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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lower Mekong Hydrological Decision Support system

The Lower Mekong Hydrological Decision Support system (LMHDSs) is a environmental data analysis tool developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center with funding from the SERVIR Applied Sciences Team and technical support from SERVIR Science Coordination Office (SCO). The web application allows stakeholders and decision-makers to view and download the inputs and outputs to the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT) model temporally and spatially. The front end is developed using JavaScript libraries like OpenLayers and Stock charts and the backend uses Django, a Python-based web framework. The web app provides several features, including visualizing map products, time-series plots, land-use/land-cover and associated soil information, and a data cart for downloading data. In addition, LMHDSs incorporates the NASAaccess software package, which provides seamless access to various climate and weather data products from NASA’s Earth observations portfolio. The application is region agnostic (any valid SWAT model can be used), modular (different components of the applications can be customized), and open (anyone can download and run it on their end). The web app is currently in use by the Mekong River Commission (MRC), a treaty-based regional intergovernmental organization that is made up of Mekong countries, as part of its hydrological decision support.

Hydrology↗
NASA NTRS1989

Policy issues in interconnecting networks

To support the activities of the Federal Research Coordinating Committee (FRICC) in creating an interconnected set of networks to serve the research community, two workshops were held to address the technical support of policy issues that arise when interconnecting such networks. The workshops addressed the required and feasible technologies and architectures that could be used to satisfy the desired policies for interconnection. The results of the workshop are documented.

Leiner, Barry M.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Pathfinder Technologies Specialist, X-37

The X-37 is a technology demonstrator sponsored by NASA. It includes a number of experiments both imbedded (i.e., essential aspects of the vehicle) and separate. The technologies demonstrated will be useful in future operational versions as well as having broad applications to other programs. Mr. James R. French, of JRF Engineering Services and as a consultant to SAIC, has provided technical support to the X-37 NASA Program office since the beginning of the program. In providing this service, Mr. French has maintained close contact with the Boeing Seal Beach and Rocketdyne technical teams via telephone, e-mail, and periodic visits. His interfaces were primarily with the working engineers in order to provide NASA sponsors with a different view than that achieved through management channels. Mr. French's periodic and highly detailed technical reports were submitted to NASA and SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) on a weekly/monthly basis. These reports addressed a wide spectrum of programmatic and technical interests related to the X-37 Program including vehicle design, flight sciences, propulsion, thermal protection, Guidance Navigation & Control (GN&C), structures, and operations. This deliverable is presented as a consolidation of the twelve monthly reports submitted during the Contract's Option Year,

French, James R.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Lightning Protection Guidelines for Aerospace Vehicles

This technical memorandum provides lightning protection engineering guidelines and technical procedures used by the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Electromagnetics and Aerospace Environments Branch for aerospace vehicles. The overviews illustrate the technical support available to project managers, chief engineers, and design engineers to ensure that aerospace vehicles managed by MSFC are adequately protected from direct and indirect effects of lightning. Generic descriptions of the lightning environment and vehicle protection technical processes are presented. More specific aerospace vehicle requirements for lightning protection design, performance, and interface characteristics are available upon request to the MSFC Electromagnetics and Aerospace Environments Branch, mail code EL23.

Goodloe, C. C.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) Force Measurement System (FMS)

An Electronics Engineer at the Glenn Research Center (GRC), requested the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) provide technical support for an evaluation of the existing force measurement system (FMS) at the GRC's Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) with the intent of developing conceptual designs to improve the tunnel's force measurement capability in order to better meet test customer needs. This report contains the outcome of the NESC technical review.

