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NASA NTRS1994

Robotic servicing system for space material experiment

A containerless image furnace with an electrostatic positioning device has been developed as one of the material experiment facilities on the Japanese experimental module (JEM). It is characterized by heating/melting/cooling the sample whose position is kept without any contacts by actively controlled electrostatic force exerted between the sample and a set of electrodes. The experiment using the image furnace requires various servicing operations. We have been developing a robotic servicing system with an internal robot accommodated in the rack as an alternative to the crew. It aims to reduce the load on the crew by automating regular tasks and to increase the flexibility applicable to simple irregular tasks by introducing a remote teleoperation scheme. The present robot has poor capability to replace the crew. In order to compensate it, introducing of the concept of the robot friendliness and improving the controllability of the teleoperation by the ground operator aids are essential. In this paper, we identify the tasks to be performed by the robotic servicing system and discuss the way to compensate the capability of the robot. In addition we describe the evaluation tests using an experimental model.

Yamawaki, Toshihiko↗

NASA NTRS1975

Direct/community broadcast projects using space satellites

A review is presented of direct/community broadcast projects which are currently in preparation in India, Canada, and Japan. It is shown that the satellite broadcast experiments involved are conducted for practical domestic reasons. The broadcast activities in all three projects will not reach other countries' TV receivers unless those countries take deliberate steps to enable themselves to receive such broadcasts. It is pointed out that for technological reasons problems of intrusion and interference connected with the use of satellites in broadcast operations may be much easier to handle than similar problems related to conventional radio broadcasting.

Frutkin, A. W.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Materials and Process Activities for NASA's Composite Crew Module

In January 2007, the NASA Administrator and Associate Administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate chartered the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) to design, build, and test a full-scale Composite Crew Module (CCM). The overall goal of the CCM project was to develop a team from the NASA family with hands-on experience in composite design, manufacturing, and testing in anticipation of future space exploration systems being made of composite materials. The CCM project was planned to run concurrently with the Orion project s baseline metallic design within the Constellation Program so that features could be compared and discussed without inducing risk to the overall Program. The materials and process activities were prioritized based on a rapid prototype approach. This approach focused developmental activities on design details with greater risk and uncertainty, such as out-of-autoclave joining, over some of the more traditional lamina and laminate building block levels. While process development and associated building block testing were performed, several anomalies were still observed at the full-scale level due to interactions between process robustness and manufacturing scale-up. This paper describes the process anomalies that were encountered during the CCM development and the subsequent root cause investigations that led to the final design solutions. These investigations highlight the importance of full-scale developmental work early in the schedule of a complex composite design/build project.

Polis, Daniel L.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Planetary Geochemistry Using Active Neutron and Gamma Ray Instrumentation

The Pulsed Neutron Generator-Gamma Ray And Neutron Detector (PNG-GRAND) experiment is an innovative application of the active neutron-gamma ray technology so successfully used in oil field well logging and mineral exploration on Earth, The objective of our active neutron-gamma ray technology program at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC) is to bring the PNG-GRAND instrument to the point where it can be flown on a variety of surface lander or rover missions to the Moon, Mars, Venus, asterOIds, comets and the satellites of the outer planets, Gamma-Ray Spectrometers have been incorporated into numerous orbital planetary science missions and, especially in the case of Mars Odyssey, have contributed detailed maps of the elemental composition over the entire surface of Mars, Neutron detectors have also been placed onboard orbital missions such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Prospector to measure the hydrogen content of the surface of the moon, The DAN in situ experiment on the Mars Science Laboratory not only includes neutron detectors, but also has its own neutron generator, However, no one has ever combined the three into one instrument PNG-GRAND combines a pulsed neutron generator (PNG) with gamma ray and neutron detectors to produce a landed instrument that can determine subsurface elemental composition without drilling. We are testing PNG-GRAND at a unique outdoor neutron instrumentation test facility recently constructed at NASA/GSFC that consists of a 2 m x 2 m x 1 m granite structure in an empty field, We will present data from the operation of PNG-GRAND in various experimental configurations on a known sample in a geometry that is identical to that which can be achieved on a planetary surface. We will also compare the material composition results inferred from our experiments to both an independent laboratory elemental composition analysis and MCNPX computer modeling results,

Parsons, A.↗

NASA NTRS1974

An application of gas chromatography to planetary atmospheres

A gas chromatography developed for the Viking experiment is described. The instrument is designed to measure gases in planetary atmospheres and head space in a chamber. It is hoped that the chromatograph will also measure any biological activity present in these environments.

