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NASA NTRS2013

Quantitative Infrared Image Analysis Of Simultaneous Upstream and Downstream Microgravity Flame Spread over Thermally-Thin Cellulose in Low Speed Forced Flow

The effect of low velocity forced flow on microgravity flame spread is examined using quantitative analysis of infrared video imaging. The objective of the quantitative analysis is to provide insight into the mechanisms of flame spread in microgravity where the flame is able to spread from a central location on the fuel surface, rather than from an edge. Surface view calibrated infrared images of ignition and flame spread over a thin cellulose fuel were obtained along with a color video of the surface view and color images of the edge view using 35 mm color film at 2 Hz. The cellulose fuel samples were mounted in the center of a 12 cm wide by 16 cm tall flow duct and were ignited in microgravity using a straight hot wire across the center of the 7.5 cm wide by 14 cm long samples. Four cases, at 1 atm. 35%O2 in N2, at forced flows from 2 cm/s to 20 cm/s are presented here. This flow range captures flame spread from strictly upstream spread at low flows, to predominantly downstream spread at high flow. Surface temperature profiles are evaluated as a function of time, and temperature gradients for upstream and downstream flame spread are measured. Flame spread rates from IR image data are compared to visible image spread rate data. IR blackbody temperatures are compared to surface thermocouple readings to evaluate the effective emissivity of the pyrolyzing surface. Preheat lengths and pyrolysis lengths are evaluated both upstream and downstream of the central ignition point. A surface energy balance estimates the net heat flux from the flame to the fuel surface along the length of the fuel. Surface radiative loss and gas-phase radiation from soot are measured relative to the net heat feedback from the flame. At high surface heat loss relative to heat feedback, the downstream flame spread does not occur.

Olson, S. L.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Automated Meteor Fluxes with a Wide-Field Meteor Camera Network

Within NASA, the Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) is charged to monitor the meteoroid environment in near ]earth space for the protection of satellites and spacecraft. The MEO has recently established a two ]station system to calculate automated meteor fluxes in the millimeter ]size ]range. The cameras each consist of a 17 mm focal length Schneider lens on a Watec 902H2 Ultimate CCD video camera, producing a 21.7 x 16.3 degree field of view. This configuration has a red ]sensitive limiting meteor magnitude of about +5. The stations are located in the South Eastern USA, 31.8 kilometers apart, and are aimed at a location 90 km above a point 50 km equidistant from each station, which optimizes the common volume. Both single station and double station fluxes are found, each having benefits; more meteors will be detected in a single camera than will be seen in both cameras, producing a better determined flux, but double station detections allow for non ]ambiguous shower associations and permit speed/orbit determinations. Video from the cameras are fed into Linux computers running the ASGARD (All Sky and Guided Automatic Real ]time Detection) software, created by Rob Weryk of the University of Western Ontario Meteor Physics Group. ASGARD performs the meteor detection/photometry, and invokes the MILIG and MORB codes to determine the trajectory, speed, and orbit of the meteor. A subroutine in ASGARD allows for the approximate shower identification in single station meteors. The ASGARD output is used in routines to calculate the flux in units of #/sq km/hour. The flux algorithm employed here differs from others currently in use in that it does not assume a single height for all meteors observed in the common camera volume. In the MEO system, the volume is broken up into a set of height intervals, with the collecting areas determined by the radiant of active shower or sporadic source. The flux per height interval is summed to obtain the total meteor flux. As ASGARD also computes the meteor mass from the photometry, a mass flux can be also calculated. Weather conditions in the southeastern United States are seldom ideal, which introduces the difficulty of a variable sky background. First a weather algorithm indicates if sky conditions are clear enough to calculate fluxes, at which point a limiting magnitude algorithm is employed. The limiting magnitude algorithm performs a fit of stellar magnitudes vs camera intensities. The stellar limiting magnitude is derived from this and easily converted to a limiting meteor magnitude for the active shower or sporadic source.

