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At least 721 records · Page 40
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NASA NTRS2002

Security in Full-Force

When fully developed for NASA, Vanguard Enforcer(TM) software-which emulates the activities of highly technical security system programmers, auditors, and administrators-was among the first intrusion detection programs to restrict human errors from affecting security, and to ensure the integrity of a computer's operating systems, as well as the protection of mission critical resources. Vanguard Enforcer was delivered in 1991 to Johnson Space Center and has been protecting systems and critical data there ever since. In August of 1999, NASA granted Vanguard exclusive rights to commercialize the Enforcer system for the private sector. In return, Vanguard continues to supply NASA with ongoing research, development, and support of Enforcer. The Vanguard Enforcer 4.2 is one of several surveillance technologies that make up the Vanguard Security Solutions line of products. Using a mainframe environment, Enforcer 4.2 achieves previously unattainable levels of automated security management.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2002

Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting (TAMDAR) Sensor Development

In response to recommendations from the National Aviation Weather Program Council, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is working with industry to develop an electronic pilot reporting capability for small aircraft. This paper describes the Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting (TAMDAR) sensor development effort. NASA is working with industry to develop a sensor capable of measuring temperature, relative humidity, magnetic heading, pressure, icing, and average turbulence energy dissipation. Users of the data include National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) forecast modelers, air traffic controllers, flight service stations, airline operation centers, and pilots. Preliminary results from flight tests are presented.

Daniels, Taumi S.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Mineralogical and chemical characterization of iron-, manganese-, and copper-containing synthetic hydroxyapatites

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program is evaluating the use of Fe-, Mn-, and Cu-containing synthetic hydroxyapatite (SHA) as a slow release fertilizer for crops that might be grown on the International Space Station or at Lunar and Martian outposts. Separate Fe-, Mn-, and Cu-containing SHA materials along with a transition-metal free SHA (pure-SHA) were synthesized using a precipitation method. Chemical and mineralogical analyses determined if and how Fe, Mn, and Cu were incorporated into the SHA structure. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rietveld refinement, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that SHA materials with the apatite structure were produced. Chemical analyses indicated that the metal containing SHA materials were deficient in Ca relative to pure-SHA. The shift in the infrared PO4-mu 3 vibrations, smaller unit cell parameters, smaller particle size, and greater structural strain for Fe-, Mn-, and Cu-containing SHA compared with pure-SHA suggested that Fe, Mn, and Cu were incorporated into SHA structure. Rietveld analyses revealed that Fe, Mn, and Cu substituted into the Ca2 site of SHA. An Fe-rich phase was detected by TEM analyses and backscattered electron microscopy in the Fe-containing SHA material with the greatest Fe content. The substitution of metals into SHA suggests that metal-SHA materials are potential slow-release sources of micronutrients for plant uptake in addition to Ca and P.

NASA Center JSC↗
NASA NTRS1998

Preliminary Study of Relationships between Stability and Control Characteristics and Affordability for High-Performance Aircraft

This paper describes a study that is being done as part of the Methods for Affordable Design (MAD) program within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), for which the goal is to develop design methods and information that contribute to reductions in the aircraft development cycle time while increasing design confidence throughout the design cycle. The product of the study will be a database of information that relates key stability and control parameters to affordability considerations such as air combat exchange ratio, safety of flight, and probability of loss of the aircraft or pilot. The overall background and methodology are described, and preliminary results are shown for the first phase of the study to evaluate characteristics in the longitudinal axis. For these preliminary results a simplified analytical model of the aircraft response to uncommanded nose-up pitching moments was developed and used to characterize the requirements for recoveries to controlled flight conditions and to evaluate some parameters that affect the survivability of the aircraft and the pilot.