Oyama, V.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Hardware report for experiment M133, sleep monitoring on Skylab

The purpose of the experiment was objectively to measure sleep quantity and quality during prolonged space flight with the use of automatic equipment for onboard analyses of electroencephalographic (EEG) and electro-oculographic (EOG) activity and telemetry of sleep stage data.

Booher, C. R.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Photovoltaic concentrator pointing dynamics and plasma interaction study

The objectives of this experiment are to use the Space Technology Experiments Platform (STEP) system to demonstrate the viability of concentrator photovoltaic arrays by: (1) configuring a deployable mast on the STEP pallet with concentrator mass models and some active photovoltaic modules; (2) measuring the array pointing dynamics under normal rotation as well as disturbance conditions; (3) performing an array plasma interaction experiment to determine the steady-state plasma losses under various voltage conditions; and (4) providing active distributed control of the support truss to determine the improvement in dynamic response. Experiment approach and test control and instrumentation are described.

Stern, T. G.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Space station contamination considerations

The external induced environment generated by space station activity, or more specifically by gases, particles, and light background is discussed. These contaminant species must be controlled if sensitive systems, such as solar energy collectors or science experiments exposed to the external environment are to function properly. The requirements generally set limits on the level of gas species, matter deposited on surfaces and light background levels over various spectral regions. They also address environment monitoring and contamination controls during manufacturing. Limits on effluent release and system leakages are in turn derived from these requirements.

Leger, L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Asteroseismology - The impact of solar space observations

Observations from space relevant to solar global properties (oscillations, magnetic activity, etc.) are helpful both scientifically and technically in preparing for stellar observations. This paper summarizes the results from the main previous experiments (ACRIM, SOUP, and IPHIR), and also gives an initial technical report from the SXT instrument on board Yohkoh, launched in August 1991. The solar observations to date demonstrate the existence of several mechanisms for low-level variability: spots, faculae, the photospheric network, granulation, and p-mode oscillations. The observations of oscillations have been particularly helpful in setting limits on solar interior rotation. In addition to the solar processes, stars of other types may have different mechanisms of variability. These may include the analogs of coronal holes or solar flares, modes of oscillation not detected in the sun, collisions with small bodies, duplicity, and probably mechanisms not invented yet but related in interesting ways to stellar convection and magnetism.

Hudson, H. S.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Mir environmental effects payload handrail clamp/pointing device

The Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP) consists of four International Space Station Alpha (ISSA) Risk mitigation experiments to be transported and deployed in a common carrier. This carrier is to be transported to the Mir Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle and deployed during a US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on the handrails of the Mir Docking Module (DM). This paper describes the design of the handrail clamp/ pointing device used by the astronauts to attach the carrier to the station.

Hughes, Stephen J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Biomass Burning Emissions in the Cerrado of Brazil Computed with Remote Sensing Data and GIS

Biomass burnin is a common force in much of the developing tropical world where it has wide-ranging environmental impacts. Fire is a component of tropical deforestation and is 0 p often used to clear broad expanses of land for shifting agriculture and cattle ranching. Frequent burning in the tropical savannas is a distinct problem from that of primary forest. In Brazil, most of the burning occurs in the cerrado which occupies approximately 1,800,000 km2, primarily on the great plateau in central Brazil. Wildland and agricultural fires are dramatic sources of regional air pollution in central Brazil. Biomass burning is an important source of a large number of trace gases including greenhouse gases and other chemically active species. Knowledge of trace gas emissions from biomass burning in Brazil is limited by a number of factors, most notably relative emission factors for gases from specific fire types/fuels and accurate estimates of temporal and spatial distribution and extent of fire activity. Estimates of trace gas emissions during September 1992 will be presented that incorporates a digital map of vegetation classes, pyrogenic emission factors calculated from ground and aircraft missions, and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) fire products derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data. The regional emissions calculated from National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) AVHRR estimates of fire activity will provide an independent estimate for comparison with results obtained by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Transport and Atmospheric Chemistry Near the Equator - Atlantic (TRACE-A) experiments.

Guild, Liane S.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Fracture Control Requirements for Composite and Bonded Vehicle and Payload Structures

The document presents a minimum set of fracture control requirements to be used across MSFC programs in designing and assessing composite and bonded structures. The scope includes manned launch, retrieval, transfer, and landing vehicles, space habitats, and payloads or experiments that are launched, retrieved, stored, or operated during any portion of a manned spaceflight mission. It is applicable to in-house and contract activities. The requirements apply to fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites, sandwich construction (bonded metallic and nonmetallic), and bonds between metallic or composite parts fall within the scope of this document.

