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NASA NTRS2008

Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Testing of Manned Spacecraft: Historical Precedent

For the first time in nearly 30 years, NASA is developing a new manned space flight launch system. The Ares I will carry crew and cargo to not only the International Space Station, but onward for the future exploration of the Moon and Mars. The Ares I control system and structural designs use complex computer models for their development. An Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Test (IVGVT) will validate the efficacy of these computer models. The IVGVT will reduce the technical risk of unexpected conditions that could place the vehicle or crew in jeopardy. The Ares Project Office's Flight and Integrated Test Office commissioned a study to determine how historical programs, such as Saturn and Space Shuttle, validated the structural dynamics of an integrated flight vehicle. The study methodology was to examine the historical record and seek out members of the engineering community who recall the development of historic manned launch vehicles. These records and interviews provided insight into the best practices and lessons learned from these historic development programs. The information that was gathered allowed the creation of timelines of the historic development programs. The timelines trace the programs from the development of test articles through test preparation, test operations, and test data reduction efforts. These timelines also demonstrate how the historical tests fit within their overall vehicle development programs. Finally, the study was able to quantify approximate staffing levels during historic development programs. Using this study, the Flight and Integrated Test Office was able to evaluate the Ares I Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Test schedule and workforce budgets in light of the historical precedents to determine if the test had schedule or cost risks associated with it.

Lemke, Paul R.↗
NASA NTRS2009

American Meteorological Society (AMS) - The Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) Data and Accessibility

The AM Short Course on The Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data and accessibility will be held on January 11, 2009 preceding the 89th Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site in mid-September 2008. Retrospective-analyses (or reanalyses) have been established as an important tool in weather and climate research over the last decade. As computer power increases, the data assimilation and modeling systems improve and become more advanced, the input data quality increases and so reanalyses become more reliable. In 2008, NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office began producing a new reanalysis called the Modem Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). The initial data from the reanalysis has been made available to the community and should be complete through 30 years (1979-present) by Fall of 2009. MERRA has taken advantage of the advancement of computing resources to provide users more data than previously available. The native spatial resolution is nominally 1/2 degrees and the surface two dimensional data are one hourly frequency. In addition to the meteorological analysis data, complete mass, energy and momentum budget data and also stratospheric data are provided. The eventual data holdings will exceed 150Tb. In order to facilitate user accessibility to the data, it will be stored in online hard drives (not tape storage) and available through several portals. Subsetting tools will also be available to allow users to tailor their data requests. The goals of this short course are to provide hands on users of reanalyses instruction on MERRA systems and also interactive experience with the online data and access tools. The course is intended for students and research scientists who will be actively interested in accessing and applying MERRA data in their weather, climate or applications work. The course has three parts. There will be an overview of the MERRA system, the validation of the system and the native data format. Second, Instructors will provide examples of weather and climate data analysis using various software packages (primarily GrADS) as well as the online access tools for subsetting and download, as well as visualization (e.g. Giovanni and Google Earth). This will also include examples on changing the data format to fit user's preferences and also to regrid the data for comparisons to other reanalyses and observational data. Lastly, there will he time set aside for participants to have hands on access to the data and software while interacting with the instructors and other developers. The course convener is Dr. Michael Bosilovich, NASA GSFC Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). He will be joined by several GMAO, Goddard Earth Science Data and information Services Center (GES DISC) and Software Integration and Visualization Office (SIVO) staff.

daSilva, Arlindo↗
NASA NTRS2009

The North Alabama Lightning Warning Product

The North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array NALMA has been collecting total lightning data on storms in the Tennessee Valley region since 2001. Forecasters from nearby National Weather Service (NWS) offices have been ingesting this data for display with other AWIPS products. The current lightning product used by the offices is the lightning source density plot. The new product provides a probabalistic, short-term, graphical forecast of the probability of lightning activity occurring at 5 min intervals over the next 30 minutes . One of the uses of the current lightning source density product by the Huntsville National Weather Service Office is to identify areas of potential for cloud-to-ground flashes based on where LMA total lightning is occurring. This product quantifies that observation. The Lightning Warning Product is derived from total lightning observations from the Washington, D.C. (DCLMA) and North Alabama Lightning Mapping Arrays and cloud-to-ground lightning flashes detected by the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN). Probability predictions are provided for both intracloud and cloud-to-ground flashes. The gridded product can be displayed on AWIPS workstations in a manner similar to that of the lightning source density product.

