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

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Particle/Ray Interaction Simulation Manager (PRISM) Assessment Report

The Particle/Ray Interaction Simulation Manager (PRISM) is a software tool developed by Triple Ring Technologies (TRT), http://www.tripleringtech.com/, under a Small Business Innovation Research Award from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to investigate the utility of simulations in X-ray-based explosive detection systems. The PRISM tool is intended to provide a standardized and intuitive user interface to control and configure realistic simulations of X-ray imaging systems. It includes a command-line interface that enables the user to configure simulated X-ray radiography and computed tomography (CT) systems. It allows the import of computer-aided design (CAD) models of objects and it supports Monte Carlo simulation engines such as GEANT4. PRISM is designed to simulate realistic X-ray projection images including scatter, noise, and various detector effects such as quantum efficiency, lag, and veiling glare. At the request of DHS, the authors assessed PRISM’s capabilities to simulate data generated by a Micro-CT test-bed system (MCT-TB) housed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This document describes the results of that assessment.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Control Board Digital Interface Input Devices – Touchscreen, Trackpad, or Mouse?

The authors collaborated with a power utility to evaluate input devices for use in the human system interface (HSI) for a new digital Turbine Control System (TCS) at a nuclear power plant (NPP) undergoing a TCS upgrade. A standalone dynamic software simulation of the new digital TCS and a mobile kiosk were developed to conduct an input device study to evaluate operator preference and input device effectiveness. The TCS software presented the anticipated HSI for the TCS and mimicked (i.e., simulated) the turbine systems’ responses to operator commands. Twenty-four licensed operators from the two nuclear power units participated in the study. Three input devices were tested: a trackpad, mouse, and touchscreen. The subjective feedback from the survey indicates the operators preferred the touchscreen interface. The operators subjectively rated the touchscreen as the fastest and most comfortable input device given the range of tasks they performed during the study, but also noted a lack of accuracy for selecting small targets. The empirical data suggest the mouse input device provides the most consistent performance for screen navigation and manipulating on screen controls. The trackpad input device was both empirically and subjectively found to be the least effective and least desired input device.

control room modernization↗
NASA NTRS2008

XTCE and XML Database Evolution and Lessons from JWST, LandSat, and Constellation

The database organizations within three different NASA projects have advanced current practices by creating database synergy between the various spacecraft life cycle stakeholders and educating users in the benefits of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) XML Telemetry and Command Exchange (XTCE) format. The combination of XML for managing program data and CCSDS XTCE for exchange is a robust approach that will meet all user requirements using Standards and Non proprietary tools. COTS tools for XTCEKML are very wide and varied. To combine together various low cost and free tools can be more expensive in the long run than choosing a more expensive COTS tool that meets all the needs. This was especially important when deploying in 32 remote sites with no need for licenses. A common mission XTCEKML format between dissimilar systems is possible and is not difficult. Command XMLKTCE is more complex than telemetry and the use of XTCEKML metadata to describe pages and scripts is needed due to the proprietary nature of most current ground systems. Other mission and science products such as spacecraft loads, science image catalogs, and mission operation procedures can all be described with XML as well to increase there flexibility as systems evolve and change. Figure 10 is an example of a spacecraft table load. The word is out and the XTCE community is growing, The f ~ sXt TCE user group was held in October and in addition to ESAESOC, SC02000, and CNES identified several systems based on XTCE. The second XTCE user group is scheduled for March 10, 2008 with LDMC and others joining. As the experience with XTCE grows and the user community receives the promised benefits of using XTCE and XML the interest is growing fast.

