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At least 703 records · Page 39

Insights and Observations From Operating A Laser Communication Terminal on the International Space Station (ISS)

The Integrated Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD) Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) is the first user platform for NASA’s first laser communication relay, LCRD. ILLUMA-T is hosted on the International Space Station (ISS) as an external payload of the Japanese Experiment Module – Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) situated in slot 3. The LCRD payload is hosted on the STPSat-6 spacecraft, which orbits Earth in a geostationary orbit at position 112 W. The ILLUMA-T-to-LCRD system provides a bidirectional, space-to-ground laser communication relay link transferring data up to 1.2 Gbps utilizing two optical ground stations (OGS), OGS-1 in California and OGS-2 in Hawai’i. This paper describes lessons learned from operating the ILLUMA-T system and examines topics such as the end-to-end system availability, predictive versus actual ephemeris, acquisition adjustments, modem timing and handshaking, the terminal’s physical placement and accommodations, and experiment development, execution, and analysis. The authors of this paper operate both the LCRD and ILLUMA-T laser terminals on a daily basis including pass planning, procedure execution, acquisition analysis, and real-time terminal commanding and telemetry monitoring. LCRD is a joint project involving NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL). The ILLUMA-T payload is managed by NASA GSFC in Greenbelt, Maryland whose partners include the ISS program office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas; the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama; the Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, Ohio; and the MIT LL in Lexington, Massachusetts. ILLUMA-T is funded by the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Laser Communications↗

Big Data Challenges at CCMC

Like other research centers, the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC, https://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is also experiencing the big data challenges. CCMC hosts over 80 space weather models for Runs On Request (ROR), Continuous Runs and Instant Runs simulation services for the research community. In addition, CCMC has started to support simulation output onboarding in response to the Open Science initiative. Overall, we have accumulated over petabytes of simulation output data and are rapidly growing. In this presentation, we will discuss our data and storage challenges. We will present our attempts to address our challenges and any associated lessons learned. CCMC uses Apache Airflow to ensure data transfer is consistent. We will give a brief overview on how we leverage Apache Airflow to enhance our environment.

space weather↗

Big Data Challenges at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC)

Like other research centers, the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC, https://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is also experiencing the big data challenges. CCMC hosts over 80 space weather models for Runs On Request (ROR), Continuous Runs and Instant Runs simulation services for the research community. In addition, CCMC has started to support simulation output onboarding in response to the Open Science initiative. Overall, we have accumulated over petabytes of simulation output data and are rapidly growing. In this presentation, we will discuss our data and storage challenges. We will present our attempts to address our challenges and any associated lessons learned. CCMC uses Apache Airflow to ensure data transfer is consistent. We will give a brief overview on how we leverage Apache Airflow to enhance our environment.

space weather↗

Experimental Results from Integrated LCRD Low-Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) Program

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Integrated LCRD Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) payload was launched and installed on the International Space Station’s (ISS) Japanese Experiment Module - Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) in November 2023. ILLUMA-T was the first space-based user to communicate with NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) using free space optical communication to transfer data from the ISS at return rates to Earth of up to 1.244 Gbps and forward rates from Earth of up to 155 Mbps. A 6-month long Experiments Program on ILLUMA-T concluded in June 2024, after which the payload was removed from the ISS and is currently de-orbiting. The Experiments Program was carefully designed to understand and characterize the Pointing, Acquisition, and Track (PAT) process with the new Modular, Agile, Scalable Optical Terminal (MAScOT), optical modem performance, and end-to-end relay performance.

ISS↗

Big-data Efficient and Automated Science Transfer (BEAST): An Open-Source Software Architecture for Arc Jet Data Management, Modeling, and Automation

Big-data Efficient and Automated Science Transfer (BEAST) was conceived to address the existing ground testing data management of the NASA Ames arc jet facilities (e.g., manually entered Excel files and USB drive data transfers). These data management practices were seen as a choke point for future thermal protection system (TPS) development as they limit statistical tracking, resolution of diagnostics, coordination between video/time series, data throughput, and data processing speed/efficiency. Consequently, BEAST was developed to provide a new data infrastructure with streamlined data collection, processing, transfer, and analysis. This new framework also seeks to implement the FAIR principles of data stewardship: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. The BEAST framework is based on a combination of the Python Django web framework and the Python data stack to provide a monolithic, open-source platform for data management, automation, and machine learning. This architecture was chosen for maintainability and scalability for a small, in-house development team. This paper will describe the application framework, deployment, and discuss the benefits and future plans for the system.

