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65 records · Page 4

Space astronomy to the year 2000 - A preview of the possibilities

Following an overview of the role of space observations in contemporary astrophysics, the next generation of space-based observatories (the Space Telescope, the Gamma Ray Observatory and the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility) is described. Possible new directions which may be pursued in the 1990s are also discussed. These include the development of large flux collectors for use in astronomy in the ultraviolet, optical, infrared and millimeter wave portions of the spectrum and the development of space-based interferometers to carry out a variety of astrophysically important measurements. Many of these longer term programs will require substantial advances in optics, structures, and control technology.

Rosendhal, J. D.↗

System and Method for Aiding Pilot Preview, Rehearsal, Review, and Real-Time Visual Acquisition of Flight Mission Progress

Embodiments of the invention permit flight paths (current and planned) to be viewed from various orientations to provide improved path and terrain awareness via graphical two-dimensional or three-dimensional perspective display formats. By coupling the flight path information with a terrain database, uncompromising terrain awareness relative to the path and ownship is provided. In addition, missed approaches, path deviations, and any navigational path can be reviewed and rehearsed before performing the actual task. By rehearsing a particular mission, check list items can be reviewed, terrain awareness can be highlighted, and missed approach procedures can be discussed by the flight crew. Further, the use of Controller Pilot Datalink Communications enables data-linked path, flight plan changes, and Air Traffic Control requests to be integrated into the flight display of the present invention.

Prinzel, III, Lawrence J.↗

Ares I-X Overview

The Ares I-X flight test is the first development flight of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. This mission, first conceived in 2006, will be launching later in 2009. Its primary mission objectives will be to demonstrate flight and roll control of a dynamically similar vehicle, perform a separation event and measure its shock effects, stack and recover a first stage booster, and demonstrate ground operations. All of the primary flight test vehicle s hardware is at Kennedy Space Center, and is being stacked in the Vehicle Assembly Building for a liftoff at Launch Complex 39B. Mission hardware specific to Ares I-X also is being installed at Launch Complex 39, which has been supporting Space Shuttle operations. This presentation will provide a status and preview of the upcoming mission.

Davis, Stephan R.↗

DataComm in Flight Deck Surface Trajectory-Based Operations

The purpose of this pilot-in-the-loop aircraft taxi simulation was to evaluate a NextGen concept for surface trajectory-based operations (STBO) in which air traffic control (ATC) issued taxi clearances with a required time of arrival (RTA) by Data Communications (DataComm). Flight deck avionics, driven by an error-nulling algorithm, displayed the speed needed to meet the RTA. To ensure robustness of the algorithm, the ability of 10 two-pilot crews to meet the RTA was tested in nine experimental trials representing a range of realistic conditions including a taxi route change, an RTA change, a departure clearance change, and a crossing traffic hold scenario. In some trials, these DataComm taxi clearances or clearance modifications were accompanied by preview information, in which the airport map display showed a preview of the proposed route changes, including the necessary speed to meet the RTA. Overall, the results of this study show that with the aid of the RTA speed algorithm, pilots were able to meet their RTAs with very little time error in all of the robustness-testing scenarios. Results indicated that when taxi clearance changes were issued by DataComm only, pilots required longer notification distances than with voice communication. However, when the DataComm was accompanied by graphical preview, the notification distance required by pilots was equivalent to that for voice.

