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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1995

The Experience Factory: Strategy and Practice

The quality movement, that has had in recent years a dramatic impact on all industrial sectors, has recently reached the system and software industry. Although some concepts of quality management, originally developed for other product types, can be applied to software, its specificity as a product which is developed and not produced requires a special approach. This paper introduces a quality paradigm specifically tailored on the problem of the systems and software industry. Reuse of products, processes and experiences originating from the system life cycle is seen today as a feasible solution to the problem of developing higher quality systems at a lower cost. In fact, quality improvement is very often achieved by defining and developing an appropriate set of strategic capabilities and core competencies to support them. A strategic capability is, in this context, a corporate goal defined by the business position of the organization and implemented by key business processes. Strategic capabilities are supported by core competencies, which are aggregate technologies tailored to the specific needs of the organization in performing the needed business processes. Core competencies are non-transitional, have a consistent evolution, and are typically fueled by multiple technologies. Their selection and development requires commitment, investment and leadership. The paradigm introduced in this paper for developing core competencies is the Quality Improvement Paradigm which consists of six steps: (1) Characterize the environment, (2) Set the goals, (3) Choose the process, (4) Execute the process, (5) Analyze the process data, and (6) Package experience. The process must be supported by a goal oriented approach to measurement and control, and an organizational infrastructure, called Experience Factory. The Experience Factory is a logical and physical organization distinct from the project organizations it supports. Its goal is development and support of core competencies through capitalization and reuse of its cycle experience and products. The paper introduces the major concepts of the proposed approach, discusses their relationship with other approaches used in the industry, and presents a case in which those concepts have been successfully applied.

Basili, Victor R.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Methane Pyrolysis and Disposing Off Resulting Carbon

Sabatier/Electrolysis (S/E) is a leading process for producing methane and oxygen for application to Mars ISPP. One significant problem with this process is that it produces an excess of methane for combustion with the amount of oxygen that is produced. Therefore, one must discard roughly half of the methane to obtain the proper stoichiometric methane/oxygen mixture for ascent from Mars. This is a waste of hydrogen, which must be brought from Earth and is difficult to transport to Mars and store on Mars. To reduce the problem of transporting hydrogen to Mars, the S/E process can be augmented by another process which reduces overall hydrogen requirement. Three conceptual approaches for doing this are (i) recover hydrogen from the excess methane produced by the S/E process, (ii) convert the methane to a higher hydrocarbon or other organic with a lower H/C ratio than methane, and (iii) use a separate process (such as zirconia or reverse water gas shift reaction) to produce additional oxygen, thus utilizing all the methane produced by the Sabatier process. We report our results here on recovering hydrogen from the excess methane using pyrolysis of methane. Pyrolysis has the advantage that it produces almost pure hydrogen, and any unreacted methane can pass through the S/E process reactor. It has the disadvantage that disposing of the carbon produced by pyrolysis presents difficulties. The goals of a research program on recovery of hydrogen from methane are (in descending priority order): 1) Study the kinetics of pyrolysis to arrive at a pyrolysis reactor design that produces high yields in a confined volume at the lowest possible operating temperature; 2) Study the kinetics of carbon burnoff to determine whether high yields can be obtained in a confined volume at acceptable operating temperatures; and 3) Investigate catalytic techniques for depositing carbon as a fine soot which can be physically separated from the reactor. In the JPL program, we have made significant measurements in regard to goal 1, cursory measurements in regard to goal 2, and would plan to pursue goal 3 if additional resources are secured.

Sharma, P. K.↗
NASA NTRS1999

COMPTEL Studies of Gamma-Ray Bursts at MeV Energies

The purpose of this program was to analyse and interpret gamma-ray burst (GRB) data using both telescope mode data and single detector burst mode data from COMPTEL. Collectively, these data span the energy range from 300 keV up to 30 MeV. The initial goal of our proposal was to perform a standard analysis for each significant GRB event seen by COMPTEL. This includes GRBs that are registered by the telescope mode data as well as GRBs that are registered only in the burst mode data. (The latter category includes both GRBs that he outside of the FoV as well as GRBs within the FoV that are too weak to be seen in the telescope mode.) A second goal of our proposal was to define a set of data products (including deconvolved photon spectra) that, for each detected GRB event, would be made available via the COMPTEL GRB Web Page. The third goal of our program was to perform more detailed studies of selected GRB events. This represented a continuation of past GRB studies by the COMPTEL team. In general, we have met with only limited success in achieving these goals, in part due to the limited resources provided and our philosophy of utilizing local high school students to participate in this effort. Using local high school student support, however, we expect that considerable progress will be made in our efforts to catalog the COMPTEL gamma-ray burst data between now and the end of the current academic year. In addition, observations with COMPTEL contributed to an analysis of GRB 990123, the first gamma-ray burst with simultaneous optical observations.

