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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Geometric-optical Modeling of a Conifer Forest Canopy

The objective of this research is to explore how the geometry of trees in forest stands influences the reflectance of the forest as imaged from space. Most plant canopy modeling has viewed the canopy as an assemblage of plane-parallel layers on top of a soil surface. For these models, leaf angle distribution, leaf area index, and the angular transmittance and reflectance of leaves are the primary optical and geometric parameters. Such models are now sufficiently well developed to explain most of the variance in angular reflectance measurements observed from homogeneous plant canopies. However, forest canopies as imaged by airborne and spaceborne scanners exhibit considerable variance at quite a different scale. Brightness values vary strongly from one pixel to the next primarily as a function of the number of trees they contain. At this scale, the forest canopy is nonuniform and discontinuous. This research focuses on a discrete-element, geometric-optical view of the forest canopy.

Strahler, A. H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Low-angle normal faulting and isostatic response in the Gulf of Suez: Evidence from seismic interpretation and geometric reconstruction

Tectonic extension within continental crust creates a variety of major features best classed as extensional orogens. These features have come under increasing attention in recent years, with the welding of field observation and theoretical concepts. Most recent advances have come from the Basin and Range Province of the southwestern United States and from the North Sea. Application of these geometric and isostatic concepts, in combination with seismic interpretation, to the southern Gulf of Suez, an active extensional orogen, allows generation of detailed structural maps and geometrically balanced sections which suggest a regional structural model. Geometric models which should prove to be a valuable adjunct to numerical and thermal models for the rifting process are discussed.

Perry, S. K.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Figure control concepts for segmented reflector telescopes

Control analysis activities related to the development of figure control technologies for large space telescopes with precision segmented actively controlled primary reflectors are reviewed. The Precision Segmented Reflector (PSR) configuration is described along with the development and use of the PSR models. Geometric and dynamic models, characterization of figure estimation errors and optimal sensor placement, and the development of quasi-static and dynamic control concepts are outlined. The structure of a quasi-static controller is presented, that utilizes edge sensor measurements to estimate displacement errors at the actuator level and generates figure correction commands. The second approach considers decentralization of the reflector system at the panel level, while the third considers decentralization at the actuator level.

Boussalis, D.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Spectral vegetation indexes and the remote sensing of biophysical parameters

Combinations of remotely sensed data from different spectral bands have been combined into spectral vegetation indexes (SVIs) and used to determine biophysical parameters. The characteristics of two-band SVIs made up of visible and near-infrared reflectances are examined. Two canopy reflectance models, a turbid media model and a geometrical model, are used to study the effects of different canopy structures on the measurement of leaf area index and the fraction of photosynthetically intercepted active radiation.

Huemmrich, Karl F.↗
NASA NTRS2018

JPSS-1/NOAA-20 VIIRS Early On-Orbit Geometric Performance

The first NOAA/NASA Join Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) satellite was successfully launched on November 18, 2017,becoming NOAA-20. Instruments on-board the NOAA-20 satellite include the Visible Infrared Imaging RadiometerSuite (VIIRS). This instrument is the second build of VIIRS, with the first flight instrument on-board NASA/NOAASuomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite operating since October 2011. The purpose of these VIIRSinstruments is to continue the long-term measurements of biogeophysical variables for multiple applications includingweather forecasting, rapid response and climate research. The geometric performance of VIIRS is essential to retrievingaccurate biogeophysical variables. This paper describes the early on-orbit geometric performance of the JPSS-1/NOAA-20 VIIRS. It first discusses the on-orbit orbit and attitude performance, a key input needed for accurate geolocation. Itthen discusses the on-orbit geometric characterization and calibration of VIIRS and an initial assessment of thegeometric accuracy. It follows with a discussion of an improvement in the instrument geometric model that correctssmall geometrical artifacts that appear in the along-scan direction. Finally, this paper discusses on-orbit measurements ofthe focal length and the impact of this on the scan-to-scan underlap/overlap.

