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At least 703 records · Page 39

A Plasma Rocket Demonstration on the International Space Station

The Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory at the NASA Johnson Space Center has been engaged in the development of a magneto-plasma rocket for several years. This type of rocket could be used in the future to propel interplanetary spacecraft. One feature of this concept is the ability to vary its specific impulse so that it can be operated in a mode that maximizes propellant efficiency or a mode that maximizes thrust. For this reason the system is called the Variable Specific Impulse Magneto-plasma Rocket or VASIMR. This ability to vary specific impulse and thrust will allow for optimum low thrust interplanetary trajectories and results in shorter trip times than is possible with fixed specific impulse systems while preserving adequate payload margins. In the development of the VASIMR technology, a series of ground-based experiments and space demonstrations are envisioned. A ground-based experiment of a low-power VASIMR prototype rocket is currently underway at the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory. The next step is a proposal to build and fly a 25-kilowatt VASIMR rocket as an external payload on the International Space Station. This experiment will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the performance of the rocket in space and measure the induced environment. The experiment will also utilize the space station for its intended purpose as a laboratory with vacuum conditions that cannot be matched by any laboratory on Earth. The VASIMR experiment will also blaze the trail for the wider application of advanced electric propulsion on the space station. An electric propulsion system like VASIMR, if provided with sufficient electrical power, could provide continuous drag force compensation for the space station. Drag compensation would eliminate the need for reboosting the station, an operation that will consume about 60 metric tons of propellant in a ten-year period. In contrast, an electric propulsion system would require very little propellant. In fact, a system like VASIMR can use waste hydrogen from the station's life support system as its propellant. This waste hydrogen is otherwise dumped overboard. Continuous drag compensation would also improve the microgravity conditions on the station. So electric propulsion can reduce propellant delivery requirements and thereby increase available payload capacity and at the same time improve the conditions for scientific research.

Petro, Andrew J.↗

Performance of Sweetpotato for Bioregenerative Life Support

Sweetpotato was successfully grown to harvest maturity in a large-scale atmospherically-closed controlled environment chamber. Yield of edible biomass and capacity for contributing to air revitalization and water recovery were documented. Yield was slightly less than that found in smaller-scale studies, but this is not unusual (Wheeler 1999). Continued work is suggested to improve control of storage root initiation, bulking and vine growth.

Barta, Daniel J.↗

Time Resolved PIV for Space-Time Correlations in Hot Jets

Temporally Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry (TR-PIV) is the newest and most exciting tool recently developed to support our continuing efforts to characterize and improve our understanding of the decay of turbulence in jet flows -- a critical element for understanding the acoustic properties of the flow. A new TR-PIV system has been developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center which is capable of acquiring planar PIV image frame pairs at up to 25 kHz. The data reported here were collected at Mach numbers of 0.5 and 0.9 and at temperature ratios of 0.89 and 1.76. The field of view of the TR-PIV system covered 6 nozzle diameters along the lip line of the 50.8 mm diameter jet. The cold flow data at Mach 0.5 were compared with hotwire anemometry measurements in order to validate the new TR-PIV technique. The axial turbulence profiles measured across the shear layer using TR-PIV were thinner than those measured using hotwire anemometry and remained centered along the nozzle lip line. The collected TR-PIV data illustrate the differences in the single point statistical flow properties of cold and hot jet flows. The planar, time-resolved velocity records were then used to compute two-point space-time correlations of the flow at the Mach 0.9 flow condition. The TR-PIV results show that there are differences in the convective velocity and growth rate of the turbulent structures between cold and hot flows at the same Mach number

