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At least 1,405 records · Page 78

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NASA NTRS2014

Injury Surveillance Among NASA Astronauts Using the Barell Injury Diagnosis Matrix

Astronauts perform physically demanding tasks and risk incurring musculoskeletal injuries during both groundbased training and missions. Increased injury rates throughout the history of the U.S. space program have been attributed to numerous factors, including an aging astronaut corps, increased Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) and Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) training to construct the International Space Station, and improved clinical operations that promote injury prevention and reporting. With NASA program changes through the years (including retirement of the Shuttle program) and an improved training environment (including a new astronaut gym), there is no surveillance program to systematically track injury rates. A limited number of research projects have been conducted over the past 20 years to evaluate musculoskeletal injuries: (1) to evaluate orthopedic injuries from 1987 to 1995, (2) to describe upper extremity injuries, (3) to evaluate EVA spacesuit training related injuries, and (4) to evaluate in-flight musculoskeletal injuries. Nevertheless, there has been no consistently performed comprehensive assessment of musculoskeletal injuries among astronauts. The Barell Injury Diagnosis Matrix was introduced at the 2001 meeting of the International Collaborative Effort (ICE) on Injury Statistics. The Matrix proposes a standardized method of classifying body region by nature of injury. Diagnoses are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) coding system. The purpose of this study is to assess the usefulness and complexity of the Barell Injury Diagnosis Matrix to classify and track musculoskeletal injuries among NASA astronauts.

Murray, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

LEO and GEO missions

The occurrence of the Challenger disaster in early 1986 caused a severe reevaluation of the space program. Plans already established had to be drastically revised and new plans had to be made. NASA created the Space Leadership Planning Group (SLPG) to formulate space mission plans covering a 50 year period based on Agency goals and objectives responsive to the National Commission on Space recommendations. An interim view of the status of SLPG plans for low altitude and geosynchronous missions is presented.

Mercanti, Enrico↗

NASA NTRS1992

Building an intellectual infrastructure for space commerce

Competition in commerce requires an 'intellectual infrastructure', that is, a work force with extensive scientific and technical knowledge and a thorough understanding of the business world. This paper focuses on the development of such intellectual infrastructure for space commerce. Special consideration is given to the contributions to this development by the 17 Centers for the Commercial Development of Space Program conducting commercially oriented research in eight specialized areas: automation and robotics, remote sensing, life sciences, materials processing in space, space power, space propulsion, space structures and materials, and advanced satellite communications. Attention is also given to the Space Business Development Center concept aimed at addressing a variety of barriers common to the development of space commerce.

Stone, Barbara A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Requirements for significant problem reporting and trend analysis

This handbook supplements policies, requirements, and procedures of NMI 8070.3 to ensure that NASA management at each organizational level is: fully aware of trends affecting both the level of safety and the potential for mission success established for both NASA manned space programs and its supporting institutions; fully and independently informed of problems that represent significant risk to the safety of all personnel (including the general populace) and to the success of a mission or operation through a program mechanism herein defined as Significant Problem Reporting; and in full agreement with the level of elimination of these problems through the closed-loop accounting of corrective actions. The requirements of this handbook are supportive of the agency's safety, reliability, maintainability, and quality assurance (SRM&QA) program objectives and are applicable to all organizational elements of NASA connected with or supporting developmental or operational manned space program/projects (including associated payloads) and the related institutional facilities.

George A Rodney↗

NASA NTRS1990

New Directions in Space: A Report on the Lunar and Mars Initiatives

This report focuses on one aspect of the current space program: The establishment of a manned base on the Moon and the manned exploration of Mars. These missions were announced by the President last year as a major U.S. space policy objective to be implemented under the leadership of the Vice President, acting as Chairman of the National Space Council. On March 8, 1990, the White House released Presidential guidelines for the execution of the lunar and Mars programs. The guidelines stressed the need for new approaches and the development of innovative technologies with a potential for major cost, schedule and performance improvements. They also called for a competitive environment, with several years allotted to the definition of at least two significantly different human space exploration "reference architectures." Selection of the final technical concepts for the mission is scheduled to occur only after the relative merits of the competing reference architectures have been evaluated.

Seitz, Frederick↗

NASA NTRS2015

Lighting the Way to the Stars

NASA has long recognized the importance of biological life-support systems to remove carbon dioxide, generate oxygen, purify water, and produce food for long-duration space missions. Experiments to understand the effects of the space environment on plant development have been performed since early days of the space program. In the late 1970s, NASA sponsored a series of workshops to identify issues associated with developing a sustainable, biological life-support system for long-duration space missions. Based on findings from these workshops, NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) program began funding research at university and field centers to systematically conduct the research identified in those workshops. Key issues were the necessity to reduce mass, power/energy requirements, and volume of all components.