Buechler, Dennis E.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Marshall Space Flight Center Engineering Directorate Overview: Launching the Future of Science and Exploration

The Marshall Small Business Association (MSBA) serves as a central point of contact to inform and educate small businesses interested in pursuing contracting and subcontracting opportunities at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The MSBA meets quarterly to provide industry with information about how to do business with Marshall and to share specific information about Marshall s mission, which allows private businesses to envision how they might contribute. For the February 19 meeting, the Engineering Directorate will give an overview of its unique capabilities and how it is organized to provide maximum support for the programs and projects resident at Marshall, for example, the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office, Ares Projects Office, and Science and Mission Systems Office. This briefing provides a top-level summary of the work conducted by Marshall s largest organization, while explaining how resources are deployed to perform the volume of work under Marshall s purview.

Miley, Steven C.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Data Collected During the Post-Flight Survey of Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris Impact Features on the Hubble Wide Field Planetary Camera 2

Over a period of five weeks during the summer of 2009, personnel from the NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office and Meteoroid Environment Office performed a post-flight examination of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC-2) radiator. The objective was to record details about all micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) impact features with diameters of 300 micron and larger. The WFPC-2 was located in a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Using a digital microscope, the team examined and recorded position, diameter, and depth information for each of 685 craters. Taking advantage of the digital microscope's data storage and analysis features, the actual measurements were extracted later from the recorded images, in an office environment at the Johnson Space Center. Measurements of the crater include depth and diameter. The depth was measured from the undisturbed paint surface to the deepest point within the crater. Where features penetrate into the metal, both the depth in metal and the paint thickness were measured. In anticipation of hypervelocity tests and simulations, several diameter measurements were taken: the spall area, the area of any bare metal, the area of any discolored ("burned") metal, and the lips of the central crater. In the largest craters, the diameter of the crater at the surface of the metal was also measured. The location of each crater was recorded at the time of inspection. This paper presents the methods and results of the crater measurement effort, including the size and spatial distributions of the impact features. This effort will be followed by taking the same measurements from hypervelocity impact targets simulating the WFPC-2 radiator. Both data sets, combined with hydrocode simulation, will help validate or improve the MMOD environment in low Earth orbit.

Opiela, J. N.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Ares I-X Flight Data Evaluation: Executive Overview

NASA's Constellation Program (CxP) successfully launched the Ares I-X flight test vehicle on October 28, 2009. The Ares I-X flight was a developmental flight test to demonstrate that this very large, long, and slender vehicle could be controlled successfully. The flight offered a unique opportunity for early engineering data to influence the design and development of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. As the primary customer for flight data from the Ares I-X mission, the Ares Projects Office (APO) established a set of 33 flight evaluation tasks to correlate flight results with prospective design assumptions and models. The flight evaluation tasks used Ares I-X data to partially validate tools and methodologies in technical disciplines that will ultimately influence the design and development of Ares I and future launch vehicles. Included within these tasks were direct comparisons of flight data with preflight predictions and post-flight assessments utilizing models and processes being applied to design and develop Ares I. The benefits of early development flight testing were made evident by results from these flight evaluation tasks. This overview provides summary information from assessment of the Ares I-X flight test data and represents a small subset of the detailed technical results. The Ares Projects Office published a 1,600-plus-page detailed technical report that documents the full set of results. This detailed report is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and is available in the Ares Projects Office archives files.

