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NASA NTRS2024

GCAS Visualization Codebase Augmentation Migration to Modern Standards and Feature Enhancements

The Glenn Research Center Communication Analysis Suite (GCAS) includes many analysis tools that can be used to support a wide range of scenarios. It includes a visualization tool that implements the three.js graphics library to display a three-dimensional (3D) representation of its results. This software will enable researchers, engineers, and mission planners to interact intuitively with and understand the results of their analyses, which might not be apparent from raw data. With NASA’s efforts to return humans to the Moon as a part of the Artemis missions, the GCAS has been used extensively for lunar terrain and landing system development analysis, which is vital to ensuring mission achievability and safety. This has created the need to add several significant features to the visualization tool, such as the ability to display the terrain of the lunar surface accurately and to provide information demonstrating how a given region might impact mission objectives. Many of the changes made to the visualization tool can be separated into one of three general advancements: code restructuring to adhere to modern coding standards and practices, new user camera controls for first-person and third-person perspective views, and a terrain generation feature to enable rendering highly accurate terrains based on any celestial body’s digital elevation model (DEM) in GeoTIFF format. These improvements notably elevate the visualization tool's functionality, accuracy, and user interaction while providing a robust foundation for future development.

Visualization↗

NASA NTRS1993

Flowfield computer graphics

The objectives of this research include supporting the Aerothermodynamics Branch's research by developing graphical visualization tools for both the branch's adaptive grid code and flow field ray tracing code. The completed research for the reporting period includes development of a graphical user interface (GUI) and its implementation into the NAS Flowfield Analysis Software Tool kit (FAST), for both the adaptive grid code (SAGE) and the flow field ray tracing code (CISS).

Desautel, Richard↗

NASA NTRS2005

Data-Driven Software Framework for Web-Based ISS Telescience

Software that enables authorized users to monitor and control scientific payloads aboard the International Space Station (ISS) from diverse terrestrial locations equipped with Internet connections is undergoing development. This software reflects a data-driven approach to distributed operations. A Web-based software framework leverages prior developments in Java and Extensible Markup Language (XML) to create portable code and portable data, to which one can gain access via Web-browser software on almost any common computer. Open-source software is used extensively to minimize cost; the framework also accommodates enterprise-class server software to satisfy needs for high performance and security. To accommodate the diversity of ISS experiments and users, the framework emphasizes openness and extensibility. Users can take advantage of available viewer software to create their own client programs according to their particular preferences, and can upload these programs for custom processing of data, generation of views, and planning of experiments. The same software system, possibly augmented with a subset of data and additional software tools, could be used for public outreach by enabling public users to replay telescience experiments, conduct their experiments with simulated payloads, and create their own client programs and other custom software.

Tso, Kam S.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Analytic Patch Configuration (APC) gateway version 1.0 user's guide

The Analytic Patch Configuration (APC) is an interactive software tool which translates aircraft configuration geometry files from one format into another. This initial release of the APC Gateway accommodates six formats: the four accepted APC formats (89f, 89fd, 89u, and 89ud), the PATRAN 2.x phase 1 neutral file format, and the Integrated Aerodynamic Analysis System (IAAS) General Geometry (GG) format. Written in ANSI FORTRAN 77 and completely self-contained, the APC Gateway is very portable and was already installed on CDC/NOS, VAX/VMS, SUN, SGI/IRIS, CONVEX, and GRAY hosts.

Bingel, Bradford D.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Making Interoperability Easier with NASA's Metadata Management Tool (MMT)

While the ISO-19115 collection level metadata format meets many users' needs for interoperable metadata, it can be cumbersome to create it correctly. Through the MMT's simple UI experience, metadata curators can create and edit collections which are compliant with ISO-19115 without full knowledge of the NASA Best Practices implementation of ISO-19115 format. Users are guided through the metadata creation process through a forms-based editor, complete with field information, validation hints and picklists. Once a record is completed, users can download the metadata in any of the supported formats with just 2 clicks.

metadata quality↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Capturing and Analyzing Requirements with FRET

FRET is an open source tool, developed at NASA Ames, for writing, understanding, formalizing, and analyzing requirements. In practice, requirements are typically written in natural language, which is ambiguous and consequently not amenable to formal analysis. Since formal, mathematical notations are unintuitive, requirements in FRET are entered in a restricted, natural language, called FRETish with precise unambiguous meaning. FRET helps users write FRETish requirements both by providing grammar information and examples during editing, but also through English and diagrammatic explanations to clarify subtle semantic issues. For each requirement, FRET automatically produces formalizations and supports interactive simulation of produced formalizations to ensure that they capture user intentions. Through its analysis portal, FRET connects to analysis tools by exporting verification code. Currently FRET connects to (1) the CoCoSim automated analysis tool for the verification of Simulink and Stateflow models, and (2) the Copilot runtime monitoring tool for the analysis of C programs. FRET also supports the consistency/realizability analysis of requirements for identifying conflicting requirements. In this tutorial, we introduce FRET and learn to speak and analyze FRETish through several examples.