Data management↗

Transferable Output ASCII Data (TOAD) file format description

Described is a format for writing ASCII data on a file to facilitate its transfer from one computer system to another. The TOAD format conforms to all ANSI FORTRAN 77 standards. There are two advantages in using the TOAD format. First, TOAD files are of the preferred type and record length to make them easy to edit, read from and write on magnetic tape, or transfer across communications networks. Secondly, application programs, using the TOAD format to write computational results, are more portable and the answer files easier to postprocess. TOAD utility software is listed in an appendix.

Bingel, Bradford↗

A parameterization for the shortwave transmissivity of stratiform water clouds based on empirical data and radiative transfer theory

Surface measurements of solar flux and total integrated liquid-water content, radiosonde data, and infrared satellite images are analyzed in conjunction with radiative transfer calculations to derive an empirical parameterization for the shortwave transmissivity of continental stratiform water clouds. The data were collected near Denver, Colorado, over a period of six years. A multiple reflection radiative transfer model is employed to estimate stratus cloud transmissivity in terms of the measurable liquid-water path (LWP). A nonlinear fit of estimated transmissivities to the corresponding observations of LWP yields close agreement with a previous, more complicated parameterization. The derived expression for cloud transmissivity is used to predict mean daily surface fluxes for 61 days during which periods of stratiform clouds were observed over the Denver area. A comparison between predicted and measured fluxes shows agreement to within + or - 4 percent, with best agreement for clouds of moderate optical thickness. Potential sources of error are identified with sensitivity studies.

Derr, V. E.↗

Data and Time Transfer Using SONET Radio

The need for precise knowledge of time and frequency has become ubiquitous throughout our society. The areas of astronomy, navigation, and high speed wide-area networks are among a few of the many consumers of this type of information. The Global Positioning System (GPS) has the potential to be the most comprehensive source of precise timing information developed to date; however, the introduction of selective availability has made it difficult for many users to recover this information from the GPS system with the precision required for today's systems. The system described in this paper is a 'Synchronous Optical NetWORK (SONET) Radio Data and Time Transfer System'. The objective of this system is to provide precise time and frequency information to a variety of end-users using a two-way data and time-transfer system. Although time and frequency transfers have been done for many years, this system is unique in that time and frequency information are embedded into existing communications traffic. This eliminates the need to make the transfer of time and frequency informatio a dedicated function of the communications system. For this system SONET has been selected as the transport format from which precise time is derived. SONET has been selected because of its high data rates and its increasing acceptance throughout the industry. This paper details a proof-of-concept initiative to perform embedded time and frequency transfers using SONET Radio.

Graceffo, Gary M.↗

Review of experimental investigations of liquid-metal heat transfer

Experimental data of various investigators of liquid-metal heat-transfer characteristics were reevaluated using as consistent assumptions and methods as possible and then compared with each other and with theoretical results. The reevaluated data for both local fully developed and average Nusselt numbers in the turbulent flow region were found still to have considerable spread, with the bulk of the data being lower than predicted by existing analysis. An equation based on empirical grounds which represents most of the fully developed heat-transfer data is nu = 0.625 pe(0.4) where nu represents the Nusselt number and pe the Peclet number. The theoretical prediction of the heat transfer in the entrance region was found to give lower values, in most cases, than those found in the experimental work.