McConnell, Mark L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

SOLPOL: A Solar Polarimeter for Hard X-Rays and Gamma-Rays

Th goal of this project was to continue the development of a hard X-ray polarimeter for studying solar flares. In earlier work (funded by a previous SR&T grant), we had already achieved several goals, including the following: 1) development of a means of producing a polarized radiation source in the lab that could be used for prototype development; 2) demonstrated the basic Compton scatter polarimeter concept using a simple laboratory setup; 3) used the laboratory results to verify our Monte Carlo simulations; and 4) investigated various detector technologies that could be incorporated into the polarimeter design. For the current one-year program, we wanted to fabricate and test a laboratory science model based on our SOLPOL (Solar Polarimeter) design. The long-term goal of this effort is to develop and test a prototype design that could be used to study flare emissions from either a balloon- or space-borne platform. The current program has achieved its goal of fabricating and testing a science model of the SOLPOL design, although additional testing of the design (and detailed comparison with Monte Carlo simulations) is still desired. This one-year program was extended by six months (no-cost extension) to cover the summer of 1999, when undergraduate student support was available to complete some of the laboratory testing.

McConnell, Michael L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Development of Multi-Disciplinary Finite Element Method Analysis Courses at California State University, Los Angeles

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) Partnership Awards Grant to California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) has two primary goals that help to achieve NASA objectives. The overall objectives of the NASA Partnership Awards are to create opportunities for joint University NASA/Government sponsored research and related activities. One of the goals of the grant is to have university faculty researchers participate and contribute to the development of NASA technology that supports NASA goals for research and development (R&D) in Aeronautics and Astronautics. The other goal is technology transfer in the other direction, where NASA developed technology is made available to the general public and more specifically, targeted to industries that can profit from utilization of government developed technology. This years NASA Dryden Partnership Awards grant to CSULA entitled, "Computer Simulation of Multi-Disciplinary Engineering Systems", has two major tasks that satisfy overall NASA objectives. The first task conducts basic and applied research that contributes to technology development at the Dryden Flight Research Center. The second part of the grant provides for dissemination of NASA developed technology, by using the teaching environment created in the CSULA classroom. The second task and how this is accomplished is the topic of this paper. The NASA STARS (Structural Analysis Routines) computer simulation program is used at the Dryden center to support flight testing of high-performance experimental aircraft and to conduct research and development of new and advanced Aerospace technology.

McKinney, John↗
NASA NTRS1999

Managing the Software Development Process

The goal of any software development project is to produce a product that is delivered on time, within the allocated budget, and with the capabilities expected by the customer and unfortunately, this goal is rarely achieved. However, a properly managed project in a mature software engineering environment can consistently achieve this goal. In this paper we provide an introduction to three project success factors, a properly managed project, a competent project manager, and a mature software engineering environment. We will also present an overview of the benefits of a mature software engineering environment based on 24 years of data from the Software Engineering Lab, and suggest some first steps that an organization can take to begin benefiting from this environment. The depth and breadth of software engineering exceeds this paper, various references are cited with a goal of raising awareness and encouraging further investigation into software engineering and project management practices.

Lubelczky, Jeffrey T.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The NASA Aviation Safety Program: Overview

In 1997, the United States set a national goal to reduce the fatal accident rate for aviation by 80% within ten years based on the recommendations by the Presidential Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. Achieving this goal will require the combined efforts of government, industry, and academia in the areas of technology research and development, implementation, and operations. To respond to the national goal, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed a program that will focus resources over a five year period on performing research and developing technologies that will enable improvements in many areas of aviation safety. The NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) is organized into six research areas: Aviation System Modeling and Monitoring, System Wide Accident Prevention, Single Aircraft Accident Prevention, Weather Accident Prevention, Accident Mitigation, and Synthetic Vision. Specific project areas include Turbulence Detection and Mitigation, Aviation Weather Information, Weather Information Communications, Propulsion Systems Health Management, Control Upset Management, Human Error Modeling, Maintenance Human Factors, Fire Prevention, and Synthetic Vision Systems for Commercial, Business, and General Aviation aircraft. Research will be performed at all four NASA aeronautics centers and will be closely coordinated with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other government agencies, industry, academia, as well as the aviation user community. This paper provides an overview of the NASA Aviation Safety Program goals, structure, and integration with the rest of the aviation community.