FRET↗

NASA NTRS2011

Visual PEF Reader - VIPER

This software graphically displays all pertinent information from a Predicted Events File (PEF) using the Java Swing framework, which allows for multi-platform support. The PEF is hard to weed through when looking for specific information and it is a desire for the MRO (Mars Reconn aissance Orbiter) Mission Planning & Sequencing Team (MPST) to have a different way to visualize the data. This tool will provide the team with a visual way of reviewing and error-checking the sequence product. The front end of the tool contains much of the aesthetically appealing material for viewing. The time stamp is displayed in the top left corner, and highlighted details are displayed in the bottom left corner. The time bar stretches along the top of the window, and the rest of the space is allotted for blocks and step functions. A preferences window is used to control the layout of the sections along with the ability to choose color and size of the blocks. Double-clicking on a block will show information contained within the block. Zooming into a certain level will graphically display that information as an overlay on the block itself. Other functions include using hotkeys to navigate, an option to jump to a specific time, enabling a vertical line, and double-clicking to zoom in/out. The back end involves a configuration file that allows a more experienced user to pre-define the structure of a block, a single event, or a step function. The individual will have to determine what information is important within each block and what actually defines the beginning and end of a block. This gives the user much more flexibility in terms of what the tool is searching for. In addition to the configurability, all the settings in the preferences window are saved in the configuration file as well

Luo, Victor↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

REACTER: A Versatile Tool for Large-Scale Reactive Molecular Dynamics

Accurately describing reactive events over long length and time scales remains a grand challenge of computational materials science. REACTER is a general protocol for modeling chemical reactions using classical force fields, and is implemented in the popular molecular dynamics software LAMMPS. REACTER has a growing user base and has been used as a model-building tool for a variety of materials, including thermoplastics, thermosets, glassy materials and composites. The method has also been applied to accelerated modeling of reversible chemical reactions, such as the formation of electrochemical components for batteries. Recently, the REACTER protocol has received some major upgrades to enhance its ability to predict when reactions occur and to make it easier to use. Force field parameters can now be automatically assigned to newly created bonds, angles and other interactions. Advanced reaction constraints have also been added, including an Arrhenius constraint to enforce an effective activation energy, a root-mean-square-deviation option for complex geometrical constraints, and a constraint based on the total potential energy of the atoms involved in a reactive site. This potential energy constraint allows for the accurate reproduction of DFT-based tight-binding (DFTB3) predicted bond dissociation curves for mechanically induced bond breaking.

polymer simulations, molecular dynamics↗

NASA NTRS1994

Structural/aerodynamic Blade Analyzer (SAB) User's Guide, Version 1.0

The structural/aerodynamic blade (SAB) analyzer provides an automated tool for the static-deflection analysis of turbomachinery blades with aerodynamic and rotational loads. A structural code calculates a deflected blade shape using aerodynamic loads input. An aerodynamic solver computes aerodynamic loads using deflected blade shape input. The two programs are iterated automatically until deflections converge. Currently, SAB version 1.0 is interfaced with MSC/NASTRAN to perform the structural analysis and PROP3D to perform the aerodynamic analysis. This document serves as a guide for the operation of the SAB system with specific emphasis on its use at NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC). This guide consists of six chapters: an introduction which gives a summary of SAB; SAB's methodology, component files, links, and interfaces; input/output file structure; setup and execution of the SAB files on the Cray computers; hints and tips to advise the user; and an example problem demonstrating the SAB process. In addition, four appendices are presented to define the different computer programs used within the SAB analyzer and describe the required input decks.

