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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 469 records · Page 26
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Mobile Agents: A Distributed Voice-Commanded Sensory and Robotic System for Surface EVA Assistance

A model-based, distributed architecture integrates diverse components in a system designed for lunar and planetary surface operations: spacesuit biosensors, cameras, GPS, and a robotic assistant. The system transmits data and assists communication between the extra-vehicular activity (EVA) astronauts, the crew in a local habitat, and a remote mission support team. Software processes ("agents"), implemented in a system called Brahms, run on multiple, mobile platforms, including the spacesuit backpacks, all-terrain vehicles, and robot. These "mobile agents" interpret and transform available data to help people and robotic systems coordinate their actions to make operations more safe and efficient. Different types of agents relate platforms to each other ("proxy agents"), devices to software ("comm agents"), and people to the system ("personal agents"). A state-of-the-art spoken dialogue interface enables people to communicate with their personal agents, supporting a speech-driven navigation and scheduling tool, field observation record, and rover command system. An important aspect of the engineering methodology involves first simulating the entire hardware and software system in Brahms, and then configuring the agents into a runtime system. Design of mobile agent functionality has been based on ethnographic observation of scientists working in Mars analog settings in the High Canadian Arctic on Devon Island and the southeast Utah desert. The Mobile Agents system is developed iteratively in the context of use, with people doing authentic work. This paper provides a brief introduction to the architecture and emphasizes the method of empirical requirements analysis, through which observation, modeling, design, and testing are integrated in simulated EVA operations.

Clancey, William J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Automated Derivation of Complex System Constraints from User Requirements

International Space Station (ISS) payload developers submit their payload science requirements for the development of on-board execution timelines. The ISS systems required to execute the payload science operations must be represented as constraints for the execution timeline. Payload developers use a software application, User Requirements Collection (URC), to submit their requirements by selecting a simplified representation of ISS system constraints. To fully represent the complex ISS systems, the constraints require a level of detail that is beyond the insight of the payload developer. To provide the complex representation of the ISS system constraints, HOSC operations personnel, specifically the Payload Activity Requirements Coordinators (PARC), manually translate the payload developers simplified constraints into detailed ISS system constraints used for scheduling the payload activities in the Consolidated Planning System (CPS). This paper describes the implementation for a software application, User Requirements Integration (URI), developed to automate the manual ISS constraint translation process.

Muery, Kim↗
DOE OSTI2020

Air compressor load forecasting using artificial neural network

Air compressor systems are responsible for approximately 10% of the electricity consumed in United States and European Union industry. As many researches have proven the effectiveness of using Artificial Neural Network inair compressor performance prediction, there is still a need to forecast the air compressor electrical load profile. The objective of this study is to predict compressed air systems’ electrical load profile, which is valuable to industry practitioners as well as software providers in developing better practice and tools for load managementand look-ahead scheduling programs. Two artificial neural networks, Two-Layer Feed-Forward Neural Networkand Long Short-Term Memory were used to predict an air compressors electrical load. Compressors with three different control mechanisms are evaluated with a total number of 11,874 observations. Here, the forecasts were validated using out-of-sample datasets with 5-fold cross-validation. Models produced average coefficient ofdetermination values from 0.24 to 0.94, average root-mean-square errors from 0.05 kW - 5.83 kW, and meanabsolute scaled errors from 0.20 to 1.33. The results indicate that both artificial neural networks yield goodresults for compressors using variable speed drive (average R 2 = 0.8 and no naïve forecasting), only the longshort-term memory model gives acceptable results for compressors using on/off control (average R 2 = 0.82 and no naïve forecasting), and no satisfactory results are obtained for load/unload type air compressors (models constituting active forecasting).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Advanced Tri-lab Software Environment (ATSE)

The Advanced Tri-lab Software Environment (ATSE) is an effort to build an open, modular, extensible, community-engaged, and vendor-adaptable software ecosystem that enables the prototyping of new technologies for improving the ASC computing environment. The initial target for ATSE is to accelerate the maturity of the Arm ecosystem for supporting ASC computing and the high-performance computing community more broadly. ATSE provides an integrated and optimized software stack that includes: 1) Application development environment and libraries including compilers, math libraries, tools, MPI, and OpenMP, 2) Low-level system software including optimized Linux, network stack, file systems, containers, and virtual machines, 3) Job scheduling and management including workload manager, application launcher, and user tools, and 4) System administration and management tools supporting booting, monitoring, and operating system image management. SAND2020-12377 M Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Younge, Andrew J.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ibis Networks/WattIQ (IN2 Final Report)