Lin, Guoqing↗
DOE OSTI2025

AI-Assisted Conceptual Development of a Pre-Geometric Cosmological Model - An Exercise in AI-Assisted Conceptual Framework Generation, Paper II: Local Geometry and Metric Structure

This paper develops the geometric sector of the replication-driven cosmogenesis framework introduced in Paper I. Starting from a pre-geometric spectral substrate and a minimal set of replication axioms, we show how coherent self-replicating units generate a spatial adjacency graph whose continuum limit acquires an effective Riemannian structure. The replication dynamics determines a characteristic correlation length that seeds the local metric, while overlap relations among coherent units produce an isotropic neighborhood geometry with an emergent dimensionality $d_{\rm eff}\simeq 3$ across a broad range of replication factors. As replication slows and causal order stabilizes, a limiting signal speed $c_\ast$ appears, providing the basis for the Lorentzian structure of spacetime without assuming a pre-existing light cone. We derive conditions under which the adjacency graph converges to a smooth three-dimensional manifold, describe the transition from Euclidean to Lorentzian propagation, and identify geometric invariants controlled by the replication parameters. This work establishes the geometric and causal layer of the replication cosmogenesis program, bridging the spectral axioms of Paper I to the cosmological dynamics explored in Paper III.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

AI-Assisted Conceptual Development of a Pre-Geometric Cosmological Model - An Exercise in AI-Assisted Conceptual Framework Generation, Paper I: Foundations and Replication Dynamics

We develop a pre-geometric cosmological framework in which existence is identified with a finite amount of unstructured energy possessing vibration as its only intrinsic property. This vibrational substrate occupies an open, bounded spectral interval $(\omega_{\min},\omega_{\max})$, ensuring finiteness of total energy and excluding infinitely stable configurations. The substrate evolves under two fundamental and competing tendencies---excitation, which amplifies coherence, and randomization, which scrambles it. Their balance produces a metastable unstructured regime in which rare fluctuations may form long-lived self-consistent spectral configurations. Because the substrate is finite and subject to competing order--disorder dynamics, no coherent configuration can be perpetually stable. We show that the only mechanism capable of sustaining long-lived organization is a replication instability: a coherent unit may reproduce into multiple offspring according to a general $1\!\to n$ rule. Replication consumes energy from the finite substrate, breaks the metastable symmetry, and induces a discrete notion of event time through the replication tick $\Delta\tau$. Temporal succession is defined through correlation ordering of spectral microstates, producing an intrinsic pre-causal structure. The compactness of the spectral domain imposes minimal and maximal timescales, bounds the internal coherence of emergent units, and limits their proliferation. These spectral constraints serve as precursors for the emergence of geometry, adjacency, and a limiting propagation speed, developed in subsequent papers of this series. Paper I provides the foundational axioms (PG1--PG9) governing the spectral substrate, its metastable dynamics, the formation of coherent units, and the necessity of replication, establishing a fully pre-geometric stage from which causal and geometric structure naturally emerge.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1986

Graphical techniques to assist in pointing and control studies of orbiting spacecraft

Computer generated graphics are developed to assist in the modeling and assessment of pointing and control systems of orbiting spacecraft. Three-dimensional diagrams are constructed of the Earth and of geometrical models which resemble the spacecraft of interest. Orbital positioning of the spacecraft model relative to the Earth and the orbital ground track are then displayed. A star data base is also available which may be used for telescope pointing and star tracker field-of-views to visually assist in spacecraft pointing and control studies. A geometrical model of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is constructed and placed in Earth orbit to demonstrate the use of these programs. Simulated star patterns are then displayed corresponding to the primary mirror's FOV and the telescope's star trackers for various telescope orientations with respect to the celestial sphere.

Howell, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

ROBOSIM: An intelligent simulator for robotic systems

The purpose of this paper is to present an update of an intelligent robotics simulator package, ROBOSIM, first introduced at Technology 2000 in 1990. ROBOSIM is used for three-dimensional geometrical modeling of robot manipulators and various objects in their workspace, and for the simulation of action sequences performed by the manipulators. Geometric modeling of robot manipulators has an expanding area of interest because it can aid the design and usage of robots in a number of ways, including: design and testing of manipulators, robot action planning, on-line control of robot manipulators, telerobotic user interface, and training and education. NASA developed ROBOSIM between 1985-88 to facilitate the development of robotics, and used the package to develop robotics for welding, coating, and space operations. ROBOSIM has been further developed for academic use by its co-developer Vanderbilt University, and has been in both classroom and laboratory environments for teaching complex robotic concepts. Plans are being formulated to make ROBOSIM available to all U.S. engineering/engineering technology schools (over three hundred total with an estimated 10,000+ users per year).