Shin, Jaiwon↗
NASA NTRS2000

Advanced Methods for Acoustic and Thrust Benefits for Aircraft Engine Nozzles

The Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics Laboratory (FM&AL) was established At Hampton University in June of 1996. In addition, the FM&AL jointly conducted research with the Central AeroHydrodynamics Institute (TsAGI, Moscow) in Russia under a 2.5 year Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF). The goals of the FM&AL programs are two fold: 1) to improve the working efficiency of the FM&AL team in generating new innovative ideas and in conducting research in the field of fluid dynamics and acoustics, basically for improvement of supersonic and subsonic aircraft engines, and 2) to attract promising minority students to this research and training and, in cooperation with other HU departments, to teach them basic knowledge in Aerodynamics, Gas Dynamics, and Theoretical and Experimental Methods in Aeroacoustics and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The research at the FM&AL supports reduction schemes associated with the emission of engine pollutants for commercial aircraft and concepts for reduction of observables for military aircraft. These research endeavors relate to the goals of the NASA Strategic Enterprise in Aeronautics concerning the development of environmentally acceptable aircraft. It is in this precise area, where the US aircraft industry, academia, and Government are in great need of trained professionals and which is a high priority goal of the Minority University Research and Education (MUREP) Program, that the HU FM&AL can make its most important contribution. This project already benefits NASA and HU because: First, the innovation, testing, and further development of new techniques for advanced propulsion systems are necessary for the successful attainment of the NASA Long Term Goals in Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology (ASTT) including Global Civil Aviation, Revolutionary Technology Leaps, Access to Space, R&D Services, and the economic competitiveness of the US Aircraft Industry in the 2 1 st century. Secondly, the joint theoretical and experimental research and training by the GRC-HU Teams aids: using advanced methods and experience in Aerospace Engineering for domestic industries and training of HU students for interesting innovative work in the numerical simulation field as well as engineering and experimental research. HU students use and modify existing numerical codes for the solution of actual applied problems of the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC)

Morgan, Morris H., III↗
NASA NTRS2000

Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra Spacecraft 120 Volt Power Subsystem: Requirements, Development and Implementation

Built by the Lockheed-Martin Corporation, the Earth Observing System (EOS) TERRA spacecraft represents the first orbiting application of a 120 Vdc high voltage spacecraft electrical power system implemented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The EOS TERRA spacecraft's launch provided a major contribution to the NASA Mission to Planet Earth program while incorporating many state of the art electrical power system technologies to achieve its mission goals. The EOS TERRA spacecraft was designed around five state-of-the-art scientific instrument packages designed to monitor key parameters associated with the earth's climate. The development focus of the TERRA electrical power system (EPS) resulted from a need for high power distribution to the EOS TERRA spacecraft subsystems and instruments and minimizing mass and parasitic losses. Also important as a design goal of the EPS was maintaining tight regulation on voltage and achieving low conducted bus noise characteristics. This paper outlines the major requirements for the EPS as well as the resulting hardware implementation approach adopted to meet the demands of the EOS TERRA low earth orbit mission. The selected orbit, based on scientific needs, to achieve the EOS TERRA mission goals is a sun-synchronous circular 98.2degree inclination Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with a near circular average altitude of 705 kilometers. The nominal spacecraft orbit is approximately 99 minutes with an average eclipse period of about 34 minutes. The scientific goal of the selected orbit is to maintain a repeated 10:30 a.m. +/- 15 minute descending equatorial crossing which provides a fairly clear view of the earth's surface and relatively low cloud interference for the instrument observation measurements. The major EOS TERRA EPS design requirements are single fault tolerant, average orbit power delivery of 2, 530 watts with a defined minimum lifetime of five years (EOL). To meet these mission requirements, while minimizing mass and parasitic power losses, the EOS TERRA project relies on 36, 096 high efficiency Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) on Germanium solar cells adhered to a deployable flexible solar array designed to provide over 5,000 watts of power at EOL. To meet the eclipse power demands of the spacecraft, EOS TERRA selected an application of two 54-cell series connected Individual Pressure Vessel (IPV) Nickel-Hydrogen (NiH2) 50 Ampere-Hour batteries. All of the spacecraft observatory electrical power is controlled via the TERRA Power Distribution Unit (PDU) which is designed to provide main bus regulation of 120 Vdc +/- -4% at all load interfaces through the implementation of majority voter control of both the spacecraft's solar array sequential shunt unit (SSU) and the two battery bi-directional charge and discharge regulators. This paper will review the major electrical power system requirement drivers for the EOS TERRA mission as well as some of the challenges encountered during the development, testing, and implementation of the power system. In addition, spacecraft test and early on orbit performance results will also be covered.

