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NASA NTRS2020

Potential Applications of Active Antenna Technologies for Emerging NASA Space Communications Scenarios

Abstract—The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is presently embarking on the implementation of far-reaching changes within the framework of both space and aeronautics communications architectures. For example, near earth relays are looking to transition from the traditional few large geostationary satellites to satellite constellations consisting of thousands of small low earth orbiting satellites while lunar space communications will require the need to relay data from many assets distributed on the lunar surface back to earth. Furthermore, within the aeronautics realm, satellite communications for beyond line of sight (BLOS) links are being investigated in tandem with the proliferation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) within the urban air mobility (UAM) environment. In all of these scenarios, future communications architectures will demand the need to connect and quickly transition between many nodes for large data volume transport. As such, NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has been heavily investigating the development of low cost phased array technologies that can readily address these various scenario conditions. In particular, GRC is presently exploring 5G-based beamformer technologies to leverage commercial timescale and volume production cycles which have heretofore not existed within the frequency allocations utilized for NASA applications. In this paper, an overview of the potential future applications of phased arrays being envisioned by NASA are discussed, along with technology feasibility demonstrations being conducted by GRC implementing low cost, 5G based beamformer technologies.

Nessel, James A.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Skylab systems flight performance - An interim report

An unmanned Skylab space station was launched on May 14, 1973. The space station was inserted into a near-circular earth orbit of approximately 435 kilometers altitude. Initial difficulties with Skylab are reported together with the steps taken to overcome these difficulties. The first crew made its rendezvous with Skylab on May 25. A Skylab description is given and a systems overview is presented. Skylab attitude requirements are discussed together with details of attitude control, the communications network, scientific investigations, student experiments, earth resources studies, weather studies, solar observations, biomedical investigations, technology investigations, crew mobility and effectiveness investigations, habitability assessments, and a comet observation.

Belew, L. F.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Concept for a Micro Autonomous Ultrasonic Instrument (MAUI)

We investigate a concept for the construction a mobile Micro Optical ElectroMechanical Systems (MOEMS) based laser ultrasonic instrument to serve as a Micro Autonomous Ultrasonic Instrument (MAUI). The system will consist of a laser ultrasonic instrument fabricated using Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology, and a MEMS based walking platform like those developed by Pister et al. at Berkeley. This small system will allow for automated remote Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) of aerospace vehicles.

Wilson, William C.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Lunar Outpost Life Support Trade Studies

Engineering trade-off studies of life support system architecture and technology options were conducted for potential lunar surface mission scenarios within NASA's Constellation Program. The scenarios investigated are based largely on results of the NASA Lunar Architecture Team (LAT) Phase II study. In particular, the possibility of Hosted Sortie missions, the high cost of power during eclipse periods, and the potential to reduce life support consumables through scavenging, in-situ resources, and alternative EVA technologies were all examined. These trade studies were performed within the Systems Integration, Modeling and Analysis (SIMA) element of NASA's Exploration Life Support (ELS) technology development project. The tools and methodology used in the study are described briefly, followed by a discussion of mission scenarios, life support technology options and results presented in terms of equivalent system mass for various regenerative life support technologies and architectures. Three classes of repeated or extended lunar surface missions were investigated in this study along with several life support resource scenarios for each mission class. Individual mission durations of 14 days, 90 days and 180 days were considered with 10 missions assumed for each at a rate of 2 missions per year. The 14-day missions represent a class of Hosted Sortie missions where a pre-deployed and potentially mobile habitat provides life support for multiple crews at one or more locations. The 90-day and 180-day missions represent lunar outpost expeditions with a larger fixed habitat. The 180-day missions assume continuous human presence and must provide life support through eclipse periods of up to 122 hours while the 90-day missions are planned for best-case periods of nearly continuous sunlight. This paper investigates system optimization within the assumptions of each scenario and addresses how the scenario selected drives the life support system to different designs. Subsequently, these analysis results can be used to determine which technologies may be good choices throughout a broad range of architectures.