Blaauw, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS2013

The NASA Fireball Network

In the summer of 2008, the NASA Meteoroid Environments Office (MEO) began to establish a video fireball network, based on the following objectives: (1) determine the speed distribution of cm size meteoroids, (2) determine the major sources of cm size meteoroids (showers/sporadic sources), (3) characterize meteor showers (numbers, magnitudes, trajectories, orbits), (4) determine the size at which showers dominate the meteor flux, (5) discriminate between re-entering space debris and meteors, and 6) locate meteorite falls. In order to achieve the above with the limited resources available to the MEO, it was necessary that the network function almost fully autonomously, with very little required from humans in the areas of upkeep or analysis. With this in mind, the camera design and, most importantly, the ASGARD meteor detection software were adopted from the University of Western Ontario's Southern Ontario Meteor Network (SOMN), as NASA has a cooperative agreement with Western's Meteor Physics Group. 15 cameras have been built, and the network now consists of 8 operational cameras, with at least 4 more slated for deployment in calendar year 2013. The goal is to have 15 systems, distributed in two or more groups east of automatic analysis; every morning, this server also automatically generates an email and a web page (http://fireballs.ndc.nasa.gov) containing an automated analysis of the previous night's events. This analysis provides the following for each meteor: UTC date and time, speed, start and end locations (longitude, latitude, altitude), radiant, shower identification, light curve (meteor absolute magnitude as a function of time), photometric mass, orbital elements, and Tisserand parameter. Radiant/orbital plots and various histograms (number versus speed, time, etc) are also produced. After more than four years of operation, over 5,000 multi-station fireballs have been observed, 3 of which potentially dropped meteorites. A database containing data on all these events, including the videos and calibration information, has been developed and is being modified to include data from the SOMN and other camera networks.

Cooke, William J.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Helicopter Flight Test of a Compact, Real-Time 3-D Flash Lidar for Imaging Hazardous Terrain During Planetary Landing

A second generation, compact, real-time, air-cooled 3-D imaging Flash Lidar sensor system, developed from a number of cutting-edge components from industry and NASA, is lab characterized and helicopter flight tested under the Autonomous Precision Landing and Hazard Detection and Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project. The ALHAT project is seeking to develop a guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) and sensing system based on lidar technology capable of enabling safe, precise crewed or robotic landings in challenging terrain on planetary bodies under any ambient lighting conditions. The Flash Lidar incorporates a 3-D imaging video camera based on Indium-Gallium-Arsenide Avalanche Photo Diode and novel micro-electronic technology for a 128 x 128 pixel array operating at a video rate of 20 Hz, a high pulse-energy 1.06 μm Neodymium-doped: Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) laser, a remote laser safety termination system, high performance transmitter and receiver optics with one and five degrees field-of-view (FOV), enhanced onboard thermal control, as well as a compact and self-contained suite of support electronics housed in a single box and built around a PC-104 architecture to enable autonomous operations. The Flash Lidar was developed and then characterized at two NASA-Langley Research Center (LaRC) outdoor laser test range facilities both statically and dynamically, integrated with other ALHAT GN&C subsystems from partner organizations, and installed onto a Bell UH-1H Iroquois "Huey" helicopter at LaRC. The integrated system was flight tested at the NASA-Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on simulated lunar approach to a custom hazard field consisting of rocks, craters, hazardous slopes, and safe-sites near the Shuttle Landing Facility runway starting at slant ranges of 750 m. In order to evaluate different methods of achieving hazard detection, the lidar, in conjunction with the ALHAT hazard detection and GN&C system, operates in both a narrow 1deg FOV raster-scanning mode in which successive, gimbaled images of the hazard field are mosaicked together as well as in a wider, 4.85deg FOV staring mode in which digital magnification, via a novel 3-D superresolution technique, is used to effectively achieve the same spatial precision attained with the more narrow FOV optics. The lidar generates calibrated and corrected 3-D range images of the hazard field in real-time and passes them to the ALHAT Hazard Detection System (HDS) which stitches the images together to generate on-the-fly Digital Elevation Maps (DEM's) and identifies hazards and safe-landing sites which the ALHAT GN&C system can then use to guide the host vehicle to a safe landing on the selected site. Results indicate that, for the KSC hazard field, the lidar operational range extends from 100m to 1.35 km for a 30 degree line-of-sight angle and a range precision as low as 8 cm which permits hazards as small as 25 cm to be identified. Based on the Flash Lidar images, the HDS correctly found and reported safe sites in near-real-time during several of the flights. A follow-on field test, planned for 2013, seeks to complete the closing of the GN&C loop for fully-autonomous operations on-board the Morpheus robotic, rocket-powered, free-flyer test bed in which the ALHAT system would scan the KSC hazard field (which was vetted during the present testing) and command the vehicle to landing on one of the selected safe sites.

