather than later when aircraft were tied near the departure fixes. In the scheduling/CMS-D tools conditions, departures crossed the departure fixes 50 seconds earlier and with an 8% error rate (consisting of time ahead or behind desired time of arrival) compared to a 19% error rate in the No Tool condition. Two exploratory runs showed that similar beneficial effects can be obtained only with the CMS-D tools without scheduling takeoff times, but at the cost of a somewhat higher workload for controllers, indicating the benefits of pre-departure scheduling of aircraft with minimal delays. Hence, we found that CMS-D tools were very beneficial in the metroplex environment we tested but that further research is needed to clarify the benefits of the various scheduling approaches.

terminal airspace↗

Vehicle/payload interface specification for the reusable reentry satellite

This document describes the common interface requirements between the Vehicle Segment and the Payload Segment of the Reusable Reentry Satellite (RRS) system. The system consists of a single transport vehicle design that provides a uniform, unidirectional payload gravitational environment which is selectable during on-orbit operations over the range of 10(exp -5) (microgravity) to 1.5 g's. The initial Reusable Reentry Vehicle/Payload Module (RRV/PM) integration and checkout will occur at the launch base unless otherwise agreed to in a mission-unique addendum to this specification. Pre-integration interface qualification shall be done using emulators as described.

Source record↗

GeoNEX-ML: A Machine Learning System for Earth Observations

Improved capabilities of earth monitoring satellites are enabling a wide range of studies on the environmental effects of climate change, often leveraging the recent advancements in machine learning. At the same time, the new capabilities, including higher spatial resolution and temporal frequency, are expanding the amount of data generated at exponential rates. At the NASA Earth eXchange (NEX), we build deep learning methods to learn from cross sensor satellite-based Earth observations for generating new datasets with efficient processing techniques. Using current generation geostationary satellites on NEX, we present an interchangeable set of machine models to perform spectral adjustment, physical model emulation, LEO-GEO emulation, and optical flow. These tools are used to generate consistent virtual observations across sensors, perform atmospheric correction and cloud detection, and estimate land surface temperature and atmospheric winds. This approach aims to improve the robustness of remotely sensed data processing by learning from diverse sets of observations while enabling near real-time and on-demand capabilities.

Geostationary↗

Development of an emulation-simulation thermal control model for space station application

The orbiting space station being developed by NASA will have many thermal sources and sinks as well as requirements for the transport of thermal energy through large distances. The station is also expected to evolve over twenty or more years from an initial design. As the station evolves, thermal management will become more difficult. Thus, analysis techniques to evaluate the effects of changing various thermal loads and the methods utilized to control temperature distributions in the station are essential. Analysis techniques, including a user-friendly computer program, were developed which should prove useful to thermal designers and system analysts working on the space station. The program uses a data base and user input to compute costs, sizes, and power requirements for individual components and complete systems. User input consists of selecting mission parameters, selecting thermal acquisition configurations, transport systems and distances, and thermal rejection configurations. The capabilities of the program may be expanded by including additional thermal models as subroutines.

