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Evaluation of SAGE II and Balloon-Borne Stratospheric Aerosol Measurements

Under funding from this proposal we evaluated measurements of stratospheric sulfate aerosols from three platforms. Two were satellite platforms providing solar extinction measurements, the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II using wavelengths from 0.386 - 1.02 microns, and the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) using wavelengths from 2.45 to 5.26 microns. The third set of measurements was from in situ sampling by balloonborne optical particle counters (OPCs). The goal was to determine the consistency among these data sets. This was accomplished through analysis of the existing measurement records, and through additional balloonborne OPC flights coinciding with new SAGE II observations over Laramie, Wyoming. All analyses used the SAGE II v 6.0 data. This project supported two balloon flights per year over Laramie dedicated to SAGE II coincidence. Because logistical factors, such as poor surface weather or unfavorable payload impact location, can make it difficult to routinely obtain close coincidences with SAGE II, we attempt to conduct nearly every Laramie flight (roughly one per month) in conjunction with a SAGE II overpass. The Laramie flight frequency has varied over the years depending on field commitments and funding sources. Current support for the Laramie measurements is from the National Science Foundation in addition to support from this NASA grant. We have also completed a variety of comparisons using aerosol measurements from SAGE II, OPCs, and HALOE. The instruments were compared for their various estimates of aerosol extinction at the SAGE II wavelengths and for aerosol surface area. Additional results, such as illustrated here, can be found in a recently accepted manuscript describing comparisons between SAGE II, HALOE, and OPCs for the period 1982 - 2000. While overall, the impression from these results is encouraging, the agreement of the measurements changes with latitude, altitude, time, and parameter. In the broadest sense, these comparisons fall into two categories: high aerosol loading (volcanic periods) and low aerosol loading (background periods and altitudes above 25 km). When the aerosol amount is low SAGE II and HALOE extinctions are higher than the OPC estimates, while the SAGE II surface areas are lower than HALOE and the OPCS. Under high loading conditions, all three instruments mutually agree to within 50%.

Source record↗

Crew Procedures for Continuous Descent Arrivals Using Conventional Guidance

This paper presents results from a simulation study which investigated the use of Continuous Descent Arrival (CDA) procedures for conducting a descent through a busy terminal area, using conventional transport-category automation. This research was part of the Low Noise Flight Procedures (LNFP) element within the Quiet Aircraft Technology (QAT) Project, that addressed development of flight guidance, and supporting pilot and Air Traffic Control (ATC) procedures for low noise operations. The procedures and chart were designed to be easy to understand, and to make it easy for the crew to make changes via the Flight Management Computer Control-Display Unit (FMC-CDU) to accommodate changes from ATC. The test runs were intended to represent situations typical of what exists in many of today's terminal areas, including interruptions to the descent in the form of clearances issued by ATC.

Oseguera-Lohr, Rosa M.↗

The Effect of Sonic Booms on Earthquake Warning Systems

Several aerospace companies are designing quiet supersonic business jets for service over the United States. These aircraft have the potential to increase the occurrence of mild sonic booms across the country. This leads to interest among earthquake warning (EQW) developers and the general seismological community in characterizing the effect of sonic booms on seismic sensors in the field, their potential impact on EQW systems, and means of discriminating their signatures from those of earthquakes. The SonicBREWS project (Sonic Boom Resistant Earthquake Warning Systems) is a collaborative effort between Seismic Warning Systems, Inc. (SWS) and NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. This project aims to evaluate the effects of sonic booms on EQW sensors. The study consists of exposing high-sample-rate (1000 sps) triaxial accelerometers to sonic booms with overpressures ranging from 10 to 600 Pa in the free field and the built environment. The accelerometers record the coupling of the sonic boom to the ground and surrounding structures, while microphones record the acoustic wave above ground near the sensor. Sonic booms are broadband signals with more high-frequency content than earthquakes. Even a 1000 sps accelerometer will produce a significantly aliased record. Thus the observed peak ground velocity is strongly dependent on the sampling rate, and increases as the sampling rate is reduced. At 1000 sps we observe ground velocities that exceed those of P-waves from M L 3 earthquakes at local distances, suggesting that sonic booms are not negligible for EQW applications. We present the results of several experiments conducted under SonicBREWS showing the effects of typical-case low amplitude sonic booms and worst-case high amplitude booms. We show the effects of various sensor placements and sensor array geometries. Finally, we suggest possible avenues for discriminating sonic booms from earthquakes for the purposes of EQW.

