Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Deep Space Network”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 775 records · Page 43
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

New Directions: 1982-2000

The major objective of the Deep Space Network in the period 1983-2000 is the fulfillment of the extremely diverse telecommunications requirements of the known and anticipated users. Deep space exploration projects will continue to occupy a dominant role, although in the mid-1980s, with the completion of the Networks Consolidation Program, high Earth orbiter projects will become substantial users of the Network. Also playing an increasingly important role in the Network of the next decade will be non-flight projects, such as Geodynamics, Radio Astronomy, Radar Astronomy, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). The major challenge in meeting the primary Network objective of the next decade will be that of providing increased performance as required by users at costs which can be borne by NASA in an environment of limited resources. Emphasis will be on increased commonality, flexibility, and automation to reduce maintenance and operations costs, and lower mission costs.

Renzetti, N. A.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Orbit Determination for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Using an Extended Kalman Filter

Since launch, the FDF has performed daily OD for LRO using the Goddard Trajectory Determination System (GTDS). GTDS is a batch least-squares (BLS) estimator. The tracking data arc for OD is 36 hours. Current operational OD uses 200 x 200 lunar gravity, solid lunar tides, solar radiation pressure (SRP) using a spherical spacecraft area model, and point mass gravity for the Earth, Sun, and Jupiter. LRO tracking data consists of range and range-rate measurements from: Universal Space Network (USN) stations in Sweden, Germany, Australia, and Hawaii. A NASA antenna at White Sands, New Mexico (WS1S). NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) stations. DSN data was sparse and not included in this study. Tracking is predominantly (50) from WS1S. The OD accuracy requirements are: Definitive ephemeris accuracy of 500 meters total position root-mean-squared (RMS) and18 meters radial RMS. Predicted orbit accuracy less than 800 meters root sum squared (RSS) over an 84-hour prediction span.

LRO↗
NASA NTRS1978

Tracking and data system support for the Viking 1975 mission to Mars: Extended mission operations, December 1976 to May 1978, volume 4

The support which was provided by the Deep Space Network to the Viking Extended Mission from December 1976 to May 1978 is described. Tracking and data acquisition support required the continuous operation of a world-wide network of tracking stations with 64-meter and 26-meter diameter antennas, together with a global communications system for the transfer of commands, telemetry, and radio metric data between the stations and the Network Operations Control Center in Pasadena, California. Performance of the deep-space communications links between Earth and Mars, and innovative new management techniques for operations and data handling are included.

Mudgway, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Tracking and data system support for the Viking 1975 mission to Mars. Volume 3: Planetary operations

The support provided by the Deep Space Network to the 1975 Viking Mission from the first landing on Mars July 1976 to the end of the Prime Mission on November 15, 1976 is described and evaluated. Tracking and data acquisition support required the continuous operation of a worldwide network of tracking stations with 64-meter and 26-meter diameter antennas, together with a global communications system for the transfer of commands, telemetry, and radio metric data between the stations and the Network Operations Control Center in Pasadena, California. Performance of the deep-space communications links between Earth and Mars, and innovative new management techniques for operations and data handling are included.

Mudgway, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Computer simulated building energy consumption for verification of energy conservation measures in network facilities

A computer program called ECPVER (Energy Consumption Program - Verification) was developed to simulate all energy loads for any number of buildings. The program computes simulated daily, monthly, and yearly energy consumption which can be compared with actual meter readings for the same time period. Such comparison can lead to validation of the model under a variety of conditions, which allows it to be used to predict future energy saving due to energy conservation measures. Predicted energy saving can then be compared with actual saving to verify the effectiveness of those energy conservation changes. This verification procedure is planned to be an important advancement in the Deep Space Network Energy Project, which seeks to reduce energy cost and consumption at all DSN Deep Space Stations.

Plankey, B.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Demonstration of intercontinental DSN clock synchronization by VLBI

The prototype system for Deep Space Network clock synchronization by VLBI has been demonstrated to operate successfully over intercontinental baselines in a series of experiments between Deep Space Stations at Madrid, Spain, and Goldstone, California. As predicted by analysis and short baseline demonstration, the system achieves reliable synchronization between 26m and 64m antenna stations with 17 and 37K nominal system temperatures using under one million bits of data from each station. Semi-real-time operation is feasible since this small amount of data can be transmitted to JPL and processed within minutes. The system resolution is 50 to 400ns, depending on the amount of data processed and the source intensity. The accuracy is believed to be comparable to the resolution, although it could be independently confirmed to only about 5 microseconds using LORAN C.