Lange, Kevin E.↗

NASA NTRS2022

Turning Limitations into Opportunities in the Development of the Orion Medical System: Incorporation of mHealth Devices

INTRODUCTION: Selection of medical devices for the Orion medical system is a complex task which is dependent on the current state of terrestrial technology. In this work we review the interplay between NASA requirements, constraints, and opportunities for synergy during the development of the Orion medical system. METHODS: The “plan to treat” list of conditions, and subsequently the medical resource list for the Orion Artemis II lunar flyby mission was completed using semi-quantitative methods. During this process, some medical resources were excluded to comply with mass and volume limits, while other resources applicable to multiple medical requirements were prioritized for inclusion. Choices were also examined considering NASA level of care standards for the Artemis design reference missions. As a means to optimize capabilities in spite of mass and volume constraints, ideas for integration of multiple devices into a single platform were explored, including a ‘hackathon’ challenge which was conducted to generate and evaluate concepts for combining medical devices into a single app-based mobile device (ultrasound, ECG, etc.). RESULTS: The Orion team identified 128 medical conditions that we “plan to treat”, with 139 unique medical resources to address these conditions, including 5 digital diagnostic devices (ECG, otoscope, stethoscope, pulse oximeter, and blood pressure monitor). During selection of these digital devices the team noted that miniaturized medical devices often use mobile device platforms (mHealth), some displaying and transmitting data exclusively via mobile device. Of the 5 initially selected devices, all are capable of mobile connection, one which cannot function without a mobile device (ECG). Furthermore, only one of these devices connects natively to a Windows platform, which is currently the only operating system available on Orion. DISCUSSION: Significant savings in mass and volume as well as training and usability improvements can be achieved by leveraging mHealth technologies. However, the platform presents significant challenges for deployment within the Artemis Program including lack of internet connectivity, incompatible operating systems, and radiation concerns. Each of these drawbacks are surmountable with investment in the supporting vehicle architecture, which may become necessary to support the technology trends seen in commercially available medical devices today. Objective: Learn about the opportunities and challenges of leveraging mHealth devices in the development of medical capabilities for austere environments. Learn about the constraints of the NASA spaceflight environment with regards to digital medical device integration.

Douglas Ebert↗

NASA NTRS2010

Aviation Frontiers: On-Demand Aircraft

Throughout the 20th Century, NASA has defined the forefront of aeronautical technology, and the aviation industry owes much of its prosperity to this knowledge and technology. In recent decades, centralized aeronautics has become a mature discipline, which raises questions concerning the future aviation innovation frontiers. Three transformational aviation capabilities, bounded together by the development of a Free Flight airspace management system, have the potential to transform 21st Century society as profoundly as civil aviation transformed the 20th Century. These mobility breakthroughs will re-establish environmental sustainable centralized aviation, while opening up latent markets for civil distributed sensing and on-demand rural and regional transportation. Of these three transformations, on-demand aviation has the potential to have the largest market and productivity improvement to society. The information system revolution over the past 20 years shows that vehicles lead, and the interconnecting infrastructure to make them more effective follows; that is, unless on-demand aircraft are pioneered, a distributed Air Traffic Control system will likely never be established. There is no single technology long-pole that will enable on-demand vehicle solutions. However, fully digital aircraft that include electric propulsion has the potential to be a multi-disciplinary initiator of solid state technologies that can provide order of magnitude improvements in the ease of use, safety/reliability, community and environmental friendliness, and affordability.

Moore, Mark D.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Hybrid Electric Propulsion Technologies for Commercial Transports

NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate has set strategic research thrusts to address the major drivers of aviation such as growth in demand for high-speed mobility, addressing global climate and capitalizing in the convergence of technological advances. Transitioning aviation to low carbon propulsion is one of the key strategic research thrust and drives the search for alternative and greener propulsion system for advanced aircraft configurations. This work requires multidisciplinary skills coming from multiple entities. The Hybrid Gas-Electric Subproject in the Advanced Air Transportation Project is energizing the transport class landscape by accepting the technical challenge of identifying and validating a transport class aircraft with net benefit from hybrid propulsion. This highly integrated aircraft of the future will only happen if airframe expertise from NASA Langley, modeling and simulation expertise from NASA Ames, propulsion expertise from NASA Glenn, and the flight research capabilities from NASA Armstrong are brought together to leverage the rich capabilities of U.S. Industry and Academia.

electric motor vehicles↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lessons Learned: Using UTM paradigm for Urban Air Mobility Operations