High performance aircraft↗
NASA NTRS2005

Materials Challenges in Space Exploration

United States civil space program administered by National Aeronautics and Space Administration has a new strategic direction to explore the solar system. This new 'vision for space exploration' encompasses a broad range of human and robotic missions, including the Moon. Mars and destinations beyond. These missions require advanced systems and capabilities that will accelerate the development of many critical technologies, including advanced materials and structural concepts. Specifically, it is planned to develop high-performance materials for vehicle structures, propulsion systems, and space suits; structural concepts for modular assembly for space infrastructure: lightweight deployable and inflatable structures for large space systems and crew habitats; and highly integrated structural systems and advanced thermal management systems for reducing launch mass and volume. This paper will present several materials challenges in advanced space systems-high performance structural and thermal materials, space durable materials, radiation protection materials, and nano-structural materials. Finally, the paper will take a look at the possibility of utilizing materials in situ, i.e., processing materials on the surface of the Moon and Mars.

Bhat, Biliyar N.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Materials Challenges in Space Exploration

United States civil space program administered by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a new strategic direction to explore the solar system. This new 'vision for space exploration' encompasses a broad range of human and robotic missions, including the Moon, Mars and destinations beyond. These missions require advanced systems and capabilities that will accelerate the development of many critical technologies, including advanced materials and structural concepts. Specifically, it is planned to develop high-peformance materials for vehicle structures, propulsion systems, and space suits; structural concepts for modular assembly for space infrastructure; lightweight deployable and inflatable structures for large space systems and crew habitats; and highly integrated structural systems and advanced thermal management systems for reducing launch mass and volume. This paper will present several materials challenges in advanced space systems-high performance structural and thermal materials, space durable materials, radiation protection materials, and nano- structural materials. The paper will also address smart materials and structures and examine space environmental effects on materials and methods of mitigating them. Finally, the paper will take a look at the possibility of utilizing materials in situ, i.e., processing and using desired materials on the surface of the Moon and Mars.

Bhat, Biliyar N.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Thermal Assessment of Swift BAT Instrument Thermal Control System in Flight

THE BAT is the primary instrument on the Swift spacecraft. The Swift mission is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Medium-Size Explorer (MIDEX) Program, and is managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It is designed to detect gamma ray burst over a broad region of the sky in a low Earth orbit of 600-km altitude and quickly align the telescopes on the spacecraft to the gamma ray source. It was successfully launched into orbit on November 20, 2004. The Swift mission is a first of its kind of multi-wavelength transient observatory for gamma ray burst astronomy. Its mission life is 2 years. The inclination is 22 deg maximum. The spacecraft bus voltage to the instruments is in the 24 V to 35 V range. The instruments will be turned off when the voltage is below 27 V. The BAT is mounted to the optical bench through five titanium flexures. The BAT has been developed at GSFC. Its telescope assembly consists of 256 Detector Modules (DMs) in the Detector Array. There are 16 Detector Array Blocks. Each Block holds 16 DMs, 3 Block Voltage Regulator (BVR) units and 3 Block Command & Data Handling (BCDH) units. The power dissipation of each Block has been measured to be 13 W. Therefore the total power dissipation of the 16 Blocks is 208 W. The DAP is 1.3 m (4.3 ft) x 1 m (3.3 ft), accommodates all the 16 Blocks. It also provides the mounting surface and the positional stability for the Blocks. The DMs are located at the top (+X side) of the DAP and is enclosed by graded-Z shields on the sides and a coded mask at the top. The BVRs and BCDHs are located at the bottom (-X side) of the DAP. Eight Blocks are located at the front (-Z side or radiator side) of the DAP, and eight are located at the rear (+Z side) of the DAP. The DMs and top of DAP are insulated with a 7-layer multi-layer insulation (MLI). There is a 5.08 cm (2 in) x 5.08 cm (2 in) MLI cutout over each Block heater controller so that heat radiates from the heater controller to the mask. The exterior of the mask, graded-Z shields and bottom of DAP is insulated with a 15-layer MLI.

