Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “MODs”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 649 records · Page 36
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2011

Space Shuttle Missions Summary

This document has been produced and updated over a 21-year period. It is intended to be a handy reference document, basically one page per flight, and care has been exercised to make it as error-free as possible. This document is basically "as flown" data and has been compiled from many sources including flight logs, flight rules, flight anomaly logs, mod flight descent summary, post flight analysis of mps propellants, FDRD, FRD, SODB, and the MER shuttle flight data and inflight anomaly list. Orbit distance traveled is taken from the PAO mission statistics.

Bennett, Floyd V.↗
NASA NTRS2011

NASA/MOD Operations Impacts from Shuttle Program

Operations plays a pivotal role in the success of any human spaceflight program. This paper will highlight some of the core tenets of spaceflight operations from a systems perspective and use several examples from the Space Shuttle Program to highlight where the success and safety of a mission can hinge upon the preparedness and competency of the operations team. Further, awareness of the types of operations scenarios and impacts that can arise during human crewed space missions can help inform design and mission planning decisions long before a vehicle gets into orbit. A strong operations team is crucial to the development of future programs; capturing the lessons learned from the successes and failures of a past program will allow for safer, more efficient, and better designed programs in the future. No matter how well a vehicle is designed and constructed, there are always unexpected events or failures that occur during space flight missions. Preparation, training, real-time execution, and troubleshooting are skills and values of the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) flight controller; these operational standards have proven invaluable to the Space Shuttle Program. Understanding and mastery of these same skills will be required of any operations team as technology advances and new vehicles are developed. This paper will focus on individual Space Shuttle mission case studies where specific operational skills, techniques, and preparedness allowed for mission safety and success. It will detail the events leading up to the scenario or failure, how the operations team identified and dealt with the failure and its downstream impacts. The various options for real-time troubleshooting will be discussed along with the operations team final recommendation, execution, and outcome. Finally, the lessons learned will be summarized along with an explanation of how these lessons were used to improve the operational preparedness of future flight control teams.

Fitzpatrick, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2011

TAMU: Blueprint for A New Space Mission Operations System Paradigm

The Transferable, Adaptable, Modular and Upgradeable (TAMU) Flight Production Process (FPP) is a System of System (SOS) framework which cuts across multiple organizations and their associated facilities, that are, in the most general case, in geographically disperse locations, to develop the architecture and associated workflow processes of products for a broad range of flight projects. Further, TAMU FPP provides for the automatic execution and re-planning of the workflow processes as they become operational. This paper provides the blueprint for the TAMU FPP paradigm. This blueprint presents a complete, coherent technique, process and tool set that results in an infrastructure that can be used for full lifecycle design and decision making during the flight production process. Based on the many years of experience with the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) and the International Space Station (ISS), the currently cancelled Constellation Program which aimed on returning humans to the moon as a starting point, has been building a modern model-based Systems Engineering infrastructure to Re-engineer the FPP. This infrastructure uses a structured modeling and architecture development approach to optimize the system design thereby reducing the sustaining costs and increasing system efficiency, reliability, robustness and maintainability metrics. With the advent of the new vision for human space exploration, it is now necessary to further generalize this framework to take into consideration a broad range of missions and the participation of multiple organizations outside of the MOD; hence the Transferable, Adaptable, Modular and Upgradeable (TAMU) concept.

Ruszkowski, James T.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Crew Office Evaluation of a Precision Lunar Landing System

A representative Human System Interface for a precision lunar landing system, ALHAT, has been developed as a platform for prototype visualization and interaction concepts. This facilitates analysis of crew interaction with advanced sensors and AGNC systems. Human-in-the-loop evaluations with representatives from the Crew Office (i.e. astronauts) and Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) were performed to refine the crew role and information requirements during the final phases of landing. The results include a number of lessons learned from Shuttle that are applicable to the design of a human supervisory landing system and cockpit. Overall, the results provide a first order analysis of the tasks the crew will perform during lunar landing, an architecture for the Human System Interface based on these tasks, as well as details on the information needs to land safely.