Roback, VIncent E.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Human-Robot Interaction Directed Research Project

Human-robot interaction (HRI) is a discipline investigating the factors affecting the interactions between humans and robots. It is important to evaluate how the design of interfaces and command modalities affect the human's ability to perform tasks accurately, efficiently, and effectively when working with a robot. By understanding the effects of interface design on human performance, workload, and situation awareness, interfaces can be developed to appropriately support the human in performing tasks with minimal errors and with appropriate interaction time and effort. Thus, the results of research on human-robot interfaces have direct implications for the design of robotic systems. This DRP concentrates on three areas associated with interfaces and command modalities in HRI which are applicable to NASA robot systems: 1) Video Overlays, 2) Camera Views, and 3) Command Modalities. The first study focused on video overlays that investigated how Augmented Reality (AR) symbology can be added to the human-robot interface to improve teleoperation performance. Three types of AR symbology were explored in this study, command guidance (CG), situation guidance (SG), and both (SCG). CG symbology gives operators explicit instructions on what commands to input, whereas SG symbology gives operators implicit cues so that operators can infer the input commands. The combination of CG and SG provided operators with explicit and implicit cues allowing the operator to choose which symbology to utilize. The objective of the study was to understand how AR symbology affects the human operator's ability to align a robot arm to a target using a flight stick and the ability to allocate attention between the symbology and external views of the world. The study evaluated the effects type of symbology (CG and SG) has on operator tasks performance and attention allocation during teleoperation of a robot arm. The second study expanded on the first study by evaluating the effects of the type of navigational guidance (CG and SG) on operator task performance and attention allocation during teleoperation of a robot arm through uplinked commands. Although this study complements the first study on navigational guidance with hand controllers, it is a separate investigation due to the distinction in intended operators (i.e., crewmembers versus ground-operators). A third study looked at superimposed and integrated overlays for teleoperation of a mobile robot using a hand controller. When AR is superimposed on the external world, it appears to be fixed onto the display and internal to the operators' workstation. Unlike superimposed overlays, integrated overlays often appear as three-dimensional objects and move as if part of the external world. Studies conducted in the aviation domain show that integrated overlays can improve situation awareness and reduce the amount of deviation from the optimal path. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether these results apply to HRI tasks, such as navigation with a mobile robot. HRP GAPS This HRI research contributes to closure of HRP gaps by providing information on how display and control characteristics - those related to guidance, feedback, and command modalities - affect operator performance. The overarching goals are to improve interface usability, reduce operator error, and develop candidate guidelines to design effective human-robot interfaces.

Sandor, Aniko↗

NASA NTRS2014

Human-Robot Interaction Directed Research Project

Sandor, Aniko↗

NASA NTRS2014

Re-Engineering the ISS Payload Operations Control Center During Increased Utilization and Critical Onboard Events

