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At least 613 records · Page 34

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NASA NTRS1994

Mission Evaluation Room Intelligent Diagnostic and Analysis System (MIDAS)

The role of Mission Evaluation Room (MER) engineers is to provide engineering support during Space Shuttle missions, for Space Shuttle systems. These engineers are concerned with ensuring that the systems for which they are responsible function reliably, and as intended. The MER is a central facility from which engineers may work, in fulfilling this obligation. Engineers participate in real-time monitoring of shuttle telemetry data and provide a variety of analyses associated with the operation of the shuttle. The Johnson Space Center's Automation and Robotics Division is working to transfer advances in intelligent systems technology to NASA's operational environment. Specifically, the MER Intelligent Diagnostic and Analysis System (MIDAS) project provides MER engineers with software to assist them with monitoring, filtering and analyzing Shuttle telemetry data, during and after Shuttle missions. MIDAS off-loads to computers and software, the tasks of data gathering, filtering, and analysis, and provides the engineers with information which is in a more concise and usable form needed to support decision making and engineering evaluation. Engineers are then able to concentrate on more difficult problems as they arise. This paper describes some, but not all of the applications that have been developed for MER engineers, under the MIDAS Project. The sampling described herewith was selected to show the range of tasks that engineers must perform for mission support, and to show the various levels of automation that have been applied to assist their efforts.

Pack, Ginger L.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Attitude Design for the LADEE Mission

The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) satellite successfully completed its 148-day science investigation in a low-altitude, near-equatorial lunar orbit on April 18, 2014. The LADEE spacecraft was built, managed and operated by NASA's Ames Research Center (ARC). The Mission Operations Center (MOC) was located at Ames and was responsible for activity planning, command sequencing, trajectory and attitude design, orbit determination, and spacecraft operations. The Science Operations Center (SOC) was located at Goddard Space Flight Center and was responsible for science planning, data archiving and distribution. This paper details attitude design and operations support for the LADEE mission. LADEE's attitude design was shaped by a wide range of instrument pointing requirements that necessitated regular excursions from the baseline one revolution per orbit "Ram" attitude. Such attitude excursions were constrained by a number of flight rules levied to protect instruments from the Sun, avoid geometries that would result in simultaneous occlusion of LADEE's two star tracker heads, and maintain the spacecraft within its thermal and power operating limits. To satisfy LADEE's many attitude requirements and constraints, a set of rules and conventions was adopted to manage the complexity of this design challenge and facilitate the automation of ground software that generated pointing commands spanning multiple days of operations at a time. The resulting LADEE Flight Dynamics System (FDS) that was developed used Visual Basic scripts that generated instructions to AGI's Satellite Tool Kit (STK) in order to derive quaternion commands at regular intervals that satisfied LADEE's pointing requirements. These scripts relied heavily on the powerful "align and constrain" capability of STK's attitude module to construct LADEE's attitude profiles and the slews to get there. A description of the scripts and the attitude modeling they embodied is provided. One particular challenge analysts faced was in the design of LADEE maneuver attitudes. A flight rule requiring pre-maneuver verification of in-flight maneuver conditions by ground operators prior to burn execution resulted in the need to accommodate long periods in the maneuver attitude. This in turn complicated efforts to satisfy star tracker interference and communication constraints in lunar orbit. In response to this challenge, a graphical method was developed and used to survey candidate rotation angles about the thrust vector. This survey method is described and an example of its use on a particular LADEE maneuver is discussed. Finally, the software and methodology used to satisfy LADEE's attitude requirements are also discussed in the context of LADEE's overall activity planning effort. In particular, the way in which strategic schedules of instrument and engineering activities were translated into actual attitude profiles at the tactical level, then converted into precise quaternion commands to achieve those pointing goals is explained. In order to reduce the risk of time-consuming re-planning efforts, this process included the generation of long-term projections of constraint violation predictions for individual attitude profiles that could be used to establish keep-out time-frames for particular attitude profiles. The challenges experienced and overall efficacy of both the overall LADEE ground system and the attitude components of the Flight Dynamics System in meeting LADEE's varied pointing requirements are discussed.

