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NASA NTRS2011

High Impact Weather Forecasts and Warnings with the GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM)

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) is the next series to follow the existing GOES system currently operating over the Western Hemisphere. A major advancement over the current GOES include a new capability for total lightning detection (cloud and cloud-to-ground flashes) from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). The GLM will operate continuously day and night with near-uniform spatial resolution of 8 km with a product refresh rate of less than 20 sec over the Americas and adjacent oceanic regions. This will aid in forecasting severe storms and tornado activity, and convective weather impacts on aviation safety and efficiency. In parallel with the instrument development, a GOES-R Risk Reduction Science Team and Algorithm Working Group Lightning Applications Team have begun to develop cal/val performance monitoring tools and new applications using the GLM alone, in conjunction with other instruments, and merged or blended integrated observing system products combining satellite, radar, in-situ and numerical models. Proxy total lightning data from the NASA Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite and regional ground-based lightning networks are being used to develop the pre-launch algorithms, test data sets, and applications, as well as improve our knowledge of thunderstorm initiation and evolution. In this presentation we review the planned implementation of the instrument and suite of operational algorithms.

Goodman, Steven↗

NASA NTRS2011

High Impact Weather Forecasts and Warnings with the GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM)

Goodman, Steven J.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Holistic DSMC Transport Database for Re-Entry and Ablation Modeling

Hybrid simulation frameworks combining Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) are frequently employed to efficiently perform high-fidelity solutions of environments containing combined continuum/rarified flow. The use of DSMC, a stochastic, particle-based method, is necessary for high-Knudsen flow where continuum-based assumptions governing CFD break down. However, the DSMC methodology is generally very computationally inefficient to model the continuum regime. In a CFD/DSMC hybrid approach, obtaining an accurate, high-fidelity solution hinges on the consistent treatment of transport properties and the used thermo-chemical models employed within the two solvers. In principle, in regions where CFD and DSMC are both employed, the same gas mixture under the same conditions should have the same properties, regardless of simulation type. Observed differences should be due to non-equilibrium processes, rather than differences in physical models. While the transport models governing CFD and DSMC simulations are starkly different, they can effectively be linked via their use of reduced Chapman-Enskog collision integrals. In CFD, these integrals are typically stored as fitted polynomial expressions and used to directly compute gas transport properties via mixing rules or the full Chapman-Enskog formulation. In DSMC, they can be used to derive the collision parameters needed for the phenomenological collision cross-section models that govern particle interactions, via a Nelder-Mead optimization scheme. The goal of this work is to provide a unified DSMC transport database encompassing the vast majority of known gas species encountered during atmospheric entry, on Earth or any other Solar body. This goal is largely possible due to recently performed ab-initio quantum chemistry calculations. Combined with other high-fidelity literature sources, the planned database will consist of collision integral data for over 200 neutral and ionized species and over 17000 binary collisions. From these collision integrals, Nelder-Mead optimization is used to compute Variable Soft Sphere (VSS) collision model parameters for DSMC, fitted from 300 K to 20000 K. Initial comparisons of transport properties of relevant equilibrium gas mixtures show great agreement between CFD and DSMC-derived results. The completed database will be able to be readily applied to model binary collisions of any gas mixture containing the included species over the specified temperature range, making it a valuable tool for future planetary probe modeling efforts. An example is shown below. Equilibrium mixture transport properties for a 19-species Titan atmospheric model [4] are computed using both fitted VSS parameters and the original CFD collision integral values. Deviations in computed properties between the two approaches is less than 5% for the entire temperature range.

M R Gosma↗

NASA NTRS1996

International GPS Service for Geodynamics

This 1995 annual report of the IGS International GPS (Global Positioning System) Service for Geodynamics - describes the second operational year of the service. It provides the many IGS contributing agencies and the rapidly growing user community with essential information on current organizational and technical matters promoting the IGS standards and products (including organizational framework, data processing strategies, and statistics showing the remarkable expansion of the GPS monitoring network, the improvement of IGS performance, and product quality). It also introduces important practical concepts for network densification by integration of regional stations and the combination of station coordinate solutions. There are groups of articles describing general aspects of the IGS, the Associate Analysis Centers (AACs), Data Centers, and IGS stations.