Keys, Denney J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

A Compact Airborne System for SO2 and DMS Measurements for Use on Future GTE Missions Aboard the P-3 or DC-8

This project involved the design and construction of a new instrument for airborne measurement of DMS and SO2. The instrument is intended for use on field missions to study the global atmospheric sulfur cycle. The ultimate scientific goal is to provide insight into the mechanisms of atmospheric transport and transformations impacting both natural and anthropogenic sulfur emissions. This report summarizes the progress made to date and the goals for future work on the project. The PI's for this project have recently relocated from the University of Miami to the University of California, Irvine, and a request has been made to transfer remaining funds to UCI. All equipment associated with this project has been transferred to UCI. The instrument design goal was to develop an instrument roughly one quarter the size and weight of currently available airborne instrumentation used for DMS and S02 measurements. Another goal was full automation, to allow unattended operation for the duration of a P-3 or DC-8 flight. The original performance design specifications for the instrument are given.

Saltzman, Eric S.↗
NASA NTRS2001

An Approach to Establishing System Benefits for Technologies In NASA's Spaceliner Investment Area

NASA's has established long term goals for access-to-space. The third generation launch systems are to be fully reusable and operational around 2025. The goals for the third generation launch system are to significantly reduce cost and improve safety over current systems. The Advanced Space Transportation Program Office (ASTP) at the NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL has the agency lead to develop space transportation technologies. Within ASTP, under the Spaceliner Investment Area, third generation technologies are being pursued. The Spaceliner Investment Area's primary objective is to mature vehicle technologies to enable substantial increases in the design and operating margins of third generation RLVs (current Space Shuttle is considered the first generation RLV) by incorporating advanced propulsion systems, materials, structures, thermal protection systems, power, and avionics technologies. Advancements in design tools and better characterization of the operational environment will result in reduced design and operational variabilities leading to improvements in margins. Improvements in operational efficiencies will be obtained through the introduction of integrated vehicle health management, operations and range technologies. Investments in these technologies will enable the reduction in the high operational costs associated with today's vehicles by allowing components to operate well below their design points resulting in improved component operating life, reliability, and safety which in turn reduces both maintenance and refurbishment costs. The introduction of advanced technologies may enable horizontal takeoff by significantly reducing the takeoff weight and allowing use of existing infrastructure. This would be a major step toward the goal of airline-like operation. These factors in conjunction with increased flight rates, resulting from reductions in transportation costs, will result in significant improvements of future vehicles. The real-world problem is that resources are limited and technologies need to be prioritized to assure the resources are spent on technologies that provide the highest system level benefits. Toward that end, a systems approach is being taken to determine the benefits of technologies for the Spaceliner Investment Area. Technologies identified to be enabling will be funded. However, the other technologies will be funded based on their system's benefits. Since the final launch system concept will not be decided for many years, several vehicle concepts are being evaluated to determine technology benefits. Not only performance, but also cost and operability are being assessed. This will become an annual process to assess these technologies against their goals and the benefits to various launch systems concepts. The paper describes the system process, tools and concepts used to determine the technology benefits. Preliminary results will be presented along with the current technology investments that are being made by ASTP's Spaceliner Investment Area.

Hueter, Uwe↗
NASA NTRS2001

Radiation Transmission Properties of In-Situ Materials

The development of a permanent human presence in space is a key element of NASA's strategic plan for the Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS). The habitation of the International Space Station (ISS) is one near-term HEDS objective; the exploration and settlement of the moon and Mars are long-term goals of that plan. Achieving these goals requires maintaining the health and safety of personnel involved in such space operations at a high level, while at the same time reducing the cost of those operations to a reasonable level. Among the limiting factors to prolonged human space operations are the health risks from exposure to the space ionizing radiation environment. In order to keep the risk of radiation induced cancer at acceptable levels, it is necessary to provide adequate shielding from the ionizing radiation environment. The research presented here is theoretical and ground-based experimental study of the neutron production from interactions of GCR-like particles in various shielding components. An emphasis is placed here on research that will aid in the development of in-situ resource utilization. The primary goal of the program is to develop an accurate neutron-production model that is relevant to the NASA HEDS program of designing technologies that will be used in the development of effective shielding countermeasures. A secondary goal of the program is the development of an experimental data base of neutron production cross sections and thick-target yields which will aid model development.