Ibis Networks is a full-stack cleantech company that provides plug-level energy monitoring and control to solve energy and asset management problems for the enterprise. During DATES – DATES, an NREL research team worked with the Ibis team to validate their product, the InteliSocket. The Ibis InteliSocket is a pass-through plug-load energy monitor and controller that is designed to reduce energy wasted by common 120 V plug-in devices in commercial office buildings, such as computer peripherals, conference room AV equipment, and break-room appliances. The system can shut off supply power to these end uses via remote control, manual switches, pre-set schedules, or automated control algorithms. The scope of this IN2 project was the development and refinement of “smart” learning behavior algorithms (LBAs), which could help installation processes and dramatically expand the sockets’ capabilities and energy-saving potential by suggesting suitable control schedules that are based on monitored use patterns. While Ibis has the analytical and software expertise for algorithm development, the lack of test data, both in a controlled laboratory setting and in real-life deployment scenarios, represented a key barrier toward commercialization of the product. Assistance through the IN2 program provided an opportunity to conduct the needed “trial and error” algorithm development. The project included baseline field-data collection, laboratory testing, and field validation components, all of which were conducted at the NREL campus between April 2017 and July 2019.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS1979

Space Shuttle Orbiter - Countdown

The status of Orbiter launch planning is reviewed, with consideration given to major structure elements, subsystem and component development, readiness for launch, and follow-on Orbiters. It is noted that timelines in the completion of each increment of development of the first Orbital Flight Vehicle become increasingly crucial as the scheduled launch date approaches. Concurrent with the testing and finalization of this vehicle's software and hardware construction are the preliminary developmental stages of future Shuttle Orbiters.

Cohen, A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Ground control system for the midcourse space experiment UTC clock

One goal of the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) spacecraft Operations Planning Center is to maintain the onboard satellite UTC clock (UTC(MSX)) to within 1 millisecond of UTC(APL) (the program requirement is 10 msec). The UTC(MSX) clock employs as its time base an APL built 5 MHz quartz oscillator, which is expected to have frequency instabilities (aging rate + drift rate + frequency offset) that will cause the clock to drift approximately two to ten milliseconds per day. The UTC(MSX) clock can be advanced or retarded by the APL MSX satellite ground control center by integer multiples of 1 millisecond. The MSX Operations Planning Center is developing software which records the drift of UTC(MSX) relative to UTC(APL) and which schedules the time of day and magnitude of UTC(MSX) clock updates up to 48 hours in advance. Because of the manner in which MSX spacecraft activities are scheduled, MSX clock updates are planned 24 to 48 hours in advance, and stored in the satellite's computer controller for later execution. Data will be collected on the drift of UTC(MSX) relative to UTC(APL) over a three to five day period. Approximately six times per day, the time offset between UTC(MSX) and UTC(APL) will be measured by APL with a resolution of less than 100 microseconds. From this data a second order analytical model of the clock's drift will be derived. This model will be used to extrapolate the offset of the MSX clock in time from the present to 48 hours in the future. MSX clock updates will be placed on the spacecraft's daily schedule whenever the predicted clock offset exceeds 0.5 milliseconds. The paper includes a discussion of how the empirical model of the MSX clock is derived from satellite telemetry data, as well as the algorithm used to schedule MSX clock updates based on the model.