Morel, M. R.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Customizing the JPL Multimission Ground Data System: Lessons learned

The Multimission Ground Data System (MGDS) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has brought improvements and new technologies to mission operations. It was designed as a generic data system to meet the needs of multiple missions and avoid re-inventing capabilities for each new mission and thus reduce costs. It is based on adaptable tools that can be customized to support different missions and operations scenarios. The MGDS is based on a distributed client/server architecture, with powerful Unix workstations, incorporating standards and open system architectures. The distributed architecture allows remote operations and user science data exchange, while also providing capabilities for centralized ground system monitor and control. The MGDS has proved its capabilities in supporting multiple large-class missions simultaneously, including the Voyager, Galileo, Magellan, Ulysses, and Mars Observer missions. The Operations Engineering Lab (OEL) at JPL has been leading Customer Adaptation Training (CAT) teams for adapting and customizing MGDS for the various operations and engineering teams. These CAT teams have typically consisted of only a few engineers who are familiar with operations and with the MGDS software and architecture. Our experience has provided a unique opportunity to work directly with the spacecraft and instrument operations teams and understand their requirements and how the MGDS can be adapted and customized to minimize their operations costs. As part of this work, we have developed workstation configurations, automation tools, and integrated user interfaces at minimal cost that have significantly improved productivity. We have also proved that these customized data systems are most successful if they are focused on the people and the tasks they perform and if they are based upon user confidence in the development team resulting from daily interactions. This paper will describe lessons learned in adapting JPL's MGDS to fly the Voyager, Galileo, and Mars Observer missions. We will explain how powerful, existing ground data systems can be adapted and packaged in a cost effective way for operations of small and large planetary missions. We will also describe how the MGDS was adapted to support operations within the Galileo Spacecraft Testbed. The Galileo testbed provided a unique opportunity to adapt MGDS to support command and control operations for a small autonomous operations team of a handful of engineers flying the Galileo Spacecraft flight system model.

Murphy, Susan C.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Evaluation of Crew-Centric Onboard Mission Operations Planning and Execution Tool: Year 2

Currently, mission planning for the International Space Station (ISS) is largely affected by ground operators in mission control. The task of creating a week-long mission plan for ISS crew takes dozens of people multiple days to complete, and is often created far in advance of its execution. As such, re-planning or adapting to changing real-time constraints or emergent issues is similarly taxing. As we design for future mission operations concepts to other planets or areas with limited connectivity to Earth, more of these ground-based tasks will need to be handled autonomously by the crew onboard.There is a need for a highly usable (including low training time) tool that enables efficient self-scheduling and execution within a single package. The ISS Program has identified Playbook as a potential option. It already has high crew acceptance as a plan viewer from previous analogs and can now support a crew self-scheduling assessment on ISS or on another mission. The goals of this work, a collaboration between the Human Research Program and the ISS Program, are to inform the design of systems for more autonomous crew operations and provide a platform for research on crew autonomy for future deep space missions. Our second year of the research effort have included new insights on the crew self-scheduling sessions performed by the crew through use on the HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) and NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) analogs. Use on the NEEMO analog involved two self-scheduling strategies where the crew planned and executed two days of EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activities). On HERA year two represented the first HERA campaign where we were able to perform research tasks. This involved selected flexible activities that the crew could schedule, mock timelines where the crew completed more complex planning exercises, usability evaluation of the crew self-scheduling features, and more insights into the limit of plan complexity that the crew could effectively self-schedule. In parallel we have added in new features and functionality in the Playbook tool based off of our insights from crew self-scheduling in the NASA analogs. In particular this year we have added in the ability for the crew to add, edit, and remove their own activities in the Playbook tool, expanding the type of planning and re-planning possible in the tool and opening up the ability for more free form plan creation. The ability to group and manipulate groups of activities from the plan task list was also added, allowing crew members to add predefined sets of activities onto their mission timeline. In addition we also added a way for crew members to roll back changes in their plan, in order to allow an undo like capability. These features expand and complement the initial self-scheduling features added in year one with the goal of making crew autonomous planning more efficient. As part of this work we have also finished developing the first version of our Playbook Data Analysis Tool, a research tool built to interpret and analyze the unobtrusively collected data obtained during the NASA analog missions through Playbook. This data which includes user click interaction as well as plan change information, through the Playbook Data Analysis Tool, allows us to playback this information as if a video camera was mounted over the crewmember's tablet. While the primary purpose of this tool is to allow usability analysis of crew self-scheduling sessions used on the NASA analog, since the data collected is structured, the tool can automatically derive metrics that would be traditionally tedious to achieve without manual analysis of video playback. We will demonstrate and discuss the ability for future derived metrics to be added to the tool. In addition to the current data and results gathered in year two we will also discuss the preparation and goals of our International Space Station (ISS) onboard technology demonstration with Playbook. This technology demonstration will be preformed as part of the CAST payload starting in late 2016.