Roberts, Paul W.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Role of NASA Engineering & Safety Center (NESC) in Advancing NASA’s Astrophysics Missions (Past, Present, and Future)

The NASA Engineering & Safety Center (NESC) was established in 2003 (after the Columbia accident) to provide an independent technical resource for the resolution of challenging technical problems (through the use of studies, analysis, tests, etc.) for NASA programs and projects. Since its inception, NESC has completed nearly 1000 technical assessments for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operation Mission Directorate (HEOMD), Science Mission Directorate (SMD), Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), and Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). Of the SMD related assessments, several were for the resolution of technical problems, analysis, or studies related to NASA’s astrophysics missions in various phases of the project from design to operation. Some of the recent examples of NESC technical support for NASA astrophysics missions have been for: Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO), Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, Kepler Space Telescope, Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). In this paper, we outline some of the technical challenges faced by these astrophysics missions and describe how NESC contributed to their resolution. The case studies cover a wide range of disciplines involving space telescopes, detectors, lasers, and attitude control systems. These efforts include innovative solutions for extending the life of the missions, technical resolution of challenging problems, strategies for risk mitigation, and failure investigations combined with lessons learned reports to advance discipline knowledge, enhance NASA capabilities, and avoid future problems.

NASA↗
NASA NTRS1995

Mechanisms test bed math model modification and simulation support

This report summarizes the work performed under contract NAS8-38771 in support of the Marshall Space Flight Center Six Degree of Freedom Motion Facility and Flight Robotics Laboratory. The contract activities included the development of the two flexible body and Remote Manipulator System simulations, Dynamic Overhead Target Simulator control system and operating software, Global Positioning System simulation, and Manipulator Coupled Spacecraft Controls Testbed. Technical support was also provided for the Lightning Imaging Sensor and Solar X-Ray Imaging programs. The cover sheets and introductory sections for the documentation written under this contract are provided as an appendix.

Gilchrist, Andrea C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Solar Systems

The solar collectors shown are elements of domestic solar hot water systems produced by Solar One Ltd., Virginia Beach, Virginia. Design of these systems benefited from technical expertise provided Solar One by NASA's Langley Research Center. The company obtained a NASA technical support package describing the d e sign and operation of solar heating equipment in NASA's Tech House, a demonstration project in which aerospace and commercial building technology are combined in an energy- efficient home. Solar One received further assistance through personal contact with Langley solar experts. The company reports that the technical information provided by NASA influenced Solar One's panel design, its selection of a long-life panel coating which increases solar collection efficiency, and the method adopted for protecting solar collectors from freezing conditions.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1999

Support for Astronaut's View of Mexican/ Central American Fires and on-Line Earth Observations Training Manual

A small project to compile remote sensing and in-site data to review the processes leading to the May 1998 Mexican/Central American fires was undertaken. A web page based on this project was assembled. The second project initiated involved an interactive and on-line program that will replace the paper version of the Earth Observations Preflight Training Manual. Technical support was provided to Prof. Marvin Glasser as needed.

Kaminski, Charles F., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Role of NASA Engineering & Safety Center (NESC) in Advancing NASA's Earth Science Missions (Past, Present, and Future)

The NASA Engineering & Safety Center (NESC) was established in 2003 to provide an independent technical resource for the resolution of challenging technical problems (through the use of studies, analysis, tests, etc.). Since its inception, NESC has completed nearly 1000 technical assessments for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operation Mission Directorate (HEOMD), Science Mission Directorate (SMD), Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), and Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). Of the SMD related assessments, several were for the resolution of technical problems, analysis, or studies related to NASA’s Earth science missions in various phases of the project from design to operation. Some of the recent examples of NESC technical support for NASA (or NOAA) Earth science missions have been for: Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat-II), Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), and the soon to be launched collaboration mission with India, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR). In this paper, we outline some of the technical challenges faced by these Earth science missions and describe how NESC contributed to their resolution. The case studies cover a wide range of disciplines involving space lidars, radars, electronics, attitude control systems, as well as Micrometeoroid Orbital Debris (MMOD) risk assessment impact to NASA missions. The efforts include strategies for risk mitigation, technical resolution of challenging problems, and failure root cause investigations combined with lessons learned reports to advance discipline knowledge, enhance NASA capabilities, and avoid future problems.

