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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2021

Assessing Relay Communications for Mars Sample Return Surface Mission Concepts

The Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign is a 3-mission campaign concept supported by NASA and ESA to return samples from the Mars surface. MSR will, for the firsttime ever, present a need to communicate with multiple surfaceassets that are co-located on Mars in a coordinated effort toaccomplish the unified objective of fetching, transporting, andreturning samples from Mars. Currently, Mars surface assetsrelay data to and from Earth using a number of orbiters inwhat’s known as the Mars Relay Network (MRN). This networkis characterized by a small number of surface assets distributedacross the Martian globe and a larger number of orbiters toprovide relay services. As of June 2020, there are two surfaceassets for which five orbiters are providing relay. During theMSR Campaign, there will be two rovers and a lander that allwill require relay communication from a small number of Marsorbiters to meet the aggressive MSR timeline. The inversion ofthe current MRN paradigm, a system of many surface assetsrequiring relay and few orbiters to provide relay, necessitatesthe unique challenge of optimally allocating relay passes tomaximize the operational capability of all assets. The allocationmust consider a large number of trade variables includingMars asset operational requirements and Earth ground systemconstraints, including staffing schedules, operations planningacross time zones, and more. To address these telecommunicationchallenges, the Mars Asset Relay Mission Link AllocationDesign Environment (MARMLADE) tool was developed. Itis a MATLAB-based tool to assign orbiter passes or Direct-From-Earth (DFE) links to each of the three surface assets andquantify the operational efficiency of each surface asset.MARMLADE uses a data set of simulated Mars relay orbitergeometry and telecommunication capabilities provided by JPL’sTelecom Orbit Analysis and Simulation Tool (TOAST) softwareto compute which asset should get each pass based on a seriesof heuristics and predictions of all assets’ states. WithinMARMLADE, the user can provide inputs including the optionfor time-based pass splitting, fixed FWD data rate capabilities,DFE communication capabilities, and link parameters allowingfor the assessment of complex operations and hardware tradesusing surface mission operational efficiency as a primary figureof merit. As the MSR mission concepts continue to mature,MARMLADE is being used to assess ability of all MSR elementsto meet the surface mission timeline requirements and to provide relay link allocations to each of the MSR surface assets.

Lee, Charles↗
NASA NTRS2021

Assessing Relay Communications for Mars Sample Return Surface Mission Concepts

The Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign would be a 3-mission campaign concept supported by NASA and ESA to return samples from the Mars surface. MSR would, for the first time ever, present a need to communicate with multiple surface assets that are co-located on Mars in a coordinated effort to accomplish the unified objective of fetching, transporting, and returning samples from Mars. Currently, Mars surface assets relay data to and from Earth using a number of orbiters in what’s known as the Mars Relay Network (MRN). This network is characterized by a small number of surface assets distributed across the Martian globe and a larger number of orbiters to provide relay services. As of June 2020, there are two surface assets for which five orbiters are providing relay. During the MSR Campaign, there would be two rovers and a lander that all would require relay communication from a small number of Mars orbiters to meet the aggressive MSR timeline. The inversion of the current MRN paradigm, a system of many surface assets requiring relay and few orbiters to provide relay, necessitates the unique challenge of optimally allocating relay passes to maximize the operational capability of all assets. The allocation must consider a large number of trade variables including Mars asset operational requirements and Earth ground system constraints, including staffing schedules, operations planning across time zones, and more. To address these telecommunication challenges, the Mars Asset Relay Mission Link Allocation Design Environment (MARMLADE) tool was developed. It is a MATLAB-based tool to assign orbiter passes or Direct-From-Earth (DFE) links to each of the three surface assets and quantify the operational efficiency of each surface asset.MARMLADE uses a data set of simulated Mars relay orbiter geometry and telecommunication capabilities provided by JPL’s Telecom Orbit Analysis and Simulation Tool (TOAST) software to compute which asset should get each pass based on a series of heuristics and predictions of all assets’ states. Within MARMLADE, the user can provide inputs including the option for time-based pass splitting, fixed FWD data rate capabilities, DFE communication capabilities, and link parameters allowing for the assessment of complex operations and hardware trades using surface mission operational efficiency as a primary figure of merit. As the MSR mission concepts continue to mature, MARMLADE is being used to assess ability of all MSR elements to meet the surface mission timeline requirements and to provide relay link allocations to each of the MSR surface assets.This paper will describe the motivation and design of the MARMLADE tool and how it is being used to perform campaign and mission level trades, generate requirements, and support development of the MSR surface mission scenarios.