Zumberge, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS2024

Crew Health and Performance Integrated Data Architecture Project Updates

Future Human Exploration missions will face new constraints as crews move further from terrestrial communication, resupply, and the real-time support enjoyed by Low Earth Orbit missions today. Exploration crews will need to be more self-reliant and able to respond to emergencies without immediate support from ground-based personnel. A new generation of technologies, employing advanced analytical and predictive modeling techniques, is needed to assist the crew’s work, help maintain their health, and inform the decisions they make on these future Exploration missions. The Crew Health and Performance Integrated Data Architecture (CHP-IDA) project is laying a foundation for these future technologies by integrating sources of data generated by and around the crew and then providing them though common data models and Application Programming Interfaces to external systems. The combined data model makes comprehensive Crew Health and Performance data accessible and more meaningful to the decision-making process. This presentation will describe the currently ongoing effort to develop and evaluate a path-to-flight concept of the CHP-IDA software, current integrations, updates to the architecture, and examples of exploration scenarios in which CHP-IDA would be used.

B Schmitt↗

NASA NTRS2012

Optical Communications Channel Combiner

NASA has identified deep-space optical communications links as an integral part of a unified space communication network in order to provide data rates in excess of 100 Mb/s. The distances and limited power inherent in a deep-space optical downlink necessitate the use of photon-counting detectors and a power-efficient modulation such as pulse position modulation (PPM). For the output of each photodetector, whether from a separate telescope or a portion of the detection area, a communication receiver estimates a log-likelihood ratio for each PPM slot. To realize the full effective aperture of these receivers, their outputs must be combined prior to information decoding. A channel combiner was developed to synchronize the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) sequences of multiple receivers, and then combines these into a single LLR sequence for information decoding. The channel combiner synchronizes the LLR sequences of up to three receivers and then combines these into a single LLR sequence for output. The channel combiner has three channel inputs, each of which takes as input a sequence of four-bit LLRs for each PPM slot in a codeword via a XAUI 10 Gb/s quad optical fiber interface. The cross-correlation between the channels LLR time series are calculated and used to synchronize the sequences prior to combining. The output of the channel combiner is a sequence of four-bit LLRs for each PPM slot in a codeword via a XAUI 10 Gb/s quad optical fiber interface. The unit is controlled through a 1 Gb/s Ethernet UDP/IP interface. A deep-space optical communication link has not yet been demonstrated. This ground-station channel combiner was developed to demonstrate this capability and is unique in its ability to process such a signal.

Quirk, Kevin J.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Arc-Second Pointer for Balloon-Borne Astronomical Instrument

A control system has been designed to keep a balloon-borne scientific instrument pointed toward a celestial object within an angular error of the order of an arc second. The design is intended to be adaptable to a large range of instrument payloads. The initial payload to which the design nominally applies is considered to be a telescope, modeled as a simple thin-walled cylinder 24 ft (approx.= 7.3 m) long, 3 ft (approx.= 0.91 m) in diameter, weighing 1,500 lb (having a mass of .680 kg). The instrument would be mounted on a set of motor-driven gimbals in pitch-yaw configuration. The motors on the gimbals would apply the control torques needed for fine adjustments of the instrument in pitch and yaw. The pitch-yaw mount would, in turn, be suspended from a motor mount at the lower end of a pair of cables hanging down from the balloon (see figure). The motor in this mount would be used to effect coarse azimuth control of the pitch-yaw mount. A notable innovation incorporated in the design is a provision for keeping the gimbal bearings in constant motion. This innovation would eliminate the deleterious effects of static friction . something that must be done in order to achieve the desired arc-second precision. Another notable innovation is the use of linear accelerometers to provide feedback that would facilitate the early detection and counteraction of disturbance torques before they could integrate into significant angular-velocity and angular-position errors. The control software processing the sensor data would be capable of distinguishing between translational and rotational accelerations. The output of the accelerometers is combined with that of angular position and angular-velocity sensors into a proportional + integral + derivative + acceleration control law for the pitch and yaw torque motors. Preliminary calculations have shown that with appropriate gains, the power demand of the control system would be low enough to be satisfiable by means of storage batteries charged by solar batteries during the day.