Wernet, Mark P.↗

Climate Variability and Weather Extremes: Model-Simulated and Historical Data

Extremes in weather and climate encompass a wide array of phenomena including tropical storms, mesoscale convective systems, snowstorms, floods, heat waves, and drought. Understanding how such extremes might change in the future requires an understanding of their past behavior including their connections to large-scale climate variability and trends. Previous studies suggest that the most robust findings concerning changes in short-term extremes are those that can be most directly (though not completely) tied to the increase in the global mean temperatures. These include the findings that (IPCC 2007): There has been a widespread reduction in the number of frost days in mid-latitude regions in recent decades, an increase in the number of warm extremes, particularly warm nights, and a reduction in the number of cold extremes, particularly cold nights. For North America in particular (CCSP SAP 3.3, 2008): There are fewer unusually cold days during the last few decades. The last 10 years have seen a lower number of severe cold waves than for any other 10-year period in the historical record that dates back to 1895. There has been a decrease in the number of frost days and a lengthening of the frost-free season, particularly in the western part of North America. Other aspects of extremes such as the changes in storminess have a less clear signature of long term change, with considerable interannual, and decadal variability that can obscure any climate change signal. Nevertheless, regarding extratropical storms (CCSP SAP 3.3, 2008): The balance of evidence suggests that there has been a northward shift in the tracks of strong low pressure systems (storms) in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific basins. For North America: Regional analyses suggest that there has been a decrease in snowstorms in the South and lower Midwest of the United States, and an increase in snowstorms in the upper Midwest and Northeast. Despite the progress already made, our understanding of the basic mechanisms by which extremes vary is incomplete. As noted in IPCC (2007), Incomplete global data sets and remaining model uncertainties still restrict understanding of changes in extremes and attribution of changes to causes, although understanding of changes in the intensity, frequency and risk of extremes has improved. Separating decadal and other shorter-term variability from climate change impacts on extremes requires a better understanding of the processes responsible for the changes. In particular, the physical processes linking sea surface temperature changes to regional climate changes, and a basic understanding of the inherent variability in weather extremes and how that is impacted by atmospheric circulation changes at subseasonal to decadal and longer time scales, are still inadequately understood. Given the fundamental limitations in the time span and quality of global observations, substantial progress on these issues will rely increasingly on improvements in models, with observations continuing to play a critical role, though less as a detection tool, and more as a tool for addressing physical processes, and to insure the quality of the climate models and the verisimilitude of the simulations (CCSP SAP 1.3, 2008).

Schubert, Siegfried D.↗

G-LiHT: Goddard's LiDAR, Hyperspectral and Thermal Airborne Imager

Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have developed an ultra-portable, low-cost, multi-sensor remote sensing system for studying the form and function of terrestrial ecosystems. G-LiHT integrates two LIDARs, a 905 nanometer single beam profiler and 1550 nm scanner, with a narrowband (1.5 nanometers) VNIR imaging spectrometer and a broadband (8-14 micrometers) thermal imager. The small footprint (approximately 12 centimeters) LIDAR data and approximately 1 meter ground resolution imagery are advantageous for high resolution applications such as the delineation of canopy crowns, characterization of canopy gaps, and the identification of sparse, low-stature vegetation, which is difficult to detect from space-based instruments and large-footprint LiDAR. The hyperspectral and thermal imagery can be used to characterize species composition, variations in biophysical variables (e.g., photosynthetic pigments), surface temperature, and responses to environmental stressors (e.g., heat, moisture loss). Additionally, the combination of LIDAR optical, and thermal data from G-LiHT is being used to assess forest health by sensing differences in foliage density, photosynthetic pigments, and transpiration. Low operating costs (approximately $1 ha) have allowed us to evaluate seasonal differences in LiDAR, passive optical and thermal data, which provides insight into year-round observations from space. Canopy characteristics and tree allometry (e.g., crown height:width, canopy:ground reflectance) derived from G-LiHT data are being used to generate realistic scenes for radiative transfer models, which in turn are being used to improve instrument design and ensure continuity between LiDAR instruments. G-LiHT has been installed and tested in aircraft with fuselage viewports and in a custom wing-mounted pod that allows G-LiHT to be flown on any Cessna 206, a common aircraft in use throughout the world. G-LiHT is currently being used for forest biomass and growth estimation in the CONUS and Mexico in support of NASA's Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) and AMIGA-Carb (AMerican Icesat Glas Assessment of Carbon). For NASA's CMS, wall-to-wall G-LiHT data have been acquired over intensive study sites with historic LiDAR datasets, dense inventory data, stem maps and flux tower observations. For AMIGA-Carb, G-LiHT transects have been acquired over ICESat tracks and USDA-FS inventory plots throughout the CONUS, and similar data will be acquired in Mexico during 2013. This talk will highlight recent science results from continental-scale transects landscape-scale deployments of G-LiHT, as well as seasonal forest dynamics from repeat pass G-LiHT acquisitions.