Gal-Edd, Jonathan↗
NASA NTRS2020

Aerocapture as an Option for Ice Giants Mission

Aerocapture is an atmospheric maneuver where the aerodynamic forces of the vehicle (lift and drag) are used to provide the 𝞓V needed to slow down from the approach hyperbolic trajectory to achieve the desired captured orbit around the target planet. The aeroassist capture provides a large savings in propulsion needed to change the velocity of the vehicle, since aerodynamic forces rather than propulsive systems provide the change in velocity. Aerocapture requires an integrated system level design, including thermal protection systems, actuator systems for aerodynamic modulation, and guidance and control systems that can autonomously command the change in the aeroassist forces. Although aerocapture has been proposed for many situations in the past, including Mars, Venus, Titan, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune orbiters as well as for Earth demonstration missions, it has not been attempted on any missions. However, many studies in the past three decades that have considered aerocapture as a design option have concluded that there are large mass savings that come from using aeroassist forces rather than propulsive forces to put a spacecraft into a captured orbit. The benefits are destination dependent, but some of the largest mass savings occur for the Ice Giants planets. Due to the large hyperbolic velocities of interplanetary trajectories approaching Uranus and Neptune, large amount of propulsion must be used to put a spacecraft in science orbits around these planets. Aerocapture can reduce the propulsion needs by dissipating energy in the sizable atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune. NASA commissioned a detailed study analysis to quantify the benefits, if any, for use at Neptune. The study found that even having to provide a heat shield aerocapture could deliver 40% more payload than an all-propulsive vehicle, and also provides for a 3–4-year reduction in trip time. Mass savings are expected also at Uranus with an aerocapture mission. Additionally, more recent advances in thermal protection systems and guidance and control systems show a path to increase capabilities beyond those results. This paper will discuss the merits of including aerocapture as an option for an Ice Giants mission. The discussion will focus on the cost and mass savings of using aerocapture instead of propulsive burns for Ice Giants orbiter mission scenarios while also detailing a potential concept of operations and entry vehicle design. Finally, the talk will discuss more recent work that shows aerocapture design is possible without the development of any novel entry vehicle. Thus, aerocapture can significantly improve science capabilities for an Ice Giants mission.

Soumyo Dutta↗
NASA NTRS1994

Analysis of the longitudinal handling qualities and pilot-induced-oscillation tendencies of the High-Angle-of-Attack Research Vehicle (HARV)

The NASA High-Angle-of Attack Research Vehicle (HARV), a modified F-18 aircraft, experienced handling qualities problems in recent flight tests at NASA Dryden Research Center. Foremost in these problems was the tendency of the pilot-aircraft system to exhibit a potentially dangerous phenomenon known as a pilot-induced oscillation (PIO). When they occur, PIO's can severely restrict performance, sharply dimish mission capabilities, and can even result in aircraft loss. A pilot/vehicle analysis was undertaken with the goal of reducing these PIO tendencies and improving the overall vehicle handling qualities with as few changes as possible to the existing feedback/feedforward flight control laws. Utilizing a pair of analytical pilot models developed by the author, a pilot/vehicle analysis of the existing longitudinal flight control system was undertaken. The analysis included prediction of overall handling qualities levels and PIO susceptability. The analysis indicated that improvement in the flight control system was warranted and led to the formulation of a simple control stick command shaping filter. Analysis of the pilot/vehicle system with the shaping filter indicated significant improvements in handling qualities and PIO tendencies could be achieved. A non-real time simulation of the modified control system was undertaken with a realistic, nonlinear model of the current HARV. Special emphasis was placed upon those details of the command filter implementation which could effect safety of flight. The modified system is currently awaiting evaluation in the real-time, pilot-in-the-loop, Dual-Maneuvering-Simulator (DMS) facility at Langley.

Hess, Ronald A.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Image selection system

An image selection (ISS) was developed for the NASA-Ames Research Center Earth Resources Aircraft Project. The ISS is an interactive, graphics oriented, computer retrieval system for aerial imagery. An analysis of user coverage requests and retrieval strategies is presented, followed by a complete system description. Data base structure, retrieval processors, command language, interactive display options, file structures, and the system's capability to manage sets of selected imagery are described. A detailed example of an area coverage request is graphically presented.

Knutson, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Experimental Studies of Intent Information on Cockpit Traffic Displays

Intent information provides knowledge of another aircraft's current and future trajectory states. Prototype traffic displays were designed for four different levels of intent: No Intent, Rate, Commanded State, and Flight Management System (FMS)-Path. The TCAS Display was used as a baseline and represents the No Intent Level. The Rate, Commanded State, and FMS-Path Displays show increasing levels of intent information using TCAS-like symbology in addition to incorporating a conflict probe and profile view display. An experiment was run on the MIT Part Task Flight Simulator in which eight airline pilots flew five traffic scenarios with each of the four displays. Results show that pilots had fewer separation violations and maneuvered earlier with the three intent displays. Separation violations were reduced when pilots maneuvered earlier. A second experiment was run to compare performance between displaying intent information directly and incorporating it into a conflict probe. A different set of eight airline pilots flew four traffic scenarios with the TCAS and Commanded State Displays with and without the conflict probe. Conflict probes with two minute and long range look-ahead times were tested. Displaying conflict bands or showing intent information directly both led to fewer separation violations and earlier avoidance maneuvers than the base TCAS Display. Performance was similar between the two minute and long range look-ahead conflict probes. Pilots preferred all intent displays over the TCAS Display.