Huebner, Lawrence D.↗
NASA NTRS2011

NASA Technology Demonstrations Missions Program Overview

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) budget introduced a new strategic plan that placed renewed emphasis on advanced missions beyond Earth orbit. This supports NASA s 2011 strategic goal to create innovative new space technologies for our exploration, science, and economic future. As a result of this focus on undertaking many and more complex missions, NASA placed its attention on a greater investment in technology development, and this shift resulted in the establishment of the Technology Demonstrations Missions (TDM) Program. The TDM Program, within the newly formed NASA Office of the Chief Technologist, supports NASA s grand challenges by providing a steady cadence of advanced space technology demonstrations (Figure 1), allowing the infusion of flexible path capabilities for future exploration. The TDM Program's goal is to mature crosscutting capabilities to flight readiness in support of multiple future space missions, including flight test projects where demonstration is needed before the capability can transition to direct mission The TDM Program has several unique criteria that set it apart from other NASA program offices. For instance, the TDM Office matures a small number of technologies that are of benefit to multiple customers to flight technology readiness level (TRL) 6 through relevant environment testing on a 3-year development schedule. These technologies must be crosscutting, which is defined as technology with potential to benefit multiple mission directorates, other government agencies, or the aerospace industry, and they must capture significant public interest and awareness. These projects will rely heavily on industry partner collaboration, and funding is capped for all elements of the flight test demonstration including planning, hardware development, software development, launch costs, ground operations, and post-test assessments. In order to inspire collaboration across government and industry, more than 70% of the TDM funds will be competitively awarded as a result of yearly calls for proposed flight demonstrators and selected based on possible payoff to NASA, technology maturity, customer interest, cost, and technical risk reduction. This paper will give an overview of the TDM Program s mission and organization, as well as its current status in delivering advanced space technologies that will enable more flexible and robust future missions. It also will provide several examples of missions that fit within these parameters and expected outcomes.

Turner, Susan↗
NASA NTRS2011

Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Interim Report

The New Worlds, New Horizons (NWNH) in Astronomy and Astrophysics 2010 Decadal Survey prioritized the community consensus for ground-based and space-based observatories. Recognizing that many of the community s key questions could be answered with a wide-field infrared survey telescope in space, and that the decade would be one of budget austerity, WFIRST was top ranked in the large space mission category. In addition to the powerful new science that could be accomplished with a wide-field infrared telescope, the WFIRST mission was determined to be both technologically ready and only a small fraction of the cost of previous flagship missions, such as HST or JWST. In response to the top ranking by the community, NASA formed the WFIRST Science Definition Team (SDT) and Project Office. The SDT was charged with fleshing out the NWNH scientific requirements to a greater level of detail. NWNH evaluated the risk and cost of the JDEM-Omega mission design, as submitted by NASA, and stated that it should serve as the basis for the WFIRST mission. The SDT and Project Office were charged with developing a mission optimized for achieving the science goals laid out by the NWNH re-port. The SDT and Project Office opted to use the JDEM-Omega hardware configuration as an initial start-ing point for the hardware implementation. JDEM-Omega and WFIRST both have an infrared imager with a filter wheel, as well as counter-dispersed moderate resolution spectrometers. The primary advantage of space observations is being above the Earth's atmosphere, which absorbs, scatters, warps and emits light. Observing from above the atmosphere enables WFIRST to obtain precision infrared measurements of the shapes of galaxies for weak lensing, infrared light-curves of supernovae and exoplanet microlensing events with low systematic errors, and infrared measurements of the H hydrogen line to be cleanly detected in the 1<z<2 redshift range important for baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) dark energy measurements. The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), Herschel, Spitzer, and Wide-field Infrared Sur-vey Explorer (WISE) are all space missions that have produced stunning new scientific advances by going to space to observe in the infrared. This interim report describes progress as of June 2011 on developing a requirements flowdown and an evaluation of scientific performance. An Interim Design Reference Mission (IDRM) configuration is presented that is based on the specifications of NWNH with some refinements to optimize the design in accordance with the new scientific requirements. Analysis of this WFIRST IDRM concept is in progress to ensure the capability of the observatory is compatible with the science requirements. The SDT and Project will continue to refine the mission concept over the coming year as design, analysis and simulation work are completed, resulting in the SDT s WFIRST Design Reference Mission (DRM) by the end of 2012.

Green, J.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Comparison of Four Precipitation Forcing Datasets in Land Information System Simulations over the Continental U.S.

This paper and poster presented a description of the current real-time SPoRT-LIS run over the southeastern CONUS to provide high-resolution, land surface initialization grids for local numerical model forecasts at NWS forecast offices. The LIS hourly output also offers a supplemental dataset to aid in situational awareness for convective initiation forecasts, assessing flood potential, and monitoring drought at fine scales. It is a goal of SPoRT and several NWS forecast offices to expand the LIS to an entire CONUS domain, so that LIS output can be utilized by NWS Western Region offices, among others. To make this expansion cleanly so as to provide high-quality land surface output, SPoRT tested new precipitation datasets in LIS as an alternative forcing dataset to the current radar+gauge Stage IV product. Similar to the Stage IV product, the NMQ product showed comparable patterns of precipitation and soil moisture distribution, but suffered from radar gaps in the intermountain West, and incorrectly set values to zero instead of missing in the data-void regions of Mexico and Canada. The other dataset tested was the next-generation GOES-R QPE algorithm, which experienced a high bias in both coverage and intensity of accumulated precipitation relative to the control (NLDAS2), Stage IV, and NMQ simulations. The resulting root zone soil moisture was substantially higher in most areas.