Cook, Bruce↗

Time Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry in Nozzle Flow

Temporally resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV) is the newest and most exciting tool recently developed to support our continuing efforts to characterize and improve our understanding of the decay of turbulence in jet flows—a critical element for understanding the acoustic properties of the flow. A new TR-PIV system has been developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center which is capable of acquiring planar PIV image frame pairs at up to 25 kHz. The data reported here were collected at Mach numbers of 0.5 and 0.9 and at temperature ratios of 0.89 and 1.76. The field of view of the TR-PIV system covered six nozzle diameters along the lip line of the 50.8 mm diameter jet. The cold flow data at Mach 0.5 were compared with hotwire anemometry measurements in order to validate the new TR-PIV technique. The axial turbulence profiles measured across the shear layer using TR-PIV were thinner than those measured using hotwire anemometry and remained centred along the nozzle lip line. The collected TR-PIV data illustrate the differences in the single point statistical flow properties of cold and hot jet flows. The planar, time-resolved velocity records were then used to compute two-point space–time correlations of the flow at the Mach 0.9 flow condition. The TR-PIV results show that there are differences in the convective velocity and growth rate of the turbulent structures between cold and hot flows at the same Mach number.

Temporally Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry↗

Development of a Consistent GEOsat Cloud Property Dataset for the CERES Climate Data Record

Cloud properties are critical for understanding the Earth’s radiation budget and cloud feedbacks. At NASA Langley Research Center, the Satellite ClOud and Radiative Property retrieval System (SatCORPS) provides real-time and historical analyses of clouds derived from Geostationary satellite (GEOsat) data for weather and climate applications. For the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) program, the global constellation of GEOsats has been analyzed since 2000 to help characterize and account for the diurnal cycle of clouds and their radiative impacts in the CERES climate data record. Obtaining consistent cloud properties over the GEOsat data record during the CERES era is a major objective but a significant challenge considering the diversity of imaging capabilities deployed during that time. The GEOsat data analysis approach for the current CERES Edition-4 (Ed4) data products was focused on accuracy and consistency with MODIS by employing as much spectral information as possible from each satellite. However, the inconsistent use of spectral information across GEOsats led to marked discontinuities in the spatial and temporal record of cloud properties that had to be accounted for post facto in downstream CERES processing. This paper reports progress in developing a new GEOsat analysis system for the next CERES edition (Ed5) that has potential to improve cross-platform consistency and continuity. In this approach, the spectral channel complement is limited to just 3-channels during daytime, ~0.65 µm (VIS), ~3.9 µm (NIR), and ~10.8 µm (IR), common to nearly all of the satellites in the record. At night, a 2-channel approach is taken with the NIR and IR, and ~6.7 µm bands that includes a machine learning approach for optically thick cloud properties. A tradeoff is the potential for reduced accuracy particularly using data from the more advanced satellites that have more spectral channels (e.g. SEVIRI, AHI and ABI) that are known to help improve thin cirrus detection, cloud-aerosol discrimination and estimates in other difficult conditions that challenge cloud remote sensing. The new continuity approach is applied to one month of global GEOSat data for each year of the CERES record since 2000 and compared with the Ed4 GEO and MODIS cloud property time series in order to evaluate the level of improved consistency in the GEOsat record and to assess the accuracy impacts. Cloud fraction will also be assessed with CALIPSO data. Outstanding issues and challenges will be discussed. The results are expected to guide future work needed to develop a more robust GEOsat cloud data record for CERES.