onboard planning↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

HydroSAR: A Cloud-based SAR Data Analysis Service to Monitor Hydrological Disasters and their Impact on Population and Agriculture

Weather-related hazards are ubiquitous around the world including: 1) hurricane storm surges, 2) rapid snowmelt and heavy rainfall, 3) severe weather leading to flash floods, and 4) seasonal freeze and thaw of rivers that may lead to ice jams. Each of these hazards affects human settlements and has the potential to impact agricultural productivity. In each setting, end-users in disaster management need access to data processing tools helpful in mapping past and current disasters. Analysis of past events supports risk mitigation by understanding what has already occurred and how to alleviate those impacts in the future. Having capabilities to generate the same products in a response setting means that lessons learned from risk analysis will carry forward to event response. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data are particularly useful for these activities due to their all-weather 24/7 monitoring capabilities. In this effort we present HydroSAR, a cloud-based SAR data analysis service for the mapping of meteorological and hydrological disasters as well as their impact on population and agriculture. As part of this project we have developed a series of SAR-based value added products for the monitoring of surface hydrology (image time series, change detection, flood extent, flood depth) and the assessment of impacts on population (flood depth) and agriculture (active agriculture, inundated agriculture, flood duration). We also developed a cloud-based platform for generating these products over affected areas and are working with end-users to integrate derived product into decision-making workflows The paper will briefly introduce the SAR-based products that were developed for this effort. We describe the cloud-based production pipeline that was built to automatically generate these products in near-real time over extended regions. The integration of SAR-based information into hazard preparation and response activities is described for a number of recent disasters including the 2019 forest fires in Alaska, 2019 flooding in the U.S. Midwest, the 2020 U.S. severe weather easter outbreak, 2020 tropical storm Christobal, 2020 cyclone Amphan, 2020, Alaska Spring breakup flooding, and the 2020 flood season in Eastern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Franz Josef Meyer↗

NASA NTRS2007

Web-Based Software for Managing Research

aeroCOMPASS is a software system, originally designed to aid in the management of wind tunnels at Langley Research Center, that could be adapted to provide similar aid to other enterprises in which research is performed in common laboratory facilities by users who may be geographically dispersed. Included in aeroCOMPASS is Web-interface software that provides a single, convenient portal to a set of project- and test-related software tools and other application programs. The heart of aeroCOMPASS is a user-oriented document-management software subsystem that enables geographically dispersed users to easily share and manage a variety of documents. A principle of "write once, read many" is implemented throughout aeroCOMPASS to eliminate the need for multiple entry of the same information. The Web framework of aeroCOMPASS provides links to client-side application programs that are fully integrated with databases and server-side application programs. Other subsystems of aeroCOMPASS include ones for reserving hardware, tracking of requests and feedback from users, generating interactive notes, administration of a customer-satisfaction questionnaire, managing execution of tests, managing archives of metadata about tests, planning tests, and providing online help and instruction for users.

Computer software and hardware↗

NASA NTRS2019

NASA GES DISC's Customized Services for Climatology and Meteorology

At the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Service Center (DISC), we have archived and distributed more than 2,400 Earth science data products, from different missions or projects containing more than 100 M data files/granules with a total volume size nearly 2 PB that broadly serve user needs in science areas such as Atmospheric Composition, Water & Energy Cycles and Climate Variability. To date, GES DISC has developed many pertinent services to facilitate the usage of data products by our research communities, represented by approximately 24,000 registered users. We are facing the big data with increasingly archival volume and data types, moreover, we also encounter increasing users' demands and the demands are more diversified. It is still a challenge for us to better understand exactly what our users' needs are, even after developing more than 70 services, including well-known online tools such as Giovanni and MERRA subsetter. In this presentation, we will try to address how we can accommodate the users' needs from two applicational user communities, Air Quality and Wind Energy, from data or service discovery to guide them properly utilize the data and services to fit their needs.

customizable services for climate and meteorology↗

NASA NTRS2010

Incorporating User Preferences Within an Optimal Traffic Flow Management Framework

The effectiveness of future decision support tools for Traffic Flow Management in the National Airspace System will depend on two major factors: computational burden and collaboration. Previous research has focused separately on these two aspects without consideration of their interaction. In this paper, their explicit combination is examined. It is shown that when user preferences are incorporated with an optimal approach to scheduling, runtime is not adversely affected. A benefit-cost ratio is used to measure the influence of user preferences on an optimal solution. This metric shows user preferences can be accommodated without inordinately, negatively affecting the overall system delay. Specifically, incorporating user preferences will increase delays proportionally to increased user satisfaction.