Hurd, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

DSN command system Mark 3-78

The Deep Space Network Command System Mark III-78 implementation and functional operation are described. Software upgrade enables expanded storage capacity in the Deep Space Station Command Processor Assembly. Store-and-forward command data handling is operational for Voyager and Helios. Near-real-time command data handling was retained for Viking and Pioneer.

Thorman, H. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Mark IVA DSN 26-meter Subnet

The Office of Space Tracking and Data Systems' Networks Consolidation Program (NCP), managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), includes the implementation of a 26-meter Tracking and Communications Subnet as a part of the Mark IV A Deep Space Network (DSN). The incorporatin of this subnet into the DSN will contribute to the NCP goal of consolidating the two NASA ground tracking networks into one tracking network. The 26-meter Tracking and Communication Subnet was designed to provide the capability to support, at each Deep Space Communication Complex, the tracking and data communication requirements of the earth-orbital missions that cannot be supported by the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System when it becomes operational. Implementation activities and planned capabilities of the subnet are discussed.

Gordon, D. D.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The telecommunications and data acquisition report

Progress in the development and operations of the Deep Space Network is reported. Developments in Earth based radio technology as applied to geodynamics, astrophysics, and radio astronomy's use of the deep space stations for a radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum are reported.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1981

Networks consolidation program system design

The general system design for the Mark 4-A Deep Space Network to be implemented in the Networks Consolidation Program is discussed. The arrangement and complement of antennas and the list of subsystem equipment at the Signal Processing Center are described.

Gatz, E. C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The determination of maximum deep space station slew rates for a high Earth orbiter

As developing national and international space ventures, which seek to employ NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) for tracking and data acquisition, evolve, it is essential for navigation and tracking system analysts to evaluate the operational capability of Deep Space Station antennas. To commission the DSN for use in tracking a highly eccentric Earth orbiter could quite possibly yield the greatest challenges in terms of slewing capability; certainly more so than with a deep-space probe. The focus here is on the determination of the maximum slew rates needed to track a specific high Earth orbiter, namely the Japanese MUSES-B spacecraft of the Very Long Baseline Interferometry Space Observatory Program. The results suggest that DSN 34-m antennas are capable of meeting the slew rate requirements for the nominal MUSES-B orbital geometries currently being considered.

Estefan, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Combining GPS and VLBI earth-rotation data for improved universal time

The Deep Space Network (DSN) routinely measures Earth orientation in support of spacecraft tracking and navigation using very long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) with the deep-space tracking antennas. The variability of the most unpredictable Earth-orientation component, Universal Time 1 (UT1), is a major factor in determining the frequency with which the DSN measurements must be made. The installation of advanced Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers at the DSN sites and elsewhere may soon permit routine measurements of UT1 variation with significantly less dependence on the deep-space tracking antennas than is currently required. GPS and VLBI data from the DSN may be combined to generate a precise UT1 series, while simultaneously reducing the time and effort the DSN must spend on platform-parameter calibrations. This combination is not straightforward, however, and a strategy for the optimal combination of these data is presented and evaluated. It appears that, with the aid of GPS, the frequency of required VLBI measurements of Earth orientation could drop from twice weekly to once per month. More stringent real-time Earth orientation requirements possible in the future would demand significant improvements in both VLBI and GPS capabilities, however.

Freedman, A. P.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Networks consolidation program

A single consolidated network of ground tracking stations to replace the present two ground-based spacecraft tracking networks is proposed. The proposed consolidated network uses facilities that are now included in the Ground Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (GSTDN), operated by Goddard Space Flight (GSFC), as well as the existing Deep Space Network (DSN), operated by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). These facilities are combined and modified to provide a consolidated network managed and operated by JPL and capable of supporting the set of planetary and Highly Elliptical Earth Orbiter (HEEO) missions planned for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) era. The consolidated network is planned to be operational after the TDRSS becomes operational. It will continue to support planetary missions that are now supported by the DSN and also provide support to a broad class of other spacecraft missions which are not compatible with or which, for other reasons, cannot be supported by the TDRSS.