Barhydt, Richard↗
NASA NTRS2023

Development of Two High-Energy Bus ‘Cores’ for Rapid Support of Low-TRL and Educational Payloads: A Software-Configured EPS Combined with Flexible C&DH

For several years the TechEdSat flight series (TES-n), developed by the Nano Orbital Workshop (NOW) group at NASA Ames, has relied upon an in-house developed unit to serve both EPS (Electrical Power System) and C&DH (Command and Data Handling) roles along with low data-rate telemetry functions, i.e., serving as the ‘core’ of the spacecraft bus. This ‘core’ has a considerable task given the rapid cadence of the TES program and the typically low-TRL of payloads; configurability and compatibility are key to prevent mission-specific hardware. However, at only 15 watts the current core has become insufficient to support the program’s growing missions and increasingly demanding payloads. To this end, the NOW program is developing new cores to support two TES mission classes: a single-PCB ‘MiniCore’ designed to support 80-watt missions 6U or smaller in LEO, and a three-PCB, radiation-tolerant ‘StackCore’ designed to support 6U and larger missions over 500 watts in LEO and beyond. The ‘MiniCore’ design consists of three main segments: a processor-agnostic C&DH, a software-configured EPS, and a backup low data-rate radio. The design philosophy was to enable rapid-manufacture in a turbulent supply chain, hence the design consists of COTS parts with a focus on those able to be drop-in replaced with radiation-tolerant versions when demanded by the mission. As a single PC-104 sized circuit board, power density and ease of integration also dominated design, demanding the use of modern features such as single-point USB-C for easy charging and monitoring of the spacecraft on the ground. The ‘MiniCore’ can support 80 watts of load, 140 watt-hours of storage, and over 20 watts of optimized solar generation with extensive power monitoring throughout. The ‘MiniCore’ supports one battery pack, six solar-panels, six loads, five actuators, Iridium SBD, and an internal 802.15.4 network. Additionally, the processor-agnostic design can accept any PJRC Teensy 3.x or Adafruit Feather microcontroller unit to enable processor scaling with mission requirements or environment. It is expected a development unit of this design will be completed before conference. The ‘StackCore’ design consists of three stacked PC-104 sized circuit boards: one dedicated to power generation and storage, one dedicated to power distribution, and one dedicated to C&DH tasks. This delineation is necessary to support the transition from highly integrated ICs to discrete analog circuitry, enabling a primarily analog control power system able to operate without software in a radiation environment with finer monitoring compared to the ‘MiniCore’ design. The planned base architecture supports over 500 watts of load, 250 watt-hours of storage, and over 80 watts of optimized solar generation. The power distribution board allows for the use of daughter cards hosting custom converters or interfaces for payloads, in addition to the software-configured supplies used on the ‘MiniCore’. This core stack will be managed by a Vorago ARM M4 microcontroller and support the same wireless communications as the ‘MiniCore’, with optional integration of a NOW S-band radio and attitude determination sensors for ‘black box’ functionality. It is expected the prototype will still be in development during conference.

Spacecraft↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of Two High-Energy Bus ‘Cores’ for Rapid Support of Low-TRL and Educational Payloads: A Software-Configured EPS Combined with Flexible C&DH