Heilbronn, L.↗
NASA NTRS2001

National Rocket Propulsion Materials Plan: A NASA, Department of Defense, and Industry Partnership

NASA, Department of Defense, and rocket propulsion industry representatives are working together to create a national rocket propulsion materials development roadmap. This "living document" will facilitate collaboration among the partners, leveraging of resources, and will be a highly effective tool for technology development planning. The structuring of the roadmap, and development plan, which will combine the significant efforts of the Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) Program, and NASA's Integrated Space Transportation Plan (ISTP), is being lead by the IHPRPT Materials Working Group (IMWG). The IHPRPT Program is a joint DoD, NASA, and industry effort to dramatically improve the nation's rocket propulsion capabilities. This phased program is structured with increasingly challenging goals focused on performance, reliability, and cost to effectively double rocket propulsion capabilities by 2010. The IHPRPT program is focused on three propulsion application areas: Boost and Orbit Transfer (both liquid rocket engines and solid rocket motors), Tactical, and Spacecraft. Critical to the success of this initiative is the development and application of advanced materials, processes, and manufacturing technologies. NASA's ISTP is a comprehensive strategy focusing on the aggressive safety, reliability, and affordability goals for future space transportation systems established by the agency. Key elements of this plan are the 2 nd and 3 d Generation Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV). The affordability and safety goals of these generational systems are, respectively, 10X cheaper and 100X safer by 2010, and 100X cheaper and 10,000X safer by 2025. Accomplishment of these goals requires dramatic and sustained breakthroughs, particularly in the development and the application of advanced material systems. The presentation will provide an overview of the IHPRPT materials initiatives, NASA's 2nd and 3 rd Generation RLV propulsion materials projects, and the approach for the development of the national rocket propulsion materials roadmap.

Clinton, Raymond G., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2001

The Stellar Imager (SI) Mission Concept

The Stellar Imager (SI) is envisioned as a space-based, UV-optical interferometer composed of 10 or more one-meter class elements distributed with a maximum baseline of 0.5 km. It will image stars and binaries with one hundred to one thousand resolution elements on their surface and enable long-term studies of stellar magnetic activity patterns and their evolution with time, for comparison with those on the sun. It will also sound their interiors through asteroseismology to image internal structure, differential rotation, and large-scale circulations. SI will enable us to understand the various effects of magnetic fields of stars, the dynamos that generate them, and the internal structure and dynamics of the stars in which they exist. The ultimate goal is to achieve the best-possible forecasting of solar activity on times scales ranging up to decades, and an understanding of the impact of stellar magnetic activity on astrobiology and life in the Universe. The road to that goal will revolutionize our understanding of stars and stellar systems, the building blocks of the Universe. Fitting naturally within the NASA and ESA long-term time lines, SI complements defined missions, and with them will show us entire other solar systems, from the central star to their orbiting planets. In this paper we will describe the scientific goals of the mission, the performance requirements needed to address those goals, and the design concepts now under study.

Carpenter, Kenneth G.↗
NASA NTRS2001

The Stellar Imager (SI) Mission Concept

The Stellar Imager (SI) is envisioned as a space-based, UV optical interferometer composed of 10 or more one-meter class elements distributed with a maximum baseline of 0.5 km. It will image stars and binaries with one hundred to one thousand resolution elements on their surface and enable long-term studies of stellar magnetic activity patterns and their evolution with time, for comparison with those on the sun. It will also sound their interiors through asteroseismology to image internal structure, differential rotation, and large-scale circulations. SI will enable us to understand the various effects of magnetic fields of stars, the dynamos that generate them, and the internal structure and dynamics of the stars in which they exist. The ultimate goal is to achieve the best-possible forecasting of solar activity on times scales ranging up to decades, and an understanding of the impact of stellar magnetic activity on astrobiology and life in the Universe. The road to that goal will revolutionize our understanding of stars and stellar systems, the building blocks of the Universe. Fitting naturally within the NASA and ESA long-term time lines, SI complements defined missions, and with them will show us entire other solar systems, from the central star to their orbiting planets. In this paper we will describe the scientific goals of the mission, the performance requirements needed to address those goals, and the design concepts now under study.