Lee, Charles↗
NASA NTRS1981

JPL self-pulsed laser surface measurement system development

Distances from a fixed reference or scan postion to several locations on the surface of an antenna reflector can be measured by using a self pulsed laser ranging system. Processing the information thus obtained is used to define the shape of the surface upon which antenna operational efficiency is directly dependent. Operation of the system consists of initiating a pulse from the laser emitter which is pointed at the scan mirror. The emitted pulse strikes the scan mirror, is reflected and sent to one of several targets on the surface of the antenna. Upon reflection from the target, the pulse returns to a detector via the scan mirror. The detected pulse is amplified and used to trigger the next emitted pulse. After the first pulse is emitted, received and used to trigger another pulse the process becomes repetitive with a repitition rate uniquely determined by the distance traveled to the target and back. A measure of the repetition rate or frequency thus created provides the means required for determining range since the total distance traveled is inversely proportional to the frequency.

Berdahl, M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A Personnel Launch System for safe and efficient manned operations

Several Conceptual designs for a simple, rugged Personnel Launch System (PLS) are presented. This system could transport people to and from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) starting in the late 1990's using a new modular Advanced Launch System (ALS) developed for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). The PLS is designed to be one element of a new space transportation architecture including heavy-lift cargo vehicles, lunar transfer vehicles, and multiple-role spcecraft such as the current Space Shuttle. The primary role of the PLS would be to deliver crews embarking on lunar or planetary missions to the Space Station, but it would also be used for earth-orbit sortie missions, space rescue missions, and some satellite servicing missions. The PLS design takes advantage of emerging electronic and structures technologies to offer a robust vehicle with autonomous operating and quick turnaround capabilities. Key features include an intact abort capability anywhere in the operating envelope, and elimination of all toxic propellants to streamline ground operations.

Petro, Andrew J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The associate principal astronomer telescope operations model

This paper outlines a new telescope operations model that is intended to achieve low operating costs with high operating efficiency and high scientific productivity. The model is based on the existing Principal Astronomer approach used in conjunction with ATIS, a language for commanding remotely located automatic telescopes. This paper introduces the notion of an Associate Principal Astronomer, or APA. At the heart of the APA is automatic observation loading and scheduling software, and it is this software that is expected to help achieve efficient and productive telescope operations. The purpose of the APA system is to make it possible for astronomers to submit observation requests to and obtain resulting data from remote automatic telescopes, via the Internet, in a highly-automated way that minimizes human interaction with the system and maximizes the scientific return from observing time.

Drummond, Mark↗
NASA NTRS1996

Logistics: An integral part of cost efficient space operations

The logistics of space programs and its history within NASA are discussed, with emphasis on manned space flight and the Space Shuttle program. The lessons learned and the experience gained during these programs are reported on. Key elements of logistics are highlighted, and the problems and issues that can be expected to arise in relation to the support of long-term space operations and future space programs, are discussed. Such missions include the International Space Station program and the reusable launch vehicle. Possible solutions to the problems identified are outlined.

Montgomery, Ann D.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Candidate Coatings and Dry Traction Drives for Planetary Vehicles

Robert Fusaro and Fred Oswald of the Mechanical Components Branch discussed 'Candidate Coatings and Dry Traction Drives for Planetary Vehicles'. Vehicles to be designed for exploration of planets and moons of the solar system will require reliable mechanical drives to operate efficiently. Long-term operation of these drives will be challenging because of extreme operating conditions. These extreme conditions include: very high and/or very cold temperatures, wide temperature ranges, dust, vacuum or low-pressure atmospheres, and corrosive environments. Most drives used on Earth involve oil-lubricated gears. However, due to the extreme conditions on planetary surfaces, it may not be advisable or even possible to use oil lubrication. Unfortunately, solid lubricants do not work well when applied to gears because of the high contact stress conditions and large sliding motion between the teeth, which cause wear and limit life. We believe traction drives will provide an attractive alternative to gear drives. Traction drives are composed of rollers that provide geometry more conducive to solid lubrication. Minimal slip occurs in this contact geometry and thus there is very low wear to the solid lubricant. The challenge for these solid-lubricated drives is finding materials or coatings that provide the required long-life while also providing high traction. We seek materials that provide low wear with high friction.