Choi, Michael K.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Dissolution kinetics of iron-, manganese-, and copper-containing synthetic hydroxyapatites

Micronutrient-substituted synthetic hydroxyapatite (SHA) is being evaluated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program for crop production on long-duration human missions to the International Space Station or for future Lunar or Martian outposts. The stirred-flow technique was utilized to characterize Ca, P, Fe, Mn, and Cu release characteristics from Fe-, Mn-, and Cu-containing SHA in deionized (DI) water, citric acid, and diethylene-triamine-pentaacetic acid (DTPA). Initially, Ca and P release rates decreased rapidly with time and were controlled by a non-SHA calcium phosphate phase(s) with low Ca/P solution molar ratios (0.91-1.51) relative to solid SHA ratios (1.56-1.64). At later times, Ca/P solution molar ratios (1.47-1.79) were near solid SHA ratios and release rates decreased slowly indicating that SHA controlled Ca and P release. Substituted SHA materials had faster dissolution rates relative to unsubstituted SHA. The initial metal release rate order was Mn >> Cu > Fe which followed metal-oxide/phosphate solubility suggesting that poorly crystalline metal-oxides/phosphates were dominating metal release. Similar metal release rates for all substituted SHA (approximately 0.01 cmol kg-1 min-1) at the end of the DTPA experiment indicated that SHA dissolution was supplying the metals into solution and that poorly crystalline metal-oxide/phosphates were not controlling metal release. Results indicate that non-SHA Ca-phosphate phases and poorly crystalline metal-oxide/phosphates will contribute Ca, P, and metals. After these phases have dissolved, substituted SHA will be the source of Ca, P, and metals for plants.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗
NASA NTRS2004

Derivation of Failure Rates and Probability of Failures for the International Space Station Probabilistic Risk Assessment Study

National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) International Space Station (ISS) Program uses Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) as part of its Continuous Risk Management Process. It is used as a decision and management support tool to not only quantify risk for specific conditions, but more importantly comparing different operational and management options to determine the lowest risk option and provide rationale for management decisions. This paper presents the derivation of the probability distributions used to quantify the failure rates and the probability of failures of the basic events employed in the PRA model of the ISS. The paper will show how a Bayesian approach was used with different sources of data including the actual ISS on orbit failures to enhance the confidence in results of the PRA. As time progresses and more meaningful data is gathered from on orbit failures, an increasingly accurate failure rate probability distribution for the basic events of the ISS PRA model can be obtained. The ISS PRA has been developed by mapping the ISS critical systems such as propulsion, thermal control, or power generation into event sequences diagrams and fault trees. The lowest level of indenture of the fault trees was the orbital replacement units (ORU). The ORU level was chosen consistently with the level of statistically meaningful data that could be obtained from the aerospace industry and from the experts in the field. For example, data was gathered for the solenoid valves present in the propulsion system of the ISS. However valves themselves are composed of parts and the individual failure of these parts was not accounted for in the PRA model. In other words the failure of a spring within a valve was considered a failure of the valve itself.

Vitali, Roberto↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Hydrosphere State (HYDROS) Mission

The Hydrosphere State (HYDROS) Mission has been selected for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) program. The objectives of HYDROS are to provide frequent, global measurements of surface soil moisture and surface freeze/thaw state. In order to adequately measure these geophysical parameters, a system capable of simultaneously measuring L-Band radiometer brightness temperatures at 40 km resolution and L-Band radar backscatter at 3 km resolution over a very wide swath is required. In addition, these science requirements must be satisfied under the stringent cost-cap imposed on all ESSP missions. As a solution to this challenging set of requirements, a relatively large, six meter, conically-scanning reflector antenna architecture was selected for the mission design. The HYDROS instrument will fly on a General Dynamics SA-200HP spacecraft bus. Although large deployable mesh antennas have been used in communication applications, this will mark the first time such technology is applied in a rotating configuration for high-resolution remote sensing.

radar↗
NASA NTRS2007

Development and Evaluation of TiAl Sheet Structures for Hypersonic Applications

A cooperative program between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Austrian Space Agency (ASA), Pratt & Whitney, Engineering Evaluation and Design, and Plansee AG was undertaken to determine the feasibility of achieving significant weight reduction of hypersonic propulsion system structures through the utilization of TiAl. A trade study defined the weight reduction potential of TiAl technologies as 25 to 35 percent compared to the baseline Ni-base superalloy for a stiffener structure in an inlet, combustor, and nozzle section of a hypersonic scramjet engine (ref. 1). A scramjet engine inlet cowl flap was designed, along with a representative subelement, using design practices unique to TiAl. A sub-element was fabricated and tested to assess fabricability and structural performance and validate the design system. The TiAl alloy selected was Plansee's third generation alloy Gamma Met PX (Plansee AG ), a high temperature, high strength gamma-TiAl alloy with high Nb content (refs. 2 and 3). Characterization of Gamma Met PX sheet, including tensile, creep, and fatigue testing was performed. Additionally, design-specific coupons were fabricated and tested in order to improve subelement test predictions. Based on the sheet characterization and results of the coupon tests, the subelement failure location and failure load were accurately predicted.