Wurman, Gilead↗

Message Latency Characterization of a Distributed Live, Virtual, Constructive Simulation Environment

A distributed test environment incorporating Live, Virtual, Constructive, (LVC) concepts was developed to execute standalone and integrated simulations and flight-tests that support unmanned aircraft research for NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project. The LVC components form the core infrastructure that supports simulation of UAS operations by integrating live and virtual aircraft in a realistic air traffic environment. This LVC infrastructure enables efficient testing by leveraging the use of existing distributed assets. The LVC concepts used for the UAS in the NAS project include live aircraft, flight simulators, and virtual air traffic control assets operating at facilities distributed across multiple NASA Centers. With a distributed network, however, there is a concern that message latency could impact the realism of a simulation and its data. The latencies associated with sending data among these distributed facilities were, therefore, measured to ensure that they fall within acceptable parameters. Several live and virtual test assets were integrated into the LVC infrastructure including NASA Armstrong’s Ikhana MQ-9 unmanned aircraft, NASA Glenn’s S3-B manned aircraft, and the B747 flight simulator at NASA Ames. Average latencies from 100 to 150 milliseconds were observed between the LVC System running at NASA Ames and each of the participating NASA Centers under a light-to-moderate (fifty aircraft) traffic sample.

Murphy, James R.↗

The Doppler Wind Temperature Sensor (DWTS) Flight Evaluation and Experiments (TES-16,17)

The Doppler Wind Temperature Sensor instrument (DWTS), developed by Global Atmospheric Technologies and Sciences (GATS), is a powerful yet simple tool with the potential of becoming a new window to upper atmosphere dynamics. Based around a defense-grade infrared camera peering through a static gas cell used as a scanning spectral filter, the DWTS is designed to measure the fingerprints of wind and thermal waves as they propagate to the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. DWTS achieves this scanning by measuring the induced change in the doppler shift of the emission as it passes through the DWTS field of view. DWTS holds promise to aid in more accurate weather determination (Gordley, et al), and the core technology can be easily adapted to study other atmospheres of interest. In partnership with GATS, NOAA, and other collaborators, NASA Ames and the Nano Orbital Workshop group have been working to evaluate the DWTS instrument on orbit and optimize it as a flexible cube satellite payload. The first mission selected for DWTS evaluation is preparing for flight in early 2024, followed by a more capable science mission in 2025, with both missions part of the TES-n/NOW flight series. The first flight, TES-16/DWTS-A, will incorporate a single DWTS instrument in an approximately 2U payload volume with the imaging aperture perpendicular to the flight velocity vector. With an estimated power consumption of 20 watts, supplied via a custom NOW-designed GaN converter, the instrument will maintain the imaging sensor plane at 80K using an integrated pulse-tube cryocooler during instrument evaluation periods. Data from DWTS will be captured via a NOW-designed custom data processor before being transmitted via S-band radio back to select ground stations, with instrument command and control operated via L-band global-coverage radio. After the TES-16/DWTS-A initial demonstration mission, the subsequent TES-17/DWTS-B mission will be a dedicated science mission equipped with three DWTS instruments, each hosting a different gas cell to obtain full altitude coverage from 20 to 200 km both day and night from a single cube satellite. The intention of the flight series, and one of NASA’s interests in the instrument, is to advance a Martian atmospheric instrument (Colaprete, Gordley, et al) which, if successful, would greatly further understanding of Martian atmospheric behavior. The proposed paper will review the flight series in detail, including challenges from the TES-16 flight tests and the projected challenges and application to Mars study. Additional detail regarding the possible applications of a Cognitive Communication technique in current flight development by NOW collaborators at the NASA Glenn Research Center will also be discussed, including the implications of using an automated User Initiated Service (UIS) protocol to maximize the data collected per orbit.