LADEE↗

NASA NTRS2017

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Preparation of an Operation & Configuration Control Plan (OCCP) of "Category B" Pressure Vessels/Systems

This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) describes the requirements and methodology for preparation of an Operation & Configuration Control Plan (OCCP) as required by JPR 1710.13 to assure safe ground pressurization and pressurization during aircraft operations of “Category B” Pressure Vessels/Systems (PV/S) at Johnson Space Center (JSC), Ellington Field (EFD) and associated NASA spaceflight/aircraft operations facilities. An OCCP is a written assessment showing that a “Category B” PV/S is safe for ground pressurization and pressurization during aircraft operations, within the bounds established by the OCCP.

Nathanael J Greene↗

NASA NTRS2008

NASA's Ares I and Ares V Launch Vehicles -- Effective Space Operations Through Efficient Ground Operations

The United States (U.S.) plans to return to the Moon by 2020, with the development of a new human-rated space transportation system to replace the Space Shuttle, which is due for retirement in 2010 after it completes its missions of building the International Space Station and servicing the Hubble Space Telescope. Powering the future of space-based scientific exploration will be the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle, which will transport the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle to orbit where it will rendezvous with the Lunar Lander. which will be delivered by the Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle. This new transportation infrastructure, developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will allow astronauts to leave low-Earth orbit for extended lunar exploration and preparation for the first footprint on Mars. All space-based operations begin and are controlled from Earth. NASA's philosophy is to deliver safe, reliable, and cost-effective solutions to sustain a multi-billion-dollar program across several decades. Leveraging 50 years of lessons learned, NASA is partnering with private industry, while building on proven hardware experience. This paper will discuss how the Engineering Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is working with the Ares Projects Office to streamline ground operations concepts and reduce costs. Currently, NASA's budget is around $17 billion, which is less than 1 percent of the U.S. Federal budget. Of this amount, NASA invests approximately $4.5 billion each year in Space Shuttle operations, regardless of whether the spacecraft is flying or not. The affordability requirement is for the Ares I to reduce this expense by 50 percent, in order to allow NASA to invest more in space-based scientific operations. Focusing on this metric, the Engineering Directorate provides several solutions-oriented approaches, including Lean/Six Sigma practices and streamlined hardware testing and integration, such as assembling major hardware elements before shipping to the Kennedy Space Center for launch operations. This paper provides top-level details for several cost saving initiatives, including both process and product improvements that will result in space transportation systems that are designed with operations efficiencies in mind. The Engineering Directorate provides both the intellectual capital embodied in an experienced workforce and unique facilities in which to validate the information technology tools that allow a nationwide team to collaboratively connect across miles that separate them and the engineering disciplines that integrate various piece parts into a whole system. As NASA transforms ground-based operations, it also is transitioning its workforce from an era of intense hands-on labor to a new one of mechanized conveniences and robust hardware with simpler interfaces. Ensuring that space exploration is on sound footing requires that operations efficiencies be designed into the transportation system and implemented in the development stage. Applying experience gained through decades of ground and space op'erations, while using value-added processes and modern business and engineering tools, is the philosophy upon which a new era of exploration will be built to solve some of the most pressing exploration challenges today -- namely, safety, reliability, and affordability.

Dumbacher, Daniel L.↗

NASA NTRS2009

CCSDS Spacecraft Monitor and Control Mission Operations Interoperability Prototype

We are entering a new era in space exploration. Reduced operating budgets require innovative solutions to leverage existing systems to implement the capabilities of future missions. Custom solutions to fulfill mission objectives are no longer viable. Can NASA adopt international standards to reduce costs and increase interoperability with other space agencies? Can legacy systems be leveraged in a service oriented architecture (SOA) to further reduce operations costs? The Operations Technology Facility (OTF) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) is collaborating with Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) to answer these very questions. The Mission Operations and Information Management Services Area (MOIMS) Spacecraft Monitor and Control (SM&C) Working Group within the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) is developing the Mission Operations standards to address this problem space. The set of proposed standards presents a service oriented architecture to increase the level of interoperability among space agencies. The OTF and DLR are developing independent implementations of the standards as part of an interoperability prototype. This prototype will address three key components: validation of the SM&C Mission Operations protocol, exploration of the Object Management Group (OMG) Data Distribution Service (DDS), and the incorporation of legacy systems in a SOA. The OTF will implement the service providers described in the SM&C Mission Operation standards to create a portal for interaction with a spacecraft simulator. DLR will implement the service consumers to perform the monitor and control of the spacecraft. The specifications insulate the applications from the underlying transport layer. We will gain experience with a DDS transport layer as we delegate responsibility to the middleware and explore transport bridges to connect disparate middleware products. A SOA facilitates the reuse of software components. The prototype will leverage the capabilities of existing legacy systems. Various custom applications and middleware solutions will be combined into one system providing the illusion of a set of homogenous services. This paper will document our journey as we implement the interoperability prototype. The team consists of software engineers with experience on the current command, telemetry and messaging systems that support the International Space Station (ISS) and Space Shuttle programs. Emphasis will be on the objectives, results and potential cost saving benefits.