Carpenter, Kenneth G.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Evaluation of the National Throughput Benefits of the Civil Tilt Rotor

The air transportation system is a key part of the U.S. and global economic infrastructure. In recent years, this system, by any measure of usage - operations, enplanements, or revenue passenger miles (RPMs) - has grown rapidly. The rapid growth in demand has not been matched; however, by commensurate increases in the ability of airports and the airspace system to handle the additional traffic. As a result, the air transportation system is approaching capacity and airlines will face excessive delays or significant constraints on service unless capacity is expanded. To expand capacity, the air traffic management system must be improved. To improve the air traffic management system, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Aerospace Technology Enterprise developed the strategic goal of tripling air traffic throughput over the next 10 years, in all weather conditions, while at least maintaining current safety standards. As the first step in meeting that goal, the NASA Intercenter Systems Analysis Team (ISAT) is evaluating the contribution of existing programs to meet that goal. A major part of the study is an examination of the ability of the National Airspace System (NAS) to meet the predicted growth in travel demand and the potential benefits of technology infusion to expand NAS capacity. We previously analyzed the effects of the addition of two technology elements - Terminal Area Productivity (TAP) and Advanced Air Transportation Technologies (AATT). The next program we must analyze is not specific to airspace or aircraft technology. The program incorporates a fundamentally different vehicle to improve throughput: the civil tilt rotor (CTR). The CTR has the unique operating characteristic of being able to take off and land like a rotorcraft (vertical take off and landing, or VTOL, capability) but cruises like a traditional fixed-wing aircraft. The CTR also can operate in a short take off and landing (STOL) mode; generally, with a greater payload capacity (i.e., more passengers) than when operating in the VTOL mode. CTR could expand access to major airports without interfering with fixed-wing aircraft operating on congested runways and it could add service to new markets without the infrastructure support needed for fixed-wing aircraft. During FY 1999, we preliminarily assessed the feasibility of operating CTRs at two major U.S. airports as part of the annual review of NASA aerospace goals by the ISAT. This current study expands the analysis and concepts of that study to the complete NAS to quantify the national throughput effects of the CTR.

Johnson, Jesse↗
NASA NTRS2002

Integrating NASA Dryden Research Endeavors into the Teaching-Learning of Mathematics in the K-12 Classroom via the WWW

The primary goal of this project was to continue populating the currently existing web site developed in 1998 in conjunction with the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and California Polytechnic State University, with more mathematics lesson plans and activities that K-12 teachers, students, home-schoolers, and parents could access. All of the activities, while demonstrating some mathematical topic, also showcase the research endeavors of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The website is located at: http://daniel.calpoly.edu/~dfrc/Robin. The secondary goal of this project was to share the web-based activities with educators at various conferences and workshops. To address the primary goal of this project, over the past year, several new activities were posted on the web site and some of the existing activities were enhanced to contain more video clips, photos, and materials for teachers. To address the project's secondary goal, the web-based activities were showcased at several conferences and workshops. Additionally, in order to measure and assess the outreach impact of the web site, a link to the web site hitbox.com was established in April 2001, which allowed for the collection of traffic statistics against the web site (such as the domains of visitors, the frequency of visitors to this web site, etc.) Provided is a description of some of the newly created activities posted on the web site during the project period of 2001-2002, followed by a description of the conferences and workshops at which some of the web-based activities were showcased. Next is a brief summary of the web site's traffic statistics demonstrating its worldwide educational impact, followed by a listing of some of the awards and accolades the web site has received.

Ward, Robin A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Search for the Cosmic Infrared Background Radiation using COBE Data

This project was initiated to allow completion of the primary investigation of the Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) on NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (CORE) mission, and to study the implications of those findings. The Principal Investigator (PI) on this grant was also the Principal Investigator on the DIRBE team. The project had two specific goals: Goal 1: Seek improved limits upon, or detections of, the cosmic infrared background radiation using data from the COBE Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE). Goal 2: Explore the implications of the limits and measured values of the cosmic infrared background for energy releases in the Universe since the formation of the first luminous sources. Both of these goals have been successfully accomplished.

Hauser, Michael↗