Bakowski, Deborah L.↗

DataComm in Flight Deck Surface Trajectory-Based Operations

The purpose of this pilot-in-the-loop aircraft taxi simulation was to evaluate a NextGen concept for surface trajectory-based operations (STBO) in which air traffic control (ATC) issued taxi clearances with a required time of arrival (RTA) by Data Communications (DataComm). Flight deck avionics, driven by an error-nulling algorithm, displayed the speed needed to meet the RTA. To ensure robustness of the algorithm, the ability of 10 two-pilot crews to meet the RTA was tested in nine experimental trials representing a range of realistic conditions including a taxi route change, an RTA change, a departure clearance change, and a crossing traffic hold scenario. In some trials, these DataComm taxi clearances or clearance modifications were accompanied by 'preview' information, in which the airport map display showed a preview of the proposed route changes, including the necessary speed to meet the RTA. Overall, the results of this study show that with the aid of the RTA speed algorithm, pilots were able to meet their RTAs with very little time error in all of the robustness-testing scenarios. Results indicated that when taxi clearance changes were issued by DataComm only, pilots required longer notification distances than with voice communication. However, when the DataComm was accompanied by graphical preview, the notification distance required by pilots was equivalent to that for voice.

NextGen↗

Development and Validation of Smart Building Technology Modules for Academic and Professional Education (Final Technical Report)

Smart building technologies can improve building energy efficiency and resilience, reduce carbon emissions, and provide load flexibility to the grid. However, in both college curricula and building professionals’ continuing education, there is a lack of systematic instruction on smart building technologies. Slipstream, partnering with Texas A&M University (TAMU), the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE), and the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), developed a semester-long smart building curriculum for college students and 16 training videos for building professionals and the general public. The education and training cover the drivers and benefits of smart building technologies, key building energy systems, the latest sensor technologies and IoT devices, and focus on topics related to smart building controls (i.e., energy management information systems, smart building control platforms, cybersecurity, grid-interactive-efficient buildings [GEBs], smart building control methods, and occupant-centric control). The smart building curriculum for college students was taught at TAMU in the Spring semester of 2024 as part of the validation process. Student feedback was collected and summarized in a validation report by TAMU. The curriculum material was also reviewed by SBSE faculty who are interested in teaching smart building technology-related courses. Suggestions on revisions and better adoption of the materials by other faculty across the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) domains were compiled in a distinct validation report by SBSE. The SBSE validation report was used to create structured subsets of the curriculum material for adoption at different levels in different sub-disciplines. These subsets are categorized and offered on the SBSE website (https://www.sbse.org/courses/Smart-Building-Technologies). The 16 training videos for building professionals and the general public were previewed by 17 industry experts, and feedback and suggested changes were incorporated into the final version of these videos. The videos are organized into a smart building technology training course and published on the Whole Building Design Guide website (https://www.wbdg.org/ce/doe/bto/sbtt), which is hosted by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). Project team members created marketing materials to promote the awareness of these free, publicly available education and training resources. Outreach and marketing activities included creating short promotional videos, building project webpages, making project announcements on social media, conducting an email campaign, and directly reaching out to faculties and building professionals. This report describes the project approach, provides outlines of the training materials, along with links to resources, and identifies lessons learned in creating the content. We also suggest ways to scale the instruction of smart building concepts to empower the workforce to accelerate the adoption of smart building technologies in the real world.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Development of biomechanical models for human factors evaluations

Previewing human capabilities in a computer-aided engineering mode has assisted greatly in planning well-designed systems without the cost and time involved in mockups and engineering models. To date, the computer models have focused on such variables as field of view, accessibility and fit, and reach envelopes. Program outputs have matured from simple static pictures to animations viewable from any eyepoint. However, while kinematics models are available, there are few biomechanical models available for estimating strength and motion patterns. Those, such as Crew Chief, that are available are based on strength measurements taken in specific positions. Johnson Space Center is pursuing a biomechanical model which will use strength data collected on single joints at two or three velocities to attempt to predict compound motions of several joint simultaneously and the resulting force at the end effector. Two lines of research are coming together to produce this result. One is an attempt to use optimal control theory to predict joint motion in complex motions, and another is the development of graphical representation of human capabilities. The progress to date in this research is described.