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aims to reduce congestion on the roads and highways by offering air taxi as an alternative to driving on surface roads. Integration of UAM operations in the National Airspace System (NAS) has been the focus of the research conducted at NASA Ames Research Center. A simulation was performed in collaboration with Uber Technologies Inc to investigate if NASA’s UTM architecture and its implementation as demonstrated in the 2019 UTM field tests were extensible for UAM operations, and if the data exchange between multiple operators as planned under UTM were adequate for UAM operations in the shared airspace. In order to explore these research questions, three Use Cases were defined to investigate different airspace management challenges. This paper will describe the lessons learned from exercising the uses cases and the airspace management services including scheduling and separation developed to facilitate initial UAM operations.

Urban Air Mobility↗

NASA NTRS2020

Lessons Learned: Using UTM Paradigm for Urban Air Mobility

Urban Air Mobility↗

NASA NTRS1987

Commercial users panel

The discussions of motives and requirements for telerobotics application demonstrated that, in many cases, lack of progress was a result not of limited opportunities but of inadequate mechanisms and resources for promoting opportunities. Support for this conclusion came from Telerobotics, Inc., one of the few companies devoted primarily to telerobot systems. They have produced units for such diverse applications as nuclear fusion research, particle accelerators, cryogenics, firefighting, marine biology/undersea systems and nuclear mobile robotics. Mr. Flatau offered evidence that telerobotics research is only rarely supported by the private sector and that it often presents a difficult market. Questions on the mechanisms contained within the NASA technology transfer process for promoting commercial opportunities were fielded by Ray Gilbert and Tom Walters. A few points deserve emphasis: (1) NASA/industry technology transfer occurs in both directions and NASA recognizes the opportunity to learn a great deal from industry in the fields of automation and robotics; (2) promotion of technology transfer projects takes a demand side approach, with requests to industry for specific problem identification. NASA then proposes possible solutions; and (3) comittment ofmotivated and technically qualified people on each end of a technology transfer is essential.

Byrd, Joseph S.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Extending the Capability of Mars Umbilical Technology Demonstrator

The objective of this project is to expand the capabilities of for the Mars Umbilical Technology Demonstrator (MUTD). The MUTD shall provide electrical power and fiber optic data cable connections between two simulated mars vehicles, 1000 in apart. ne wheeled mobile robot Omnibot is used to provide the mobile base for the system. The mate-to umbilical plate is mounted on a Cartesian robot, which is installed on the Omnibot mobile base. It is desirable to provide the operator controlling the Omnibot, the distance and direction to the target. In this report, an approach for finding the position and orientation of the mobile robot using inertial sensors and beacons is investigated. First phase of the project considered the Omnibot being on the flat surface. To deal with the uneven Mars environment, the orientation as well as position needs to be controlled. During local positioning, the information received from four ultrasonic sensors installed at the four corner of the mate-mi plate is used to identify the position of mate-to plate and mate the umbilical plates autonomously. The work proposed is the continuation of the principal investigator research effort as a participant in the 1999 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program.

Houshangi, Nasser↗

NASA NTRS2001

The Mars exploration rover: an in situ science mission to Mars

In this paper the concept for a mobile vehicle system which performs an in situ science mission to Mars is described. This rover mission with its requirements for driving, positioning at science selected targets, and remote and in situ measurement will utilize the technologies for hazard avoidance and autonomous navigation supported by ground operation tools which use rover-based imagery for position estimation and motion planning.

Mars rover athena instruments hazard detection haz↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Approach for Defining IASMS Services, Functions, and Capabilities