Case, Jonathan L.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Atmospheric Research 2012 Technical Highlights

This annual report, as before, is intended for a broad audience. Our readers include colleagues within NASA, scientists outside the Agency, science graduate students, and members of the general public. Inside are descriptions of atmospheric research science highlights and summaries of our education and outreach accomplishments for calendar year 2012.The report covers research activities from the Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Laboratory, the Climate and Radiation Laboratory, the Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, and the Wallops Field Support Office under the Office of Deputy Director for Atmospheres, Earth Sciences Division in the Sciences and Exploration Directorate of NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center. The overall mission of the office is advancing knowledge and understanding of the Earths atmosphere. Satellite missions, field campaigns, peer-reviewed publications, and successful proposals are essential to our continuing research.

Climate↗
NASA NTRS2014

Ames Life Science Data Archive: Translational Rodent Research at Ames

The Life Science Data Archive (LSDA) office at Ames is responsible for collecting, curating, distributing and maintaining information pertaining to animal and plant experiments conducted in low earth orbit aboard various space vehicles from 1965 to present. The LSDA will soon be archiving data and tissues samples collected on the next generation of commercial vehicles; e.g., SpaceX & Cygnus Commercial Cargo Craft. To date over 375 rodent flight experiments with translational application have been archived by the Ames LSDA office. This knowledge base of fundamental research can be used to understand mechanisms that affect higher organisms in microgravity and help define additional research whose results could lead the way to closing gaps identified by the Human Research Program (HRP). This poster will highlight Ames contribution to the existing knowledge base and how the LSDA can be a resource to help answer the questions surrounding human health in long duration space exploration. In addition, it will illustrate how this body of knowledge was utilized to further our understanding of how space flight affects the human system and the ability to develop countermeasures that negate the deleterious effects of space flight. The Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA) includes current descriptions of over 700 experiments conducted aboard the Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS), NASA/MIR, Bion/Cosmos, Gemini, Biosatellites, Apollo, Skylab, Russian Foton, and ground bed rest studies. Research areas cover Behavior and Performance, Bone and Calcium Physiology, Cardiovascular Physiology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Chronobiology, Developmental Biology, Endocrinology, Environmental Monitoring, Gastrointestinal Physiology, Hematology, Immunology, Life Support System, Metabolism and Nutrition, Microbiology, Muscle Physiology, Neurophysiology, Pharmacology, Plant Biology, Pulmonary Physiology, Radiation Biology, Renal, Fluid and Electrolyte Physiology, and Toxicology. These experiment descriptions and data can be accessed online via the public LSDA website (http://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov) and information can be requested via the Data Request form at http://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/common/dataRequest/dataRequest.aspx or by contacting the ALSDA Office at: Alison.J.French@nasa.gov

Life Sciences↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA's Astromaterials Database: Enabling Research Through Increased Access to Sample Data, Metadata and Imagery

The Astromaterials Acquisition & Curation Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the designated facility for curating all of NASA's extraterrestrial samples. Today, the suite of collections includes the lunar samples from the Apollo missions, cosmic dust particles falling into the Earth's atmosphere, meteorites collected in Antarctica, comet and interstellar dust particles from the Stardust mission, asteroid particles from Japan's Hayabusa mission, solar wind atoms collected during the Genesis mission, and space‐exposed hardware from several missions. To support planetary science research on these samples, JSC's Astromaterials Curation Office hosts NASA's Astromaterials Curation digital repository and data access portal [http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/], providing descriptions of the missions and collections, and critical information about each individual sample. Our office is designing and implementing several informatics initiatives to better serve the planetary research community. First, we are re‐hosting the basic database framework by consolidating legacy databases for individual collections and providing a uniform access point for information (descriptions, imagery, classification) on all of our samples. Second, we continue to upgrade and host digital compendia that summarize and highlight published findings on the samples (e.g., lunar samples, meteorites from Mars). We host high resolution imagery of samples as it becomes available, including newly scanned images of historical prints from the Apollo missions. Finally we are creating plans to collect and provide new data, including 3D imagery, point cloud data, micro CT data, and external links to other data sets on selected samples. Together, these individual efforts will provide unprecedented digital access to NASA's Astromaterials, enabling preservation of the samples through more specific and targeted requests, and supporting new planetary science research and collaborations on the samples.