Hartley, James G.↗

Quantifying Leak Rates and Vacuum Impact on Granular Soil Column Pneumatic Seal

Introduction: All In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) regolith reactor systems that aim to extract gases or vapors must maintain a seal along the flow path of the regolith from the inlet hopper to where extracted gases or vapors are generated. Using a column of regolith at the inlet has been proposed as an alternative to systems using series of mechanical valves to reduce mass and complexity. Preliminary investigations into the use of regolith itself as a barrier to escaping fluids have been conducted, which this research seeks to expand upon. Different vertical regolith simulant plug diameters and heights were tested under vacuum with dry nitrogen to observe leak rates and approximate steady state pressure gradient equilibria. The effect of absolute ambient pressure was also studied by repeating tests at incremental pressures ranging from 10e-5 Torr up to 1 atm to corroborate ambient bench tests from previous work. The impact of regolith dynamics was addressed to emulate continuous-feed regolith reaction processes by measuring leak rates through continuously draining simulant columns. OB-1 lunar highlands regolith simulant was used. Experimental Setup: Regolith simulant columns were constructed using a motorized butterfly valve separating upper acrylic tubes of various diameters from a larger, lower aluminum pipe plenum (See Figure 1). The butterfly valve was cracked open such that gas could freely pass through whereas regolith would bridge and stay suspended as a cohesive plug above in the acrylic portion. These assemblies were loaded into a vacuum chamber, and a compressed dry nitrogen line was routed into the lower plenum. Pressure transducers measured the absolute pressure of the lower plenum, which was compared to absolute chamber pressure to monitor the pressure gradient across the regolith simulant. A precision mass flow controller enabled fine control of plenum pressure. The plenum pressure was quasi-statically increased to set points informed by previous work [1] before shutting off the gas supply to allow the now pressurized gas volume to dissipate through the simulant into the chamber in what was referred to as a ‘leak test.’ In a separate set of tests, the pressure was allowed to quasi-statically build until visual disturbances in the soil were observed via remote camera feeds. Initial leak rate tests were repeated on the disturbed soil to observe changes in leak rates between initial as-poured and post-bubbling soil conditions. This test schedule was applied to simulant columns of three different diameters (approximately 2, 4, and 6 inches) as well as two different heights (around 8 and 16 inches) and was repeated at least three times for each configuration. Plenums were also pressurized while the butterfly valves were opened slightly further to facilitate slow, controlled, constant flowrate draining of the simulant to observe the impact that continuous-feed systems might have on leak rate through the regolith column. Finally, the regolith columns were reset and refilled and static leak rate tests were repeated approximately every decade in ambient pressure from 10e-5 Torr up to ambient conditions to observe the impact of transitioning out of the molecular flow regime on regolith column seal performance. Analysis: Trends with respect to each factor examined were constructed and reported alongside commentary on the most likely responsible physical phenomena. Confidence intervals were applied to the predictive findings of the data by quantifying instrumentation error and accounting for probabilistic impacts of curve fitting the generic exponential function onto pressure decay data. The leak rate is assumed directly proportional to the exponential term coefficient, while the steady-state static pressure gradient is assumed to be the asymptotic limit of each curve fit. Finally, a generic model developed by Ogino et al. [2] and later tuned for ambient testing was re-tuned using vacuum data to estimate leak rates on the lunar surface. Results: Pressure decay rates decreased up to 27-fold under vacuum when compared to ambient pressure, as shown in Figure 2. Simulant column diameter was found to exponentially correlate to both regolith column leak rate and steady-state equilibrium pressure delta. Height was found to be linearly related to leak rate –doubling the regolith column height consistently yielded around a 40% reduction in leak rate. Dynamic regolith draining was found to slightly increase leak rate, although to a lower degree than expected. Conclusion: Because of the transition into molecular gas flow through regolith, vacuum testing is required to properly estimate performance. Regolith columns should be designed as narrow as possible to avoid bridging and minimize leak rate, and as tall as is feasible to both further reduce leak rate and to help prevent bubbling, which has been shown to degrade the quality of the regolith seal. Disrupted soil was found to exhibit higher leak rates than pristine, as-poured soil, indicating the need to consider the impact of recovery from depressurization events. Regolith columns appear equally feasible for both dosed and continuous-feed reactors.

ISRU↗

Aircraft Fault Detection Using Real-Time Frequency Response Estimation

A real-time method for estimating time-varying aircraft frequency responses from input and output measurements was demonstrated. The Bat-4 subscale airplane was used with NASA Langley Research Center's AirSTAR unmanned aerial flight test facility to conduct flight tests and collect data for dynamic modeling. Orthogonal phase-optimized multisine inputs, summed with pilot stick and pedal inputs, were used to excite the responses. The aircraft was tested in its normal configuration and with emulated failures, which included a stuck left ruddervator and an increased command path latency. No prior knowledge of a dynamic model was used or available for the estimation. The longitudinal short period dynamics were investigated in this work. Time-varying frequency responses and stability margins were tracked well using a 20 second sliding window of data, as compared to a post-flight analysis using output error parameter estimation and a low-order equivalent system model. This method could be used in a real-time fault detection system, or for other applications of dynamic modeling such as real-time verification of stability margins during envelope expansion tests.

Grauer, Jared A.↗

Pushing the Limits of Aquatic Remote Sensing: Synthetic Data and Deep Learning for Fast Inverse Emulation of A Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Radiative Transfer Model

The inversion of electromagnetic information to physical and biological properties of the water column is a notoriously difficult problem, yet fundamental to our ability of understanding aquatic processes on large time and space scales. There is now a growing necessity to develop pragmatic approaches that allow timely and effective extrapolation of local processes, to spatially resolved global products, and to promote operational and sustainable resource policy management. This presentation will discuss research integrating advanced biological and radiative modeling, high-end computation, and machine learning to develop a portable global processor for simultaneous retrieval of atmosphere and water optics for diverse aquatic systems from the open and coastal ocean to optically extreme inland waters and harmful algal blooms. We will discuss some of the basic concepts behind the forward modeling approach including DEAP, the novel Distributed Equivalent Algal Populations model, for developing large spectral libraries of aquatic particle optics to aid in our ability to distinguish phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) and inorganic material, as well as other factors which enable comprehensive modeling from the benthos to top-of-atmosphere (TOA). This information is being used to understand how we can leverage next-generation deep learning methods for maximum information retrieval and rapid image processing, while also providing capabilities to identify minimum sensor spectral requirements necessary for certain aquatic applications. Further, I will touch on how we envision this research to enable the aquatic community for science discovery and how we are moving closer towards the capability for high-fidelity global analysis of aquatic ecosystems.