McGill, Preston↗

NASA NTRS1993

Manual control in space research on perceptual-motor functions under zero gravity conditions (L-10)

Are human abilities to control vehicles and other machines the same in space as those on Earth? The L-10 Manual Control Experiment of the First Materials Processing Tests (FMPT) started from this question. Suppose a pilot has the task to align the head of a space vehicle toward a target. His actions are to look at the target, to determine the vehicle movement, and to operate the manipulator. If the activity of the nervous system were the same as on Earth, the movements, of the eye and hand would become excessive because the muscles do not have to oppose gravity. The timing and amount of movement must be arranged for appropriate actions. The sensation of motion would also be affected by the loss of gravity because the mechanism of the otolith, the major acceleration sensor, depends on gravity. The possible instability of the sensation of direction may cause mistakes in the direction of control of manipulator movement. Thus, the experimental data can be used for designing man-machine systems in space, as well as for investigation of physiological mechanisms. In this experiment, the direction of vehicle heading is expressed by a light spot on an array of light emitting diodes and the manipulator is of a finger stick type. As the light spot moves up and down, the Japanese Payload Specialist, and the subject, must move the manipulator forward and backward to keep the movement of the light spot within the neighborhood of the central point of the display. The position of the light spot is computed in such a manner that when the stick is kept at the neutral position, a motion whose acceleration is proportional to the angle of deflection is added to the movement of the light spot. The Operator Describing Function, which is an expression of human control characteristics, can be calculated from 2 minutes of raw data of the light spot position and stick deflection. The 2 minutes of operation is called a run, and 8 runs with resting periods composes a session. The on-orbit experiment will be conducted on the second, fourth, and seventh days. One session of experiment of each of these days is conducted following the L-4 experiment, which uses the same apparatus. The Payload Specialist, aided by a Mission Specialist, will take our apparatus from a rack container, set up the apparatus, attach electrodes for measurements of eye movement and muscle activity, conduct the L-4 Visual Stability Experiment, conduct one session of the manual control experiment, and then dissemble and stow the apparatus. In addition to the flight experiment, pre-flight and post-flight experiments will be conducted. The data of three sessions on orbit will reflect adaption of physiological systems to microgravity. The data of post-flight experiments, on the other hand, will reflect re-adaptation of physiological systems to the gravity condition on the ground. Control data collected with and without psychological tension will be scheduled just prior to and long before launch.

Tada, Akira↗

NASA NTRS1994

Streamlined design and self reliant hardware for active control of precision space structures

Precision space structures may require active vibration control to satisfy critical performance requirements relating to line-of-sight pointing accuracy and the maintenance of precise, internal alignments. In order for vibration control concepts to become operational, it is necessary that their benefits be practically demonstrated in large scale ground-based experiments. A unique opportunity to carry out such demonstrations on a wide variety of experimental testbeds was provided by the NASA Control-Structure Integration (CSI) Guest Investigator (GI) Program. This report surveys the experimental results achieved by the Harris Corporation GI team on both Phases 1 and 2 of the program and provides a detailed description of Phase 2 activities. The Phase 1 results illustrated the effectiveness of active vibration control for space structures and demonstrated a systematic methodology for control design, implementation test. In Phase 2, this methodology was significantly streamlined to yield an on-site, single session design/test capability. Moreover, the Phase 2 research on adaptive neural control techniques made significant progress toward fully automated, self-reliant space structure control systems. As a further thrust toward productized, self-contained vibration control systems, the Harris Phase II activity concluded with experimental demonstration of new vibration isolation hardware suitable for a wide range of space-flight and ground-based commercial applications.The CSI GI Program Phase 1 activity was conducted under contract NASA1-18872, and the Phase 2 activity was conducted under NASA1-19372.

Hyland, David C.↗

NASA NTRS2019

The Joint ESA/NASA Galileo/GPS Receiver Onboard the ISS – the GARISS Project

ESA and NASA conducted a joint Galileo/GPS space receiver experiment on-board the International Space Station (ISS). The objectives (Enderle 2017) of the joint project were to demonstrate the robustness of a combined Galileo/GPS waveform uploaded to NASA hardware already operating in the challenging space environment - the SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) software defined radio (SDR) testbed (FPGA) - on-board the ISS. These activities data included the analysis of the Galileo/GPS signal and on-board Position/Velocity/Time (PVT) performance, processing of the Galileo/GPS raw data (code- and carrier phase) for Precise Orbit Determination (POD), and validate the added value of a space-borne dual GNSS receiver compared to a single-system GNSS receiver operating under the same conditions. This paper will provide a general overview of the Galileo/GPS experiment – called GARISS - on-board the ISS, describe design, test and validation and also the operations of the experiment. Further, the various analysis conducted in the con is joint project and also the results obtained will be presented with a focus on the (Precise) Orbit Determination results.