For several years the TechEdSat flight series (TES-n), developed by the Nano Orbital Workshop (NOW) group at NASA Ames, has relied upon an in-house developed unit to serve both EPS (Electrical Power System) and C&DH (Command and Data Handling) roles along with low data-rate telemetry functions, i.e., serving as the ‘core’ of the spacecraft bus. This ‘core’ has a considerable task given the rapid cadence of the TES program and the typically low-TRL of payloads; configurability and compatibility are key to prevent mission-specific hardware. However, at only 15 watts the current core has become insufficient to support the program’s growing missions and increasingly demanding payloads. To this end, the NOW program is developing new cores to support two TES mission classes: a single-PCB ‘MiniCore’ designed to support 80-watt missions 6U or smaller in LEO, and a three-PCB, radiation-tolerant ‘StackCore’ designed to support 6U and larger missions over 500 watts in LEO and beyond. The ‘MiniCore’ design consists of three main segments: a processor-agnostic C&DH, a software-configured EPS, and a backup low data-rate radio. The design philosophy was to enable rapid-manufacture in a turbulent supply chain, hence the design consists of COTS parts with a focus on those able to be drop-in replaced with radiation-tolerant versions when demanded by the mission. As a single PC-104 sized circuit board, power density and ease of integration also dominated design, demanding the use of modern features such as single-point USB-C for easy charging and monitoring of the spacecraft on the ground. The ‘MiniCore’ can support 80 watts of load, 140 watt-hours of storage, and over 20 watts of optimized solar generation with extensive power monitoring throughout. The ‘MiniCore’ supports one battery pack, six solar-panels, six loads, five actuators, Iridium SBD, and an internal 802.15.4 network. Additionally, the processor-agnostic design can accept any PJRC Teensy 3.x or Adafruit Feather microcontroller unit to enable processor scaling with mission requirements or environment. It is expected a development unit of this design will be completed before conference. The ‘StackCore’ design consists of three stacked PC-104 sized circuit boards: one dedicated to power generation and storage, one dedicated to power distribution, and one dedicated to C&DH tasks. This delineation is necessary to support the transition from highly integrated ICs to discrete analog circuitry, enabling a primarily analog control power system able to operate without software in a radiation environment with finer monitoring compared to the ‘MiniCore’ design. The planned base architecture supports over 500 watts of load, 250 watt-hours of storage, and over 80 watts of optimized solar generation. The power distribution board allows for the use of daughter cards hosting custom converters or interfaces for payloads, in addition to the software-configured supplies used on the ‘MiniCore’. This core stack will be managed by a Vorago ARM M4 microcontroller and support the same wireless communications as the ‘MiniCore’, with optional integration of a NOW S-band radio and attitude determination sensors for ‘black box’ functionality. It is expected the prototype will still be in development during conference.

Spacecraft↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of Two High-Energy Bus ‘Cores’

For several years the TechEdSat flight series (TES-n), developed by the Nano Orbital Workshop (NOW) group at NASA Ames, has relied upon an in-house developed unit to serve both EPS (Electrical Power System) and C&DH (Command and Data Handling) roles along with low data-rate telemetry functions, i.e., serving as the ‘core’ of the spacecraft bus. This ‘core’ has a considerable task given the rapid cadence of the TES program and the typically low-TRL of payloads; configurability and compatibility are key to prevent mission-specific hardware. However, at only 15 watts the current core has become insufficient to support the program’s growing missions and increasingly demanding payloads. To this end, the NOW program is developing new cores to support two TES mission classes: a single-PCB ‘MiniCore’ designed to support 80-watt missions 6U or smaller in LEO, and a three-PCB, radiation-tolerant ‘StackCore’ designed to support 6U and larger missions over 500 watts in LEO and beyond. The ‘MiniCore’ design consists of three main segments: a processor-agnostic C&DH, a software-configured EPS, and a backup low data-rate radio. The design philosophy was to enable rapid-manufacture in a turbulent supply chain, hence the design consists of COTS parts with a focus on those able to be drop-in replaced with radiation-tolerant versions when demanded by the mission. As a single PC-104 sized circuit board, power density and ease of integration also dominated design, demanding the use of modern features such as single-point USB-C for easy charging and monitoring of the spacecraft on the ground. The ‘MiniCore’ can support 80 watts of load, 140 watt-hours of storage, and over 20 watts of optimized solar generation with extensive power monitoring throughout. The ‘MiniCore’ supports one battery pack, six solar-panels, six loads, five actuators, Iridium SBD, and an internal 802.15.4 network. Additionally, the processor-agnostic design can accept any PJRC Teensy 3.x or Adafruit Feather microcontroller unit to enable processor scaling with mission requirements or environment. It is expected a development unit of this design will be completed before conference. The ‘StackCore’ design consists of three stacked PC-104 sized circuit boards: one dedicated to power generation and storage, one dedicated to power distribution, and one dedicated to C&DH tasks. This delineation is necessary to support the transition from highly integrated ICs to discrete analog circuitry, enabling a primarily analog control power system able to operate without software in a radiation environment with finer monitoring compared to the ‘MiniCore’ design. The planned base architecture supports over 500 watts of load, 250 watt-hours of storage, and over 80 watts of optimized solar generation. The power distribution board allows for the use of daughter cards hosting custom converters or interfaces for payloads, in addition to the software-configured supplies used on the ‘MiniCore’. This core stack will be managed by a Vorago ARM M4 microcontroller and support the same wireless communications as the ‘MiniCore’, with optional integration of a NOW S-band radio and attitude determination sensors for ‘black box’ functionality. It is expected the prototype will still be in development during conference.