Major, Laura M.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Analogs and the BHP Risk Reduction Strategy for Future Spaceflight Missions

In preparation for future exploration missions to distant destinations (e.g., Moon, Near Earth Objects (NEO), and Mars), the NASA Human Research Program s (HRP) Behavioral Health and Performance Element (BHP) conducts and supports research to address four human health risks: Risk of Behavioral Conditions; Risk of Psychiatric Conditions; Risk of Performance Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team; and Risk of Performance Errors due to Sleep Loss, Fatigue, Circadian Desynchronization, and Work Overload (HRP Science Management Plan, 2008). BHP Research, in collaboration with internal and external research investigators, as well as subject matter experts within NASA operations including flight surgeons, astronauts, and mission planners and others within the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD), identifies knowledge and technology gaps within each Risk. BHP Research subsequently manages and conducts research tasks to address and close the gaps, either through risk assessment and quantification, or the development of countermeasures and monitoring technologies. The resulting deliverables, in many instances, also support current Medical Operations and/or Mission Operations for the International Space Station (ISS).

Whitmire, Sandra↗
NASA NTRS2009

Electrostatic Discharge Issues in International Space Station Program EVAs

EVA activity in the ISS program encounters several dangerous ESD conditions. The ISS program has been aggressive for many years to find ways to mitigate or to eliminate the associated risks. Investments have included: (1) Major mods to EVA tools, suit connectors & analytical tools (2) Floating Potential Measurement Unit (3) Plasma Contactor Units (4) Certification of new ISS flight attitudes (5) Teraflops of computation (6) Thousands of hours of work by scores of specialists (7) Monthly management attention at the highest program levels. The risks are now mitigated to a level that is orders of magnitude safer than prior operations

Bacon, John B.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Next Steps in the Evolution of Human Spaceflight Training

Train before you fly has always been a watchword at NASA, and consequently, NASA has been conducting training for human spaceflight missions for longer than it has been involved in the actual conduct of human spaceflight missions. Throughout that time, NASA s approach to human spaceflight training has continuously evolved to keep pace with the technology of the modern world, but the approach to training itself has not changed significantly. Today, there are more tools and technologies that enable learning than ever before. This paper intends to review the challenges of human spaceflight training and how modern technology and an updated approach could improve that training. The Spaceflight Training Management Office (DA7) within the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) has been investigating the current training of instructors, flight controllers and astronauts in order to identify where a new approach to training and training management may be necessary to improve the efficacy of the training provided. Through this investigation, the DA7 team has identified potential areas of improvement within International Space Station (ISS) training in a wide range of areas, including the delivery of training, the structure of the training program, the concept of what is considered training, and the management of that training. The ISS is an operational program with an established training paradigm. As such, the implementation of these concepts will be met with several challenges that may prevent or preclude them from being adopted. These challenges include demonstrating return-on-investment (ROI) and overcoming cultural or technological obstacles. This report will delve into the possible improvement areas for training, the future training concepts that are being considered, and the challenges associated with implementation. The paper will include concepts for utilization of Web 2.0 technologies, electronic learning, digital media, and other technologies in the development, management, and conduct of human spaceflight training.