CERES CDR↗

Air transportation - Energy cost-effective or not

Current technology aircraft have energy intensities comparable to ground transport modes. Operational changes can further improve their relative energy performance. Wide-body aircraft have already significantly improved fleet energy intensity and will continue to do so as they become more predominant. This is reflected in the 1972 fleet-wide energy intensity data which show both the domestic and international carriers at the lowest jet aircraft intensity levels ever attained. Technological improvements decreased the energy requirements of wide-body aircraft while also significantly reducing aircraft noise and pollution emission levels. Load factor is the most significant parameter affecting existing aircraft energy intensity and therefore should be raised. Fuel scarcity is now forcing such a change.

Maddalon, D. V.↗

Research possibilities? No! Needs for research to make PV solar energy utilization broadly competitive

The historical progression of efficiency improvements, cost reductions, and performance improvements in modules and photovoltaic systems are described. The potential for future improvements in photovoltaic device efficiencies and cost reductions continues as device concepts, designs, processes, and automated production capabilities mature. Additional step-function improvements can be made as today's simpler devices are replaced by more sophisticated devices.

Wolf, M.↗

Update on the activities of the GGOS Bureau of Networks and Observations

The recently reorganized GGOS Bureau of Networks and Observations has many elements that are associated with building and sustaining the infrastructure that supports the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) through the development and maintenance of the International Terrestrial and Celestial Reference Frames, improved gravity field models and their incorporation into the reference frame, the production of precision orbits for missions of interest to GGOS, and many other applications. The affiliated Service Networks (IVS, ILRS, IGS, IDS, and now the IGFS and the PSMSL) continue to grow geographically and to improve core and co-location site performance with newer technologies. Efforts are underway to expand GGOS participation and outreach. Several groups are undertaking initiatives and seeking partnerships to update existing sites and expand the networks in geographic areas void of coverage. New satellites are being launched by the Space Agencies in disciplines relevant to GGOS. Working groups now constitute an integral part of the Bureau, providing key service to GGOS. Their activities include: projecting future network capability and examining trade-off options for station deployment and technology upgrades, developing metadata collection and online availability strategies; improving coordination and information exchange with the missions for better ground-based network response and space-segment adequacy for the realization of GGOS goals; and standardizing site-tie measurement, archiving, and analysis procedures. This poster will present the progress in the Bureau's activities and its efforts to expand the networks and make them more effective in supporting GGOS.

Networks↗

Series-Connected Buck Boost Regulators

A series-connected buck boost regulator (SCBBR) is an electronic circuit that bucks a power-supply voltage to a lower regulated value or boosts it to a higher regulated value. The concept of the SCBBR is a generalization of the concept of the SCBR, which was reported in "Series-Connected Boost Regulators" (LEW-15918), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 23, No. 7 (July 1997), page 42. Relative to prior DC-voltage-regulator concepts, the SCBBR concept can yield significant reductions in weight and increases in power-conversion efficiency in many applications in which input/output voltage ratios are relatively small and isolation is not required, as solar-array regulation or battery charging with DC-bus regulation. Usually, a DC voltage regulator is designed to include a DC-to-DC converter to reduce its power loss, size, and weight. Advances in components, increases in operating frequencies, and improved circuit topologies have led to continual increases in efficiency and/or decreases in the sizes and weights of DC voltage regulators. The primary source of inefficiency in the DC-to-DC converter portion of a voltage regulator is the conduction loss and, especially at high frequencies, the switching loss. Although improved components and topology can reduce the switching loss, the reduction is limited by the fact that the converter generally switches all the power being regulated. Like the SCBR concept, the SCBBR concept involves a circuit configuration in which only a fraction of the power is switched, so that the switching loss is reduced by an amount that is largely independent of the specific components and circuit topology used. In an SCBBR, the amount of power switched by the DC-to-DC converter is only the amount needed to make up the difference between the input and output bus voltage. The remaining majority of the power passes through the converter without being switched. The weight and power loss of a DC-to-DC converter are determined primarily by the amount of power processed. In the SCBBR, the unswitched majority of the power is passed through with very little power loss, and little if any increase in the sizes of the converter components is needed to enable the components to handle the unswitched power. As a result, the power-conversion efficiency of the regulator can be very high, as shown in the example of Figure 1. A basic SCBBR includes a DC-to-DC converter (see Figure 2). The switches and primary winding of a transformer in the converter is connected across the input bus, while the secondary winding and switches are connected in series with the output bus, so that the output voltage is the sum of the input voltage and the secondary voltage of the converter. In the breadboard SCBBR, the input voltage applied to the primary winding is switched by use of metal oxide/semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) in a full bridge circuit; the secondary winding is center-tapped, with two MOSFET switches and diode rectifiers connected in opposed series in each leg. The sets of opposed switches and rectifiers are what enable operation in either a boost or a buck mode. In the boost mode, input voltage and current, and the output voltage and current are all positive; that is, the secondary voltage is added to the input voltage and the net output voltage can be regulated at a value equal or greater than the input voltage. In the buck mode, input voltage is still positive and the current still flows in the same direction in the secondary, but the switches are controlled such that some power flows from the secondary to the primary. The voltage across the secondary and the current into the primary are reversed. The result is that the output voltage is lower than the input voltage, and some power is recirculated from the converter secondary back to the input. Quantitatively, the advantage of an SCBBR is a direct function of the regulation range required. If, for example, a regulation range of 20 percent is required for a 500-W supply, th it suffices to design the DC-to-DC converter in the SCBBR for a power rating of only 100 W. The switching loss and size are much smaller than those of a conventional regulator that must be rated for switching of all 500 W. The reduction in size and the increase in efficiency are not directly proportional to switched-power ratio of 5:1 because the additional switches contribute some conduction loss and the input and output filters must be larger than those typically required for a 100-W converter. Nevertheless, the power loss and the size can be much smaller than those of a 500-W converter.