Avery Brock↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

VERNE: Revealing the Mysteries and Histories of Venus

Introduction: The three Venus missions that were recently selected for upcoming flight (VERITAS, DAVINCI+, and EnVision) will be incredibly valuable to our understanding of Venus’ history, geology, and atmosphere. However, even once completed, key gaps in our knowledge of Venus, and more generally the formation and active processes on rocky, Earth-like planets, will still persist. Remaining questions include 1) how global intrinsic magnetic fields might be maintained on rocky worlds, and how they could then go extinct, and 2) what role atmospheric sulfur chemistry plays in climates of Earth-like planets, which is an increasingly timely subject as Earth’s own atmospheric sulfur content is climbing due to human activity. These questions require in-situ observations from Venus’ cloud deck, at the altitudes at which the UV absorber exists. The Venus Environment Research and Novel Exploration (VERNE) mission will address these questions with an aerial platform that will drift around the equatorial region of the planet for 9 days. VERNE will collect data to determine the identity of the mysterious UV absorber, while also taking magnetic field measurements over the tesserae, the regions on Venus that are most likely to retain remanent crustal magnetization, in order to understand the potential role of a past intrinsically-generated global magnetic field on Venus. Mission Objectives: The two major science objectives that drive the VERNE mission are: 1) Determine the identity of the Venusian unknown ultraviolet absorber(s). First observed approximately a century ago [1], the composition of Venus’ ultraviolet (UV) absorber is one of the oldest mysteries in Venus atmospheric chemistry [2,3]. While several candidate UV absorbers (mostly sulfur species) have been proposed, no consensus has been reached on its composition and its specific interactions with the atmosphere. Determining the identity of the UV absorber will aid climate models by showing how and where incident solar energy is absorbed by the atmosphere and make progress towards understanding the chemical and energetic processes taking place above Venus’ upper cloud deck [4]. 2) Determine if Venus retains evidence of a past, internally-generated magnetic field. While Venus does not currently have an intrinsically-generated magnetic field, evidence for the existence of a past field on Venus and a timeline of its decay will fill in a more holistic picture of the evolution of Venus’ geological record and atmosphere. As the oldest geologic units on the surface, Venus’ tesserae may still have remanent crustal magnetization signatures within the rocky composition [5]. In any case, the signatures detected will provide insight into Venus’ past geological and core dynamo activity. Mission Summary: VERNE includes a 3-part flight system made up of 1) an entry system with a HEEET (Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology) aeroshell, 2) an orbiter for data relay, and 3) an in-situ balloon and gondola. After entry into Venus’ atmosphere, the balloon will be deployed within the upper cloud deck, at an altitude of 62 km, over a tesserae region. The in-situ data collection will last for the duration of 2 full circumnavigations of the planet, which will take ~9 days. Instrumentation Suite: The four instruments that comprise VERNE’s instrument payload will enable the identification of the unknown UV absorber and the detection of remanent crustal magnetization if it exists in the tesserae. The proposed instrument suite cycle during mission operations is shown in Fig. 1. The four instruments are described below: 1) Adams (ion neutral mass spectrometer) has a range of 18-257 AMU and will detect and distinguish the mixing ratios of O₂, H₂O, H₂SO₄, S, S₂, S₃, S₄, S₅, S₆, S₇, S₈, SO, SO₂, OSSO, SO₃, Cl₂, FeCl₃ and other trace sulfur and organic species. The spatial (longitudinal) and temporal (day/night) variations will be observed throughout 2 circumnavigations with a sample cadence of 12 minutes. 2) Shelley (nephelometer) will determine the size distribution of the aerosols (0.4 to 36 um) in the atmosphere. With a size resolution of <0.7 um, it can determine which mode of H2SO4 is present and characterize the large (>30 um) organic particles previously detected by the Venera and Galileo missions [6,7]. 3) Herbert (UV imager) will measure UV radiance at 283 nm (the wavelength of SO2 absorption) and 365 nm (the unknown part of the absorber). UV images will be taken concurrently with the INMS and nephelometer to correlate UV absorption with abundances of the UV absorber species. 4) Vonnegut (magnetometer) has a range of >600 nT and a precision and accuracy of 1 nT. If magnetized by a past field, the crust may have retained a magnetization of up to 3 A/m2 [5]. With a noise floor of 10 nT, the magnetometer will be able to detect RCM from an altitude of 62 km, even if the thickness of the magnetized crust is just 1 km (Fig. 2). Mission Concept Design: VERNE will be launched with a mass of 3300 kg in an intermediate-high performance class vehicle with a 4-m fairing. The 475-day mission includes 466 days for the cruise, coasting, and orbit initialization phases before entry, descent, and balloon deployment. During the 9-day science phase, the aerial platform will make 2 circumnavigations of the planet at an altitude of 62 km. The INMS and the nephelometer will acquire data for 2 hours during the daytime and nighttime during each circumnavigation, while the UV imager will be on for the duration of the daytime, and the magnetometer will be operational throughout the entirety of the science phase. Data will be stored and processed with the JPL-designed Sphinx command and data handling system. Data will be sent from the balloon to the orbiter using an S-band relay link, stored on the orbiter, and then forwarded to Earth where it will be received by the DSN. Conclusion: VERNE will fill key gaps in our understanding of the history and ongoing processes related to the geology and atmosphere of Venus and rocky worlds in general. Even with adequate flight system contingencies and expected costs below the $900M New Frontiers cost cap, VERNE is not without its risks and challenges. Further trade spaces to explore include 1) using solely battery power vs. including solar panels to increase the mission duration and 2) investigating the use of lightweight materials and 3D-printed structures to reduce the gondola mass, among others. Acknowledgments: We would like to thank the JPL Planetary Science Summer School, especially our mentors Troy Hudson, Karl Mitchell, and Leslie Lowes, as well as our Team-X study lead Al Nash and the members of Team-X. We’d additionally like to thank our review panel for asking insightful questions and providing valuable feedback. References: [1] Ross, F. E. (1928) Astrophysical J., 68, 57-92. [2] Rossow, W. B. et al. (1980) J. Geophysical Research, 85, 8107-8128. [3] Pinto, J. P. et al. (2021) Nature Communications, 12, 175. [4] Titov, D. V. et al. (2007) Cosmic Research, 21, 401. [5] O’Rourke, J. et al. (2019) Geophysical Research Lett., 46, 5768–5777. [6] Limaye, S. S. et al. (2018) Astrobiology, 18(9), 1181-1198. [7] Grinspoon, D. H. et al. (2013) Planetary and Space Sci., 41(7), 515-542. [8] Parker, R. L. (2003) J. Geophysical Research, 108, 5006. *The cost information contained in this document is of a budgetary and planning nature and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute a commitment on the part of JPL and/or Caltech.