Balmain, Clint↗
NASA NTRS2011

Acute Radiation Risk and BRYNTRN Organ Dose Projection Graphical User Interface

The integration of human space applications risk projection models of organ dose and acute radiation risk has been a key problem. NASA has developed an organ dose projection model using the BRYNTRN with SUM DOSE computer codes, and a probabilistic model of Acute Radiation Risk (ARR). The codes BRYNTRN and SUM DOSE are a Baryon transport code and an output data processing code, respectively. The risk projection models of organ doses and ARR take the output from BRYNTRN as an input to their calculations. With a graphical user interface (GUI) to handle input and output for BRYNTRN, the response models can be connected easily and correctly to BRYNTRN. A GUI for the ARR and BRYNTRN Organ Dose (ARRBOD) projection code provides seamless integration of input and output manipulations, which are required for operations of the ARRBOD modules. The ARRBOD GUI is intended for mission planners, radiation shield designers, space operations in the mission operations directorate (MOD), and space biophysics researchers. BRYNTRN code operation requires extensive input preparation. Only a graphical user interface (GUI) can handle input and output for BRYNTRN to the response models easily and correctly. The purpose of the GUI development for ARRBOD is to provide seamless integration of input and output manipulations for the operations of projection modules (BRYNTRN, SLMDOSE, and the ARR probabilistic response model) in assessing the acute risk and the organ doses of significant Solar Particle Events (SPEs). The assessment of astronauts radiation risk from SPE is in support of mission design and operational planning to manage radiation risks in future space missions. The ARRBOD GUI can identify the proper shielding solutions using the gender-specific organ dose assessments in order to avoid ARR symptoms, and to stay within the current NASA short-term dose limits. The quantified evaluation of ARR severities based on any given shielding configuration and a specified EVA or other mission scenario can be made to guide alternative solutions for attaining determined objectives set by mission planners. The ARRBOD GUI estimates the whole-body effective dose, organ doses, and acute radiation sickness symptoms for astronauts, by which operational strategies and capabilities can be made for the protection of astronauts from SPEs in the planning of future lunar surface scenarios, exploration of near-Earth objects, and missions to Mars.

Cucinotta, Francis A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Airships 101: Rediscovering the Potential of Lighter-Than-Air (LTA)

An overview of airships past, present, and future is provided in a Powerpoint-formatted presentation. This presentation was requested for transfer to the British MOD by Paul Espinosa of NASA Ames, Code PX. The presentation provides general information about airships divided into four main categories: the legacy of NASA Ames in LTA (Lighter-Than-Air), LTA taxonomy and theory, LTA revival and missions, and LTA research and technology.

Melton, John E.↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA Tech Briefs, July 2012

Topics covered include: Instrument Suite for Vertical Characterization of the Ionosphere-Thermosphere System; Terahertz Radiation Heterodyne Detector Using Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in a GaN Heterostructure; Pattern Recognition Algorithm for High-Sensitivity Odorant Detection in Unknown Environments; Determining Performance Acceptability of Electrochemical Oxygen Sensors; Versatile Controller for Infrared Lamp and Heater Arrays; High-Speed Scanning Interferometer Using CMOS Image Sensor and FPGA Based on Multifrequency Phase-Tracking Detection; Ultra-Low-Power MEMS Selective Gas Sensors; Compact Receiver Front Ends for Submillimeter-Wave Applications; Dynamically Reconfigurable Systolic Array Accelerator; Blocking Losses With a Photon Counter; Motion-Capture-Enabled Software for Gestural Control of 3D Mod; Orbit Software Suite; CoNNeCT Baseband Processor Module Boot Code SoftWare (BCSW); Trajectory Software With Upper Atmosphere Model; ALSSAT Version 6.0; Employing a Grinding Technology to Assess the Microbial Density for Encapsulated Organisms; Demonstration of Minimally Machined Honeycomb Silicon Carbide Mirrors; Polyimide Aerogel Thin Films; Nanoengineered Thermal Materials Based on Carbon Nanotube Array Composites; Composite Laminate With Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Matching D263 Glass; Robust Tensioned Kevlar Suspension Design; Focal Plane Alignment Utilizing Optical CMM; Purifying, Separating, and Concentrating Cells From a Sample Low in Biomass; Virtual Ultrasound Guidance for Inexperienced Operators; Beat-to-Beat Blood Pressure Monitor; Non-Contact Conductivity Measurement for Automated Sample Processing Systems; An MSK Radar Waveform; Telescope Alignment From Sparsely Sampled Wavefront Measurements Over Pupil Subapertures; Method to Remove Particulate Matter from Dusty Gases at Low Pressures; Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser With Efficient Coupling and Beam Profile; Measurement Via Optical Near-Nulling and Subaperture Stitching; 885-nm Pumped Ceramic Nd:YAG Master Oscillator Power Amplifier Laser System; Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System; Heat Shield Employing Cured Thermal Protection Material Blocks Bonded in a Large-Cell Honeycomb Matrix; and Asymmetric Supercapacitor for Long-Duration Power Storage.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2014