Birchenough, Arthur G.↗

Studies for improved high temperature coatings for Space Shuttle application

Improvement of the current Class 2 Space Shuttle Orbiter RCG coating was experimentally investigated.Coatings, which are applied to LI-900 or LI-2200 tiles, were prepared to provide increased performance in thermal expansion, impact, residual strain and increased viscosity. Turbulent duct arc-plasma tests at NASA/Ames Research Center are continuing on two candidates that show improved low residual strain and increased high temperature viscosity. A coating system with lower fusion-temperature (1950 F) was identified which has the potential of improving tile yield through reduced LI-900 shrinkage and distortion since it can be fused at 250 F lower than the present Class 2 coating.

Creedon, J.↗

Improvements to the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) Calibration System

As a continuing effort to increase the calibration accuracy of the AVIRIS data a number of recent improvements have been implemented and are in the process of being tested during the 1994 flight season. These include the following innovations: A direct observation of a laboratory radiance standard is now used to double check the wide field-of-view calibration via an integrating sphere source. Launch site field calibration of the AVIRIS sensor is now being planned to augment the laboratory and inflight calibration. Modification to a dry air conditioning unit has been made to enable ground calibration at flight operating temperatures. One hundred lines of dark imagery has been added to the end of each flight line to assist in the analysis and removal of residual coherent noise. The intensity of the onboard calibration lamp has been modified to improve response in the blue end of the spectrum. Novel spectral filters have been installed in the onboard calibration source.

Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer Cal↗

Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel

The results of the Panel's activities are presented in a set of findings and recommendations. Highlighted here are both improvements in NASA's safety and reliability activities and specific areas where additional gains might be realized. One area of particular concern involves the curtailment or elimination of Space Shuttle safety and reliability enhancements. Several findings and recommendations address this area of concern, reflecting the opinion that safety and reliability enhancements are essential to the continued successful operation of the Space Shuttle. It is recommended that a comprehensive and continuing program of safety and reliability improvements in all areas of Space Shuttle hardware/software be considered an inherent component of ongoing Space Shuttle operations.

Source record↗

Toughening of a thermoplastic matrix composite - Processing issues

The use of a rubber modified thermoplastic resin has been investigated as a method to improve the impact damage and the Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of a unidirectional continuous carbon fiber composite. Test results show that the improvement in the fracture toughness is less than expected due to rubber particle agglomeration, poor fiber/matrix adhesion and the induced crystallization of the matrix. These restrictions must be eliminated in order to evaluate the maximum potential of a rubber toughened thermoplastic matrix on a composite's fracture toughness.