Rios, Joseph Lucio↗

NASA NTRS1995

WISE: Automated support for software project management and measurement

One important aspect of software development and IV&V is measurement. Unless a software development effort is measured in some way, it is difficult to judge the effectiveness of current efforts and predict future performances. Collection of metrics and adherence to a process are difficult tasks in a software project. Change activity is a powerful indicator of project status. Automated systems that can handle change requests, issues, and other process documents provide an excellent platform for tracking the status of the project. A World Wide Web based architecture is developed for (a) making metrics collection an implicit part of the software process, (b) providing metric analysis dynamically, (c) supporting automated tools that can complement current practices of in-process improvement, and (d) overcoming geographical barrier. An operational system (WISE) instantiates this architecture allowing for the improvement of software process in a realistic environment. The tool tracks issues in software development process, provides informal communication between the users with different roles, supports to-do lists (TDL), and helps in software process improvement. WISE minimizes the time devoted to metrics collection, analysis, and captures software change data. Automated tools like WISE focus on understanding and managing the software process. The goal is improvement through measurement.

Ramakrishnan, Sudhakar↗

NASA NTRS2017

Real Time Metrics and Analysis of Integrated Arrival, Departure, and Surface Operations

A real time dashboard was developed in order to inform and present users notifications and integrated information regarding airport surface operations. The dashboard is a supplement to capabilities and tools that incorporate arrival, departure, and surface air-traffic operations concepts in a NextGen environment. As trajectory-based departure scheduling and collaborative decision making tools are introduced in order to reduce delays and uncertainties in taxi and climb operations across the National Airspace System, users across a number of roles benefit from a real time system that enables common situational awareness. In addition to shared situational awareness the dashboard offers the ability to compute real time metrics and analysis to inform users about capacity, predictability, and efficiency of the system as a whole. This paper describes the architecture of the real time dashboard as well as an initial set of metrics computed on operational data. The potential impact of the real time dashboard is studied at the site identified for initial deployment and demonstration in 2017; Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Analysis and metrics computed in real time illustrate the opportunity to provide common situational awareness and inform users of metrics across delay, throughput, taxi time, and airport capacity. In addition, common awareness of delays and the impact of takeoff and departure restrictions stemming from traffic flow management initiatives are explored. The potential of the real time tool to inform the predictability and efficiency of using a trajectory-based departure scheduling system is also discussed.

integrated arrival departure surface operations↗

NASA NTRS2015

Combined Global Navigation Satellite Systems in the Space Service Volume

Besides providing position, navigation, and timing (PNT) services to traditional terrestrial and airborne users, GPS is also being increasingly used as a tool to enable precision orbit determination, precise time synchronization, real-time spacecraft navigation, and three-axis attitude control of Earth orbiting satellites. With additional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations being replenished and coming into service (GLONASS, Beidou, and Galileo), it will become possible to benefit from greater signal availability and robustness by using evolving multi-constellation receivers. The paper, "GPS in the Space Service Volume," presented at the ION GNSS 19th International Technical Meeting in 2006 (Ref. 1), defined the Space Service Volume, and analyzed the performance of GPS out to seventy thousand kilometers. This paper will report a similar analysis of the signal coverage of GPS in the space domain; however, the analyses will also consider signal coverage from each of the additional GNSS constellations noted earlier to specifically demonstrate the expected benefits to be derived from using GPS in conjunction with other foreign systems. The Space Service Volume is formally defined as the volume of space between three thousand kilometers altitude and geosynchronous altitude circa 36,000 km, as compared with the Terrestrial Service Volume between 3,000 km and the surface of the Earth. In the Terrestrial Service Volume, GNSS performance is the same as on or near the Earth's surface due to satellite vehicle availability and geometry similarities. The core GPS system has thereby established signal requirements for the Space Service Volume as part of technical Capability Development Documentation (CDD) that specifies system performance. Besides the technical discussion, we also present diplomatic efforts to extend the GPS Space Service Volume concept to other PNT service providers in an effort to assure that all space users will benefit from the enhanced interoperability of GNSS services in the space domain. A separate paper presented at the conference covers the individual GNSS performance parameters for respective Space Service Volumes.

navigation satellites↗