Fusaro, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2019

Field Evaluation of the Baseline Integrated Arrival, Departure, and Surface Capabilities at Charlotte Douglas International Airport

NASA is currently developing a suite of decision support capabilities for integrated arrival, departure, and surface (IADS) operations in a metroplex environment. The effort is being made in three phases, under NASA's Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) sub-project, through a strong partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), air carriers, airport, and general aviation community. The Phase 1 Baseline IADS capabilities provide enhanced operational efficiency and predictability of flight operations through data exchange and integration, tactical surface metering, and automated coordination of release time of controlled flights for overhead stream insertion. The users of the IADS system include the personnel at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) air traffic control tower, American Airlines ramp tower, CLT terminal radar approach control (TRACON), and Washington Center. This paper describes the Phase 1 Baseline IADS capabilities and field evaluation conducted at CLT from September 2017 for a year. From the analysis of operations data, it is estimated that 538,915 kilograms of fuel savings, and 1,659 metric tons of CO2 emission reduction were achieved during the period with a total of 944 hours of engine run time reduction. The amount of CO2 savings is estimated as equivalent to planting 42,560 urban trees. The results have also shown that the surface metering had no negative impact on on-time arrival performance of both outbound and inbound flights. The technology transfer of Phase 1 Baseline IADS capabilities has been made to the FAA and aviation industry, and the development of additional capabilities for the subsequent phases is underway.

Jung, Yoon C.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Field Evaluation of the Baseline Integrated Arrival, Departure, and Surface (IADS) Capabilities at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)

NASA is currently developing a suite of decision support capabilities for integrated arrival, departure, and surface (IADS) operations in a metroplex environment. The effort is being made in three phases, under NASA's Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) sub-project, through a strong partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), air carriers, airport, and general aviation community. The Phase 1 Baseline IADS capabilities provide enhanced operational efficiency and predictability of flight operations through data exchange and integration, tactical surface metering, and automated coordination of release time of controlled flights for overhead stream insertion. The users of the IADS system include the personnel at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) air traffic control tower, American Airlines ramp tower, CLT terminal radar approach control (TRACON), and Washington Center. This paper describes the Phase 1 Baseline IADS capabilities and field evaluation conducted at CLT from September 2017 for a year. From the analysis of operations data, it is estimated that 538,915 kilograms of fuel savings, and 1,659 metric tons of CO2 emission reduction were achieved during the period with a total of 944 hours of engine run time reduction. The amount of CO2 savings is estimated as equivalent to planting 42,560 urban trees. The results have also shown that the surface metering had no negative impact on on-time arrival performance of both outbound and inbound flights. The technology transfer of Phase 1 Baseline IADS capabilities has been made to the FAA and aviation industry, and the development of additional capabilities for the subsequent phases is underway.

and Surface (IADS)↗
NASA NTRS2020

ATD-2 Benefits Mechanism

NASA has been developing and demonstrating a suite of decision support capabilities for integrated arrival, departure, and surface (IADS) operations in a metroplex environment. The effort is being made in three phases, under NASA’s Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) sub-project, through a close partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), air carriers, airport, and general aviation community. The Phase 1 Baseline IADS capabilities provide enhanced operational efficiency and predictability of flight operations through data exchange and integration, tactical surface metering, and automated coordination of release time of controlled flights for overhead stream insertion. The Phase 2 Fused IADS capabilities include the fusion of strategic and tactical surface metering, Atlanta Center airspace tactical scheduling, Electronic Flight Data (EFD) integration, Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) Terminal Publication (TTP) prototype, and Mobile App for General Aviation (GA) community. In the Phase 2 field evaluation, strategic surface metering provides advance notice of metering and additional stability to the assigned gate holds. The users of the IADS system in Phases 1 and 2 include the personnel at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) air traffic control tower, American Airlines ramp tower, CLT terminal radar approach control (TRACON), and Washington and Atlanta Center. This document describes the ATD-2 benefits mechanism used to assess the Phases 1 and 2 IADS capabilities and field evaluation conducted at CLT since September 2017. The ATD-2 benefits mechanism mainly consists of surface metering and overhead stream insertion. This document provides detailed calculation methods of major benefit metrics, such as fuel savings, gas emissions savings, and engine runtime reduction, which can be obtained through surface metering, gate hold of Approval Request (APREQ) flights prior to pushback, and the renegotiation of release time while taxiing. As of March 31, 2020, it is estimated that 5,075,981 pounds of fuel savings and 15,634,022 pounds of CO2 emission reduction have been achieved so far, with a reduction of 3,832 hours in total engine runtime. The amount of CO2 savings is estimated to be equivalent to planting 116,254 urban trees. The pre- and post-metering comparison results using FAA’s Aviation System Performance Metrics (ASPM) data have also shown that the surface metering had no negative impact on the on-time arrival performance of both outbound and inbound flights at CLT.