NASA↗
NASA NTRS2008

Future NTP Development Synergy Leveraged from Current J-2X Engine Development

This paper is a discussion of how the many long-lead development elements required for the realization of a future nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system can be effectively leveraged from the ongoing work being conducted on the J-2X engine program for the Constellation Program. Development studies conducted to date for NTP forward planning have identified a number of technical areas that will require advancement to acceptable technology readiness levels (TRLs) before they can be utilized in NTP system development. These include high-temperature, high-area ratio nozzle extension; long-life, low-NPSP. turbomachinery; and low-boiloff propellant management; and a qualified nuclear fuel element. The current J-2X program is working many of these areas that can be leveraged to support NTP development in a highly compatible and synergistic fashion. In addition to supporting technical development, there are other programmatic issues being worked in the J-2X program that can be leveraged by a future NTP development program. These include compliance with recently-evolved space system requirements such as human-rating, fault tolerance and fracture control. These and other similar mandatory system requirements have been adopted by NASA and can result in a significant technical impact beyond elevation of the root technologies required by NTP. Finally, the exploitation of experience, methodologies, and procedures developed by the J-2X program in the areas of verification, qualification, certification, altitude simulation testing, and facility definition will be especially applicable to a future NTP system. The similarities in system mission (in-space propulsion) and operational environment (vacuum, zero-gee) between J-2X and NTP make this highly synergistic. Thus, it can be $hown that the collective benefit of leveraging experience and technologies developed during the J-2X program can result in significant savings in development cost and schedule for NTP.

Ballard, Richard O.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Preliminary Analysis of ISS Maintenance History and Implications for Supportability of Future Missions

The International Space Station (ISS) enables the study of supportability issues associated with long-duration human spaceflight. The ISS is a large, complex spacecraft that must be maintained by its crew. In contrast to the Space Shuttle Orbiter vehicle, but similar to spacecraft that will be component elements of future missions beyond low-Earth orbit, ISS does not return to the ground for servicing and provisioning of spares is severely constrained by transportation limits. Although significant technical support is provided by ground personnel, all hands-on maintenance tasks are performed by the crew. It is expected that future missions to distant destinations will be further limited by lack of resupply opportunities and will, eventually, become largely independent of ground support. ISS provides an opportunity to begin learning lessons that will enable future missions to be successful. Data accumulated over the first several years of ISS operations have been analyzed to gain a better understanding of maintenance-related workload. This analysis addresses both preventive and corrective maintenance and includes all U.S segment core systems. Systems and tasks that are major contributors to workload are identified. As further experience accrues, lessons will be learned that will influence future system designs so that they require less maintenance and, when maintenance is required, it can be performed more efficiently. By heeding the lessons of ISS it will be possible to identify system designs that should be more robust and point towards advances in both technology and design that will offer the greatest return on investment.

Watson, Kevin J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Advanced composite fuselage technology

Boeing's ATCAS program has completed its third year and continues to progress towards a goal to demonstrate composite fuselage technology with cost and weight advantages over aluminum. Work on this program is performed by an integrated team that includes several groups within The Boeing Company, industrial and university subcontractors, and technical support from NASA. During the course of the program, the ATCAS team has continued to perform a critical review of composite developments by recognizing advances in metal fuselage technology. Despite recent material, structural design, and manufacturing advancements for metals, polymeric matrix composite designs studied in ATCAS still project significant cost and weight advantages for future applications. A critical path to demonstrating technology readiness for composite transport fuselage structures was created to summarize ATCAS tasks for Phases A, B, and C. This includes a global schedule and list of technical issues which will be addressed throughout the course of studies. Work performed in ATCAS since the last ACT conference is also summarized. Most activities relate to crown quadrant manufacturing scaleup and performance verification. The former was highlighted by fabricating a curved, 7 ft. by 10 ft. panel, with cocured hat-stiffeners and cobonded J-frames. In building to this scale, process developments were achieved for tow-placed skins, drape formed stiffeners, braided/RTM frames, and panel cure tooling. Over 700 tests and supporting analyses have been performed for crown material and design evaluation, including structural tests that demonstrated limit load requirements for severed stiffener/skin failsafe damage conditions. Analysis of tests for tow-placed hybrid laminates with large damage indicates a tensile fracture toughness that is higher than that observed for advanced aluminum alloys. Additional recent ATCAS achievements include crown supporting technology, keel quadrant design evaluation, and sandwich process development.