H Alpert↗
NASA NTRS1998

End-to-End Data System Architecture for the Space Station Biological Research Project

The Space Station Biological Research Project (SSBRP) Is developing hardware referred to as the "facility" for providing life sciences research capability on the International Space Station. This hardware includes several biological specimen habitats, habitat holding racks, a centrifuge and a glovebox. An SSBRP end to end data system architecture has been developed to allow command and control of the facility from the ground, either with crew assistance or autonomously. The data system will be capable of handling commands, sensor data, and video from multiple cameras. The data will traverse through several onboard and ground networks and processing entities including the SSBRP and Space Station onboard and ground data systems. A large number of onboard and ground (,entities of the data system are being developed by the Space Station Program, other NASA centers and the International Partners. The SSBRP part of the system which includes the habitats, holding racks, and the ground operations center, User Operations Facility (UOF) will be developed by a multitude of geographically distributed development organizations. The SSBRP has the responsibility to define the end to end data and communications systems to make the interfaces manageable and verifiable with multiple contractors with widely varying development constraints and schedules. This paper provides an overview of the SSBRP end-to-end data system. Specifically, it describes the hardware, software and functional interactions of individual systems, and interface requirements among various entities of the end-to-end system.

Mian, Arshad↗
NASA NTRS1982

Space telescope pointing control system

The Space Telescope is a free-flying spacecraft designed for Space Shuttle launch. The Space Telescope's pointing control system slews the optical axis from one target star region of the celestial sphere to the next, and maintains precision pointing for the target star for up to 24 hours. The spacecraft digital computer processes the precision attitude and rate sensor data to generate torque commands for the reaction wheels. The pointing control system has four major elements: the command generator, the control system, the attitude reference processing, and momentum management. The emphasis is on relating design requirements to the hardware and software implementation.