Way To↗

NASA NTRS1985

Using computer graphics to enhance astronaut and systems safety

Computer graphics is being employed at the NASA Johnson Space Center as a tool to perform rapid, efficient and economical analyses for man-machine integration, flight operations development and systems engineering. The Operator Station Design System (OSDS), a computer-based facility featuring a highly flexible and versatile interactive software package, PLAID, is described. This unique evaluation tool, with its expanding data base of Space Shuttle elements, various payloads, experiments, crew equipment and man models, supports a multitude of technical evaluations, including spacecraft and workstation layout, definition of astronaut visual access, flight techniques development, cargo integration and crew training. As OSDS is being applied to the Space Shuttle, Orbiter payloads (including the European Space Agency's Spacelab) and future space vehicles and stations, astronaut and systems safety are being enhanced. Typical OSDS examples are presented. By performing physical and operational evaluations during early conceptual phases. supporting systems verification for flight readiness, and applying its capabilities to real-time mission support, the OSDS provides the wherewithal to satisfy a growing need of the current and future space programs for efficient, economical analyses.

Computer Simulation↗

NASA NTRS1991

Status of NASA's Stirling space power converter program

An overview is presented of the NASA free-piston stirling space power converter technology program. The authors discuss Stirling experience in space and progress toward 1050 K and 1300 K Stirling space power converters. Fabrication is nearly completed for the 1050 K component test power converter (CTPC); results of motoring tests of the cold end (525 K), are presented. The success of these and future designs is dependent upon supporting research and technology efforts including heat pipes, bearings, superalloy joining technologies, high efficiency alternators, life and reliability testing and predictive methodologies. The authors provide an update of progress in some of these technologies.

Dudenhoefer, James E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The NASA Radiation Health Program

The Space Radiation Health Program (SRHP) is defined in terms of motivation and methodology with specific reference given to the impacts of HZE particles and solar energetic particles. The biological hazards are mentioned that can be associated with the two particle types and ionizing radiation in general. The lack of data on the impact of such radiation and effective shielding countermeasures is identified as the primary motivation for worst-case assumptions. However, the resulting shielding designs can potentially overestimate the thickness by a factor of 10 and add unnecessarily to vehicle take-off mass. A space-based validation system is proposed to complement ground-based investigations of the effects of ionizing radiation in interplanetary space. The Lifesat satellite is proposed as a part of the SRHP effort to determine the requirements for protection and future shielding specifications.

Schimmerling, Walter↗

NASA NTRS1978

'Smart' from a NEEDS perspective

A description is presented of the characteristics which are considered essential for the NASA information system if it is to satisfy the sensor/user needs of the 1980's. The present data/information (DI) system is a complex arrangement of functions which has evolved to meet the increased demands placed upon it by the changing nature of the space program. Even though today's ground system is handling today's DI flow, it has certain limitations, and in some cases lacks consistency in organization and structure that would allow it to cope with the new requirements. A systematic analysis and overview of the total system is necessary for the planning of an efficient and effective information system for the 1980's. The NASA End-to-End Data System (NEEDS) program is an attempt to significantly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the system that couples the user of the space data with the sensors.

Blanchard, D. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Improving NASA's technology for space science

The continued advance of the nation's space program is directly dependent upon the development and use of new technology. Technology is the foundation for every aspect of space missions and ground operations. The improvements in technology that will enable future advances are not only in device and system performance, but also in permitting missions to be carried out more rapidly and at lower cost. Although more can be done with current technology, NASA's recent call for new and innovative approaches should not be answered by employing only today's technologies; new technologies with revolutionary potential should be sought. The study reported here was performed to identify means to enhance the development of technologies for the space sciences and applications.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1995

The Space Shuttle: America's team reaching for the future

This video features the different NASA research centers and their contribution toward NASA's space program. It includes the following research centers: NASA headquarters, Ames Research Center, Goddard Flight Research Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johnson Space Flight Center, Kennedy Space Flight Center, Langley Research Center, Lewis Research Center, and Marshall Space Flight Center.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1999

Observations from the Microgravity Smoldering Combustion (MSC) Ultrasound Imaging System (UIS)