Jeremy Alan Kravitz↗

Boreal Forest Watch: A BOREAS Outreach Program

The Boreal Forest Watch program was initiated in the fall of 1994 to act as an educational outreach program for the BOREAS project in both the BOREAS Southern Study Area (SSA) and Northern Study Area (NSA). Boreal Forest Watch (13FW) was designed to introduce area high school teachers and their students to the types of research activities occurring as part of the BOREAS study of Canadian boreal forests. Several teacher training workshops were offered to teachers from central and northern Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba between May, 1995 and February, 1999; teachers were introduced to techniques for involving their students in on-going environmental monitoring studies within local forested stands. Boreal Forest Watch is an educational outreach program which brings high school students and research scientists together to study the forest and foster a sustainable relationship between people and the planetary life-support system we depend upon. Personnel from the University of New Hampshire (UNH), Complex Systems Research Center (CSRC), with the cooperation from the Prince Albert National Park (PANP), instituted this program to help teachers within the BOREAS Study Areas offer real science research experience to their students. The program has the potential to complement large research projects, such as BOREAS, by providing useful student- collected data to scientists. Yet, the primary goal of BFW is to allow teachers and students to experience a hands-on, inquiry-based approach to leaming science - emulating the process followed by research scientists. In addition to introducing these teachers to on-going BOREAS research, the other goals of the BFW program were to: 1) to introduce authentic science topics and methods to students and teachers through hands-on, field-based activities; and, 2) to build a database of student-collected environmental monitoring data for future global change studies in the boreal region.

Rock, Barrett N.↗

Efficient Power Management of an Active Phased Array Antenna Via Circular Aperture Reduction

Significant commercial investments in terrestrial 5G communication systems have matured state-of-the-art Ka-band active phased array (APA) antennas, and their entrance into integrated SATCOM terminals provides space mission designers with new trades and considerations. Newly available Ka-band APAs could provide future missions with a small form factor terminal (<1000 cm3) that can perform rapid beam steering without any moving components. However, APA systems generally consume more power than alternative terminal configurations, which motivates our investigation into a power management technique that leverages the APA’s ability to disable individual antenna elements to rapidly trade excess signal strength for reduced power consumption. Our algorithm strategically maps a desired transmitter effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) to a binary element mask that simultaneously minimizes the number of active elements and circularizes the antenna’s aperture. We deployed our algorithm on a Cesium Nightingale 1 terminal and emulated a 1.05 Gbps constant-rate link between a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a ground station in an over-the-air test. During the 7m42s pass, the aperture reduction algorithm reduced the average power consumption of the terminal by 27%, the average number of active elements by 56%, and saved 3.9 Wh of energy.

satellite communications↗

DVB-S2 Experiment over NASA's Space Network

The commercial DVB-S2 standard was successfully demonstrated over NASAs Space Network (SN) and the Tracking Data and Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) during testing conducted September 20-22nd, 2016. This test was a joint effort between NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to evaluate the performance of DVB-S2 as an alternative to traditional NASA SN waveforms. Two distinct sets of tests were conducted: one was sourced from the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed, an external payload on the International Space Station, and the other was sourced from GRCs S-band ground station to emulate a Space Network user through TDRSS. In both cases, a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) receiver made by Newtec was used to receive the signal at White Sands Complex. Using SCaN Testbed, peak data rates of 5.7 Mbps were demonstrated. Peak data rates of 33 Mbps were demonstrated over the GRC S-band ground station through a 10MHz channel over TDRSS, using 32-amplitude phase shift keying (APSK) and a rate 89 low density parity check (LDPC) code. Advanced features of the DVB-S2 standard were evaluated, including variable and adaptive coding and modulation (VCMACM), as well as an adaptive digital pre-distortion (DPD) algorithm. These features provided additional data throughput and increased link performance reliability. This testing has shown that commercial standards are a viable, low-cost alternative for future Space Network users.