Dougherty, H.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Waypoint Following Dynamics of a Quaternion Error Feedback Attitude Control System

Closed-loop attitude steering can be used to implement alternative attitude maneuvers by using a conventional attitude control system to track a non-standard attitude profile sampled as a series of sequential commands. The idea has been employed in practice to perform zero-propellant maneuvers on the International Space Station and minimum time maneuvers on NASA’s TRACE space telescope. A challenge for operational implementation of the idea is the finite capacity of a space vehicle’s command storage buffer. One approach to mitigate the problem is to downsample-and-hold the attitude commands so that the attitude control system to follows a set of waypoints. This paper explores the waypoint following dynamics of a quaternion error feedback control law for downsample-and-hold. It is shown that downsample-and-hold induces a ripple between downsamples that causes the satellite angular rate to significantly overshoot the desired limit. Analysis in the z-domain is carried out in order to understand the phenomenon. An interpolating Chebyshev-type filter is proposed that allows attitude commands to be encoded in terms of a small set of filter coefficients. Using the interpolating filter, commands can be issued at the ACS rate but with significantly reduced memory requirements. The attitude control system of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is used as an example to illustrate the behavior of a practical attitude control system.

Mark Karpenko↗
DOE OSTI2019

DynamiteNSM

DynamiteNSM is a free Network Security Monitor (NSM), built on top of several leading, enterprise-grade technologies. The tool provides network and cybersecurity operators with holistic insights into their networks while giving them the ability to deep-dive into lower-level activities. The solution presents powerful dashboards, giving comprehensive view into performance and threat-based metrics. Dynamite-NSM can be easily deployed in different environments including high-speed data centers, small-to-large enterprises, IoT & industrial networks, and even at home. Dynamite-NSM handles massive volumes of network traffic through scalable ingestion and optimized network sensors. The solution includes two key components: the agent and the monitor. The agent analyzes and forwards network events, while the monitor processes incoming events and displays analytic information. The monitor component builds upon the OpenSearch stack and is coupled with network packet inspection by Zeek and Suricata. Dynamite-NSM is designed to be deployed very quickly with minimal configuration. Unlike many other tools, it can be installed and managed with a standalone command-line utility. The system is inherently passive without disruption to the network. There is no need to install agents on every computer, perform network scans, or directly interact with network assets.

Becker, Jamin↗
DOE OSTI2023

Agilent CRADA (Abstract)

The CRADA between Agilent Technologies Inc. and Battelle will focus on five software components as listed below: Prototype 4D Feature Finding functionality with a particular focus on recovering low level features and extending the bottom end dynamic range of IM-MS technology. Compare and contrast developments to current 4D Feature Finding capabilities. Highlight important algorithmic aspects employed. Implement the PNNL saturation correction algorithm. Agilent will give PNNL the needed data file access API and assistance in understanding it implementation and any needed instrumental aspects. Supported high resolution products to include Agilent’s TOF, QTOF and IM-QTOF mass spectrometers. PNNL will then work with Agilent to benchmark performance. Implementation of the PNNL Hadamard de-multiplexing algorithm. Agilent will give provide PNNL the needed date file access API access and as needed assistance in understanding the current Agilent multiplexed IM offering. PNNL will then work with Agilent on benchmark performance. Add ion mobility collision cross sections to existing and new metabolomic libraries for data analysis with Agilent’s informatics program MPP/ID Browser. PNNL will work with Agilent to create a software pipeline that takes data from chemical and metabolic standards and properly formats it for inclusion in MPP accessible libraries, using the collision cross section as a new separation dimension. Improvements of MPP multidimensional matching to identify metabolomic features using multiple characteristics beyond retention time and accurate mass. Most significantly matching will include analyte collision cross section with proposed support for sample fraction or RapidFire cartridge and fragmentation spectra. PNNL will work with Agilent to modify and improve the current MPP analysis pipeline to allow for creating, aligning, and identifying MS features defined by accurate mass, collision cross section and chromatographic retention time. As additional criteria such as fraction or RapidFire cartridge type are supported in the identification process, then they also will become part of the automation workflow. This includes the automation of said system to work with command line program (i.e. not a GUI) sufficient for programmatic execution in a pipeline.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