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At least 631 records · Page 35
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

Autonomous Formation Flying from the Ground to Flight

The cost of on-orbit operations remains a significant and increasingly visible concern in the support of satellite missions. Headway has been made in automating some ground operations; however, increased mission complexity and more precise orbital constraints have compelled continuing human involvement in mission design and maneuver planning operations. AI Solutions, Inc. in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has tackled these more complex problems through the development of AutoCon(TM) as a tool for an automated solution. NASA is using AutoCon(TM) to automate the maneuver planning for the Earth Orbiter-1 (EO-1) mission. AutoCon(TM) was developed originally as a ground system tool. The EO-1 mission will be using a scaled version of AutoCon(TM) on-board the EO-1 satellite to command orbit adjustment maneuvers. The flight version of AutoCon(TM) plans maneuvers based on formation flying algorithms developed by GSFC, JPL, and other industry partners. In its fully autonomous mode, an AutoCon(TM) planned maneuver will be executed on-board the satellite without intervention from the ground. This paper describes how AutoCon(TM) automates maneuver planning for the formation flying constraints of the EO-1 mission. AutoCon(TM) was modified in a number of ways to automate the maneuver planning on-board the satellite. This paper describes how the interface and functionality of AutoCon(TM) were modified to support the on-board system. A significant component of this modification was the implementation of a data smoother, based on a Kalman filter, that ensures that the spacecraft states estimated by an on-board GPS receiver are as accurate as possible for maneuver planning. This paper also presents the methodology used to scale the AutoCon(TM) functionality to fit and execute on the flight hardware. This paper also presents the modes built into the system that allow the incremental phasing in of autonomy. New technologies for autonomous operations are usually received with significant, and probably appropriate, trepidation. A number of safeguards have been designed in both AutoCon(TM) and the interfacing systems to alleviate the potential of mission-impacting anomalies from the on-board autonomous system. This paper describes the error checking, input data integrity validation, and limits set on maneuvers in AutoCon(TM) and the on-board system.

Chapman, Keith B.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Crew-Aided Autonomous Navigation

A sextant provides manual capability to perform star/planet-limb sightings and offers a cheap, simple, robust backup navigation source for exploration missions independent from the ground. Sextant sightings from spacecraft were first exercised in Gemini and flew as the lost-communication backup for all Apollo missions. This study characterized error sources of navigation-grade sextants for feasibility of taking star and planetary limb sightings from inside a spacecraft. A series of similar studies was performed in the early/mid-1960s in preparation for Apollo missions. This study modernized and updated those findings in addition to showing feasibility using Linear Covariance analysis techniques. The human eyeball is a remarkable piece of optical equipment and provides many advantages over camera-based systems, including dynamic range and detail resolution. This technique utilizes those advantages and provides important autonomy to the crew in the event of lost communication with the ground. It can also provide confidence and verification of low-TRL automated onboard systems. The technique is extremely flexible and is not dependent on any particular vehicle type. The investigation involved procuring navigation-grade sextants and characterizing their performance under a variety of conditions encountered in exploration missions. The JSC optical sensor lab and Orion mockup were the primary testing locations. For the accuracy assessment, a group of test subjects took sextant readings on calibrated targets while instrument/operator precision was measured. The study demonstrated repeatability of star/planet-limb sightings with bias and standard deviation around 10 arcseconds, then used high-fidelity simulations to verify those accuracy levels met the needs for targeting mid-course maneuvers in preparation for Earth reen.

Holt, Greg N.↗
NASA NTRS2016

ICAROUS - Integrated Configurable Algorithms for Reliable Operations Of Unmanned Systems

NASA's Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project aims at enabling near-term, safe operations of small UAS vehicles in uncontrolled airspace, i.e., Class G airspace. A far-term goal of UTM research and development is to accommodate the expected rise in small UAS traffic density throughout the National Airspace System (NAS) at low altitudes for beyond visual line-of-sight operations. This paper describes a new capability referred to as ICAROUS (Integrated Configurable Algorithms for Reliable Operations of Unmanned Systems), which is being developed under the UTM project. ICAROUS is a software architecture comprised of highly assured algorithms for building safety-centric, autonomous, unmanned aircraft applications. Central to the development of the ICAROUS algorithms is the use of well-established formal methods to guarantee higher levels of safety assurance by monitoring and bounding the behavior of autonomous systems. The core autonomy-enabling capabilities in ICAROUS include constraint conformance monitoring and contingency control functions. ICAROUS also provides a highly configurable user interface that enables the modular integration of mission-specific software components.