Dragonette, Richard↗
NASA NTRS2006

A survey of ground operations tools developed to simulate the pointing of space telescopes and the design for WISE

WISE, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer, is scheduled for launch in June 2010. The mission operations system for WISE requires a software modeling tool to help plan, integrate and simulate all spacecraft pointing and verify that no attitude constraints are violated. In the course of developing the requirements for this tool, an investigation was conducted into the design of similar tools for other space-based telescopes. This paper summarizes the ground software and processes used to plan and validate pointing for a selection of space telescopes; with this information as background, the design for WISE is presented.

ground system↗
NASA NTRS2013

Unique Challenges Testing SDRs for Space

This paper describes the approach used by the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed team to qualify three Software Defined Radios (SDR) for operation in space and the characterization of the platform to enable upgrades on-orbit. The three SDRs represent a significant portion of the new technologies being studied on board the SCAN Testbed, which is operating on an external truss on the International Space Station (ISS). The SCaN Testbed provides experimenters an opportunity to develop and demonstrate experimental waveforms and applications for communication, networking, and navigation concepts and advance the understanding of developing and operating SDRs in space. Qualifying a Software Defined Radio for the space environment requires additional consideration versus a hardware radio. Tests that incorporate characterization of the platform to provide information necessary for future waveforms, which might exercise extended capabilities of the hardware, are needed. The development life cycle for the radio follows the software development life cycle, where changes can be incorporated at various stages of development and test. It also enables flexibility to be added with minor additional effort. Although this provides tremendous advantages, managing the complexity inherent in a software implementation requires a testing beyond the traditional hardware radio test plan. Due to schedule and resource limitations and parallel development activities, the subsystem testing of the SDRs at the vendor sites was primarily limited to typical fixed transceiver type of testing. NASA s Glenn Research Center (GRC) was responsible for the integration and testing of the SDRs into the SCaN Testbed system and conducting the investigation of the SDR to advance the technology to be accepted by missions. This paper will describe the unique tests that were conducted at both the subsystem and system level, including environmental testing, and present results. For example, test waveforms were developed to measure the gain of the transmit system across the tunable frequency band. These were used during thermal vacuum testing to enable characterization of the integrated system in the wide operational temperature range of space. Receive power indicators were used for Electromagnetic Interference tests (EMI) to understand the platform s susceptibility to external interferers independent of the waveform. Additional approaches and lessons learned during the SCaN Testbed subsystem and system level testing will be discussed that may help future SDR integrators

Chelmins, David↗
NASA NTRS2013

Unique Challenges Testing SDRs for Space

This paper describes the approach used by the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed team to qualify three Software Defined Radios (SDR) for operation in space and the characterization of the platform to enable upgrades on-orbit. The three SDRs represent a significant portion of the new technologies being studied on board the SCAN Testbed, which is operating on an external truss on the International Space Station (ISS). The SCaN Testbed provides experimenters an opportunity to develop and demonstrate experimental waveforms and applications for communication, networking, and navigation concepts and advance the understanding of developing and operating SDRs in space. Qualifying a Software Defined Radio for the space environment requires additional consideration versus a hardware radio. Tests that incorporate characterization of the platform to provide information necessary for future waveforms, which might exercise extended capabilities of the hardware, are needed. The development life cycle for the radio follows the software development life cycle, where changes can be incorporated at various stages of development and test. It also enables flexibility to be added with minor additional effort. Although this provides tremendous advantages, managing the complexity inherent in a software implementation requires a testing beyond the traditional hardware radio test plan. Due to schedule and resource limitations and parallel development activities, the subsystem testing of the SDRs at the vendor sites was primarily limited to typical fixed transceiver type of testing. NASA's Glenn Research Center (GRC) was responsible for the integration and testing of the SDRs into the SCaN Testbed system and conducting the investigation of the SDR to advance the technology to be accepted by missions. This paper will describe the unique tests that were conducted at both the subsystem and system level, including environmental testing, and present results. For example, test waveforms were developed to measure the gain of the transmit system across the tunable frequency band. These were used during thermal vacuum testing to enable characterization of the integrated system in the wide operational temperature range of space. Receive power indicators were used for Electromagnetic Interference tests (EMI) to understand the platform's susceptibility to external interferers independent of the waveform. Additional approaches and lessons learned during the SCaN Testbed subsystem and system level testing will be discussed that may help future SDR integrators.

transmitters receivers↗
NASA NTRS2016

Leadership Development Program Final Project

TOSC is NASA's prime contractor tasked to successfully assemble, test, and launch the EM1 spacecraft. TOSC success is highly dependent on design products from the other NASA Programs manufacturing and delivering the flight hardware; Space Launch System(SLS) and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle(MPCV). Design products directly feed into TOSC's: Procedures, Personnel training, Hardware assembly, Software development, Integrated vehicle test and checkout, Launch. TOSC senior management recognized a significant schedule risk as these products are still being developed by the other two (2) programs; SVE and ACE positions were created.