Parker, D. S.↗

Improving Sensorimotor Adaptation Following Long Duration Space Flight by Enhancing Vestibular Information Transfer

Crewmember adapted to the microgravity state may need to egress the vehicle within a few minutes for safety and operational reasons after gravitational transitions. The transition from one sensorimotor state to another consists of two main mechanisms: strategic and plastic-adaptive and have been demonstrated in astronauts returning after long duration space flight. Strategic modifications represent "early adaptation" - immediate and transitory changes in control that are employed to deal with short-term changes in the environment. If these modifications are prolonged then plastic-adaptive changes are evoked that modify central nervous system function, automating new behavioral responses. More importantly, this longer term adaptive recovery mechanism was significantly associated with their strategic ability to recover on the first day after return to Earth G. We are developing a method based on stochastic resonance to enhance information transfer by improving the brain's ability to detect vestibular signals (Vestibular Stochastic Resonance, VSR) especially when combined with balance training exercises such as sensorimotor adaptability (SA) training for rapid improvement in functional skill, for standing and mobility. This countermeasure to improve detection of vestibular signals is a stimulus delivery system that is wearable/portable providing low imperceptible levels of white noise based binaural bipolar electrical stimulation of the vestibular system (stochastic vestibular stimulation). To determine efficacy of vestibular stimulation on physiological and perceptual responses during otolith-canal conflicts and dynamic perturbations we have conducted a series of studies: We have shown that imperceptible binaural bipolar electrical stimulation of the vestibular system across the mastoids enhances balance performance in the mediolateral (ML) plane while standing on an unstable surface. We have followed up on the previous study showing VSR stimulation improved balance performance in both ML and anteroposterior planes while stimulating in the ML axis only. We have shown the efficacy of VSR stimulations on enhancing physiological and perceptual responses of whole-body orientation during low frequency perturbations (0.1 Hz) on the ocular motor system using a variable radius centrifuge on both physiological (using eye movements) and perceptual responses (using a joystick) to track imposed oscillations. The variable radius centrifuge provides a selective tilting sensation that is detectable only by the otolith organs providing conflicting information from the canal organs of the vestibular system (intra-vestibular conflict). These results indicate that VSR can improve performance in sensory conflict scenarios like that experienced during space flight. We have showed the efficacy of VSR stimulation to improve balance and locomotor control on subjects exposed to continuous, sinusoidal lateral motion of the support surface while walking on a treadmill while viewing perceptually matched linear optic flow. We have shown the safety of short term continuous use of up to 4 hours of VSR stimulation and its efficacy in improving balance and locomotor function in Parkinson's Disease patients. This technique for improving vestibular signal detection may thus provide additional information to improve strategic abilities. We hypothesize that VSR stimulation will act synergistically with SA training to improve adaptability by increased utilization of vestibular information and therefore serve to optimize and personalize the SA countermeasure prescription. This forms the basis of its usefulness both as a training modality and further help in significantly reducing the number of days required to recover functional performance to preflight levels after long duration space flight.

Mulavara, A. P.↗

Improved cell for water-vapor electrolysis

Continuous-flow electrolytic cells decompose water vapor in steam and room air into hydrogen and oxygen. Sintered iridium oxide catalytic anode coating yields dissociation rates hundredfold greater than those obtained using platinum black. Cell consists of two mirror-image cells, with dual cathode sandwiched between two anodes. Gas traverses serpentine channels within cell and is dissociated at anode. Oxygen mingles with gas stream, while hydrogen migrates through porous matrix and is liberated as gas at cathode.

Aylward, J. R.↗

Improved Facility for Producing Silicon Web

Growth of continuous silicon dendritic web that is up to 5 cm wide instead on only 1.3 cm is formed by freezing of supercooled liquid silicon between two needlelike dendritic crystals. Growth takes place in a work chamber filled with argon gas. As web grows, it is drawn out of chamber through a duct and guided to a storage reel.

Duncan, C. S.↗