Assuring safety in the NAS with the inclusion of new entrants, such as Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), will require overcoming unique safety challenges that result from combining innovative technologies with novel airspace concepts for moving people and cargo using autonomous vehicles. The focus of the In-time Aviation Safety Management System (IASMS) is to overcome AAM’s safety assurance challenges. The IASMS Concept of Operations (ConOps) describes an interconnected set of services, functions, and capabilities (SFCs) designed to manage operational risks, identify unknown risks, and inform system designs. This paper describes an approach for defining SFCs based on technology trends in research, assessment of known and unknown risks in voluntary safety reports, and causal and contributing factors in aviation accidents and incidents. This approach would identify potential SFCs that further expand the Monitor, Assess, and Mitigate (M-A-M) functionality that represents the enabling framework of the IASMS. Safety implications that will result from integration of AAM in the transformation of the National Airspace System (NAS) were addressed in National Academies committees reports on AAM and IASMS. Development of a ConOps for IASMS was a top recommendation and can be represented as a reframing of safety assurance that builds on real-time alerting such as the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, and adds the more encompassing in-time temporal parameter in recognition of the different timelines for collecting and assessing safety data for risk mitigations. For example, mining for safety trends from data sources such as the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system occurs over a longer time period. Research on AAM operations poses that SFCs can be designed to monitor the safety margin appropriate for AAM including with regards to the distance between current flight parameters and nominal ideal conditions. These in-time comparisons will become more complex as the density of operations increases at least in certain areas and can include planned and actual 4D trajectory, and in-time comparisons having implications on conflict modeling and prediction including expected and actual departure time, fix/waypoint crossing times, and arrival time. These comparisons would be integrated as part of SFCs that redefine and inform new safety margin. An increased safety margin improves management of operational risks while reducing the potential for anomalies. An increased safety margin also has implications for operator confidence in the certainty of its operations and trust in automation. Technology trends in research could be used to refine existing SFCs and define needs for additional SFCs that provide safety improvements to the design and operation of vehicles, airspace design, and operator performance requirements. NASA is developing innovative approaches to safeguard against major accidents and incidents that have occurred in the NAS and those anticipated with the inclusion of envisioned AAM operations. The innovations use operational performance data to monitor, detect, and predict flight variations exceeding safe nominal patterns, such as would be caused by navigational error, severe weather complications, or hijacking of UAS controls. These innovative approaches have high potential to prevent accidents and incidents in the new AAM era. It is anticipated that elements of the innovations will evolve into SFCs for the IASMS. Voluntary safety reports can be monitored to identify anomalies related to design or operational performance risks. Reports could be periodically monitored and assessed for specific topics. Reports might serve as weak signals or precursors indicative of emergent risk such as when combined with other safety information. The architecture could include SFCs that are based on voluntary safety reports recognizing the periodic temporal nature of data analysis. As previously mentioned, aviation accidents with their causal and contributing precursors can inform the need for SFCs in the IASMS. Accidents and incidents at San Francisco International Airport such as Asiana 214 and Air Canada 759 illustrate how combinations of different factors lead to increased risk. These types of precursors and different factors have implications on the types of SFCs that could be needed to monitor and manage different sources and types of design and operational risk. Continuing to assure the safety of AAM as designs and operations gain in complexity can be accompanied by defining SFCs that also increase in complexity. These SFCs can leverage information from findings and recommendations synthesized across on-going research, voluntary safety reports, and accident and incident reports. These SFCs can serve to refine accuracy of algorithms and resolve limitations with current practices. The IASMS architecture represents the framework for the SFCs and their critical role in safety assurance.

In-Time Aviation Safety Management System↗

NASA NTRS2021

Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) Side-By-Side Hybrid Concept Vehicle Powertrain Dynamic Model

The Side-by-Side (SBS) Hybrid is one of several Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) concept aircraft identified by NASA to investigate Urban Air Mobility (UAM) requirements. This paper presents a dynamic model of the SBS Hybrid powertrain built using the Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems (T-MATS) and the Electrical Modeling and Thermal Analysis Toolbox (EMTAT). The model consists of the rotors, electrical power system, and turboshaft engines connected through freewheeling clutches, gearboxes, and multiple shafts. This research effort models the complex behavior of the powertrain, including the operation of the freewheeling clutches and electrical power system at the simulation time scale of the shaft dynamics. Several simulations highlight the key features present in the model and demonstrate its operation.