Woolford, Barbara↗

Walking the Walk/Talking the Talk: Mission Planning with Speech-Interactive Agents

The application of simulation technology to mission planning and rehearsal has enabled realistic overhead 2-D and immersive 3-D "fly-through" capabilities that can help better prepare tactical teams for conducting missions in unfamiliar locales. For aircrews, detailed terrain data can offer a preview of the relevant landmarks and hazards, and threat models can provide a comprehensive glimpse of potential hot zones and safety corridors. A further extension of the utility of such planning and rehearsal techniques would allow users to perform the radio communications planned for a mission; that is, the air-ground coordination that is critical to the success of missions such as close air support (CAS). Such practice opportunities, while valuable, are limited by the inescapable scarcity of complete mission teams to gather in space and time during planning and rehearsal cycles. Moreoever, using simulated comms with synthetic entities, despite the substantial training and cost benefits, remains an elusive objective. In this paper we report on a solution to this gap that incorporates "synthetic teammates" - intelligent software agents that can role-play entities in a mission scenario and that can communicate in spoken language with users. We employ a fielded mission planning and rehearsal tool so that our focus remains on the experimental objectives of the research rather than on developing a testbed from scratch. Use of this planning tool also helps to validate the approach in an operational system. The result is a demonstration of a mission rehearsal tool that allows aircrew users to not only fly the mission but also practice the verbal communications with air control agencies and tactical controllers on the ground. This work will be presented in a CAS mission planning example but has broad applicability across weapons systems, missions and tactical force compositions.

Bell, Benjamin↗

Studying Turbulence Using Numerical Simulation Databases: Proceedings of the Summer Program - No. 7

The Seventh Summer Program of the Center for Turbulence Research took place in the four-week period, July 5 to July 31, 1998. This was the largest CTR Summer Program to date, involving thirty-six participants from the U. S. and nine other countries. Thirty-one Stanford and NASA-Ames staff members facilitated and contributed to most of the Summer projects. A new feature, and perhaps a preview of the future programs, was that many of the projects were executed on non-NASA computers. These included supercomputers located in Europe as well as those operated by the Departments of Defense and Energy in the United States. In addition, several simulation programs developed by the visiting participants at their home institutions were used. Another new feature was the prevalence of lap-top personal computers which were used by several participants to carry out some of the work that in the past were performed on desk-top workstations. We expect these trends to continue as computing power is enhanced and as more researchers (many of whom CTR alumni) use numerical simulations to study turbulent flows. CTR's main role continues to be in providing a forum for the study of turbulence for engineering analysis and in facilitating intellectual exchange among the leading researchers in the field. Once again the combustion group was the largest. Turbulent combustion has enjoyed remarkable progress in using simulations to address increasingly complex and practically more relevant questions. The combustion group's studies included such challenging topics as fuel evaporation, soot chemistry, and thermonuclear reactions. The latter study was one of three projects related to the Department of Energy's ASCI Program (www.llnl.gov/asci); the other two (rocket propulsion and fire safety) were carried out in the turbulence modeling group. The flow control and acoustics group demonstrated a successful application of the so-called evolution algorithms which actually led to a previously unknown forcing strategy for jets yielding increased spreading rate. A very efficient algorithm for flow in complex geometries with moving boundaries based on the immersed boundary forcing technique was tested with very encouraging results. Also a new strategy for the destruction of aircraft trailing vortices was introduced and tested. The Reynolds Averaged Modeling (RANS) group demonstrated that the elliptic relaxation concept for RANS calculations is also applicable to transonic flows with shocks; however, prediction of laminar/turbulent transition remains an important pacing item. A large fraction of the LES effort was devoted to the development and testing of a new algorithmic procedure (as opposed to phenomenological model) for subgrid scale modeling based on regularized de-filtering of the flow variables. This appears to be a very promising approach, and a significant effort is currently underway to assess its robustness in high Reynolds number flows and in conjunction with numerical methods for complex flows. As part of the Summer Program two review tutorials were given on Turbulent structures in hydrocarbon pool fires (Sheldon Tieszen), and Turbulent combustion modeling: from RANS to LES via DNS (Luc Vervisch); and two seminars entitled Assessment of turbulence models for engineering applications (Paul Durbin) and Subgrid-scale modeling for non-premixed, turbulent reacting flows (James Riley) were presented. A number of colleagues from universities, government agencies, and industry attended the final presentations of the participants on July 31 and participated in the discussions. There are twenty-six papers in this volume grouped in five areas. Each group is preceded with an overview by its coordinator.