Co-op Essay - Tour 1

The Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) is responsible for the training, planning and performance of all U.S. manned operations in space. Within this directorate all responsibilities are divided up into divisions. The EVA, Robotics & Crew Systems Operations Division performs ground operations and trains astronauts to carry out some of the more "high action" procedures in space. For example they orchestrate procedures like EVAs, or ExtraVehicular Activities (spacewalks), and robotics operations external to the International Space Station (ISS). The robotics branch of this division is responsible for the use of the Mobile Servicing System (MSS). This system is a combination of two robotic mechanisms and a series of equipment used to transport them on the ISS. The MSS is used to capture and position visiting vehicles, transport astronauts during EVAs, and perform external maintenance tasks on the ISS. This branch consists of two groups which are responsible for crew training and flight controlling, respectively. My first co-op tour took place Fall 2013. During this time I was given the opportunity to work in the robotics operations branch of the Mission Operations Directorate at NASA's Johnson Space Center. I was given a variety of tasks that encompassed, at a base level, all the aspects of the branch.

Porter, Derrick↗
NASA NTRS2014

The Lunar Magma Ocean: Sharpening the Focus on Process and Composition

The currently accepted model for the formation of the lunar anorthositic crust is by flotation from a crystallizing lunar magma ocean (LMO) shortly following lunar accretion. Anorthositic crust is globally distributed and old, whereas the mare basalts are younger and derived from a source region that has experienced plagioclase extraction. Several attempts at modelling such a crystallization sequence have been made [e.g. 1, 2], but our ever-increasing knowledge of the lunar samples and surface have raised as many questions as these models have answered. This abstract presents results from our ongoing ex-periments simulating LMO crystallization and address-ing a range of variables. We investigate two bulk com-positions, which span most of the range of suggested lunar bulk compositions, from the refractory element enriched Taylor Whole Moon (TWM) [3] to the more Earth-like Lunar Primitive Upper Mantle (LPUM) [4]. We also investigate two potential crystallization mod-els: Fully fractional, where crystallizing phases are separated from the magma as they form and sink (or float in the case of plagioclase) throughout magma ocean solidification; and a two-step process suggested by [1, 5] with an initial stage of equilibrium crystalliza-tion, where crystals remain entrained in the magma before the crystal burden increases viscosity enough that convection slows and the crystals settle, followed by fractional crystallization. Here we consider the frac-tional crystallization part of this process; the equilibri-um cumulates having been determined by [6].

Rapp, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Estimating Uncertainty in Long Term Total Ozone Records from Multiple Sources

Total ozone measurements derived from the TOMS and SBUV backscattered solar UV instrument series cover the period from late 1978 to the present. As the SBUV series of instruments comes to an end, we look to the 10 years of data from the AURA Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and two years of data from the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS) on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite to continue the record. When combining these records to construct a single long-term data set for analysis we must estimate the uncertainty in the record resulting from potential biases and drifts in the individual measurement records. In this study we present a Monte Carlo analysis used to estimate uncertainties in the Merged Ozone Dataset (MOD), constructed from the Version 8.6 SBUV2 series of instruments. We extend this analysis to incorporate OMI and OMPS total ozone data into the record and investigate the impact of multiple overlapping measurements on the estimated error. We also present an updated column ozone trend analysis and compare the size of statistical error (error from variability not explained by our linear regression model) to that from instrument uncertainty.

TOMS and SBUV↗
NASA NTRS2015

Verification and Validation of the k-kL Turbulence Model in FUN3D and CFL3D Codes

The implementation of the k-kL turbulence model using multiple computational uid dy- namics (CFD) codes is reported herein. The k-kL model is a two-equation turbulence model based on Abdol-Hamid's closure and Menter's modi cation to Rotta's two-equation model. Rotta shows that a reliable transport equation can be formed from the turbulent length scale L, and the turbulent kinetic energy k. Rotta's equation is well suited for term-by-term mod- eling and displays useful features compared to other two-equation models. An important di erence is that this formulation leads to the inclusion of higher-order velocity derivatives in the source terms of the scale equations. This can enhance the ability of the Reynolds- averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solvers to simulate unsteady ows. The present report documents the formulation of the model as implemented in the CFD codes Fun3D and CFL3D. Methodology, veri cation and validation examples are shown. Attached and sepa- rated ow cases are documented and compared with experimental data. The results show generally very good comparisons with canonical and experimental data, as well as matching results code-to-code. The results from this formulation are similar or better than results using the SST turbulence model.

