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At least 541 records · Page 30

On the Characterization and Mitigation of Noise in Space-borne Microwave Sounding Instruments

Space-borne microwave sounding instruments have become vital data sources for weather prediction and climate change studies. Among the various radiometer configurations, the total power microwave radiometer is particularly appealing for current and future operational satellites due to its superior sensitivity and simple design. However, its performance is vulnerable to degradation caused by receiver gain fluctuations, electronic 1/f noise, and other time varying receiver characteristics. For Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) users, 1/f noise introduces inter-channel correlations, complicating the assimilation of affected observations and reducing their accuracy. Addressing this noise issue in ground data processing system is essential to enhance the utility of microwave sounding data. This paper focuses on the characterization and mitigation of noise in current and future microwave sounding instruments, with particular emphasis on the impact of 1/f noise. Various methods are applied to quantitatively characterize noise features in both frequency and time domains. Additionally, the influence of calibration parameters on 1/f noise are analyzed. Based on these findings, we propose a mitigation algorithm for reducing noise during the on-orbit calibration of microwave sounding instruments, aiming to improve the quality of retrieved data for operational use.

calibration↗

Long-Term Health Risk Quantification

Astronauts face hazards during spaceflight, including space radiation exposure, isolation and confinement, traveling far distances from Earth, reduced gravity levels, and closed and hostile environments. These hazards drive the definition of human health and performance risks associated with spaceflight. NASA’s Human System Risk Board maintains the human spaceflight risk posture for in-mission risks, as well as post-flight, Long-Term Health (LTH)risks potentially occurring later in the astronaut’s life. LTH risk encompasses the timeframe from immediately post-flight, through the rest of an astronaut’s career, through retirement, and until death. Possible LTH risk outcomes include the time and interventions needed for the astronaut to return to preflight physiological states after experiencing spaceflight hazards and recovery from any in-mission medical events that persist into the post-flight timeframe. It includes chronic complications that may arise due to experiencing in-flight medical conditions or injuries and medical conditions that occur later in life with a higher probability of occurrence or with more severity because of their spaceflight exposure. Finally, LTH risk outcomes can also include a reduction in life expectancy due to spaceflight exposures. There have been 144 medical conditions identified by NASA’s Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health team to be associated with LTH risk. Epidemiological studies have been performed for some of these conditions to determine if astronauts suffer from an increased prevalence or severity of the condition due to their spaceflight experience compared to a comparable cohort .Differences in astronaut mortality or morbidity due to spaceflight experience were not detected in several of these studies. There were two cases where a modest increase in the incidence rate of astronaut LTH outcomes was detected. The first suggested an increase in the incidence of melanoma cases in astronauts, where the number of cases in astronauts were similar to the elevated number of cases observed in airplane pilots. The second provided some evidence of elevated numbers of cardiovascular disease events in astronauts compared to an appropriate healthy comparator cohort, which may warrant additional investigation. The lack of detection of LTH risk outcomes should not ease concerns about astronaut LTH. The studies highlighted here constitute only a small portion of the potential LTH conditions that could occur. Once epidemiological studies are performed on all conditions, significant findings may be detected. The analysis of astronaut LTH also suffers from limited numbers of data points because of the limited numbers of astronauts overall and the even fewer who have reached an age where LTH outcomes may begin to manifest. As shuttle and ISS astronauts begin to age and increase the feasibility of analysis, LTH outcomes may be detected. An application of risk quantification is the use of risk metrics within trade studies for resource prioritization and decision making. Trade studies regarding countermeasures to LTH risk outcomes would benefit from a quantification of LTH risk. NASA has ground-based processes in place such as astronaut screening and access to continuous medical monitoring and care during and after their astronaut career which are the main methods for mitigating LTH risk. In-mission countermeasures, such as acceptable levels of medical care and available countermeasures to counter spaceflight related physiological decrements, can mitigate a poor health and performance status immediately post-flight. Identifying appropriate risk metrics, obtaining valid quantities for them, and tying them to LTH countermeasures are necessary steps for realizing their use in trade studies. This presentation will highlight the challenges associated with the identification, quantification, and utilization of LTH risk metrics