Evans, Cindy↗
NASA NTRS2014

Assessing the Utility of 3-km Land Information System Soil Moisture Data for Drought Monitoring and Hydrologic Applications

The NASA Short term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center in Huntsville, AL has been running a real-time configuration of the Noah land surface model within the NASA Land Information System (LIS) since June 2010. The SPoRT LIS version is run as a stand-alone land surface model over a Southeast Continental U.S. domain with 3-km grid spacing. The LIS contains output variables including soil moisture and temperature at various depths, skin temperature, surface heat fluxes, storm surface runoff, and green vegetation fraction (GVF). The GVF represents another real-time SPoRT product, which is derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites. These data have demonstrated operational utility for drought monitoring and hydrologic applications at the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Huntsville, AL since early 2011. The most relevant data for these applications have proven to be the moisture availability (%) in the 0-10 cm and 0-200 cm layers, and the volumetric soil moisture (%) in the 0-10 cm layer. In an effort to better understand their applicability among locations with different terrain, soil and vegetation types, SPoRT is conducting the first formal assessment of these data at NWS offices in Houston, TX, Huntsville, AL and Raleigh, NC during summer 2014. The goal of this assessment is to evaluate the LIS output in the context of assessing flood risk and determining drought designations for the U.S. Drought Monitor. Forecasters will provide formal feedback via a survey question web portal, in addition to the NASA SPoRT blog. In this presentation, the SPoRT LIS and its applications at NWS offices will be presented, along with information about the summer assessment, including training module development and preliminary results.

White, Kristopher D.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Expanding the Operational Use of Total Lightning Ahead of GOES-R

NASA's Short‐term Prediction Research and Transition Center (SPoRT) has been transitioning real‐time total lightning observations from ground‐based lightning mapping arrays since 2003. This initial effort was with the local Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) that could use the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array (NALMA). These early collaborations established a strong interest in the use of total lightning for WFO operations. In particular the focus started with warning decision support, but has since expanded to include impact‐based decision support and lightning safety. SPoRT has used its experience to establish connections with new lightning mapping arrays as they become available. The GOES‐R / JPSS Visiting Scientist Program has enabled SPoRT to conduct visits to new partners and expand the number of operational users with access to total lightning observations. In early 2014, SPoRT conducted the most recent visiting scientist trips to meet with forecast offices that will used the Colorado, Houston, and Langmuir Lab (New Mexico) lightning mapping arrays. In addition, SPoRT met with the corresponding Center Weather Service Units (CWSUs) to expand collaborations with the aviation community. These visits were an opportunity to learn about the forecast needs of each office visited as well as to provide on‐site training for the use of total lightning, setting the stage for a real‐time assessment during May‐July 2014. With five lightning mapping arrays covering multiple geographic locations, the 2014 assessment has demonstrated numerous uses of total lightning in varying situations. Several highlights include a much broader use of total lightning for impact‐based decision support ranging from airport weather warnings, supporting fire crews, and protecting large outdoor events. The inclusion of the CWSUs has broadened the operational scope of total lightning, demonstrating how these data can support air traffic management, particularly in the Terminal Radar Approach Control Facilities (TRACON) region around an airport. These collaborations continue to demonstrate, from the operational perspective, the utility of total lightning and the importance of continued training and preparation in advance of the Geostationary Lightning Mapper.