Ward, Philip R.↗

NASA NTRS1988

STRUTEX: A prototype knowledge-based system for initially configuring a structure to support point loads in two dimensions

The purpose of this research effort is to investigate the benefits that might be derived from applying artificial intelligence tools in the area of conceptual design. Therefore, the emphasis is on the artificial intelligence aspects of conceptual design rather than structural and optimization aspects. A prototype knowledge-based system, called STRUTEX, was developed to initially configure a structure to support point loads in two dimensions. This system combines numerical and symbolic processing by the computer with interactive problem solving aided by the vision of the user by integrating a knowledge base interface and inference engine, a data base interface, and graphics while keeping the knowledge base and data base files separate. The system writes a file which can be input into a structural synthesis system, which combines structural analysis and optimization.

Rogers, James L.↗

NASA NTRS1972

VHF/UHF technique for the determination of the columnar electron contents of the plasmasphere and of the protonosphere using geostationary satellite transmission: Observations during magnetic storms

Measurements of the total electron content of the plasmasphere up to geostationary heights were made using the beacon transmitters aboard the satellite ATS-3. The technique employed is a combination of the phase-path length difference and the Faraday rotation angle methods. Such a combination permits very accurate determination of the integration constant necessary to convert phase-path length difference data into information about the absolute value of the columnar content.

Almeida, O. G.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Use of satellite soundings and imagery for nowcasting and very-short-range forecasting

Examples of GOES-East satellite imagery and sounding channel information are used to show how atmospheric behavior in the vicinity of intense mesoscale weather events can be analyzed. Mesoscale spatial and temporal information on atmospheric thermal structure and moisture distribution can be determined using satellite sounding and multispectral image data. Clouds and cloud patterns in a satellite image or animated series of images represent the integrated effect of ongoing dynamic and thermodynamic processes in the atmosphere. When information from satellite data is combined with radar, surface and upper air observations, important processes in storm development can be better understood.

Purdom, J. F. W.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A new accelerometer recording system for shuttle use

Microgravity investigators are interested in enhancing the capabilities and improving the information return from accelerometers used in microgravity research. In addition to improving the accelerometer sensor, efforts should be directed towards using recent advances in microprocessor technology and system design techniques to improve sensor calibration and temperature compensation, online data display and analysis, and data reduction and information storage. Results from the above areas of investigation should be combined in an integrated design for a spaceflight microgravity accelerometer package.

Lichtenberg, Byron↗

NASA NTRS2009

Synthesis and Assimilation Systems - Essential Adjuncts to the Observing System

Assimilation systems synthesize diverse in-situ and satellite data streams into full four-dimensional state estimates by combining the strengths of each data set and also of the model. The resulting analysis provides an integrated view of the information in the various observations as well as derived estimates of unobserved quantities. Assimilation systems are particularly important for the ocean where subsurface observations, even today, are sparse and intermittent compared with the scales needed to represent ocean variability and where satellites only sense the surface. Increasingly, models and assimilation systems are being used to provide information about the current observing system and to help in the design plans for new observations. Whether it is as a user of observations or a contributor to evaluation of the observing system, ocean synthesis and assimilation systems are now an integral part of the global ocean observing and information system. Major advances have been made over the last decade under the auspices of WCRP's Climate Variability and Predictability Project (CLIVAR) and the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE). In addition to advances in the assimilation systems, there have been major developments in the observing system, with satellite altimetry, the tropical moored buoy arrays in the Pacific and Atlantic, and more recently Argo. These developments have led to significant advances in our understanding and prediction of ocean variations at both mesoscale and climate scales. Many challenges remain. Some of these challenges lie in the observations themselves, some in the assimilation systems that, even in the more recent era of unprecedented observations from satellite altimetry and Argo, provide different views of climate variations. Yet there are many examples of successful applications from ocean assimilation products. Use of these systems for assessing the observing system helps identify the strengths of each observation type, and indicates that none of the current observations is redundant. Indeed, the indication is that the ocean remains under-sampled and that further improvements in the observing system are needed for both climate monitoring and prediction. Future developments will be increasingly towards consistent analyses across components of the Earth system using, e.g., coupled atmosphere-ocean models.