waveforms↗

Two-Armed, Mobile, Sensate Research Robot

The Anthropomorphic Robotic Testbed (ART) is an experimental prototype of a partly anthropomorphic, humanoid-size, mobile robot. The basic ART design concept provides for a combination of two-armed coordination, tactility, stereoscopic vision, mobility with navigation and avoidance of obstacles, and natural-language communication, so that the ART could emulate humans in many activities. The ART could be developed into a variety of highly capable robotic assistants for general or specific applications. There is especially great potential for the development of ART-based robots as substitutes for live-in health-care aides for home-bound persons who are aged, infirm, or physically handicapped; these robots could greatly reduce the cost of home health care and extend the term of independent living. The ART is a fully autonomous and untethered system. It includes a mobile base on which is mounted an extensible torso topped by a head, shoulders, and two arms. All subsystems of the ART are powered by a rechargeable, removable battery pack. The mobile base is a differentially- driven, nonholonomic vehicle capable of a speed >1 m/s and can handle a payload >100 kg. The base can be controlled manually, in forward/backward and/or simultaneous rotational motion, by use of a joystick. Alternatively, the motion of the base can be controlled autonomously by an onboard navigational computer. By retraction or extension of the torso, the head height of the ART can be adjusted from 5 ft (1.5 m) to 6 1/2 ft (2 m), so that the arms can reach either the floor or high shelves, or some ceilings. The arms are symmetrical. Each arm (including the wrist) has a total of six rotary axes like those of the human shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints. The arms are actuated by electric motors in combination with brakes and gas-spring assists on the shoulder and elbow joints. The arms are operated under closed-loop digital control. A receptacle for an end effector is mounted on the tip of the wrist and contains a force-and-torque sensor that provides feedback for force (compliance) control of the arm. The end effector could be a tool or a robot hand, depending on the application.

Engelberger, J. F.↗

Onboard Doppler Compensation for Low-Rate Communications over Commercial Relay Satellites

NASA spacecraft performing scientific and exploration missions may increasingly communicate over commercial relay satellites, including those that operate at Ka-band. Ideally these spacecraft could use the same Ka-band terminal for low-rate telemetry/commanding. However, this use case presents an issue since most commercial relay systems were designed with terrestrial users in mind and cannot easily handle the Doppler effects of orbiting spacecraft. In this work we propose onboard Doppler compensation allowing spacecraft to use existing relay satellite infrastructure without modification. Specifically, we present a method for digital compensation based on a series of piecewise linear sweeps which minimizes resources used on the spacecraft’s radio. We perform orbital mechanics simulations to estimate the worst-case Doppler profiles experienced by spacecraft in several low-Earth orbits. We emulate these effects in a laboratory experiment and demonstrate the proposed technique will reduce Doppler effects by more than two orders of magnitude. The residual Doppler is small enough that modems used at commercial relay sites are able to receive error-free data even when operating at their lowest supported symbol rate.

Adam Gannon↗

Comparing the Electrical Modeling and Thermal Analysis Toolbox Simulation Data to Electrified Aircraft Propulsion Test Hardware Data

A model using the Electrical Modeling and Thermal Analysis Toolbox (EMTAT), a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-developed Simulink® model block library of electrical components, was developed to mirror the Hybrid Propulsion Emulation Rig (HyPER) hardware, a laboratory focused on Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) hardware tests. The goal of the model was to demonstrate the utility of the library by comparing the accuracy of the library models to the performance of real hardware, with the primary metrics being the simulation outputs matching physical test hardware data within 5% of full scale.The objective of this paper is to present the background, setup, testing and results of this comparison. It describes some of the adjustments that were necessary to match the system hardware, as well as next steps in verification and validation. The outputs of the model were compared to the results of several tests in HyPER, and in the process captured an additional torque loss that is still being analyzed for the root cause but has been confirmed in the hardware. Across all the test series, only one key model parameter was outside the target 5% full scale matching, and nearly 70% were within 1%.