Doppler Wind Temperature Sensor↗

The Doppler Wind and Temperature Sounder (DWTS) Flight Evaluation and Experiments (TES-16,17)

The Doppler Wind and Temperature Sounder instrument (DWTS) developed by Global Atmospheric Technologies and Sciences (GATS) is a simple yet powerful tool with the potential to become a new window through which the study of upper atmosphere dynamics can occur. Based around a defense-grade infrared camera peering through a static gas cell used as a scanning spectral filter, a DWTS instrument can infer wind velocities and kinetic temperatures throughout the stratosphere and lower thermosphere. The DWTS achieves this scanning by measuring the induced Doppler shift and Doppler broadening of emissions as they pass through the DWTS field of view (Gordley, Marshall, 2011). The DWTS holds promise in improving accuracy in weather determination among other terrestrial benefits, and the core technology can be easily adapted to study the dynamics of other planetary atmospheres. In partnership with GATS, NOAA, and other collaborators, NASA Ames and the Nano-Orbital Workshop (NOW) group have been working to evaluate the DWTS instrument on orbit and optimize it as a flexible payload for nanosatellites. The first mission selected for DWTS technical evaluation is preparing for flight in early 2024, which will be followed by a more capable science mission in 2025, with both missions being part of the TES-n/NOW heritage flight series. The first rapid technology demonstration flight, TES-16/DWTS-A, will demonstrate a single DWTS instrument in an approximately 2U payload volume. With an estimated power consumption of 50 watts, the instrument will maintain the imaging sensor plane at 80K during instrument performance evaluation periods using an integrated Stirling cryocooler. Data from DWTS will be captured and processed via a NOW-designed custom data interface unit before being transmitted via S-band radio back to select ground stations, with instrument command and control maintained via L-band global-coverage radio. The subsequent TES-17/DWTS-B mission will be a dedicated science mission tasked with validating the instrument’s full altitude coverage capabilities, currently estimated from 20 to 200 km during both day and night. This new atmospheric observational capability will come from a single small satellite equipped with three DWTS imagers, each hosting a different gas cell chemistry, to form a complete instrument. The intention of this flight series, and one of NASA’s interests in this instrument, is not only to advance Earth atmospheric dynamics, but to advance a Martian atmospheric study instrument as well (Colaprete, Gordley, et al) which, if successful, would greatly further understanding of Martian atmospheric dynamics. This document describes the flight series in detail, including challenges facing the TES-16 flight tests and the projected challenges and application of Mars study. Additional detail regarding the possible applications of a Cognitive Communication technique in current flight development by NOW collaborators at the NASA Glenn Research Center is also discussed, including the implications of using an automated User Initiated Service (UIS) protocol to maximize the data collected per orbit.

DWTS Nano-satellite TES-n↗

The Doppler Wind Temperature Sensor (DWTS) Flight Evaluation and Experiments (TES-16, 17)