Ilcewicz, Larry B.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Test, Control and Monitor System (TCMS) operations plan

The purpose is to provide a clear understanding of the Test, Control and Monitor System (TCMS) operating environment and to describe the method of operations for TCMS. TCMS is a complex and sophisticated checkout system focused on support of the Space Station Freedom Program (SSFP) and related activities. An understanding of the TCMS operating environment is provided and operational responsibilities are defined. NASA and the Payload Ground Operations Contractor (PGOC) will use it as a guide to manage the operation of the TCMS computer systems and associated networks and workstations. All TCMS operational functions are examined. Other plans and detailed operating procedures relating to an individual operational function are referenced within this plan. This plan augments existing Technical Support Management Directives (TSMD's), Standard Practices, and other management documentation which will be followed where applicable.

Macfarlane, C. K.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A strawman SLR program plan for the 1990s

A series of programmatic and technical goals for the satellite laser ranging (SLR) network are presented. They are: (1) standardize the performance of the global SLR network; (2) improve the geographic distribution of stations; (3) reduce costs of field operations and data processing; (4) expand the 24 hour temporal coverage to better serve the growing constellation of satellites; (5) improve absolute range accuracy to 2 mm at key stations; (6) improve satellite force, radiative propagation, and station motion models and investigate alternative geodetic analysis techniques; (7) support technical intercomparison and the Terrestrial Reference Frame through global collocations; (8) investigate potential synergisms between GPS and SLR.

Degnan, John J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Integration of the White Sands Complex into a Wide Area Network

The NASA White Sands Complex (WSC) satellite communications facility consists of two main ground stations, an auxiliary ground station, a technical support facility, and a power plant building located on White Sands Missile Range. When constructed, terrestrial communication access to these facilities was limited to copper telephone circuits. There was no local or wide area communications network capability. This project incorporated a baseband local area network (LAN) topology at WSC and connected it to NASA's wide area network using the Program Support Communications Network-Internet (PSCN-I). A campus-style LAN is configured in conformance with the International Standards Organization (ISO) Open Systems Interconnect (ISO) model. Ethernet provides the physical and data link layers. Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) are used for the network and transport layers. The session, presentation, and application layers employ commercial software packages. Copper-based Ethernet collision domains are constructed in each of the primary facilities and these are interconnected by routers over optical fiber links. The network and each of its collision domains are shown to meet IEEE technical configuration guidelines. The optical fiber links are analyzed for the optical power budget and bandwidth allocation and are found to provide sufficient margin for this application. Personal computers and work stations attached to the LAN communicate with and apply a wide variety of local and remote administrative software tools. The Internet connection provides wide area network (WAN) electronic access to other NASA centers and the world wide web (WWW). The WSC network reduces and simplifies the administrative workload while providing enhanced and advanced inter-communications capabilities among White Sands Complex departments and with other NASA centers.

Boucher, Phillip Larry↗
NASA NTRS2007

Scheduling Accessory Assists Patients with Cognitive Disorders

Recom Technologies Inc. received initial funding from NASA to research the commercial potential of an artificially intelligent planning reaction model to serve as a tool to help individuals suffering from various forms and levels of brain impairment. In 1993, the chief of the Artificial Intelligence Research Branch at Ames Research Center suggested collaborative research with Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. This partnership led to further development of the technology and funding to support clinical research from the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. In 1996, Attention Control Systems Inc. was founded to market the finished device, called the Planning and Execution Assistant and Trainer (PEAT). PEAT is a pocket-sized PDA-like device with a graphical display, touchscreen controls, an electronic calendar, an address book, and a built-in phone, that cues users to start or stop scheduled activities, monitors their progress, and adjusts schedules as necessary in response to delays or calendar changes. It uses an automatic planning model developed for NASA to adjust daily plans when a situation changes. PEAT is sold as a complete system that includes software, hardware, documentation, and technical support. In addition to the flagship Pocket PEAT device, there is PEAT Phone, PC PEAT, and PEAT Link. Clinical studies of PEAT continue at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center

Source record↗