Lubarsky, Bernard↗

VLBI and GPS-based Time-Transfer Using CONT08 Data

One important prerequisite for geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is the use of frequency standards with excellent short term stability. This makes VLBI stations, which are often co-located with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiving stations, interesting for studies of time- and frequency-transfer techniques. We present an assessment of VLBI time-transfer based on the data of the two week long consecutive IVS CONT08 VLBI campaign by using GPS Carrier Phase (GPSCP). CONT08 was a 15 day long campaign in August 2008 that involved eleven VLBI stations on five continents. For CONT08 we estimated the worst case VLBI frequency link stability between the stations of Onsala and Wettzell to 1e-15 at one day. Comparisons with GPSCP confirm the VLBI results. We also identify time-transfer related challenges of the VLBI technique as used today.

Rieck, Carsten↗

Fail-over file transfer process

The present invention provides a fail-over file transfer process to handle data file transfer when the transfer is unsuccessful in order to avoid unnecessary network congestion and enhance reliability in an automated data file transfer system. If a file cannot be delivered after attempting to send the file to a receiver up to a preset number of times, and the receiver has indicated the availability of other backup receiving locations, then the file delivery is automatically attempted to one of the backup receiving locations up to the preset number of times. Failure of the file transfer to one of the backup receiving locations results in a failure notification being sent to the receiver, and the receiver may retrieve the file from the location indicated in the failure notification when ready.

Semancik, Susan K.↗

Use of data description languages in the interchange of data

The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) is developing Standards for the interchange of information between systems, including those operating under different environments. The objective is to perform the interchange automatically, i.e. in a computer interpretable manner. One aspect of the concept developed by CCSDS is the use of a separate data description to specify the data being transferred. Using the description, data can then be automatically parsed by the receiving computer. With a suitably expressive Data Description Language (DDL), data formats of arbitrary complexity can be handled. The advantages of this approach are: (1) that the description need only be written and distributed once to all users, and (2) new software does not need to be written for each new format, provided generic tools are available to support writing and interpretation of descriptions and the associated data instances. Consequently, the effort of 'hard coding' each new format is avoided and problems of integrating multiple implementations of a given format by different users are avoided. The approach is applicable in any context where computer parsable description of data could enhance efficiency (e.g. within a spacecraft control system, a data delivery system or an archive). The CCSDS have identified several candidate DDL's: EAST (Extended Ada Subset), TSDN (Transfer Syntax Data Notation) and MADEL (Modified ASN.1 as a Data Description Language -- a DDL based on the Abstract Syntax Notation One - ASN.1 - specified in the ISO/IEC 8824). This paper concentrates on ESA's development of MADEL. ESA have also developed a 'proof of concept' prototype of the required support tools, implemented on a PC under MS-DOS, which has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the approach, including the capability within an application of retrieving and displaying particular data elements, given its MADEL description (i.e. a data description written in MADEL). This paper outlines the work done to date and assesses the applicability of this modified ASN.1 as a DDL. The feasibility of the approach is illustrated with several examples.

Pignede, M.↗

Evaluation of the OMI Cloud Pressures Derived from Rotational Raman Scattering by Comparisons with other Satellite Data and Radiative Transfer Simulations

In this paper we examine differences between cloud pressures retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) using the ultraviolet rotational Raman scattering (RRS) algorithm and those from the thermal infrared (IR) Aqua/MODIS. Several cloud data sets are currently being used in OMI trace gas retrieval algorithms including climatologies based on IR measurements and simultaneous cloud parameters derived from OMI. From a validation perspective, it is important to understand the OMI retrieved cloud parameters and how they differ with those derived from the IR. To this end, we perform radiative transfer calculations to simulate the effects of different geophysical conditions on the OMI RRS cloud pressure retrievals. We also quantify errors related to the use of the Mixed Lambert-Equivalent Reflectivity (MLER) concept as currently implemented of the OMI algorithms. Using properties from the Cloudsat radar and MODIS, we show that radiative transfer calculations support the following: (1) The MLER model is adequate for single-layer optically thick, geometrically thin clouds, but can produce significant errors in estimated cloud pressure for optically thin clouds. (2) In a two-layer cloud, the RRS algorithm may retrieve a cloud pressure that is either between the two cloud decks or even beneath the top of the lower cloud deck because of scattering between the cloud layers; the retrieved pressure depends upon the viewing geometry and the optical depth of the upper cloud deck. (3) Absorbing aerosol in and above a cloud can produce significant errors in the retrieved cloud pressure. (4) The retrieved RRS effective pressure for a deep convective cloud will be significantly higher than the physical cloud top pressure derived with thermal IR.