Beth Lewandowski↗

Application of microprocessors to spacecraft synthetic aperture radar processing

A ground-based digital synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processor capable of correlating images from raw spacecraft data at real-time rates is currently under development. The processor design requirements are particularly formidable due to (1) range migration effects resulting from planetary curvature and rotation, (2) antenna beam pointing errors, and (3) variation of the Doppler reference function with changing orbital parameters. Based upon the current effort, this paper describes a candidate real-time on-board SAR processing implementation approach that might evolve for future spacecraft applications. Key features include the use of custom large scale integration (LSI) charge-coupled device (CCD) technology to accomplish the correlation functions and microprocessor technology to effect control.

Arens, W. E.↗

LANDSAT-D Investigations Workshop

Viewgraphs are presented which highlight LANDSAT-D project status and ground segment; early access TM processing; LANDSAT-D data acquisition and availability; LANDSAT-D performance characterization; MSS pre-NOAA characterization; MSS radiometric sensor performance (spectral information, absolute calibration, and ground processing); MSS geometric sensor performance; and MSS geometric processing and calibration.

Source record↗

Telemetry ground system development via the component approach

NASA's deployment of major space projects such as the Earth Observing System (EOS) will demand increased functionality and ground-based telemetry processing performance well above current capabilities. At the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, custom hardware and software components have been developed and combined into a unique architecture to address this problem. The hardware components utilize Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC's) developed specifically to support NASA's telemetry data systems needs and designed to handle data rates up to 300 Mbps. A generalized set of software components, called the Telemetry Processing Control Environment facilitate the rapid construction of control and monitoring functions for the ground-based telemetry processing systems. This combination of hardware and software elements enables rapid construction of flexible, cost-effective telemetry processing systems capable of meeting the performance requirements facing NASA in the coming decade.

Thorn, Karen E.↗

Data processing of Martian topographic information obtained from ground-based radar and spectroscopy and from Mariners 6 and 7. Martian topography elevations: Data processing

Papers are presented which were published as a result of a project involving the preparation of a topographical elevation contour map of Mars from all data sources available through 1969, as well as the observation of Mars by spectroscopic methods in 1971 to provide additional pressure data for topographic information. Topics of the papers include: the analysis of large-scale Martian topography variations - data preparation from earth based radar, earth based CO2 spectroscopy, and Mariners 6 and 7 CO2 spectroscopy; the analysis of water content in observed Martian white clouds; and Martian, lunar, and terrestrial crusts - a three-dimensional exercise in comparative geophysics.

Anderson, K. A.↗

Impact of the Earthquake Rupture on Ground-Motion Variability of the 24 August 2016 M w 6.2 Amatrice, Italy, Earthquake

Here, the devastating 24 August 2016 M w 6.2 earthquake that struck Amatrice, Italy, marked the beginning of a prolonged seismic sequence dominated by three subsequent M w ≥6.0 events in the central Apennines region. The earthquake destroyed Amatrice’s historic center, claiming the lives of 299 individuals and causing widespread damage in the neighboring villages. The severity of the ground shaking, with a recorded maximum acceleration of 850 cm/s 2 on the east–west component at the Amatrice station, was far greater than the predicted acceleration based on the Italian ground-motion model (GMM). As pointed out by several investigations, the observed ground-motion amplitude and its spatial variability during the earthquake can be linked to specific rupture characteristics, including slip distribution and rupture directivity effects revealed by the observed data (Tinti et al., 2016; Pischiutta et al., 2021). In this study, we conducted physics-based 3D numerical simulations of ground motion for the Amatrice earthquake for frequencies up to 3 Hz. We employed a series of kinematic rupture models and a well-constrained local 3D velocity model incorporating surface topography. The kinematic rupture realizations were generated using multiscale hybrid and fully stochastic models, following the technique proposed by Graves and Pitarka (2016). We focused on assessing the sensitivity of near-fault ground-motion amplitudes to earthquake rupture characteristics, in particular, the spatial slip pattern. To evaluate the quality of our simulations, we employed goodness-of-fit measurements performed in comparisons of simulated and recorded ground motions. The simulated ground motions compare well with the recorded data and predictions from GMMs for Italy, ITA18 (Lanzano et al., 2019). However, we found that the simulated interevent ground-motion variability (randomness in the source process) of peak ground velocity, σ (PGV) is higher than the constant σ (PGV) predicted by conventional GMMs. Our simulations using several rupture scenarios demonstrate that the near-fault ground-motion amplification pattern is directly related to the slip distribution pattern.