Powertrain↗

NASA NTRS2021

Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) Side-By-Side Hybrid Concept Vehicle Powertrain Dynamic Model

powertrain↗

NASA NTRS2009

Evaluation of Carbon Dioxide Sensors for the Constellation Space Suit Life Support System for Surface Exploration

This paper presents the findings of the trade study to evaluate carbon dioxide (CO2) sensing technologies for the Constellation (Cx) space suit life support system for surface exploration. The trade study found that nondispersive infrared absorption (NDIR) is the most appropriate high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) technology for the CO2 sensor for the Cx space suit. The maturity of the technology is high, as it is the basis for the CO2 sensor in the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). The study further determined that while there is a range of commercial sensors available, the Cx CO2 sensor should be a new design. Specifically, there are light sources (e.g., infrared light emitting diodes) and detectors (e.g., cooled detectors) that are not in typical commercial sensors due to cost. These advanced technology components offer significant advantages in performance (weight, volume, power, accuracy) to be implemented in the new sensor. The exact sensor design (light source, transmitting optics, path length, receiving optics and detector) will be specific for the Cx space suit and will be determined by the performance requirements of the Cx space suit. The paper further identifies specifications for some of the critical performance parameters as well as discussing the engineering aspects of implementing the sensor into the Portable Life Support System (PLSS). The paper then presents testing results from three CO2 sensors with respect to issues important to Extravehicular Activity (EVA) applications; stability, humidity dependence and low pressure compatibility. The three sensors include two NDIR sensors, one commercial and one custom-developed by NASA (for a different purpose), and one commercial electrochemical sensor. The results show that both NDIR sensors have excellent stability, no dependence on ambient humidity (when the ambient temperature is above the dew point) and operate in low pressure conditions and after being exposed to a full vacuum. The commercial electrochemical sensor was not suitable for the Cx space suit for surface exploration. Finally, the paper identifies a number of techniques currently under development that offer significant advantages for EVA applications. These include miniaturized, room temperature, solid electrolyte systems and advanced optical detectors.

Dietrich, Daniel L.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The ARADS Project as an Astrobiological Survey Mission Prototype

An astrobiological survey prior to human arrival will be important for preservation of signs of any existing or past evidence of Martian life, to reduce the risk of unintentional forward contamination of Martian environments in which terrestrial microbes might be able to gain a foothold (e.g., [1]), and to potentially protect the health of any human crews and enable their safe return to Earth. Evaluating for the presence of life and biosignatures may become a critical-path Mars exploration precursor in the not-so-far future, circa 2030-35. The near-subsurface, with its potential combination of volatiles, vapor exchange with the surface, and shelter from surface radiation, will be a primary initial target for in-situ astrobiological investigation. Sample acquisition, drilling and sample handling are key elements of robotic missions that target the subsurface [2], as well as near-surface ground ice deposits. In the mid 2000s, the Mars Astrobiology Field Laboratory (AFL) was proposed as a follow-on mission concept to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)/Curiosity rover mission [3]. The AFL would have included precision drilling to 2m, automated sample handling and remote processing of cores. However, the AFL concept needed further development and maturation. The Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) project concept [4] was in part AFL-inspired. The 2014 ARADS concept included a medium sized rover, with habitability instruments, including the Phoenix Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL) [5], and an enhanced version of the ExoMars Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) Laser Desorption-Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (LITMS) [6]. ARADS likewise included two biosignature detection instruments -- the Signs of Life Detector (SOLID) immunoassay instrument [7,8] and the Chemical Laptop-derived [9] Planetary In-Situ Capillary Electrophoresis System (PISCES), while mitigating Planetary Protection-relevant contamination issues [10]. ARADS project objectives were to demonstrate the potential science return for such a mission in the context of the search for evidence of life, and technically to demonstrate the feasibility of roving with drilling missions to Mars. ARADS technology goals targeted analog-site demonstrations of automated drilling and sampling, integrated with its mobile habitability and biosignature detection instruments. And ARADS science operations goals developed remote science, contamination mitigation, and communications methods to enable simulating AFL-like science operations with time delays, directed by a remote science team[11]. Five subsequent Mars analog site field demonstrations (in Chile’s hyperarid Atacama Desert, 2016-19) provided a step-by-step development pathway for the ARADS platform’s science capabilities and systems integration, culminating in an integrated remote roving mission simulation in the final ARADS year (2019).

biosignatures↗

NASA NTRS1984

Rural land mobile radio market assessment and satellite and terrestrial system concepts

Market potential exists; the nature of the market in terms of service needs, usage characteristics, service requirements, and forecasting the demand to the year 2000; alternative system cncepts that show promise in addressing the identified needs, in a cost effective manner; and advanced technology requirements associated with these concepts are considered.

Stevenson, S. M.↗