Draper, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Factors which Limit the Value of Additional Redundancy in Human Rated Launch Vehicle Systems

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has embarked on an ambitious program to return humans to the moon and beyond. As NASA moves forward in the development and design of new launch vehicles for future space exploration, it must fully consider the implications that rule-based requirements of redundancy or fault tolerance have on system reliability/risk. These considerations include common cause failure, increased system complexity, combined serial and parallel configurations, and the impact of design features implemented to control premature activation. These factors and others must be considered in trade studies to support design decisions that balance safety, reliability, performance and system complexity to achieve a relatively simple, operable system that provides the safest and most reliable system within the specified performance requirements. This paper describes conditions under which additional functional redundancy can impede improved system reliability. Examples from current NASA programs including the Ares I Upper Stage will be shown.

Anderson, Joel M.↗
NASA NTRS2009

International Space Station Science Research Accomplishments During the Assembly Years: An Analysis of Results from 2000-2008

This report summarizes research accomplishments on the International Space Station (ISS) through the first 15 Expeditions. When research programs for early Expeditions were established, five administrative organizations were executing research on ISS: bioastronautics research, fundamental space biology, physical science, space product development, and space flight. The Vision for Space Exploration led to changes in NASA's administrative structures, so we have grouped experiments topically by scientific themes human research for exploration, physical and biological sciences, technology development, observing the Earth, and educating and inspiring the next generation even when these do not correspond to the administrative structure at the time at which they were completed. The research organizations at the time at which the experiments flew are preserved in the appendix of this document. These investigations on the ISS have laid the groundwork for research planning for Expeditions to come. Humans performing scientific investigations on ISS serve as a model for the goals of future Exploration missions. The success of a wide variety of investigations is an important hallmark of early research on ISS. Of the investigations summarized here, some are completed with results released, some are completed with preliminary results, and some remain ongoing.

Evans, Cynthia A.↗
NASA NTRS2010

NASA Spacecraft Fault Management Workshop Results

Fault Management is a critical aspect of deep-space missions. For the purposes of this paper, fault management is defined as the ability of a system to detect, isolate, and mitigate events that impact, or have the potential to impact, nominal mission operations. The fault management capabilities are commonly distributed across flight and ground subsystems, impacting hardware, software, and mission operations designs. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Discovery & New Frontiers (D&NF) Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) recently studied cost overruns and schedule delays for 5 missions. The goal was to identify the underlying causes for the overruns and delays, and to develop practical mitigations to assist the D&NF projects in identifying potential risks and controlling the associated impacts to proposed mission costs and schedules. The study found that 4 out of the 5 missions studied had significant overruns due to underestimating the complexity and support requirements for fault management. As a result of this and other recent experiences, the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Planetary Science Division (PSD) commissioned a workshop to bring together invited participants across government, industry, academia to assess the state of the art in fault management practice and research, identify current and potential issues, and make recommendations for addressing these issues. The workshop was held in New Orleans in April of 2008. The workshop concluded that fault management is not being limited by technology, but rather by a lack of emphasis and discipline in both the engineering and programmatic dimensions. Some of the areas cited in the findings include different, conflicting, and changing institutional goals and risk postures; unclear ownership of end-to-end fault management engineering; inadequate understanding of the impact of mission-level requirements on fault management complexity; and practices, processes, and tools that have not kept pace with the increasing complexity of mission requirements and spacecraft systems. This paper summarizes the findings and recommendations from that workshop, as well as opportunities identified for future investment in tools, processes, and products to facilitate the development of space flight fault management capabilities.