3D Ground Motions Simulations↗

Film processing in scientific spacecraft television systems

Photography and photochemical processing of the film in spacecraft phototelevision systems involve several aspects which require an approach to selection of the handling process which differs from that used under ground conditions, different processing technology, and different construction of the instrument for carrying out the processing. Soviet processing techniques and equipment are described.

Aleshin, G. M.↗

Earth observing SAR data processing systems at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Seasat to EOS SAR

The evolution of SAR digital data processing and management ground systems developed at the JPL for earth science missions is discussed. Attention is given to the SAR ground data system requirements, the early data processing systems, the Seasat SAR system, and the SIR-B data processing system. Special consideration is given to two currently operational SAR data systems: the JPL aircraft SAR processing system that flies on the NASA DC-8 and the Alaska SAR Facility at Fairbanks.

Nichols, David A.↗

Decomposition of superimposed ground reaction forces into left and right force profiles

The process of collecting ground reaction force data by mounting a forceplate beneath a treadmill belt has the advantage that numerous walking trials can be analyzed without the problem of subjects 'targeting' their footsteps. However, a potential problem is that the measured forces represent a summation of bilateral force profiles during the double support phase of walking. To address this issue, an algorithm is described for decomposing superimposed ground reaction force data into individual left and right profiles. It is based on an examination of the side-to-side oscillations of the measured center of pressure (CoP). Whenever the measured CoP exceeds a certain threshold, it is assumed that the person is being supported by a single limb, and the measured GRF data reflect the forces under that limb. Conversely, when the measured CoP indicates that both feet are on the treadmill, it is assumed that the location of the individual CoP under each foot is given by wL2 and wR2. These quantities reflect the greatest excursion of the measured CoP towards the left and right sides of the forceplate, respectively. With this assumption, individual GRF profiles can be calculated by means of solving two simultaneous equations--one describing the equilibrium of forces in the vertical direction, and one describing the equilibrium of moments about an antero-posterior axis of the forceplate. The algorithm describing this procedure is simple enough to be implemented on a spreadsheet and yields estimates for average force, impulse, peak force and stance time that are typically within 3% of the true values.

Non-NASA Center↗

The effects of quantization on signal processing

Typically an analog signal from a space system is sampled, quantized by Analog-to-Digital (A/D) conversion, merged into a bit stream, communicated to a ground station, received by the ground station, and processed by the ground station to extract useful information for dissemination to the users. The cost of each of these steps is reduced as the number of quantization steps is reduced in the A/D converter. The number of quantization steps should be as small as possible without losing the required information content. This report deals specifically with the accuracy of averages as a function of the number of quantized samples used to compute the averages with the noise on the analog signal as a parameter. For example, the success of the Visible Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer (VISSR) Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) Demonstration depends upon temporally averaging multiple samples in an effort to reduce noise to a sufficiently low level such that temperature profile sounding is made possible. A tutorial description of this process is presented.