Rienecker, Michele M.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Air Quality Forecasting at Sub-City Scale by Combining Models, Satellites, and Surface Measures

While there are a variety of sources for air quality information, no one source simultaneously allows for high accuracy, low bias, fine spatial resolution, wide spatial coverage, high temporal frequency, and the capability for near-term forecasting of air quality. Global models, like the NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System -Composition Forecasting (GEOS-CF) model, provide global coverage and forecasting capabilities, but operate at relatively coarse spatial resolution and require ground-truthing with in-situ data. Polar-orbiting satellite data products, like those of the ESA TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), provide higher-spatial-resolution remote sensing of atmospheric composition, but are limited by cloud cover and overpass times and report column-integrated quantities. Surface measurements, both from regulatory-grade monitors and low-cost networks, measure “nose-level” air quality, but may not represent concentration variability across large spatial domains, and (in the case of low-cost sensors) are subject to interference and biases. There exists a great potential to combine these diverse data sources together, using the strengths of some to offset the weaknesses of others to build a more comprehensive picture of air quality. This presentation will summarize results from ongoing efforts to produce such a combined forecast, with application case studies for surface-level Nitrogen Dioxide forecasting in several major US cities. Furthermore, we will examine the relative impacts and benefits of different data sources on the forecasting accuracy at different spatial and temporal scales. Finally, we will examine the potential for integrating low-cost sensors into such a system, both in terms of using these integrated air quality estimates as a baseline from which to calibrate networks of low-cost sensors in the field, and in terms of using dense networks of low-cost sensors to refine the spatial resolution of integrated air quality forecasts.

Air Quality↗

NASA NTRS2007

Searching Across the International Space Station Databases

Data access in the enterprise generally requires us to combine data from different sources and different formats. It is advantageous thus to focus on the intersection of the knowledge across sources and domains; keeping irrelevant knowledge around only serves to make the integration more unwieldy and more complicated than necessary. A context search over multiple domain is proposed in this paper to use context sensitive queries to support disciplined manipulation of domain knowledge resources. The objective of a context search is to provide the capability for interrogating many domain knowledge resources, which are largely semantically disjoint. The search supports formally the tasks of selecting, combining, extending, specializing, and modifying components from a diverse set of domains. This paper demonstrates a new paradigm in composition of information for enterprise applications. In particular, it discusses an approach to achieving data integration across multiple sources, in a manner that does not require heavy investment in database and middleware maintenance. This lean approach to integration leads to cost-effectiveness and scalability of data integration with an underlying schemaless object-relational database management system. This highly scalable, information on demand system framework, called NX-Search, which is an implementation of an information system built on NETMARK. NETMARK is a flexible, high-throughput open database integration framework for managing, storing, and searching unstructured or semi-structured arbitrary XML and HTML used widely at the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) and industry.

Maluf, David A.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Residual Strength Analyses of Monolithic Structures

Finite-element fracture simulation methodology predicts the residual strength of damaged aircraft structures. The methodology uses the critical crack-tip-opening-angle (CTOA) fracture criterion to characterize the fracture behavior of the material. The CTOA fracture criterion assumes that stable crack growth occurs when the crack-tip angle reaches a constant critical value. The use of the CTOA criterion requires an elastic- plastic, finite-element analysis. The critical CTOA value is determined by simulating fracture behavior in laboratory specimens, such as a compact specimen, to obtain the angle that best fits the observed test behavior. The critical CTOA value appears to be independent of loading, crack length, and in-plane dimensions. However, it is a function of material thickness and local crack-front constraint. Modeling the local constraint requires either a three-dimensional analysis or a two-dimensional analysis with an approximation to account for the constraint effects. In recent times as the aircraft industry is leaning towards monolithic structures with the intention of reducing part count and manufacturing cost, there has been a consistent effort at NASA Langley to extend critical CTOA based numerical methodology in the analysis of integrally-stiffened panels.In this regard, a series of fracture tests were conducted on both flat and curved aluminum alloy integrally-stiffened panels. These flat panels were subjected to uniaxial tension and during the test, applied load-crack extension, out-of-plane displacements and local deformations around the crack tip region were measured. Compact and middle-crack tension specimens were tested to determine the critical angle (wc) using three-dimensional code (ZIP3D) and the plane-strain core height (hJ using two-dimensional code (STAGS). These values were then used in the STAGS analysis to predict the fracture behavior of the integrally-stiffened panels. The analyses modeled stable tearing, buckling, and crack branching at the integral stiffener using different values of critical CTOA for different material thicknesses and orientation. Comparisons were made between measured and predicted load-crack extension, out-of-plane displacements and local deformations around the crack tip region. Simultaneously, three-dimensional capabilities to model crack branching and to monitor stable crack growth of multiple cracks in a large thick integrally-stiffened flat panels were implemented in three-dimensional finite element code (ZIP3D) and tested by analyzing the integrally-stiffened panels tested at Alcoa. The residual strength of the panels predicted from STAGS and ZP3D code compared very well with experimental data. In recent times, STAGS software has been updated with new features and now one can have combinations of solid and shell elements in the residual strength analysis of integrally-stiffened panels.