ATD-2↗
NASA NTRS2020

ATD-2 Benefits Mechanism

NASA has been developing and demonstrating a suite of decision support capabilities for integrated arrival, departure, and surface (IADS) operations in a metroplex environment. The effort is being made in three phases, under NASA’s Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) sub-project, through a close partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), air carriers, airport, and general aviation community. The Phase 1 Baseline IADS capabilities provide enhanced operational efficiency and predictability of flight operations through data exchange and integration, tactical surface metering, and automated coordination of release time of controlled flights for overhead stream insertion. The Phase 2 Fused IADS capabilities include the fusion of strategic and tactical surface metering, Atlanta Center airspace tactical scheduling, Electronic Flight Data (EFD) integration, Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) Terminal Publication (TTP) prototype, and Mobile App for General Aviation (GA) community. In the Phase 2 field evaluation, strategic surface metering provides advance notice of metering and additional stability to the assigned gate holds. The users of the IADS system in Phases 1 and 2 include the personnel at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) air traffic control tower, American Airlines ramp tower, CLT terminal radar approach control (TRACON), and Washington and Atlanta Center. This document describes the ATD-2 benefits mechanism used to assess the Phases 1 and 2 IADS capabilities and field evaluation conducted at CLT since September 2017. The ATD-2 benefits mechanism mainly consists of surface metering and overhead stream insertion. This document provides detailed calculation methods of major benefit metrics, such as fuel savings, gas emissions savings, and engine runtime reduction, which can be obtained through surface metering, gate hold of Approval Request (APREQ) flights prior to pushback, and the renegotiation of release time while taxiing. As of April 30, 2020, it is estimated that 5,097,173 pounds of fuel savings and 15,699,292 pounds of CO2 emission reduction have been achieved so far, with a reduction of 3,831 hours in total engine runtime. The amount of CO2 savings is estimated to be equivalent to planting 116,739 urban trees. The pre- and post-metering comparison results using FAA’s Aviation System Performance Metrics (ASPM) data have also shown that the surface metering had no negative impact on the on-time arrival performance of both outbound and inbound flights at CLT.

ATD-2↗
NASA NTRS2020

Investigating Effects of Controlled Flights through Fast-Time Simulation

Departure flights at major U.S. airports are often subject to Traffic Management Initiatives to mitigate congestion and delay due to demand-capacity imbalances. These controlled flights can lead to inefficiency and delay on the airport surface. The integrated arrival, departure, and surface traffic management capabilities developed by NASA’s Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) sub-project provide enhanced operational efficiency and predictability of flight operations through data exchange and integration, surface metering, and automated coordination of release time of controlled flights for overhead stream insertion. This paper evaluates the impacts of controlled flights on airport performance and assesses the ATD-2 benefits of pushback hold advisories for both controlled and non-controlled flights using fast-time simulation for Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

controlled flight↗
NASA NTRS2023

Subsonic Ultra Green Aircraft Research: Phase IV Final Report – Volume I Mach 0.80 Transonic Truss-Braced Wing High-Speed Design Report