The Doppler Wind and Temperature Sounder instrument (DWTS), developed by Global Atmospheric Technologies and Sciences (GATS), is a simple but powerful tool that has the potential to become a new window through which to study the dynamics of the upper atmosphere. Based around a defense-grade infrared camera peering through a static gas cell used as a scanning spectral filter, the DWTS instrument infers wind velocities and kinetic temperatures through the stratosphere and lower thermosphere. The DWTS achieves this scanning by measuring the induced Doppler shift and Doppler broadening of emissions as they pass through the DWTS field of view (Gordley, et al., 2011). The DWTS holds promise in improving accuracy in weather determination , and the core technology can be adapted to study other planetary atmospheres. In partnership with GATS, NOAA, and other collaborators, NASA Ames and the Nano Orbital Workshop group have been working to evaluate the DWTS instrument on orbit and optimize it as a flexible nanosatellite payload. The first mission selected for DWTS evaluation is preparing for flight in early 2024, which will be followed by a more capable science mission in 2025, with both missions being part of the TES-n/NOW heritage flight series. The first rapid technology demonstration flight, TES-16/DWTS-A, will demonstrate a single DWTS instrument in an approximately 2U payload volume with the imaging aperture perpendicular to the flight velocity vector. With an estimated power consumption of 50 watts, supplied via a custom NOW-designed DC-DC converter, the instrument will maintain the imaging sensor plane at 80K during instrument evaluation periods using an integrated pulse-tube cryocooler. Data from DWTS will be captured and processed via a NOW-designed custom data interface unit before being transmitted via S-band radio back to select ground stations, with instrument command and control operated via L-band global-coverage radio. The subsequent TES-17/DWTS-B mission will be a dedicated science mission to obtain full altitude coverage from 20 to 200 km during both day and night, all from a single small-satellite equipped with three DWTS instruments, each hosting a different gas cell chemistry. The intention of this flight series, and one of NASA’s interests in this instrument, is to advance a Martian atmospheric instrument (Colaprete, Gordley, et al) which, if successful, would greatly further understanding of Martian atmospheric behavior. The proposed paper will review the flight series in detail, including challenges facing the TES-16 flight tests and the projected challenges and application to Mars study. Additional detail regarding the possible applications of a Cognitive Communication technique in current flight development by NOW collaborators at the NASA Glenn Research Center will also be discussed, including the implications of using an automated User Initiated Service (UIS) protocol to maximize the data collected per orbit.

nanosatellite↗

The effect of space missions on gravity-responsive torsional eye movements

Three astronauts underwent preflight, inflight, and postflight testing of spontaneous ocular torsion and of ocular counterrolling (OCR), reflexes governed by the gravity-responsive otolith organs in the inner ear. One astronaut, A, had a 30-day space mission on Euromir '94 and was examined monocularly with SensoMotoric Instruments video-oculography (VOG). The other two astronauts, B and C, were studied with a binocular VOG and flew an 180-day mission on Euromir '95. In space, spontaneous eye torsion in the upright position was found to be substantially offset from baseline Earth-based recordings in all three subjects for the duration of the flights. In addition, the binocular studies showed a marked torsional disconjugacy. On return to Earth, offset and torsional disconjugacy persisted for many days. OCR in response to 30 degrees right and left tilt was examined preflight and postflight. Compared to preflight, Astronaut A showed reduced OCR immediately postflight, which increased over the next few days. Both Astronauts B and C had increased OCR postflight, which gradually approached but did not achieve the preflight values over 13 days postflight. The adaptation of ocular torsion in space in one astronaut and not in the other two, and slow adaptation postflight, may reflect the lack of visual feed-back and the open loop nature of the otolith-ocular torsion reflex.

short duration↗

Fighting Testing ACAT/FRRP: Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology/Fighter Risk Reduction Project

This slide presentation reviews the work of the Flight testing Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology/Fighter Risk Reduction Project (ACAT/FRRP). The goal of this project is to develop common modular architecture for all aircraft, and to enable the transition of technology from research to production as soon as possible to begin to reduce the rate of mishaps. The automated Ground Collision Avoidance System (GCAS) system is designed to prevent collision with the ground, by avionics that project the future trajectory over digital terrain, and request an evasion maneuver at the last instance. The flight controls are capable of automatically performing a recovery. The collision avoidance is described in the presentation. Also included in the presentation is a description of the flight test.