Forth, Scott↗

NASA NTRS2008

Constellation Program Life-cycle Cost Analysis Model (LCAM)

The Constellation Program (CxP) is NASA's effort to replace the Space Shuttle, return humans to the moon, and prepare for a human mission to Mars. The major elements of the Constellation Lunar sortie design reference mission architecture are shown. Unlike the Apollo Program of the 1960's, affordability is a major concern of United States policy makers and NASA management. To measure Constellation affordability, a total ownership cost life-cycle parametric cost estimating capability is required. This capability is being developed by the Constellation Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) Directorate, and is called the Lifecycle Cost Analysis Model (LCAM). The requirements for LCAM are based on the need to have a parametric estimating capability in order to do top-level program analysis, evaluate design alternatives, and explore options for future systems. By estimating the total cost of ownership within the context of the planned Constellation budget, LCAM can provide Program and NASA management with the cost data necessary to identify the most affordable alternatives. LCAM is also a key component of the Integrated Program Model (IPM), an SE&I developed capability that combines parametric sizing tools with cost, schedule, and risk models to perform program analysis. LCAM is used in the generation of cost estimates for system level trades and analyses. It draws upon the legacy of previous architecture level cost models, such as the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) Architecture Cost Model (ARCOM) developed for Simulation Based Acquisition (SBA), and ATLAS. LCAM is used to support requirements and design trade studies by calculating changes in cost relative to a baseline option cost. Estimated costs are generally low fidelity to accommodate available input data and available cost estimating relationships (CERs). LCAM is capable of interfacing with the Integrated Program Model to provide the cost estimating capability for that suite of tools.

Prince, Andy↗

NASA NTRS2001

Bio-Optical Measurement and Modeling of the California Current and Polar Oceans

The principal goals of our research are to validate standard or experimental products through detailed bio-optical and biogeochemical measurements, and to combine ocean optical observations with advanced radiative transfer modeling to contribute to satellite vicarious radiometric calibration and advanced algorithm development. To achieve our goals requires continued efforts to execute complex field programs globally, as well as development of advanced ocean optical measurement protocols. We completed a comprehensive set of ocean optical observations in the California Current, Southern Ocean, Indian Ocean requiring a large commitment to instrument calibration, measurement protocols, data processing and data merger. We augmented separately funded projects of our own, as well as others, to acquire ill situ data sets we have collected on various global cruises supported by separate grants or contracts. In collaboration with major oceanographic ship-based observation programs funded by various agencies (CalCOFI, US JGOFS, NOAA AMLR, INDOEX and Japan/East Sea) our SIMBIOS effort has resulted in data from diverse bio-optical provinces. For these global deployments we generate a high-quality, methodologically consistent, data set encompassing a wide-range of oceanic conditions. Global data collected in recent years have been integrated with our on-going CalCOFI database and have been used to evaluate SeaWiFS algorithms and to carry out validation studies. The combined database we have assembled now comprises more than 700 stations and includes observations for the clearest oligotrophic waters, highly eutrophic blooms, red-tides and coastal case 2 conditions. The data has been used to validate water-leaving radiance estimated with SeaWiFS as well as bio-optical algorithms for chlorophyll pigments. The comprehensive data is utilized for development of experimental algorithms (e.g. high-low latitude pigment transition, phytoplankton absorption, and cDOM). During this period we completed 9 peer-reviewed publications in high quality journals, and presented aspects of our work at more than 10 scientific conferences.

Mitchell, B. Greg↗

NASA NTRS1993

Telemetry ground system development via the component approach

NASA's deployment of major space projects such as the Earth Observing System (EOS) will demand increased functionality and ground-based telemetry processing performance well above current capabilities. At the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, custom hardware and software components have been developed and combined into a unique architecture to address this problem. The hardware components utilize Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC's) developed specifically to support NASA's telemetry data systems needs and designed to handle data rates up to 300 Mbps. A generalized set of software components, called the Telemetry Processing Control Environment facilitate the rapid construction of control and monitoring functions for the ground-based telemetry processing systems. This combination of hardware and software elements enables rapid construction of flexible, cost-effective telemetry processing systems capable of meeting the performance requirements facing NASA in the coming decade.

Thorn, Karen E.↗