Vasilkov, Alexander↗

Big-data Efficient and Automated Science Transfer (BEAST): An Open-Source Software Architecture for Arc Jet Data Management, Modeling, and Automation

Big-data Efficient and Automated Science Transfer (BEAST) is a facility data management application developed for the NASA Ames arc jet facilities. The current decentralized data management practices limit statistical tracking, synchronization between video/time series, search capability, data throughput, and data processing speed/efficiency. Consequently, BEAST was developed to provide a new data infrastructure with streamlined data collection, processing, transfer, and analysis. This new framework also seeks to implement the FAIR principles of data stewardship: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. The BEAST framework is based on a combination of the Python Django web framework and the Python data stack to provide a monolithic, open-source platform for data management, automation, and machine learning. This architecture was chosen for maintainability and scalability for a small, in-house development team. This paper will describe the application framework, deployment, and discuss the benefits and future plans for the system.

Data management↗

Validation of Atmospheric Correction of Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) Radiance Data Based on Radiative Transfer Modeling

An evaluation of atmospheric correction of AVIRIS data using radiative transfer codes LOWTRAN7 and MODTRAN is presented. The algorithm employed is based on a simple model of radiance L at each wavelength at the sensor that can be written approximately LAV=Lp+Tp, where subscript AV referes to AVIRIS, Lp is the path radiance and Tp is the diffuse + direct transmitted radiance of the atmosphere at AVIRIS.

Infrared Mapping↗

Quasi-Wireless Capacitive Power Transfer with Secure Data Acquisition for Robotic Systems in Space Infrastructure

Space exploration is dependent on robotic systems that utilize end-effectors to collect samples, probe surfaces, and manipulate objects. These systems can rarely be designed to do all three, forcing engineers to make tradeoffs based on the mission parameters - i.e. should the robotic appendage have a claw, drill, or shovel, and which would be best suited for the mission? Additionally, as more industrial and government entities partake in space exploration, data protection is needed in transit and at rest. To address these challenges, we present a first-of-its- kind robotic linkage that has no wiring between the joints. Instead, quasi-wireless capacitive (QWiC) power transfer is used to send energy over the robot’s chassis without a return wire. This enables the system to be completely modular through the use of single-contact permanent magnet connections, allowing rapid alterations in joint kinematics and/or the changing of end-effectors. For collecting sensor data from the robotic arm and to send remote commands to it, we use a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. Data transmission relies on MQTT and OPC UA communication protocols with encryption. The SCADA server logs and archives sensor data and provides the functionality for authorized users to send remote commands from SCADA client(s) to motors. A SCADA client can be any of the web browsers that connects to a server via a secure communication channel using SSL protocol. Furthermore, as an extra data protection mechanism, we inject noise to the sensor data traffic, which obfuscates the timing of sensor data packets and adds confusion about which data packet represents which motor.

wireless sensor networks↗

Pilot Program for the Development of Classification and Accuracy Assessment Methods and Improved Accessibility for Landsat and Related GIS Data and Technology Transfer of These Methods to State and Local Governments

This project has a single, comprehensive objective that is manifested in many tangible products and impacts throughout the state and the mid-south region. The primary objective or mission of this project is to expose the broadest possible cross-section of public sector decision makers responsible for developing and maintaining policy at the state, local and national levels, private sector professionals and students to the power, flexibility and utility of sensor based imagery and the mapping and interpretive products that are derived from these digital geodata. In accomplishing this mission this project has worked to provide hands-on exposure and training to primary and secondary teachers; developed and distributed instructional materials to students across the state; created an on-line archive of satellite images and related geographic data; implemented a service that enables users throughout the region and around the world to develop customized mapping products suitable for visualization and/or decision support from the comfort of their classroom or office via an internet connection to our facility; extended the use of sensor based imagery in natural resource management and commercial applications through a range of pilot research initiatives, demonstrations, presentations and professional papers.

Limp, W. Fredrick↗