Fernandez, Kenneth R.↗
DOE OSTI2025

AI-Assisted Conceptual Development of a Pre-Geometric Cosmological Model - An Exercise in AI-Assisted Conceptual Framework Generation, Paper III: Cosmological Structure and Predictions

This paper develops the cosmological consequences of the replication-driven cosmogenesis framework introduced in Paper I and the emergent geometric structure established in Paper II. After the replication epoch freezes out, the coherent sector occupies a finite spectral band and contains a population of excited states. The relaxation of these excited coherent configurations does not produce coherent radiation; instead, all released energy flows into the incoherent substrate, where the randomizer acts as a rapid phase-scrambling mechanism. This process generates an effectively thermal radiation bath, providing a natural reheating mechanism that requires neither inflaton oscillations nor scalar-field potentials, and can be contrasted with standard scenarios of nonperturbative reheating dynamics. Subsequent symmetry-breaking transitions in the coherent vacuum inject additional radiation, yielding a multi-stage thermal history with well-defined energy transfers. We derive the effective equations of state for each component—the cosmological vacuum, the coherent vacuum, and the radiation bath—and show how their interplay produces an FRW-like expansion. The discrete sequence of coherent-state relaxations imprints a distinctive multi-peaked stochastic gravitational-wave background, whose spectral structure reflects the underlying hierarchy of coherent frequencies. Potential observational signatures in the LISA and mid-band frequency ranges are highlighted, providing concrete avenues to test this replication-based cosmological framework in the context of standard cosmological gravitational-wave backgrounds and LISA-oriented forecasts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1984

SMP: A solid modeling program

A prototype solid modeling program, SMP, developed by CSC for Langley Research Center (LaRC) is documented in this paper. The SMP software is employed by the System and Experiments Branch (SEB) of the Space Systems Division (SSD) for preliminary space station design, but is intended as a general purpose tool. The SMP document provides details concerning: the basic geometric modeling primitives and associated operators, the data representation scheme utilized to structure the geometric model, the available commands for both editing and displaying the solid model, the interactive user interface and the input/output interfaces to external software, and the utility of the package in the LaRC computing environment. The document is sufficiently detailed to serve both as a user's guide and reference manual.

Randall, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Common radiation analysis model for 75,000 pound thrust NERVA engine (1137400E)

The mathematical model and sources of radiation used for the radiation analysis and shielding activities in support of the design of the 1137400E version of the 75,000 lbs thrust NERVA engine are presented. The nuclear subsystem (NSS) and non-nuclear components are discussed. The geometrical model for the NSS is two dimensional as required for the DOT discrete ordinates computer code or for an azimuthally symetrical three dimensional Point Kernel or Monte Carlo code. The geometrical model for the non-nuclear components is three dimensional in the FASTER geometry format. This geometry routine is inherent in the ANSC versions of the QAD and GGG Point Kernal programs and the COHORT Monte Carlo program. Data are included pertaining to a pressure vessel surface radiation source data tape which has been used as the basis for starting ANSC analyses with the DASH code to bridge into the COHORT Monte Carlo code using the WANL supplied DOT angular flux leakage data. In addition to the model descriptions and sources of radiation, the methods of analyses are briefly described.

Warman, E. A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Predicting and Managing Lighting and Visibility for Human Operations in Space

Lighting is critical to human visual performance. On earth this problem is well understood and solutions are well defined and executed. Because the sun rises and sets on average every 45 minutes during Earth orbit, humans working in space must cope with ~ extremely dynamic lighting conditions varying from very low light conditions to severe glare and contrast conditions. For critical operations, it is essential that lighting conditions be predictable and manageable. Mission planners need to detelmine whether low-light video cameras are required or whether additional luminaires, or lamps, need to be flown . Crew and flight directors need to have up to date daylight orbit time lines showing the best and worst viewing conditions for sunlight and shadowing. Where applicable and possible, lighting conditions need to be part of crew training. In addition, it is desirable to optimize the quantity and quality of light because of the potential impacts on crew safety, delivery costs, electrical power and equipment maintainability for both exterior and interior conditions. Addressing these issues, an illumination modeling system has been developed in the Space Human Factors Laboratory at ASA Johnson Space Center. The system is the integration of a physically based ray-tracing package ("Radiance"), developed at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, a human factors oriented geometric modeling system developed by NASA and an extensive database of humans and their work environments. Measured and published data has been collected for exterior and interior surface reflectivity; luminaire beam spread distribution, color and intensity and video camera light sensitivity and has been associated with their corresponding geometric models. Selecting an eye-point and one or more light sources, including sun and earthshine, a ~ snapshot of the light energy reaching the surfaces or reaching the eye point is computed. This energy map is then used to extract the required information needed for useful predictions. Using a validated, comprehensive illumination model integrated with empirically derived data, predictions of lighting and viewing conditions have been successfully used for Shuttle and Space Station planning and assembly operations. It has successfully balanced the needs for adequate human performance with the utili zation of resources. Keywords: Modeling, ray tracing, luminaires, refl ectivity, luminance, illuminance.