Source record↗

NASA Tech Briefs, April 2002

The contents include: 1) Application Briefs; 2) Sneak Preview of Sensors Expo; 3) The Complexity of the Diagnosis Problem; 4) Design Concepts for the ISS TransHab Module; 5) Characteristics of Supercritical Transitional Mixing Layers; 6) Electrometer for Triboelectric Evaluation of Materials; 7) Infrared CO2 Sensor With Built-In Calibration Chambers; 8) Solid-State Potentiometric CO Sensor; 9) Planetary Rover Absolute Heading Detection Using a Sun Sensor; 10) Concept for Utilizing Full Areas of STJ Photodetector Arrays; 11) Development of Cognitive Sensors; 12) Enabling Higher-Voltage Operation of SOl CMOS Transistors; 13) Estimating Antenna-Pointing Errors From Beam Squints; 14) Advanced-Fatigue-Crack-Growth and Fracture- Mechanics Program; 15) Software for Sequencing Spacecraft Actions; 16) Program Distributes and Tracks Organizational Memoranda; 16) Flat Membrane Device for Dehumidification of Air; 17) Inverted Hindle Mount Reduces Sag of a Large, Precise Mirror; 18) Heart-Pump-Outlet/Cannula Coupling; 19) Externally Triggered Microcapsules Release Drugs In Situ; 20) Combinatorial Drug Design Augmented by Information Theory; 21) Multiple-Path-Length Optical Absorbance Cell; 22) Model of a Fluidized Bed Containing a Mixture of Particles; 23) Refractive Secondary Concentrators for Solar Thermal Systems; 24) Cold Flow Calorimeter; 25) Methodology for Tracking Hazards and Predicting Failures; 26) Estimating Heterodyne-Interferometer Polarization Leakage; 27) An Efficient Algorithm for Propagation of Temporal- Constraint Networks; 28) Software for Continuous Replanning During Execution; 29) Surface-Launched Explorers for Reconnaissance/Scouting; 30) Firmware for a Small Motion-Control Processor; 31) Gear Bearings and Gear-Bearing Transmissions; and 32) Linear Dynamometer With Variable Stroke and Frequency.

Source record↗

Summary of the Science performed onboard the International Space Station during Increments 12 and 13

By September of 2007, continuous human presence on the International Space Station will reach a milestone of eighty months. The many astronauts and cosmonauts, who live onboard the station during the last fourteen Increments over that time span, spend their time building the station as well as performing science on a daily basis. Over those eighty months, the U.S astronauts crew members logged over 2954 hours of research time. Far more research time has been accumulated by experiments controlled by investigators on the ground. The U.S astronauts conducted over one hundred and twenty six (126) science investigations. From these hundred and twenty six science investigations, many were operated across multiple Increments. The crew also installed, activated and operated nine (9) science racks that supported six science disciplines ranging from material sciences to life science. By the end of Increment 14, a total of 5083 kg of research rack mass were ferried to the station as well as 5021 kg of research mass. The objectives of this paper are three-fold. (1) To briefly review the science conducted on the International Space Station during the previous eleven Increments; (2) to discuss in detail the science investigations that were conducted on the station during Increments 12 and 13. The discussion will focus mainly on the primary objectives of each investigation and their associated hypotheses that were investigated during these two Increments. Also, some preliminary science results will be discussed for each of the investigation as science results availability permit. (3) The paper will briefly touch on what the science complement planning was and what was actually accomplished due to real time science implementation and challenges during these two Increments in question to illustrate the challenges of daily science activity while the science platform is under construction. Finally, the paper will briefly discuss the science research complements for the other two Increments, Increments 14 and 15, to preview how much science might be accomplished during these two Increments.

Jules, Kenol↗