Skoog, Mark A.↗

Life Cycle Cost Modeling of High-speed Commercial Aircraft - Final Report

SpaceWorks has concluded a 9-month research and development project aimed at addressing key questions in NASA’s effort to anticipate, understand, and ultimately support the emerging high-speed commercial flight market. The current project is a continuation of the Life Cycle Cost Modeling of High-Speed Commercial Aircraft1 , which is a follow-on to a 2021 study led by Deloitte and SpaceWorks entitled Commercial Hypersonic Transportation Market Study2 . Based in part on the recommendations of these prior studies, the objectives of this current effort were to expand the trade space to include Mach 1.5 aircraft and conduct additional trade studies. These included utilizing tech stops to extend serviceable range between city pairs, mixed aircraft fleets based on market size, flight scheduling to maximize value of the travel opportunity, and scenarios with multiple service operators. Additionally, SpaceWorks conducted new market surveys and research to update air passengers’ willingness-to-pay for highspeed flights given the changes in macroeconomic conditions since the start of the Commercial Hypersonic Transportation Market Study with Deloitte. Ultimately, the new data and capability to evaluate all the trade studies were implemented in a new simulation environment called MIDAS (Multi-market Integrated Dynamic Aerospace Simulation). This sophisticated tool, implemented using AnyLogic software, utilizes agent-based and discrete event simulation (DES) techniques to provide highly detailed analysis and assessment of the high-speed aircraft market problem.

high-speed↗

SSME HPOTP post-test diagnostic system enhancement project

An assessment of engine and component health is routinely made after each test or flight firing of a space shuttle main engine (SSME). Currently, this health assessment is done by teams of engineers who manually review sensor data, performance data, and engine and component operating histories. Based on review of information from these various sources, an evaluation is made as to the health of each component of the SSME and the preparedness of the engine for another test or flight. The objective of this project is to further develop a computer program which automates the analysis of test data from the SSME high-pressure oxidizer turbopump (HPOTP) in order to detect and diagnose anomalies. This program fits into a larger system, the SSME Post-Test Diagnostic System (PTDS), which will eventually be extended to assess the health and status of most SSME components on the basis of test data analysis. The HPOTP module is an expert system, which uses 'rules-of-thumb' obtained from interviews with experts from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to detect and diagnose anomalies. Analyses of the raw test data are first performed using pattern recognition techniques which result in features such as spikes, shifts, peaks, and drifts being detected and written to a database. The HPOTP module then looks for combination of these features which are indicative of known anomalies, using the rules gathered from the turbomachinery experts. Results of this analysis are then displayed via a graphical user interface which provides ranked lists of anomalies and observations by engine component, along with supporting data plots for each.

Bickmore, Timothy W.↗

Immune Function and Reactivation of Latent Viruses

A major concern associated with long-duration space flight is the possibility of infectious diseases posing an unacceptable medical risk to crew members. One major hypothesis addressed in this project is that space flight will cause alterations in the immune system that will allow latent viruses that are endogenous in the human population to reactivate and shed to higher levels than normal, which may affect the health of crew members. The second major hypothesis being examined is that the effects of space flight will alter the mucosal immune system, the first line of defense against many microbial infections, including herpesviruses, polyomaviruses, and gastroenteritis viruses, rendering crew members more susceptible to virus infections across the mucosa. We are focusing the virus studies on the human herpesviruses and polyomaviruses, important pathogens known to establish latent infections in most of the human population. Both primary infection and reactivation from latent infection with these groups of viruses (especially certain herpesviruses) can cause a variety of illnesses that result in morbidity and, occasionally, mortality. Both herpesviruses and polyomaviruses have been associated with human cancer, as well. Effective vaccines exist for only one of the eight known human herpesviruses and available antivirals are of limited use. Whereas normal individuals display minimal consequences from latent viral infections, events which alter immune function (such as immunosuppressive therapy following solid organ transplantation) are known to increase the risk of complications as a result of viral reactivations.

Butel, Janet S.↗

Lessons Learned in Building the Ares Projects

Since being established in 2005, the Ares Projects at Marshall Space Flight Center have been making steady progress designing, building, testing, and flying the next generation of exploration launch vehicles. Ares is committed to rebuilding crucial capabilities from the Apollo era that made the first human flights to the Moon possible, as well as incorporating the latest in computer technology and changes in management philosophy. One example of an Apollo-era practice has been giving NASA overall authority over vehicle integration activities, giving civil service engineers hands-on experience in developing rocket hardware. This knowledge and experience help make the agency a "smart buyer" of products and services. More modern practices have been added to the management tool belt to improve efficiency, cost effectiveness, and institutional knowledge, including knowledge management/capture to gain better insight into design and decision making; earned value management, where Ares won a NASA award for its practice and implementation; designing for operability; and Lean Six Sigma applications to identify and eliminate wasted time and effort. While it is important to learn technical lessons like how to fly and control unique rockets like the Ares I-X flight test vehicle, the Ares management team also has been learning important lessons about how to manage large, long-term projects.