Consiglio, María↗
NASA NTRS2024

Crew Health and Performance Integrated Data Architecture (CHP-IDA) Project

BACKGROUND: Future Human Exploration missions introduce a new paradigm as crews move further from the resupply and near real-time ground support typical of Low Earth Orbit missions today. Without immediate support from ground-based personnel, exploration crews will be more reliant on inflight data and technology to respond to emergencies and anomalies. A data architecture to support a new generation of technologies, employing advanced analytical and predictive modeling techniques, is needed to enable crew autonomy. OVERVIEW: The Crew Health and Performance Integrated Data Architecture (CHP-IDA) project funded by NASA’s Exploration Medical Integrated Product Team (XMIPT) is laying a foundation for future in-flight informatics by providing a back-end architecture for collecting, storing, and integrating multiple sources of data generated by and around the crew. CHP-IDA provides a platform for common data models and Application Programming Interfaces to access, integrate, process, and display CHP data (e.g., environmental, exercise, medical, sleep, performance, etc.). This will facilitate the increased situation awareness and decision support required by the crew and remote support of exploration missions. This presentation will describe the currently ongoing effort to develop and evaluate a path-to-flight concept of the CHP-IDA software and its core capabilities. Current integrations will be discussed, including analytics for Extravehicular Activity metabolic rate and data ingestion from a multi-functional integrated medical device. The presentation will also provide examples of scenarios used to demonstrate the CHP-IDA through human-in-the-loop test bed activities as well as examples of appropriate system performance metrics. DISCUSSION: Today, in-flight data is often siloed, unsynchronized, and largely inaccessible in real time. Many data sets require manual entry and/or data transfer between vehicles and the ground. These issues contribute to risks in supporting exploration medical capabilities. The CHP-IDA is a back-end data system providing core capabilities needed for timely and meaningful data insights across CHP domains to crew and remote personnel to enable increased crew autonomy. Future work includes collaboration with additional CHP domains, new technology integrations, and further demonstrations of the IDA within different vehicle and communication latency contexts. LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. The audience will understand that the CHP-IDA is a back-end system, providing a platform to facilitate access, promote decision tools, and provide meaningful insights to crew and to remote stakeholders during exploration missions. 2. The audience will gain insight into human-centered research and activities used to discover CHP domain data needs and pain points and how this information is used to guide development of the IDA.

Exploration↗
NASA NTRS2008

SHINE Virtual Machine Model for In-flight Updates of Critical Mission Software

This software is a new target for the Spacecraft Health Inference Engine (SHINE) knowledge base that compiles a knowledge base to a language called Tiny C - an interpreted version of C that can be embedded on flight processors. This new target allows portions of a running SHINE knowledge base to be updated on a "live" system without needing to halt and restart the containing SHINE application. This enhancement will directly provide this capability without the risk of software validation problems and can also enable complete integration of BEAM and SHINE into a single application. This innovation enables SHINE deployment in domains where autonomy is used during flight-critical applications that require updates. This capability eliminates the need for halting the application and performing potentially serious total system uploads before resuming the application with the loss of system integrity. This software enables additional applications at JPL (microsensors, embedded mission hardware) and increases the marketability of these applications outside of JPL.