Lucord, Steve↗

NASA NTRS2008

Early Impacts of a Human-in-the-Loop Evaluation in a Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility

The development of a new space vehicle, the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), provides Human Factors engineers an excellent opportunity to have an impact early in the design process. This case study highlights a Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) evaluation conducted in a Space Vehicle Mock-Up Facility and will describe the human-centered approach and how the findings are impacting design and operational concepts early in space vehicle design. The focus of this HITL evaluation centered on the activities that astronaut crewmembers would be expected to perform within the functional internal volume of the Crew Module (CM) of the space vehicle. The primary objective was to determine if there are aspects of a baseline vehicle configuration that would limit or prevent the performance of dynamically volume-driving activities (e.g. six crewmembers donning their suits in an evacuation scenario). A second objective was to step through concepts of operations for known systems and evaluate them in integrated scenarios. The functional volume for crewmember activities is closely tied to every aspect of system design (e.g. avionics, safety, stowage, seats, suits, and structural support placement). As this evaluation took place before the Preliminary Design Review of the space vehicle with some designs very early in the development, it was not meant to determine definitely that the crewmembers could complete every activity, but rather to provide inputs that could improve developing designs and concepts of operations definition refinement.

Byrne, Vicky↗

NASA NTRS2014

ARES Education and Public Outreach

The ARES Directorate education team is charged with translating the work of ARES scientists into content that can be used in formal and informal K-12 education settings and assisting with public outreach. This is accomplished through local efforts and national partnerships. Local efforts include partnerships with universities, school districts, museums, and the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) to share the content and excitement of space science research. Sharing astromaterials and exploration science with the public is an essential part of the Directorate's work. As a small enclave of physical scientists at a NASA Center that otherwise emphasizes human space operations and engineering, the ARES staff is frequently called upon by the JSC Public Affairs and Education offices to provide presentations and interviews. Scientists and staff actively volunteer with the JSC Speaker's Bureau, Digital Learning Network, and National Engineers Week programs as well as at Space Center Houston activities and events. The education team also participates in many JSC educator and student workshops, including the Pre-Service Teacher Institute and the Texas Aerospace Scholars program, with workshop presentations, speakers, and printed materials.

Allen, Jaclyn↗

NASA NTRS1991

Space station control center architecture

The Space Station control center (SSCC) is under the cognizance of the Johnson Space Center and is located adjacent to the Shuttle's mission control center. Responsibility for design, development, and operations of the control center is the responsibility of the mission operations directorate at JSC. Space Station Ground Systems Division is responsible for design and development of the control center systems which is currently in process under the mission support contractor team led by Loral Space Information Systems. It is early in the life cycle of the SSCC project. System functional design review was completed. Subsystem requirements are now being developed and reviewed. A new facility will be available for development activities.