Montgomery, H. E.↗

Support Routines for In Situ Image Processing

This software consists of a set of application programs that support ground-based image processing for in situ missions. These programs represent a collection of utility routines that perform miscellaneous functions in the context of the ground data system. Each one fulfills some specific need as determined via operational experience. The most unique aspect to these programs is that they are integrated into the large, in situ image processing system via the PIG (Planetary Image Geometry) library. They work directly with space in situ data, understanding the appropriate image meta-data fields and updating them properly. The programs themselves are completely multimission; all mission dependencies are handled by PIG. This suite of programs consists of: (1)marscahv: Generates a linearized, epi-polar aligned image given a stereo pair of images. These images are optimized for 1-D stereo correlations, (2) marscheckcm: Compares the camera model in an image label with one derived via kinematics modeling on the ground, (3) marschkovl: Checks the overlaps between a list of images in order to determine which might be stereo pairs. This is useful for non-traditional stereo images like long-baseline or those from an articulating arm camera, (4) marscoordtrans: Translates mosaic coordinates from one form into another, (5) marsdispcompare: Checks a Left Right stereo disparity image against a Right Left disparity image to ensure they are consistent with each other, (6) marsdispwarp: Takes one image of a stereo pair and warps it through a disparity map to create a synthetic opposite- eye image. For example, a right eye image could be transformed to look like it was taken from the left eye via this program, (7) marsfidfinder: Finds fiducial markers in an image by projecting their approximate location and then using correlation to locate the markers to subpixel accuracy. These fiducial markets are small targets attached to the spacecraft surface. This helps verify, or improve, the pointing of in situ cameras, (8) marsinvrange: Inverse of marsrange . given a range file, re-computes an XYZ file that closely matches the original. . marsproj: Projects an XYZ coordinate through the camera model, and reports the line/sample coordinates of the point in the image, (9) marsprojfid: Given the output of marsfidfinder, projects the XYZ locations and compares them to the found locations, creating a report showing the fiducial errors in each image. marsrad: Radiometrically corrects an image, (10) marsrelabel: Updates coordinate system or camera model labels in an image, (11) marstiexyz: Given a stereo pair, allows the user to interactively pick a point in each image and reports the XYZ value corresponding to that pair of locations. marsunmosaic: Extracts a single frame from a mosaic, which will be created such that it could have been an input to the original mosaic. Useful for creating simulated input frames using different camera models than the original mosaic used, and (12) merinverter: Uses an inverse lookup table to convert 8-bit telemetered data to its 12-bit original form. Can be used in other missions despite the name.

Deen, Robert G.↗

Ground based research in microgravity materials processing

The core activities performed during this time period have been concerned with tracking the TEMPEST experiments on the shuttle with drops of Zr, Ni, and Nb alloys. In particular a lot of Zr drops are being made to better define the recalescence characteristics of that system so that accurate comparisons of the drop tube results with Tempest can be made. A new liner, with minimal reflectivity characteristics, has been inserted into the drop tube in order to improve the recalescence measurements of the falling drops. The first installation to make the geometric measurements to ensure a proper fit has been made. The stovepipe sections are currently in the shop at MSFC being painted with low reflectivity black paint. Work has also continued on setting up the MEL apparatus obtained from Oak Ridge in the down stairs laboratory at the Drop Tube Facilities. Some ground-based experiments on the same metals as are being processed on TEMPEST are planned for the MEL. The flight schedules for the KC-135 experiments are still to be determined in the near future.

Workman, Gary L.↗

Parameters of the Lightning Attachment Processes in a Negative Cloud-To-Ground Stroke Observed on a Microsecond Timescale

We present time-correlated ultra-high-speed video camera and electromagnetic field measurements of the attachment processes in a natural negative cloud-to-ground stroke. The video camera frame exposure time and pixel resolution were 740 ns and 0.91 m/pixel, respectively. The common streamer zone (CSZ) was first observed 2.52 µs preceding the first frame showing the return stroke (RS) in progress, when the upward and downward leader-tips were 9.8 m apart. In the next frame, the two leaders were observed to have propagated toward each other within the CSZ, with their tips being 0.91 m apart. Our observations show with unprecedented precision/clarity that (a) the slow front in the field waveform is associated with the CSZ, and (b) the “proper” start of the RS is marked by the onset of the fast transition in the field waveform which occurs at the completion of the attachment processes (when the upward and downward leaders have merged).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Developing a Logistics Data Process for Support Equipment for NASA Ground Operations