Plesea, Lucian↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design and Applications of Tethered Spacecraft Simulators

Small, tethered spacecraft, or space tugs, are a promising space capability. They can be deployed on tethers and used for a wide variety of in-space activities; a large portion of which fall under in-space servicing, assembly, manufacturing (ISAM) functions. This includes functions such as structural mating and assembly, servicing, proximity operations, capture, docking, mating, and relocation. However, there is a great deal of work to be done to raise the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the capabilities needed to fully realize these capabilities. The Flat Floor Robotics Lab (FFRL) at NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center (MSFC) has been working on space tug development for several years. The eponymous floor is 44 by 86 feet, made from a self-leveling epoxy. This creates an extremely smooth surface that air bearings can float on with very little friction, creating a simulation of zero gravity in a two-dimensional plane. The lab has several platforms of various sizes that act as vehicle simulators for testing sensors, control algorithms, mechanisms, etc. One of these platforms is a small spacecraft simulator, which can be tethered to simulate a space tug. In the last several months, the FFRL team has been working with MSFC’s welding group to conduct a laser beam welding demonstration on air bearing platforms. This demo is utilizing a space tug simulator to fly up to a floating weld platform, where two parts are clamped together and laser welded. The space tug simulator has an air bearing to provide float, as well as several actuated air thrusters to provide propulsion and make the simulator maneuverable. Currently, flights of this simulator are completed by a human operator. An RF hand controller sends signals to both actuate and fire three sets of thrusters on the simulator. This makes any maneuvers of the space tug highly subject to human error, and operators must have dedicated practice time before being able to perform maneuvers with any sufficient reliability. For the current laser welding demonstration, human operated performance is sufficient, but future implementations of in-space welding and other ISAM efforts will require higher precision, reliability, and autonomy. MSFC has funded a project that will allow a small team in the FFRL to develop the next generation of space tug simulator, which will be automated. Closed loop control will allow a user to command a position, or set of positions, that the simulator will be able to “fly” to on its own. This Maneuverable Automated Tethered Spacecraft (MATS) simulator will have configurable design, to allow a variety of payloads and mission configurations to be demonstrated on the air bearing floor. This will be an invaluable test bed for low and mid TRL advancement for space tether mission subsystems, such as more advanced demonstrations of in-space welding. Once one MATSS is constructed and demonstrated effectively, several more can be built, enabling more advanced tether missions; Electric Sail test beds, sensor arrays, and other science-enabling missions. This paper will detail the design and test of the FFRL’s MATS simulator, including efforts to establish closed loop control and autonomous capabilities. It will also detail use cases for this technology, and how it will further develop both develop science and exploration missions.

Space Tethers↗
NASA NTRS2007

Methodology for Prototyping Increased Levels of Automation for Spacecraft Rendezvous Functions

The Crew Exploration Vehicle necessitates higher levels of automation than previous NASA vehicles, due to program requirements for automation, including Automated Rendezvous and Docking. Studies of spacecraft development often point to the locus of decision-making authority between humans and computers (i.e. automation) as a prime driver for cost, safety, and mission success. Therefore, a critical component in the Crew Exploration Vehicle development is the determination of the correct level of automation. To identify the appropriate levels of automation and autonomy to design into a human space flight vehicle, NASA has created the Function-specific Level of Autonomy and Automation Tool. This paper develops a methodology for prototyping increased levels of automation for spacecraft rendezvous functions. This methodology is used to evaluate the accuracy of the Function-specific Level of Autonomy and Automation Tool specified levels of automation, via prototyping. Spacecraft rendezvous planning tasks are selected and then prototyped in Matlab using Fuzzy Logic techniques and existing Space Shuttle rendezvous trajectory algorithms.

Hart, Jeremy J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

How the Internet of "Space" Things will Disrupt and Transform Astronaut Work-life

Future long duration exploration missions will require astronauts to work and behave more autonomously. Over the last several years, we have been investigating how integrating sensors into an astronaut’s environment enables crew autonomy. This paper describes the prototypes we have deployed in Earth analogs investigating the concept of the Internet of “Space” Things.