Design products required for Engineering↗
NASA NTRS2019

Quantitative Comparison of Proprietary and Open-Source Georeferencing Tools for Use with Astronaut Photography

The Crew Earth Observations (CEO) Facility within the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA’s Johnson Space Center supports the acquisition, analysis, and curation of astronaut photography of Earth’s surface and atmosphere. Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) respond to requests from CEO to acquire imagery of scientific and education targets, to include high profile targets in response to activations from the International Charter for Space & Major Disasters (also known as the International Disaster Charter, or IDC) and NASA’s Disasters Program. CEO facilitates the acquisition of astronaut photography in response to IDC events and delivers georeferenced data products to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for distribution to the disaster community. Using GeoRef, an internal web-based tool developed in collaboration with NASA’s Ames Research Center, CEO generates data packages of georeferenced imagery, uncertainty images for assessing control and tie point accuracy, and metadata documenting raw and processed data. Operational experience with the Georef software identified vulnerabilities to internal code and server errors that can significantly increase time of data production. As such, CEO developed a backup procedure in case the GeoRef software experiences front-end or back-end errors. A system using OSGEO’s open-source QGIS software combined with a semi-automated pipeline using the object-oriented Python language and the Geospatial Abstract Library for generating metadata is quantitatively compared to GeoRef’s data package for quality and productivity. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) provides a standard measurement of data quality as it relates to ground error. Assessing RMSE measurements generated from georeferenced astronaut photographs acquired with different obliquity and focal length offers a comprehensive accuracy assessment of the software’s transformation algorithms. This assessment will indicate the software's ability to produce data products with the least ground-error or highest data quality regarding ground accuracy. In addition, a comparison of the software’s efficiency in generating a data package that includes georeferenced images, metadata, and uncertainty images for measuring tie/ground point error was performed. Initial results, based on the comparison of three nadir-facing astronaut photographs acquired with a 95mm focal length, reveal the QGIS-based system's average RMSE is 2.36 (pixels) suggesting its georectification system produces data products that meet and perhaps improve upon Georef solution's average RMSE of 32.99 (pixels). However, the QGIS system was unable to reproduce two unique Georef data products, uncertainty images for measuring tie and control point errors and a translated unwrapped image. In addition, the Georef software is designed to accept handheld camera pose information from a hardware component (Geosens) scheduled for deployment on the ISS in late 2018; this information is intended to provide increased accuracy and auto-registration capability for astronaut photographs. Future work is expected to determine the QGIS-based georectification system’s potential as an open-source alternative (and operational backup) to Georef for georeferencing the full range of resolutions and viewing angles unique to handheld digital camera imagery in support of ISS disaster response activities.

Jagge, Amy M.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Pursuing Cost Effective Tank Waste Characterization at the Savannah River Site - 16172

The U. S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management has tasked the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) with developing strategies and technologies to understand, optimize, scale, and speed up tank waste characterization. This scope is part of a multi-year project with the end goal of implementing programmatic changes that accelerate tank waste processing and tank closure schedules, and at the same time reduce characterization costs, while maintaining data integrity. The project is currently in its second year. During the first year of the project, SRNL completed a series of activities focused on understanding the range of current characterization practices, needs, gaps, risks, and potential alternative approaches. Based on the results, conclusions were drawn regarding aspects of the programs that are most costly and time consuming; particular waste constituents that drive costs, schedule, and program risks; alternative characterization approaches (other than sampling and analysis) that are less expensive and more rapid; new laboratory methods holding the greatest promise for reducing characterization costs and schedule; and in whole, the primary areas where current characterization practices can be improved. SRNL's current scope is focusing on three primary activities: 1) development of a technical basis/strategy for improving the cost effectiveness and schedule of SRNL's tank closure characterization program; 2) design/assembly of hardware, plumbing, and software for automating select radiochemical separation and waste removal processes; and 3) development and testing of alternative radiochemical separation protocols most likely to improve high resource demand/time consuming analysis methods (such as Ra-226, Pa-231, Tc-99/I-129, and/or Y/trivalent actinide separations). (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1991