This design report summarizes work performed by the Boeing Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) team from December 2016 through June 2018. In Phase IV of the SUGAR program, Boeing is working to improve the productivity of a TTBW configuration by updating the Mach 0.745 vehicle concept to operate efficiently at Mach 0.80. Due to the aerodynamic and structural design challenges associated with adapting the design to a higher speed, design tasks have been broken into several subtasks. The information in this report (Volume I) documents the development of a Mach 0.80 vehicle outer mold line, maturation of TTBW structural concepts, and presents a preliminary high-liftsystem assessment. Results from these studies were integrated into an aircraft-level performance code that estimates the benefits of TTBW technology, both on its own and as a part of the SUGAR integrated technology suite. The aerodynamic performance results presented herein detail the high cruise efficiency of the TTBW concept operating at M=0.80. Results from the RANS code OVERFLOW indicate that the TTBW is aerodynamically well suited for operation at the design M=0.80 transonic cruise Mach number. Aircraft-level performance predictions show that the TTBW offers a 7.2% improvement in fuel burn (per seat) for an economic mission of 900nm, and a 9.0% improvement in fuel burn (per seat) for a 3500nm mission with full passenger payload, relative to an aspect ratio 13 conventional tube and wing configuration of equivalent technology. Integration of the TTBW performance benefits into the SUGAR technology suite shows a 55.9% reduction in fuel burn (for the economic mission) relative to the reference (SUGAR Free) aircraft, which is a consistently sized traditional cantilever wing, single-aisle transport typical of the 2008 fleet. This benefit does not include the performance improvement potential of hybrid-electric systems studied in earlier phases of the SUGAR program Structural concept development work completed in Phase IV has identified several strut attachment concepts that are worth additional development activity – an inboard strut attachment swivel joint concept (which enables the strut to carry axial loads while avoiding strut bending induced by wing twist during flight) significantly simplifies the construction of the main strut. An outboard offset strut attachment concept holds significant potential for further reductions in wing-strut interference drag. Based on work performed to date on Phase IV and the previous phases of the SUGAR program, the TTBW concept continues to remain a viable concept for significantly improving the performance of future aircraft. High-fidelity aerodynamic analysis of the Mach 0.80 TTBW aircraft has shown fuel burn improvement that has exceeded initial expectations despite the increase in cruise Mach number. Structural concept maturation has continued to refine the TTBW structure, and has found no obvious ‘show-stoppers’ to date. Therefore, the potential benefit of improved performance through the use of a very high aspect ratio strut-braced wing continues to warrant additional study

SUGAR↗
NASA NTRS2026

Hydrology Copilot: A Cloud-Native Ai System for Hydrological Data Analysis

The emergence of AI-driven Earth observation systems promises to broaden access to petabyte-scale geospatial data beyond domain specialists. However, translating this vision into operational scientific infrastructure requires addressing fundamental challenges in data virtualization, code transparency, and domain-specific reasoning. We present Hydrology Copilot, a cloud-native AI framework for natural-language-driven analysis of Earth observation data. To demonstrate operational capabilities at scale, we implement the system using NASA's North American Land Data Assimilation System version 3 (NLDAS-3), which provides surface meteorological forcing and land-surface model output across North and Central America at 1-km resolution, from which drought diagnostics are derived. The system integrates five core contributions: (1) scalable data virtualization using Kerchunk-based cloud optimized access, achieving a 1.5 to 4.6 times improvement in I/O latency across benchmark queries spanning regional single-day extractions (4.6 times speedup) to continental monthly aggregations (1.5 times speedup); (2) transparent code generation through Microsoft Azure AI Foundry agents that expose executable Python workflows for scientific verification; (3) persistent conversational memory enabling multi-turn analytical discourse across sessions; (4) intelligent query validation that enforces dataset boundaries and resolves ambiguous requests before execution; and (5) a multi-agent architecture coordinating query parsing, code generation, and visualization. We evaluate the system through drought-monitoring workflows, demonstrating reliable code generation, accurate results validated against reference computations and the operational U.S. Drought Monitor, and efficient operation across increasingly complex tasks. By bridging natural-language interfaces with rigorous hydrological analysis, Hydrology Copilot advances beyond proof-of-concept demonstrations to provide a deployable framework for operational Earth science applications.

Data virtualization↗
NASA NTRS1973

Modification and updating of the Manned Activity Scheduling System (MASS) for shuttle and shuttle payloads analysis. Volume 1: Model specifications

The LRC MASS was modified and updated to include logic for efficient analysis of space shuttle payload operations. All MASS computer models were reviewed for compatibility with, and applicability to, the shuttle sortie mission. The MASS modification efforts were concentrated on two computer programs, the general scheduling model (GSM) and one day model (ODM). A new computer program, the DAYLIB Tape Processor, was developed to update the link between the GSM and ODM. The resulting MASS is an operationally efficient analytical tool that will allow a rapid assessment of shuttle and shuttle payload operations.

Ring, R. C.↗