Schmalz, Karen↗

NASA NTRS1985

Network operating system focus technology

An activity structured to provide specific design requirements and specifications for the Space Station Data Management System (DMS) Network Operating System (NOS) is outlined. Examples are given of the types of supporting studies and implementation tasks presently underway to realize a DMS test bed capability to develop hands-on understanding of NOS requirements as driven by actual subsystem test beds participating in the overall Johnson Space Center test bed program. Classical operating system elements and principal NOS functions are listed.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1986

Historical data retrieval study - Results for the first five years of KSC STS payload processing

This paper identifies general and specific quantitative and qualitative results from a study of actual operational experiences while processing 185 science, applications, and commercial payloads for the first five years of STS operations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC). All the non-DOD payloads from STS-2 through STS-33 were part of the study. The emphasis was placed on various program planning and events that affected KSC processing, payload experiences and improvements, payload hardware condition after arrival, services to customers, and the impact of STS operations and delays. From these initial considerations, operational drivers were identified, data for selected processing measurements collected and analyzed, processing criteria and options determined, and STS payload results and conclusions reached. The study showed a significant reduction in time and effort needed by STS customers and KSC to process a wide variety of payload configurations, although even the simplest payloads required more processing resources and time than were initially assumed.

Ragusa, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1996

NASA Wake Vortex Research for Aircraft Spacing

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is addressing airport capacity enhancements during instrument meteorological conditions through the Terminal Area Productivity (TAP) program. Within TAP, the Reduced Spacing Operations (RSO) subelement at the NASA Langley Research Center is developing an Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS). AVOSS will integrate the output of several inter-related areas to produce weather dependent, dynamic wake vortex spacing criteria. These areas include current and predicted weather conditions, models of wake vortex transport and decay in these weather conditions, real-time feedback of wake vortex behavior from sensors, and operationally acceptable aircraft/wake interaction criteria. In today's ATC system, the AVOSS could inform ATC controllers when a fixed reduced separation becomes safe to apply to large and heavy aircraft categories. With appropriate integration into the Center/TRACON Automation System (CTAS), AVOSS dynamic spacing could be tailored to actual generator/follower aircraft pairs rather than a few broad aircraft categories.

Perry, R. Brad↗

NASA NTRS2003

A 10 Kelvin 3 Tesla Magnet for Space Flight ADR Systems

Many future space flight missions are expected to use adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators (ADRs) to reach detector operating temperatures well below one Kelvin. The goal is to operate each ADR with a mechanical cooler as its heat sink, thus avoiding the use of liquid cryogens. Although mechanical coolers are being developed to operate at temperatures of 6 Kelvin and below, there is a large efficiency cost associated with operating them at the bottom of their temperature range. For the multi-stage ADR system being developed at Goddard Space Flight Center, the goal is to operate with a 10 Kelvin mechanical cooler heat sink. With currently available paramagnetic materials, the highest temperature ADR stage in such a system will require a magnetic field of approximately three Tesla. Thus the goal is to develop a small, lightweight three Tesla superconducting magnet for operation at 10 Kelvin. It is important that this magnet have a low current/field ratio. Because traditional NbTi magnets do not operate safely above about six Kelvin, a magnet with a higher Tc is required. The primary focus has been on Nb3Sn magnets. Since standard Nb3Sn wire must be coated with thick insulation, wound on a magnet mandrel and then reacted, standard Nb,Sn magnets are quite heavy and require high currents Superconducting Systems developed a Nb3Sn wire which can be drawn down to small diameter, reacted, coated with thin insulation and then wound on a small diameter coil form. By using this smaller wire and operating closer to the wire s critical current, it should be possible to reduce the mass and operating current of 10 Kelvin magnets. Using this "react-then-wind" technology, Superconducting Systems has produced prototype 10 Kelvin magnets. This paper describes the development and testing of these magnets and discusses the outlook for including 10 Kelvin magnets on space-flight missions.

Tuttle, Jim↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Where is the Human in the Loop? Human Factors Analysis of Extended Visual Line of Sight Unmanned Aerial System Operations within a Remote Operations Environment

Many envisioned technological and conceptual innovations focus on allocating more functions to automation, relegating the human as an afterthought if not a nuisance. Yet, until complete autonomy is realized, the human will remain “in the loop”. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is supporting research for the development and maturation of automated technologies and architectures for the future of advanced air mobility. Standing up a remote operations center used to control, manage, and monitor multiple highly automated vehicles is an important step towards realizing the advanced air mobility vision. At the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Langley Research Center, a remote operation center exists and has been tested using humans piloting simulated vehicles. In this paper, we explore the human element within live flight operations that rely on increasingly automated technologies. Four ground control station operators performed multiple live flight operations. We employed a naturalistic approach and relied on qualitative data such as interviews and discussions with subject matter experts to help facilitate discovery. The present work evaluates the functions that the human and the automation had during the live operations, lists psychological constructs that may have promoted or reduced task performance, and provides recommendations on design of the remote operations environment and training of future ground control station operators.