Mark E Bell↗

Efficient implementation of weighted ENO schemes

In this paper, we further analyze, test, modify and improve the high order WENO (weighted essentially non-oscillatory) finite difference schemes of Liu, Osher and Chan. It was shown by Liu et al. that WENO schemes constructed from the r-th order (in L1 norm) ENO schemes are (r+1)-th order accurate. We propose a new way of measuring the smoothness of a numerical solution, emulating the idea of minimizing the total variation of the approximation, which results in a 5-th order WENO scheme for the case r = 3, instead of the 4-th order with the original smoothness measurement by Liu et al. This 5-th order WENO scheme is as fast as the 4-th order WENO scheme of Liu et al., and both schemes are about twice as fast as the 4-th order ENO schemes on vector supercomputers and as fast on serial and parallel computers. For Euler systems of gas dynamics, we suggest computing the weights from pressure and entropy instead of the characteristic values to simplify the costly characteristic procedure. The resulting WENO schemes are about twice as fast as the WENO schemes using the characteristic decompositions to compute weights, and work well for problems which do not contain strong shocks or strong reflected waves. We also prove that, for conservation laws with smooth solutions, all WENO schemes are convergent. Many numerical tests, including the 1D steady state nozzle flow problem and 2D shock entropy wave interaction problem, are presented to demonstrate the remarkable capability of the WENO schemes, especially the WENO scheme using the new smoothness measurement, in resolving complicated shock and flow structures. We have also applied Yang's artificial compression method to the WENO schemes to sharpen contact discontinuities.

Jiang, Guang-Shan↗

Comparing the Electrical Modeling and Thermal Analysis Toolbox Simulation Data to Electrified Aircraft Propulsion Test Hardware Data

A model using the Electrical Modeling and Thermal Analysis Toolbox (EMTAT), a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-developed Simulink® model block library of electrical components, was developed to mirror the Hybrid Propulsion Emulation Rig (HyPER) hardware, a laboratory focused on Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) hardware tests. The goal of the model was to demonstrate the utility of the library by comparing the accuracy of the library models to the performance of real hardware, with the primary metrics being the simulation outputs matching physical test hardware data within 5 percent of full scale. The objective of this paper is to present the background, setup, testing and results of this comparison. It describes some of the adjustments that were necessary to match the system hardware, as well as next steps in verification and validation. The outputs of the model were compared to the results of several tests in HyPER, and in the process captured an additional torque loss that is still being analyzed for the root cause but has been confirmed in the hardware. Across all the test series, only one key model parameter was outside the target 5 percent full scale matching, and nearly 70 percent were within 1 percent.

Mark E. Bell↗

Freezable Radiator Model Correlation Improvements and Fluids Study

Freezable radiators offer an attractive solution to the issue of thermal control system scalability. As thermal environments change, a freezable radiator will effectively scale the total heat rejection it is capable of as a function of the thermal environment and flow rate through the radiator. Scalable thermal control systems are a critical technology for spacecraft that will endure missions with widely varying thermal requirements. These changing requirements are a result of the space craft s surroundings and because of different thermal rejection requirements during different mission phases. However, freezing and thawing (recovering) a radiator is a process that has historically proven very difficult to predict through modeling, resulting in highly inaccurate predictions of recovery time. To attempt to improve this, tests were conducted in 2009 to determine whether the behavior of a simple stagnating radiator could be predicted or emulated in a Thermal Desktop(trademark) numerical model. A 50-50 mixture of DowFrost HD and water was used as the working fluid. Efforts to scale this model to a full scale design, as well as efforts to characterize various thermal control fluids at low temperatures are also discussed. Previous testing and modeling efforts showed that freezable radiators could be operated as intended, and be fairly, if not perfectly predicted by numerical models. This paper documents the improvements made to the numerical model, and outcomes of fluid studies that were determined necessary to go forward with further radiator testing.

Lillibridge, Sean↗

Machine Learning Emulators and Empirical Models Combining Climate and Global Crop Models for Seasonal Agricultural Production

We present results from several connected efforts to apply machine learning methods to estimates of seasonal agricultural production anomalies around the world. First, we apply the XGBoost Random Forest method to fit emulators that mimic global crop models participating in the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) Global Gridded Crop Model Intercomparison (GGCMI). These are the same models used in the agricultural sector simulations of the Inter-Sectoral Impacts Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP). These emulators use 8 climate variables split across 5 sub-seasonal representations of the growing season for each ½ degree grid cell around the world for maize, wheat, rice and soybeans. Emulators are useful for estimating conditions that have not already been simulated by GGCMI (e.g., in a seasonal prediction model) and also to diagnose model differences and capabilities. For example, emulators of the pDSSAT maize model tend to be more reliant on mean temperatures than the LPJmL model, and few models have strong responses to cold extremes. Second, we use a similar XGBoost approach to fit empirical models for national production data for the top 20 producing countries according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Models utilize both climate observations and the GGCM models as predictors, resulting in skillful models for many (but not all) top producing-countries. The patterns of climate and crop model features selected indicate regions and systems that are better or worse simulated by the GGCMs. For example, information in cold extreme predictors is often combined with GGCM output predictors to provide sensitivity that models may underrepresent.

machine learning↗