procedure execution↗
NASA NTRS2015

Collaborating with Autonomous Agents

With the anticipated increase of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) entering into the National Airspace System, it is highly likely that vehicle operators will be teaming with fleets of small autonomous vehicles. The small vehicles may consist of sUAS, which are 55 pounds or less that typically will y at altitudes 400 feet and below, and small ground vehicles typically operating in buildings or defined small campuses. Typically, the vehicle operators are not concerned with manual control of the vehicle; instead they are concerned with the overall mission. In order for this vision of high-level mission operators working with fleets of vehicles to come to fruition, many human factors related challenges must be investigated and solved. First, the interface between the human operator and the autonomous agent must be at a level that the operator needs and the agents can understand. This paper details the natural language human factors e orts that NASA Langley's Autonomy Incubator is focusing on. In particular these e orts focus on allowing the operator to interact with the system using speech and gestures rather than a mouse and keyboard. With this ability of the system to understand both speech and gestures, operators not familiar with the vehicle dynamics will be able to easily plan, initiate, and change missions using a language familiar to them rather than having to learn and converse in the vehicle's language. This will foster better teaming between the operator and the autonomous agent which will help lower workload, increase situation awareness, and improve performance of the system as a whole.

Trujillo, Anna C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The case for Mars: Concept development for a Mars research station

A program to establish a permanent scientific research base on Mars is described. A Mars base as the much needed long-term focus for the space program is presented. A permanent base was chosen rather than the more conventional concept of a series of individual missions to different sites because the permanent base offers much greater scientific return plus greater crew safety and the potential for eventual growth into a settlement. The Mars base will strive for self-sufficiency and autonomy from Earth. Martian resources will be used to provide life support materials and consumables. The Martian atmosphere will provide a convenient source of volatiles: CO2, N2, and water. Rocket propellant (for returning vehicles), fuels, breathable air, and fertilizers will be manufactured from Mars air. Food will be grown on Mars using Martian materials as plant nutrients. A permanent human presence will be maintained on Mars beginning with the first manned landing via a strategy of crew overlap. This permanent presence will ensure safety and reliability of systems through continuous tending, maintenance, and expansion of the base's equipment and systems. A permanent base will allow the development of a substantial facility on Mars for the same cost (in terms of Earth departure mass) as a series of temporary camps. A base equipped with surface rovers, airplanes, and the ability to manufacture consumables and return propellant will allow far more extensive planetary exploration over a given period of years than would approaches featuring a series of short exploration missions such as the Apollo Moon program.

Welch, S. M.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Children Of the Sun Solar Initiative (COSSI) (Final)

The Children Of the Sun Solar Initiative (COSSI) project is a pivotal step towards energy independence for the Spokane Tribe and the Spokane Indian Housing Authority (SIHA). It involves evaluating the solar potential of 32 SIHA and Tribal buildings, with a goal of achieving energy autonomy through renewable sources. By installing 652.5 kW of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, the project significantly reduces carbon emissions, lowers energy costs, and enhances sustainability. Key Points: (1) COSSI's mission is to empower the Spokane Tribe and SIHA with clean energy solutions, aligning with their Long-Term Energy Vision. (2) The project includes solar installations on 32 buildings, generating approximately 700,000 kWh annually. (3) It also involves collaboration with SIHA's Weatherization Program and offers training opportunities for tribal members. (4) The installations aid energy efficiency and cost reduction for high-energy-use structures. (5) The initiative advances the Tribe's economic infrastructure, fostering renewable resources and sustainable practices. (6) COSSI serves as a model for leveraging federal funding and tax credits to establish clean energy projects, while generating training and job prospects. (7) The project contributes to energy independence through the adoption of evolving solar technologies. Overall, COSSI is a forward-looking effort to usher in clean energy, enhance infrastructure, and inspire similar projects across tribal and housing authorities.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1986

Automation of planetary spacecraft

The development of autonomous spacecraft from 1960 to the present is traced within a framework of the definitions and measures of the level of autonomy. The attainment of milestones in the level of autonomy in spacecraft guidance and control is described in terms of the Mariner, Viking, Voyager, Galileo and Mark II (under development) spacecraft. The constant interplay between the definition of scientific mission goals and available technological capabilities is explored, along with current efforts to implement AI techniques and advanced software in spacecraft to allow reliable functioning in stressful conditions.