Maida, James C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Single particle momentum and angular distributions in hadron-hadron collisions at ultrahigh energies

The forward-backward charged multiplicity distribution (P n sub F, n sub B) of events in the 540 GeV antiproton-proton collider has been extensively studied by the UA5 Collaboration. It was pointed out that the distribution with respect to n = n sub F + n sub B satisfies approximate KNO scaling and that with respect to Z = n sub F - n sub B is binomial. The geometrical model of hadron-hadron collision interprets the large multiplicity fluctuation as due to the widely different nature of collisions at different impact parameters b. For a single impact parameter b, the collision in the geometrical model should exhibit stochastic behavior. This separation of the stochastic and nonstochastic (KNO) aspects of multiparticle production processes gives conceptually a lucid and attractive picture of such collisions, leading to the concept of partition temperature T sub p and the single particle momentum spectrum to be discussed in detail.

Chou, T. T.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Modeling contamination migration on the Chandra X-Ray Observatory

During its first 5 years of operation, the cold (-60 C) optical blocking filter of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS), on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory, has accumulated a contaminating layer that attenuates the low-energy x rays. To assist in assessing the likelihood of successfully baking off the contaminant, members of the Chandra Team developed contamination-migration simulation software. The simulation follows deposition onto and (temperature-dependent) vaporization from surfaces comprising a geometrical model of the Observatory. A separate thermal analysis, augmented by on-board temperature monitoring, provides temperatures for each surface of the same geometrical model. This paper describes the physical basis for the simulations, the methodologies, and the predicted migration of the contaminant for various bake-out scenarios and assumptions.

O'Dell, Stephen L.↗
NASA NTRS2002

An Illumination Modeling System for Human Factors Analyses

Seeing is critical to human performance. Lighting is critical for seeing. Therefore, lighting is critical to human performance. This is common sense, and here on earth, it is easily taken for granted. However, on orbit, because the sun will rise or set every 45 minutes on average, humans working in space must cope with extremely dynamic lighting conditions. Contrast conditions of harsh shadowing and glare is also severe. The prediction of lighting conditions for critical operations is essential. Crew training can factor lighting into the lesson plans when necessary. Mission planners can determine whether low-light video cameras are required or whether additional luminaires need to be flown. The optimization of the quantity and quality of light is needed because of the effects on crew safety, on electrical power and on equipment maintainability. To address all of these issues, an illumination modeling system has been developed by the Graphics Research and Analyses Facility (GRAF) and Lighting Environment Test Facility (LETF) in the Space Human Factors Laboratory at NASA Johnson Space Center. The system uses physically based ray tracing software (Radiance) developed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, a human factors oriented geometric modeling system (PLAID) and an extensive database of humans and environments. Material reflectivity properties of major surfaces and critical surfaces are measured using a gonio-reflectometer. Luminaires (lights) are measured for beam spread distribution, color and intensity. Video camera performances are measured for color and light sensitivity. 3D geometric models of humans and the environment are combined with the material and light models to form a system capable of predicting lighting conditions and visibility conditions in space.

Huynh, Thong↗
NASA NTRS2009

Trends in MODIS Geolocation Error Analysis

Data from the two MODIS instruments have been accurately geolocated (Earth located) to enable retrieval of global geophysical parameters. The authors describe the approach used to geolocate with sub-pixel accuracy over nine years of data from M0DIS on NASA's E0S Terra spacecraft and seven years of data from MODIS on the Aqua spacecraft. The approach uses a geometric model of the MODIS instruments, accurate navigation (orbit and attitude) data and an accurate Earth terrain model to compute the location of each MODIS pixel. The error analysis approach automatically matches MODIS imagery with a global set of over 1,000 ground control points from the finer-resolution Landsat satellite to measure static biases and trends in the MO0lS geometric model parameters. Both within orbit and yearly thermally induced cyclic variations in the pointing have been found as well as a general long-term trend.

Wolfe, R. E.↗