Sumrall, John Phil↗

Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment Overview

In support of the Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment (BLT FE) Project, a manufactured protuberance tile was installed on the port wing of Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery for STS-119, STS-128, STS-131 and STS-133 as well as Space Shuttle Endeavour for STS-134. Additional instrumentation was installed in order to obtain more spatially resolved measurements downstream of the protuberance. This paper provides an overview of the BLT FE Project with emphasis on the STS-131 and STS-133 results. A high-level overview of the in-situ flight data is presented, along with a summary of the comparisons between pre- and post-flight analysis predictions and flight data. Comparisons show that empirically correlated predictions for boundary layer transition onset time closely match the flight data, while predicted surface temperatures were significantly higher than observed flight temperatures. A thermocouple anomaly observed on a number of the missions is discussed as are a number of the mitigation actions that will be taken on the final flight, STS-134, including potential alterations of the flight trajectory and changes to the flight instrumentation.

Berger, Karen T.↗

The Moon is a Planet Too: Lunar Science and Robotic Exploration

The first decades of the 21st century will be marked by major lunar science and exploration activities. The Moon is a witness to 4.5 billion years of solar system history, recording that history more completely and more clearly than any other planetary body. Lunar science encompasses early planetary evolution and differentiation, lava eruptions and fire fountains, impact scars throughout time, and billions of years of volatile input. I will cover the main outstanding issues in lunar science today and the most intriguing scientific opportunities made possible by renewed robotic and human lunar exploration. Barbara is a planetary scientist at NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center. She studies meteorites from the Moon, Mars and asteroids and has been to Antarctica twice to hunt for them. Barbara also works on the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity and has an asteroid named after her. She is currently helping the Lunar Precursor Robotics Program on the Lunar Mapping and Modeling Project, a project tasked by the Exploration System Mission Directorate (ESMD) to develop maps and tools of the Moon to benefit the Constellation Program lunar planning. She is also supporting the Science Mission Directorate s (SMD) lunar flight projects line at Marshall as the co-chair of the Science Definition Team for NASA s next robotic landers, which will be nodes of the International Lunar Network, providing geophysical information about the Moon s interior structure and composition.

Cohen, Barbara↗

Constellation Program Flight Test Methodology and Strategy

Main projects elements: a) Orion & Ares b) New & Modified heritage hardware. c) Shuttle retirement in 2010. Methodology: a) Flight test objectives. b) Risk reduction. Strategy a) Mapping Flight Test Objectives. b) Build incremental capability.

Vigil, Art↗

The biomedical challenges of space flight

Space medicine has evolved considerably through past U.S. missions. It has been proven that humans can live and work in space for long durations and that humans are integral to mission success. The space medicine program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) looks toward future long-duration missions. Its goal is to overcome the biomedical challenges associated with maintaining the safety, health, and optimum performance of astronauts and cosmonauts. This program investigates the health effects of adaptation to microgravity: the nature of their pathologies, the effects of microgravity on pathophysiology, and the alterations in pharmacodynamics and treatment. A critical capability in performing research is the monitoring of the health of all astronauts and of the spacecraft environment. These data support the evidence-based approach to space medicine, incorporating past studies of microgravity-related conditions and their terrestrial counterparts. This comprehensive approach will enable safe and effective exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

Mir Project↗

Marshall Space Flight Center Faculty Fellowship Program

The research projects conducted by the 2016 Faculty Fellows at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center included propulsion studies on propellant issues, and materials investigations involving plasma effects and friction stir welding. Spacecraft Systems research was conducted on wireless systems and 3D printing of avionics. Vehicle Systems studies were performed on controllers and spacecraft instruments. The Science and Technology group investigated additive construction applied to Mars and Lunar regolith, medical uses of 3D printing, and unique instrumentation, while the Test Laboratory measured pressure vessel leakage and crack growth rates.

Six, N. F.↗