Enderle, Werner↗

NASA NTRS2015

An Updated Process for Automated Deepspace Conjunction Assessment

There is currently a high level of interest in the areas of conjunction assessment and collision avoidance from organizations conducting space operations. Current conjunction assessment activity is mainly focused on spacecraft and debris in the Earth orbital environment [1]. However, collisions are possible in other orbital environments as well [2]. This paper will focus on the current operations of and recent updates to the Multimission Automated Deep Space Conjunction Assessment Process (MADCAP) used at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA to perform conjunction assessment at Mars and the Moon. Various space agencies have satellites in orbit at Mars and the Moon with additional future missions planned. The consequences of collisions are catastrophically high. Intuitive notions predict low probability of collisions in these sparsely populated environments, but may be inaccurate due to several factors. Orbits of scientific interest often tend to have similar characteristics as do the orbits of spacecraft that provide a communications relay for surface missions. The MADCAP process is controlled by an automated scheduler which initializes analysis based on a set timetable or the appearance of new ephemeris files either locally or on the Deep Space Network (DSN) Portal. The process then generates and communicates reports which are used to facilitate collision avoidance decisions. The paper also describes the operational experience and utilization of the automated tool during periods of high activity and interest such as: the close approaches of NASA's Lunar Atmosphere & Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) during the LADEE mission. In addition, special consideration was required for the treatment of missions with rapidly varying orbits and less reliable long term downtrack estimates; in particular this was necessitated by perturbations to MAVEN's orbit induced by the Martian atmosphere. The application of special techniques to non-operational spacecraft with large uncertainties is also studied. Areas for future work are also described. Although the applications discussed in this paper are in the Martian and Lunar environments, the techniques are not unique to these bodies and could be applied to other orbital environments.

collision↗

NASA NTRS1995

STS-73 Post Flight Presentation

The post flight presentation of the STS-73 Space Shuttle's United States Microgravity Lab. (USML) mission was presented by the flight crew, Cmdr. Kenneth Bowersox, Pilot Kent Rominger, Payload Specialists Albert Sacco and Fred Gregory, and Mission Specialists Kathryn Thornton, Catherine 'Cady' Collman, and Michael Lopez-Alegria, using color video and slides. Film footage includes the prelaunch and launch activities, the USML and Middeck experiments (Advanced Protein Crystallization Facility (APCF), the Astroculture(tm) (ASC) hardware and experiment, the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA), the Crystal Growth Furnace (CGF), the Drop Physics Module (DPM), the Geophysical Fluid Flow Cell (GFFC), the Glovebox (GBX), the Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG) experiment, the Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment (STDCE), the Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) experiment, three Measuring Microgravity experiments (the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS), the Three Dimensional Microgravity Accelerometer (3DMA), and the Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE)), and the High-Packed Digital Television (HI-PAC) demonstration system), pre-return flight systems checkout, reentry, and space shuttle landing. The USML experiments were monitored via the HI-PAC system downlink. Earth views included mostly geographical locations (Mediterranean Sea; Turkey; Lake Powell, Arizona/Utah area; San Francisco Bay; Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, DC; India; Tibet; China; Bhutan; Philadelphia; and the Himalayas).

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1994

Surface characterization through shape oscillations of drops in microgravity and 1-g

The goal of these experiments is to determine the rheological properties of liquid drops of single or multiple components in the presence or absence of surface active materials by exciting drops into their quadrupole resonance and observing their free decay. The resulting data coupled with appropriate theory should give a better description of the physics of the underlying phenomena, providing a better foundation than earlier empirical results could. The space environment makes an idealized geometry available (spherical drops) so that theory and experiment can be properly compared, and allows a 'clean' environment, by which is meant an environment in which no solid surfaces come in contact with the drops during the test period. Moreover, by considering the oscillations of intentionally deformed drops in microgravity, a baseline is established for interpreting surface characterization experiments done on the ground by other groups and ours. Experiments performed on the United States Microgravity Laboratory Laboratory (USML-1) demonstrated that shape oscillation experiments could be performed over a wide parameter range, and with a variety of surfactant materials. Results, however, were compromised by an unexpected, slow drop tumbling, some problems with droplet injection, and the presence of bubbles in the drop samples. Nevertheless, initial data suggests that the space environment will be useful in providing baseline data that can serve to validate theory and permit quantitative materials characterization at 1-g.

Apfel, Robert E.↗