GLM↗
NASA NTRS2015

The Evolution of On-Board Emergency Training for the International Space Station Crew

The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) receives extensive ground‐training in order to safely and effectively respond to any potential emergency event while on‐orbit, but few people realize that their training is not concluded when they launch into space. The evolution of the emergency On‐ Board Training events (OBTs) has recently moved from paper "scripts" to an intranet‐based software simulation that allows for the crew, as well as the flight control teams in Mission Control Centers across the world, to share in an improved and more realistic training event. This emergency OBT simulator ensures that the participants experience the training event as it unfolds, completely unaware of the type, location, or severity of the simulated emergency until the scenario begins. The crew interfaces with the simulation software via iPads that they keep with them as they translate through the ISS modules, receiving prompts and information as they proceed through the response. Personnel in the control centers bring up the simulation via an intranet browser at their console workstations, and can view additional telemetry signatures in simulated ground displays in order to assist the crew and communicate vital information to them as applicable. The Chief Training Officers and emergency instructors set the simulation in motion, choosing the type of emergency (rapid depressurization, fire, or toxic atmosphere) and specific initial conditions to emphasize the desired training objectives. Project development, testing, and implementation was a collaborative effort between ISS emergency instructors, Chief Training Officers, Flight Directors, and the Crew Office using commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware along with simulation software created in‐house. Due to the success of the Emergency OBT simulator, the already‐developed software has been leveraged and repurposed to develop a new emulator used during fire response ground‐training to deliver data that the crew receives from the handheld Compound Specific Analyzer for Combustion Products (CSA‐CP). This CSA‐CP emulator makes use of a portion of codebase from the Emergency OBT simulator dealing with atmospheric contamination during fire scenarios, and feeds various data signatures to crew via an iPod Touch with a flight‐like CSA‐CP display. These innovative simulations, which make use of COTS hardware with custom in‐house software, have yielded drastic improvements to emergency training effectiveness and risk reduction for ISS crew and flight control teams during on‐orbit and ground training events.

LaBuff, Skyler↗
NASA NTRS2014

Clearance Analysis of Node 3 Aft CBM to the Stowed FGB Solar Array

In early 2011, the ISS Vehicle Configuration Office began considering the relocation of the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) to the aft facing Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) on Node 3 to open a berthing location for visiting vehicles on the Node 1 nadir CBM. In this position, computer-aided design (CAD) models indicated that the aft end of the PMM would be only a few inches from the stowed Functional Cargo Block (FGB) port solar array. To validate the CAD model clearance analysis, in the late summer of 2011 the Image Science and Analysis Group (ISAG) was asked to determine the true geometric relationship between the on-orbit aft facing Node 3 CBM and the FGB port solar array. The desired measurements could be computed easily by photogrammetric analysis if current imagery of the ISS hardware were obtained. Beginning in the fall of 2011, ISAG used the Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) program to design a way to acquire imagery of the aft face of Node 3, the aft end-cone of Node 1, the port side of pressurized mating adapter 1 (PMA1), and the port side of the FGB out to the tip of the port solar array using cameras on the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS). This was complicated by the need to thread the SSRMS under the truss, past Node 3 and the Cupola, and into the space between the aft side of Node 3 and the FGB solar array to acquire more than 100 images from multiple positions. To minimize the number of SSRMS movements, the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) would be attached to the SSRMS. This would make it possible to park the SPDM in one position and acquire multiple images by changing the viewing orientation of the SPDM body cameras using the pan/tilt units on which the cameras are mounted. Using this implementation concept, ISAG identified four SSRMS/SPDM positions from which all of the needed imagery could be acquired. Based on a photogrammetric simulation, it was estimated that the location of the FGB solar array could be measured within an accuracy of about 1 in. in each axis relative to the ISS Analysis Coordinate System (ISSACS). In October 2011, a proposed image-acquisition plan was drafted by ISAG and released for review. The ISS Robotics flight control team (ROBO) proposed minor changes to SPDM positions 1 and 4 to meet ISS proximity requirements. The updated image acquisition plan and draft chit were presented to and approved by the Systems Working Group (SWG) November 18 and were sent to the Vehicle Configuration Board (VCB) in early December 2011. Working with ROBO on 3 successive days (February 21, 22, and 23), ISAG collected 161 images of the ISS. Approximately 40 images were collected from each of the four different SSRMS/SPDM positions, with each set mapping the region from the Node 3 end cone, across Node 1, along the forward port side portion of the FGB, and out the port side FGB solar arrays. From this imagery, the best 80 images were selected for use in the analysis. The images were radiometrically enhanced to improve color and contrast and loaded into the FotoG analysis software along with the camera parameters and control data, which consisted of the coordinates for 54 handrail attachment bolts on the aft face of Node 3, in the ISSACS coordinate system. The results of this analysis produced the measured coordinates of 116 points distributed across the face of the FGB solar array panels (see figure 3) along with propagated uncertainty estimates in each coordinate axis. These results were sent to the ISS Vehicle Configuration Office, which sent them to the Configuration Analysis Modeling and Mass Properties (CAMMP) team for comparison with the Russian-provided CAD model for the retracted FGB solar arrays. The CAMMP analysis unexpectedly showed that the measured location of the port FGB solar array was up to 41-in. further outboard than the design and was slightly twisted about its rotational axis. The unexpected comparison results produced some initial concern regarding the accuracy of the photogrammetric measurements. To verify the measured results, ISAG personnel conducted a second analysis using just the imagery of the solar arrays in an arbitrary coordinate system defined by the three corner points of the inboard-most panel, with the design distance between points A1 and A10 as the only scale. The new measurements agreed with the original results to within less than 1 in. RMS in each axis, confirming the original solar array measurements. ISAG produced a final report for the ISS Vehicle Configuration Office documenting an apparent anomaly in the retracted configuration of the port FGB solar arrays. A copy of the measurement report was translated and sent to the Russian Space Agency. During a Vehicle Integrated Performance and Resources (VIPeR) teleconference September 24, 2012, the Russians acknowledged receipt of a translated copy of the ISAG report. The Russian representative stated that the head of the solar array design team claimed that the measured configuration was impossible unless the structure was physically broken. The Russians acknowledged that they had no expertise in photogrammetry, so the analysis technique employed was a "black box" to them, and they did not know how to use the ISAG results. They asked for a single image in which the overextension of the port solar array could be obviously seen. On November 10, 2012, during a face-to-face meeting with their Russian counterparts at JSC, ISAG presented nadir-view imagery of the FGB acquired during Space Shuttle rendezvous. Using the known width of the pressurized portion of the FGB as a scale, this analysis clearly showed that the port FGB solar array was extended outboard further than the Russian design for the retracted solar array.