Planning and Resource Management in an Intelligent Automated Power Management System

Power system management is a process of guiding a power system towards the objective of continuous supply of electrical power to a set of loads. Spacecraft power system management requires planning and scheduling, since electrical power is a scarce resource in space. The automation of power system management for future spacecraft has been recognized as an important R&D goal. Several automation technologies have emerged including the use of expert systems for automating human problem solving capabilities such as rule based expert system for fault diagnosis and load scheduling. It is questionable whether current generation expert system technology is applicable for power system management in space. The objective of the ADEPTS (ADvanced Electrical Power management Techniques for Space systems) is to study new techniques for power management automation. These techniques involve integrating current expert system technology with that of parallel and distributed computing, as well as a distributed, object-oriented approach to software design. The focus of the current study is the integration of new procedures for automatically planning and scheduling loads with procedures for performing fault diagnosis and control. The objective is the concurrent execution of both sets of tasks on separate transputer processors, thus adding parallelism to the overall management process.

Morris, Robert A.↗
NASA NTRS2007

System Engineering Strategy for Distributed Multi-Purpose Simulation Architectures

This paper describes the system engineering approach used to develop distributed multi-purpose simulations. The multi-purpose simulation architecture focuses on user needs, operations, flexibility, cost and maintenance. This approach was used to develop an International Space Station (ISS) simulator, which is called the International Space Station Integrated Simulation (ISIS)1. The ISIS runs unmodified ISS flight software, system models, and the astronaut command and control interface in an open system design that allows for rapid integration of multiple ISS models. The initial intent of ISIS was to provide a distributed system that allows access to ISS flight software and models for the creation, test, and validation of crew and ground controller procedures. This capability reduces the cost and scheduling issues associated with utilizing standalone simulators in fixed locations, and facilitates discovering unknowns and errors earlier in the development lifecycle. Since its inception, the flexible architecture of the ISIS has allowed its purpose to evolve to include ground operator system and display training, flight software modification testing, and as a realistic test bed for Exploration automation technology research and development.

Bhula, Dlilpkumar↗
NASA NTRS2007

In-Space Crew-Collaborative Task Scheduling

For all past and current human space missions, the final scheduling of tasks to be done in space has been devoid of crew control, flexibility, and insight. Ground controllers, with minimal input from the crew, schedule the tasks and uplink the timeline to the crew or uplink the command sequences to the hardware. Prior to the International Space Station (ISS), the crew could make requests about tomorrow s timeline, they could omit a task, or they could request that something in the timeline be delayed. This lack of control over one's own schedule has had negative consequences. There is anecdotal consensus among astronauts that control over their own schedules will mitigate the stresses of long duration missions. On ISS, a modicum of crew control is provided by the job jar. Ground controllers prepare a task list (a.k.a. "job jar") of non-conflicting tasks from which jobs can be chosen by the in space crew. Because there is little free time and few interesting non-conflicting activities, the task-list approach provides little relief from the tedium of being micro-managed by the timeline. Scheduling for space missions is a complex and laborious undertaking which usually requires a large cadre of trained specialists and suites of complex software tools. It is a giant leap from today s ground prepared timeline (with a job jar) to full crew control of the timeline. However, technological advances, currently in-work or proposed, make it reasonable to consider scheduling a collaborative effort by the ground-based teams and the in-space crew. Collaboration would allow the crew to make minor adjustments, add tasks according to their preferences, understand the reasons for the placement of tasks on the timeline, and provide them a sense of control. In foreseeable but extraordinary situations, such as a quick response to anomalies and extended or unexpected loss of signal, the crew should have the autonomous ability to make appropriate modifications to the timeline, extend the timeline, or even start over with a new timeline. The Vision for Space Exploration (VSE), currently being pursued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will send humans to Mars in a few decades. Stresses on the human mind will be exacerbated by the longer durations and greater distances, and it will be imperative to implement stress-reducing innovations such as giving the crew control of their daily activities.

Jaap, John↗