The Microgravity Smoldering Combustion (MSC) experiment is a study of the smolder characteristics of porous combustible materials in a microgravity environment. The objective of the study is to provide a better understanding of the controlling mechanisms of smolder, both in microgravity and normal earth gravity. Experiments have been conducted aboard the NASA Space Shuttle in the GAS-CAN, an apparatus requiring completely remote operation. Future GAS-CAN experiments will utilize an ultrasound imaging system (UIS). Thermocouples are currently used to measure temperature and reaction front velocities, but a less intrusive method is desirable, as smolder is affected by heat transfer along the thermocouple. It is expected that the UIS will eventually replace the existing array of thermocouples as a non-intrusive technique without compromising data acquisition. Smoldering is defined as a non-flaming, self-sustaining, propagating, exothermic, surface reaction, deriving its principal heat from heterogeneous oxidation of the fuel. Smolder of cable insulation is of particular concern in the space program; to date there have been a few minor incidents of overheated and charred cables and electrical components reported on Space Shuttle flights. Recently, the establishment of the International Space Station and other space facilities has increased interest in the study of smoldering in microgravity because of the need to preempt the possibility, and/or to minimize the effect of a smolder initiated fire during the operation of these facilities. The ignition and propagation of smolder are examined using both thermocouples and the UIS. The UIS has been implemented into the MSC flight hardware. The system provides information about local permeability variations within a smoldering sample, which can, in turn, be interpreted to track the propagation of the smolder reaction. The method utilizes the observation that transmission of an ultrasonic signal through a porous material increases with increasing permeability. Since a propagating smolder reaction leaves behind a char that is higher in permeability than the original (unburnt) material, ultrasonic transmission can be employed to monitor the progress of the primary reaction front, char evolution (i.e. material left by the smolder reaction), pyrolysis, and condensation fronts.

Walther, D.C.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Contractor and Government: Teamwork and Commitment

The assigned topic, "Contractor and Government: Teamwork and Commitment," is a subject about vitally interested. The successes of the U.S. space program were built on such teamwork and commitment. It seems only a short time ago that man's role in space was an unknown quantity. In rapid succession, however, the flights of Shepard, Glenn, and Armstrong demonstrated man's capability to live and travel in space. Consequently, we no longer live with the same awe of space. The success of these joint industry-NASA efforts in achieving our Nation's space goals testifies to the validity of our team's past commitment, management expertise, communications techniques, and teamwork over a period of 25 years. Today, however, We are at the beginning of a new era in space.

Griffin, Gerald D.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Telecommunications, navigation and information management concept overview for the Space Exploration Initiative program

An overview is provided of the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) concepts for telecommunications, information systems, and navigation (TISN), and engineering and architecture issues are discussed. The SEI program data system is reviewed to identify mission TISN interfaces, and reference TISN concepts are described for nominal, degraded, and mission-critical data services. The infrastructures reviewed include telecommunications for robotics support, autonomous navigation without earth-based support, and information networks for tracking and data acquisition. Four options for TISN support architectures are examined which relate to unique SEI exploration strategies. Detailed support estimates are given for: (1) a manned stay on Mars; (2) permanent lunar and Martian settlements; short-duration missions; and (4) systematic exploration of the moon and Mars.

Bell, Jerome A.↗

NASA NTRS1973

The growing importance of costs and ways to maintain cost control on a large program in today's competitive environment

Discussion of management techniques that make it possible to overcome inflationary and developmental cost rises while holding schedule and performance fixed in scientific space programs. The techniques reviewed pertain to high personnel motivation, continual review of contract rigidity for de facto modification by senior judgment, standardization vs design innovation, cooperative customer/contractor goal orientation vs task orientation, and deep real-time management visibility.

Newman, J. J.↗

DOE OSTI2022

FNAL PIP-II Accumulator Ring

The FNAL accelerator complex is poised to reach MW neutrino beams on target for the exploration of the dark sector physics and rare physics program spaces. Future operations of the complex will include CW linac operations at beam intensities that have not been seen before \cite{PIP2,RCS_LOI}. The ambitious beam program relies on multi-turn H$^{-}$ injection into the FNAL Booster and then extracted into delivery rings or the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) 8 GeV HEP program. A new rapid-cycling synchrotron (RCS) will be required to reach the LBNF goal of 2.4 MW because of intense space-charge limitations. There are many accelerator engineering challenges that are already known and many that will be discovered. This proposal calls for an intermediate step that will both facilitate the operation of Booster in the PIP-II era and gain operational experience associated with high power injection rings. This step includes the design, construction and installation of a 0.8 GeV accumulator ring (upgradeable to 1+ GeV) to be located in the PIP-II Booster Transfer Line (BTL). The PIP-II accumulator ring (PAR) may be primarily designed around permanent magnets or use standard iron core magnet technology with an aperture selected to accommodate the desired high intensity protons at 0.8 GeV.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

NASA NTRS1968

DSN seven day/twelve week schedule program

Deep Space Network scheduling program allocates resources based on the users requirements. The system reviews and allocates the requests for equipment and resources. Depending upon the program input either the seven day or the twelve week schedule is generated.

Holzman, R. E.↗