Liddle, Donn↗
NASA NTRS2015

Improving the Discoverability and Availability of Sample Data and Imagery in NASA's Astromaterials Curation Digital Repository Using a New Common Architecture for Sample Databases

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the designated facility for curating all of NASA's extraterrestrial samples. The suite of collections includes the lunar samples from the Apollo missions, cosmic dust particles falling into the Earth's atmosphere, meteorites collected in Antarctica, comet and interstellar dust particles from the Stardust mission, asteroid particles from the Japanese Hayabusa mission, and solar wind atoms collected during the Genesis mission. To support planetary science research on these samples, NASA's Astromaterials Curation Office hosts the Astromaterials Curation Digital Repository, which provides descriptions of the missions and collections, and critical information about each individual sample. Our office is implementing several informatics initiatives with the goal of better serving the planetary research community. One of these initiatives aims to increase the availability and discoverability of sample data and images through the use of a newly designed common architecture for Astromaterials Curation databases.

Todd, N. S.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Space Technology Mission Directorate Game Changing Development Program FY2015 Annual Program Review: Advanced Manufacturing Technology

The Advance Manufacturing Technology (AMT) Project supports multiple activities within the Administration's National Manufacturing Initiative. A key component of the Initiative is the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO), which includes participation from all federal agencies involved in U.S. manufacturing. In support of the AMNPO the AMT Project supports building and Growing the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation through a public-private partnership designed to help the industrial community accelerate manufacturing innovation. Integration with other projects/programs and partnerships: STMD (Space Technology Mission Directorate), HEOMD, other Centers; Industry, Academia; OGA's (e.g., DOD, DOE, DOC, USDA, NASA, NSF); Office of Science and Technology Policy, NIST Advanced Manufacturing Program Office; Generate insight within NASA and cross-agency for technology development priorities and investments. Technology Infusion Plan: PC; Potential customer infusion (TDM, HEOMD, SMD, OGA, Industry); Leverage; Collaborate with other Agencies, Industry and Academia; NASA roadmap. Initiatives include: Advanced Near Net Shape Technology Integrally Stiffened Cylinder Process Development (launch vehicles, sounding rockets); Materials Genome; Low Cost Upper Stage-Class Propulsion; Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement (ACME); National Center for Advanced Manufacturing.

Vickers, John↗