Newhouse, Marilyn↗
NASA NTRS2010

Results from the NASA Spacecraft Fault Management Workshop: Cost Drivers for Deep Space Missions

Fault Management, the detection of and response to in-flight anomalies, is a critical aspect of deep-space missions. Fault management capabilities are commonly distributed across flight and ground subsystems, impacting hardware, software, and mission operations designs. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Discovery & New Frontiers (D&NF) Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) recently studied cost overruns and schedule delays for five missions. The goal was to identify the underlying causes for the overruns and delays, and to develop practical mitigations to assist the D&NF projects in identifying potential risks and controlling the associated impacts to proposed mission costs and schedules. The study found that four out of the five missions studied had significant overruns due to underestimating the complexity and support requirements for fault management. As a result of this and other recent experiences, the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Planetary Science Division (PSD) commissioned a workshop to bring together invited participants across government, industry, and academia to assess the state of the art in fault management practice and research, identify current and potential issues, and make recommendations for addressing these issues. The workshop was held in New Orleans in April of 2008. The workshop concluded that fault management is not being limited by technology, but rather by a lack of emphasis and discipline in both the engineering and programmatic dimensions. Some of the areas cited in the findings include different, conflicting, and changing institutional goals and risk postures; unclear ownership of end-to-end fault management engineering; inadequate understanding of the impact of mission-level requirements on fault management complexity; and practices, processes, and tools that have not kept pace with the increasing complexity of mission requirements and spacecraft systems. This paper summarizes the findings and recommendations from that workshop, particularly as fault management development issues affect operations and the development of operations capabilities.

Newhouse, Marilyn E.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Meeting Expanding Needs to Collect Food Intake Specificity: The Nutrition Data System for Research (NDS-R)

Food and nutrient databases are populated with data obtained from a variety of sources including USDA Reference Tables, scientific journals, food manufacturers and foreign food tables. The food and nutrient database maintained by the Nutrition Coordinating Center (NCC) at the University of Minnesota is continually updated with current nutrient data and continues to be expanded with additional nutrient fields to meet diverse research endeavors. Data are strictly evaluated for reliability and relevance before incorporation into the database; however, the values are obtained from various sources and food samples rather than from direct chemical analysis of specific foods. Precise nutrient values for specific foods are essential to the nutrition program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Specific foods to be included in the menus of astronauts are chemically analyzed at the Johnson Space Center for selected nutrients. A request from NASA for a method to enter the chemically analyzed nutrient values for these space flight food items into the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDS-R) software resulted in modification of the database and interview system for use by NASA, with further modification to extend the method for related uses by more typical research studies.

VanHeel, Nancy↗
NASA NTRS2010

Heritage and Advanced Technology Systems Engineering Lessons Learned from NASA Deep Space Missions

In the design and development of complex spacecraft missions, project teams frequently assume the use of advanced technology systems or heritage systems to enable a mission or reduce the overall mission risk and cost. As projects proceed through the development life cycle, increasingly detailed knowledge of the advanced and heritage systems within the spacecraft and mission environment identifies unanticipated technical issues. Resolving these issues often results in cost overruns and schedule impacts. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Discovery & New Frontiers (D&NF) Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) recently studied cost overruns and schedule delays for 5 missions. The goal was to identify the underlying causes for the overruns and delays, and to develop practical mitigations to assist the D&NF projects in identifying potential risks and controlling the associated impacts to proposed mission costs and schedules. The study found that optimistic hardware/software inheritance and technology readiness assumptions caused cost and schedule growth for four of the five missions studied. The cost and schedule growth was not found to result from technical hurdles requiring significant technology development. The projects institutional inheritance and technology readiness processes appear to adequately assess technology viability and prevent technical issues from impacting the final mission success. However, the processes do not appear to identify critical issues early enough in the design cycle to ensure project schedules and estimated costs address the inherent risks. In general, the overruns were traceable to: an inadequate understanding of the heritage system s behavior within the proposed spacecraft design and mission environment; an insufficient level of development experience with the heritage system; or an inadequate scoping of the system-wide impacts necessary to implement an advanced technology for space flight applications. The paper summarizes the study's lessons learned in more detail and offers suggestions for improving the project's ability to identify and manage the technology and heritage risks inherent in the design solution.

Barley, Bryan↗