Varsi, G.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Parallel Estimation and Control Architectures for Deep-Space Formation Flying Spacecraft

The formation flying of precisely controlled spacecraft in deep space can be used to implement optical instruments capable of imaging planets in other solar systems. The distance of the formation from Earth necessitates a significant level of autonomy and each spacecraft must base its actions on its estimates of the location and velocity of the other spacecraft. Precise coordination and control is the key requirement in such missions and the flow of information between spacecraft must be carefully designed. Doing this in an efficient and optimal manner requires novel techniques for the design of the on-board estimators. The use of standard Kalman filter-based designs can lead to unanticipated dynamics--which we refer to as disagreement dynamics--in the estimators' errors. We show how communication amongst the spacecraft can be designed in order to control all of the dynamics within the formation. We present several results relating the topology of the communication network to the resulting closed-loop control dynamics of the formation. The consequences for the design of the control, communication and coordination are discussed.

distributed control↗
NASA NTRS2016

ICAROUS: Integrated Configurable Architecture for Unmanned Systems

NASA's Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project aims at enabling near-term, safe operations of small UAS vehicles in uncontrolled airspace, i.e., Class G airspace. A far-term goal of UTM research and development is to accommodate the expected rise in small UAS traffic density throughout the National Airspace System (NAS) at low altitudes for beyond visual line-of-sight operations. This video describes a new capability referred to as ICAROUS (Integrated Configurable Algorithms for Reliable Operations of Unmanned Systems), which is being developed under the auspices of the UTM project. ICAROUS is a software architecture comprised of highly assured algorithms for building safety-centric, autonomous, unmanned aircraft applications. Central to the development of the ICAROUS algorithms is the use of well-established formal methods to guarantee higher levels of safety assurance by monitoring and bounding the behavior of autonomous systems. The core autonomy-enabling capabilities in ICAROUS include constraint conformance monitoring and autonomous detect and avoid functions. ICAROUS also provides a highly configurable user interface that enables the modular integration of mission-specific software components.

Consiglio, Maria C.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Integrated Planning and Execution for a Self-Reliant Mars Rover

Planetary rovers exploring the surface of Mars face a challenging operational environment that requires close cooperation between deliberative planning and behavioral execution in order to most efficiently leverage the robot’s capabilities into science value returned to earth. The Self-Reliant Rovers project envisions future rover missions that require only occasional high-level direction from human controllers to successfully conduct detailed in-situ studies of its Martian environs. To achieve this high degree of autonomy, this work leverages a spectrum of planning and execution techniques that allow the rover to respond appropriately to both opportunity and adversity it encounters. Small perturbations are accommodated at first by behavioral adaptation, with more and more extensive disruptions handled in turn by executive administration of plan flexibility, heuristic-guided plan repair strategies, and finally comprehensive replanning from science campaign goals. The integrated system has been deployed and tested on a terrestrial rover in an environment and under scenarios that anticipate those faced by future Mars rovers. This paper recounts complexities of planning and execution coordination faced in the rover domain and the practical solutions employed to address them. Particular emphasis is given to lessons from the field and foibles ripe for remedy by future advances in planning and execution research.

Gaines, Daniel↗
NASA NTRS2020

MEXEC: An Onboard Integrated Planning and Execution Approach for Spacecraft Commanding

The traditional form of spacecraft commanding is with sequences that specify when commands should execute based on a schedule generated on the ground. Some sequences have control logic and event driven responses to increase flexibility, but it is limited. An approach to increase autonomy is to use goal-based planning and commanding. Using this paradigm, intention and behavior is modeled on board the spacecraft. In this paper we describe MEXEC (Multi-mission EXECutive), a multi-mission, task-based, onboard planning and execution software designed specifically to be used as flight software. As a path to infusion for future flight projects, we describe two experiments performed on the ASTERIA CubeSat and testbed that demonstrate that MEXEC can be integrated and used for spacecraft operations and increase robustness and science return compared to the standard sequences that were being used.

Campuzano, Brian↗