The United States NASA Space Shuttle has long been considered an extremely capable yet relatively expensive rocket. A great part of the roughly US $500 million per launch expense was the support footprint: refurbishment and maintenance of the space shuttle system, together with the long list of resources required to support it, including personnel, tools, facilities, transport and support equipment. NASA determined to make its next rocket system with a smaller logistics footprint, and thereby more cost-effective and quicker turnaround. The logical solution was to adopt a standard Logistics Support Analysis (LSA) process based on GEIA-STD-0007 http://www.logisticsengineers.org/may09pres/GEIASTD0007DEXShortIntro.pdf which is the successor of MIL-STD-1388-2B widely used by U.S., NATO, and other world military services and industries. This approach is unprecedented at NASA: it is the first time a major program of programs, Project Constellation, is factoring logistics and supportability into design at many levels. This paper will focus on one of those levels NASA ground support equipment for the next generation of NASA rockets and on building a Logistics Support Analysis Record (LSAR) for developing and documenting a support solution and inventory of resources for. This LSAR is actually a standards-based database, containing analyses of the time and tools, personnel, facilities and support equipment required to assemble and integrate the stages and umbilicals of a rocket. This paper will cover building this database from scratch: including creating and importing a hierarchical bill of materials (BOM) from legacy data; identifying line-replaceable units (LRUs) of a given piece of equipment; analyzing reliability and maintainability of said LRUs; and therefore making an assessment back to design whether the support solution for a piece of equipment is too much work, i.e., too resource-intensive. If one must replace or inspect an LRU too much, perhaps a modification of the design of the equipment can make such operational effort unnecessary. Finally, this paper addresses processes of tying resources to a timeline of tasks performed in ground operations: this enables various overarching analyses, e.g., a summarization of all resources used for a given piece of equipment. Quality Control of data will also be discussed: importing and exporting data from product teams, including spreadsheets-todatabase or data exchange between databases.

Chakrabarti, Suman↗

O’Hare Airport Short-Term Ground Transportation Modal Demand Forecast Using Gaussian Processes

Here, the principal objective of this study is to analyze the spatial and temporal variation of ground transportation airport demand and provide demand forecast to inform planning capability and explore alternatives for investments to accommodate airport growth. Because of its good adaptability and strong generalization ability for dealing with high-dimensional input, small-sample, and nonlinear spatial data, Gaussian process (GP) regression is used to provide forecast estimates using data from transportation network company (TNC) trips and urban rail passengers at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. TNC airport trips differ significantly, with three times more distance, more than twice the travel time, and half of the share requests compared with nonairport trips. This highlights the need for separate demand models. Hourly analysis of the rail service indicates that this is likely heavily used by airport workers, whereas TNC services focus on travelers because of variations in the peak demand hours. Heteroscedastic GP regression is implemented because of differences in trip variance between night and day hours. Estimates are given for weekdays and weekend trips, and the 95% confidence intervals are calculated. The introduction of flight schedule information into the models shows marginal improvements in their performance. However, fitting a GP regression becomes computationally expensive with increased sample size and the introduction of spatial components. Transportation planners and policymakers can use the results and methods implemented in this study to optimize transportation assets and provide long-range simulations of the current and future conditions in the area.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Overview of containerless processing technologies

Many of the experiments to be carried out in the Space Shuttle will require containerless processing techniques that will provide manipulation and control of weightless (molten) materials without physical contact with container walls or other holding devices. The variety of containerless processing technologies now being developed for space- and ground-based materials processing facilities is surveyed. It is shown how the utilization of air jets or high-intensity acoustic, electromagnetic, or electrostatic fields can produce forces that support and manipulate materials. Most of the present containerless research seeks to develop high-temperature systems capable of melting and resolidifying materials. An introduction to available NASA test facilities is provided.

Barmatz, M.↗

Shuttle extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) operational enhancements

An EMU program activity is considered aimed at achieving a 25 percent reduction in ground turnaround man-hours and processing time between missions and extending EVA on-orbit capabilities. Tasks being implemented with expected benefits to NASA-manned spaceflight programs are identified and described. It is concluded that the EMU enhancements made to increase durability and reduce ground processing time will also provide the capability for on-orbit suit resizing and make possible the extension of the present on-orbit certification limit from 3 to 5 EVAs.

Balinskas, Robert↗