Advanced Air Mobility↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Where is the Human in the Loop? Human Factors Analysis of Extended Visual Line of Sight Unmanned Aerial System Operations within a Remote Operations Environment

Advanced Air Mobility↗

NASA NTRS2000

Hurricane Properties for KSC and Mid-Florida Coastal Sites

Hurricane information and climatologies are needed at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Florida for launch operational planning purposes during the late summer and early fall Atlantic hurricane season. Also these results are needed to be used in estimating the potential magnitudes of hurricane and tropical storm impact on coastal Florida sites when passing within 50, 100 and 400 nm of that site. Roll-backs of the Space Shuttle and other launch vehicles, on pad, are very costly when a tropical storm approaches. A decision for the vehicle to roll-back or ride-out needs to be made. Therefore the historical Atlantic basin hurricane climatological properties were generated to be used for operational planning purposes and in the estimation of potential damage to launch vehicles, supporting equipment, buildings, etc.. The historical 1885-1998 Atlantic basin hurricane data were compiled and analyzed with respect to the coastal Florida site of KSC. Statistical information generated includes hurricane and tropical storm probabilities for path, maximum wind, and lowest pressure, presented for the areas within 50, 100 and 400 nm of KSC. These statistics are then compared to similar parametric statistics for the entire Atlantic basin.

Johnson, Dale L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Evaluation and Analysis of the ANSI X3T9.5 (FDDI) PMD and Proposed SMF-PMD as Influenced by Various Fiber Link Characteristics

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the operational parameters of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) fiber optic cable plant. The evaluation is based on the Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) and Single Mode Fiber (SMF) PMD standards. From the KSC fiber profile, it would be necessary to develop the modifications needed in existing FDDI PMD and proposed SMF-PMD standards to provide for FDDI implementation and operation at KSC. This analysis should examine the major factors that influence the operating conditions of the KSC fiber plant. These factors would include, but are not limited to the number and type of connectors, attenuation and dispersion characteristics of the fiber, non-standard fiber sizes, modal bandwidth, and many other relevant or significant fiber plant characteristics that effect FDDI characteristics. This analysis is needed to gain a better understanding of overall impact that each of these factors have on FDDI performance at KSC.

Wernicki, M. Chris↗

NASA NTRS1993

Link monitor and control operator assistant: A prototype demonstrating semiautomated monitor and control

This article describes the approach, results, and lessons learned from an applied research project demonstrating how artificial intelligence (AI) technology can be used to improve Deep Space Network operations. Configuring antenna and associated equipment necessary to support a communications link is a time-consuming process. The time spent configuring the equipment is essentially overhead and results in reduced time for actual mission support operations. The NASA Office of Space Communications (Code O) and the NASA Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology (Code C) jointly funded an applied research project to investigate technologies which can be used to reduce configuration time. This resulted in the development and application of AI-based automated operations technology in a prototype system, the Link Monitor and Control Operator Assistant (LMC OA). The LMC OA was tested over the course of three months in a parallel experimental mode on very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) operations at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Center. The tests demonstrated a 44 percent reduction in pre-calibration time for a VLBI pass on the 70-m antenna. Currently, this technology is being developed further under Research and Technology Operating Plan (RTOP)-72 to demonstrate the applicability of the technology to operations in the entire Deep Space Network.

Lee, L. F.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Programmable Thermostat Module Upgrade for the Multipurpose Logistics Module

The STS-121/ULF 1.1 mission was the maiden flight of the programmable thermostat module (PTM) system used to control the 28 V shell heaters on the multi-purpose logistics module (MPLM). These PTMs, in conjunction with a data recorder module (DRM), provide continuous closed loop temperature control and data recording of MPLM on-orbit heater operations. This Technical Memorandum discusses the hardware design, development, test, and verification (DDT&V) activities performed at the Marshall Space Flight Center as well as the operational implementation and mission performance.

Clark, D. W.↗