Abdol-Hamid, Khaled S.↗
NASA NTRS1984

41-G Mission Report - Summary

Challenger's sixth flight launched from KSC at 6:03 CDT October 5, 1984. It returned to Kennedy eight days later, landing on October 13th. Since 41-G was a planned EVA flight, two prime EMUs and one backup short EMU were stowed in the Airlock. No MMUs were carried. Astronaut A and Astronaut B successfully accomplished their 3 l/2 hour EVA on October 11th, Flight Day 7 of the mission. This EVA took place the day after the EMU Checkout and Maintenance Recharge activities. During this time Astronaut A and Astronaut B completed the planned installation of the Orbital Refueling System Ball Valve mod kit as well as an unplanned activity of locking the gimbals on the Ku-Band antenna. They each performed quite well in their EMUs.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2016

Improved Calibration of Reflectance Data from the LRO Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) and Implications for Space Weathering

The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) experiment on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a laser altimeter that also measures the strength of the return pulse from the lunar surface. These data have been used to estimate the reflectance of the lunar surface, including regions lacking direct solar illumination. A new calibration of these data is presented that features lower uncertainties overall and more consistent results in the polar regions. We use these data, along with newly available maps of the distribution of lunar maria, also derived from LRO instrument data, to investigate a newly discovered dependence of the albedo of the lunar maria on latitude (Hemingway et al., [2015]). We confirm that there is an increase in albedo with latitude in the lunar maria, and confirm that this variation is not an artifact arising from the distribution of compositions within the lunar maria, using data from the Lunar Prospector Neutron Spectrometer. Radiative transfer modeling of the albedo dependence within the lunar maria is consistent with the very weak to absent dependence of albedo on latitude in the lunar highlands; the lower abundance of the iron source for space weathering products in the lunar highlands weakens the latitude dependence to the extent that it is only weakly detectable in current data. In addition, photometric mod- els and normalization may take into account the fact that the lunar albedo is latitude dependent, but this dependence can cause errors in normalized reflectance of at most 2% for the majority of near-nadir geometries. We also investigate whether the latitude dependent albedo may have obscured detection of small mare deposits at high latitudes. We find that small regions at high latitudes with low roughness similar to the lunar maria are not mare deposits that may have been misclassified owing to high albedos imposed by the latitude dependence. Finally, we suggest that the only modest correlations among space weathering indicators defined for the lunar samples may be due to mixing of soils from distinct latitudes.

Lemelin, M.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Atmospheric Ozone Response to the Disrupted 2015-2016 Quasi-Biennial Oscillation

The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) - a quasi-periodic alternation between easterly and westerly zonal winds in the tropical stratosphere - is a main driver of inter-annual ozone variability in the stratosphere. During the late-2015 through 2016 time period, the QBO experienced a major disruption unlike any observed since wind measurements began in 1953. We examined the ozone response to this QBO disruption using profile ozone measurements from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite Limb Profiler and total column measurements from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) Merged Ozone Data Set (MOD). Positive anomalies in stratospheric equatorial O3 developed between 50 and 30 hPa in May-September of 2016, and negative ozone anomalies were observed in the subtropics of both hemispheres. As a consequence of this QBO disruption, extratropical total ozone values during the spring-summer 2016 were at or near seasonal record lows over the more than 40 years of the total ozone record, resulting in an increase of surface UV index during northern hemisphere summer. We found very consistent responses in all considered ozone observations in terms of time, amplitude and spatial patterns. We will show the ozone changes associated with this disrupted QBO throughout the winter and spring 2017.

Kramarova, N. A.↗