Yeater, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Consolidation of NASA tracking stations into a single ground network in the TDRSS era

NASA has operated two separate worldwide ground-based tracking and data acquisition networks for support of its various missions. The Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) has provided support to all NASA earth orbiting spacecraft. The Deep Space Network (DSN) supports almost exclusively those unmanned exploratory spacecraft which have been sent far from earth. The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), which is conceptually a part of the STDN, will soon be added to the first two networks. The TDRSS will consist of two geosynchronous satellites together with a single ground terminal in White Sands, New Mexico. The TDRSS was conceived as a means of providing improved tracking and data relay service for a large class of the earth orbiting satellites. An investigation was conducted with the objective to reduce the costs of providing support to those spacecraft which were not TDRS-compatible. It was recommended that the core sites of the Ground segment of the STDN (GSTDN) be consolidated into the DSN

Layland, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Structural design options for the new 34 meter beam waveguide antenna

In addition to the successful network of 34 m High Efficiency antennas recently built by JPL, the Deep Space Network (DSN) is embarking on the construction of a 34 m high performance, research and development antenna with beam waveguide optics at the Venus site. The construction of this antenna presents many engineering challenges in the area of structural, mechanical, RF, and pointing system design. A set of functional and structural design requirements is outlined to guide analysts in the final configuration selection. Five design concepts are presented covering both the conventional center-fed beam optics as well as the nonconventional, by-pass beam configuration. The merits of each concept are discussed with an emphasis on obtaining a homologous design. The preliminary results of structural optimization efforts, currently in progress, are promising, indicating the feasibility of meeting, as a minimum, all X-band (8.4 GHz) requirements, with a goal towards meeting Ka-band (32 GHz) quality performance, at the present budget constraints.

Katow, S.↗
NASA NTRS2022

SatNet: A Benchmark for Satellite Scheduling Optimization

Satellites provide essential services such as networking and weather tracking, and the number of near-earth and deep space satellites are expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. Communications with terrestrial ground stations is one of the critical functionalities of any space mission. Satellite scheduling is a problem that has been scientifically investigated since the 1970s. A central aspect of this problem is the need to consider resource contention and satellite visibility constraints as they require line of sight. Due to the combinatorial nature of the problem, prior solutions such as linear programs and evolutionary algorithms require extensive compute capabilities to output a feasible schedule for each scenario. Machine learning based scheduling can provide an alternative solution by training a model with historical data and generating a schedule quickly with model inference. We present SatNet, a benchmark for satellite scheduling optimization based on historical data from the NASA Deep Space Network. We propose formulation of the satellite scheduling problem as a Markov Decision Process and use reinforcement learning (RL) policies to generate schedules. The nature of constraints imposed by SatNet differ from other combinatorial optimization problems such as vehicle routing studied in prior literature. Our initial results indicate that RL is an alternative optimization approach that can generate candidate solutions of comparable quality to existing state-of-the-practice results. However, we also find that RL policies overfit to the training dataset and do not generalize well to new data, thereby necessitating continued research on reusable and generalizable agents.

Wilson, Brian↗
NASA NTRS2012

A Service Portal for the Integrated SCaN Network

The Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program office owns the assets and services provided by the Deep Space Network (DSN), Near Earth Network (NEN), and Space Network (SN). At present, these individual networks are operated by different NASA centers--JPL for DSN--and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for NEN and SN--with separate commitments offices for each center. In the near future, SCaN's program office would like to deploy an integrated service portal which would merge the two commitments offices with the goal of easing the task of user planning for space missions requiring services of two or more of these networks. Following interviews with subject matter experts in this field, use cases were created to include the services and functionality mission users would like to see in this new integrated service portal. These use cases provide a guideline for a mock-up of the design of the user interface for the portal. The benefit of this work will ease the time required and streamline/standardize the process for planning and scheduling SCAN's services for future space missions.

space communications and navigation (SCaN)↗