With an increase in the utilization and hours of payload operations being executed onboard the International Space Station (ISS), upgrading the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) ISS Payload Control Area (PCA) was essential to gaining efficiencies and assurance of current and future payload health and science return. PCA houses the Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) responsible for the execution of all NASA payloads onboard the ISS. POIC Flight Controllers are responsible for the operation of voice, stowage, command, telemetry, video, power, thermal, and environmental control in support of ISS science experiments. The methodologies and execution of the PCA refurbishment were planned and performed within a four month period in order to assure uninterrupted operation of ISS payloads and minimal impacts to payload operations teams. To vacate the PCA, three additional HOSC control rooms were reconfigured to handle ISS realtime operations, Backup Control Center (BCC) to Mission Control in Houston, simulations, and testing functions. This involved coordination and cooperation from teams of ISS operations controllers, multiple engineering and design disciplines, management, and construction companies performing an array of activities simultaneously and in sync delivering a final product with no issues that impacted the schedule. For each console operator discipline, studies of Information Technology (IT) tools and equipment layouts, ergonomics, and lines of sight were performed. Infusing some of the latest IT into the project was an essential goal in ensuring future growth and success of the ISS payload science returns. Engineering evaluations led to a state of the art media wall implementation and more efficient ethernet cabling distribution providing the latest products and the best solution for the POIC. These engineering innovations led to cost savings for the project. Constraints involved in the management of the project included executing over 450 crew-hours of ISS real-time payload operations including a major onboard communications upgrade, SpaceX un-berth, a Soyuz launch, roll-out of ISS live video and interviews from the POIC, annual BCC certification and hurricane season, and ISS simulations and testing. Continuous ISS payload operations were possible during the PCA facility modifications with the reconfiguration of four control rooms and standup of two temporary control areas. Another major restriction to the project was an ongoing facility upgrade that included a NASA Headquarters mandated replacement of all electrical and mechanical systems and replacement of an external generator. These upgrades required a facility power outage during the PCA upgrades. The project also encompassed console layout designs and ordering, amenities selections and ordering, excessing of old equipment, moves, disposal of old IT equipment, camera installations, facility tour re-schedules, and contract justifications. These were just some of the tasks needed for a successful project.

Marsh, Angela L.↗

NASA NTRS2013

An Overview of the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Facility and the Research Performed in the MSG on the International Space Station (ISS)

The Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) is a rack facility aboard the International Space Station (ISS) designed for investigation handling. The MSG was built by the European Space Agency (ESA) which also provides sustaining engineering support for the facility. The MSG has been operating on the ISS since July 2002 and is currently located in the US Laboratory Module. The unique design of the facility allows it to accommodate science and technology investigations in a "workbench" type environment. The facility has an enclosed working volume that is held at a negative pressure with respect to the crew living area. This allows the facility to provide two levels of containment for small parts, particulates, fluids, and gases. This containment approach protects the crew from possible hazardous operations that take place inside the MSG work volume. Research investigations operating inside the MSG are provided a large 255 liter enclosed work space, 1000 watts of dc power via a versatile supply interface (120, 28, +/- 12, and 5 Vdc), 1000 watts of cooling capability, video and data recording and real time downlink, ground commanding capabilities, access to ISS Vacuum Exhaust and Vacuum Resource Systems, and gaseous nitrogen supply. These capabilities make the MSG one of the most utilized facilities on ISS. The MSG has been used for over 14500 hours of scientific payload operations. MSG investigations involve research in cryogenic fluid management, fluid physics, spacecraft fire safety, materials science, combustion, plant growth, and life support technology. The MSG facility is operated by the Payloads Operations Integration Center at Marshall Space flight Center. Payloads may also operate remotely from different telescience centers located in the United States and Europe. The investigative Payload Integration Manager (iPIM) is the focal to assist organizations that have payloads operating in the MSG facility. NASA provides an MSG engineering unit for payload developers to verify that their hardware is operating properly before actual operation on the ISS. This paper will provide an overview of the MSG facility, a synopsis of the research that has already been accomplished in the MSG, and an overview of video and biological upgrades.

Jordan, Lee P.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Automated Optical Meteor Fluxes and Preliminary Results of Major Showers

NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) recently established a two‐station system to calculate daily automated meteor fluxes in the millimeter‐size‐range for both single‐station and double‐station meteors. The cameras each consist of a 17 mm focal length Schneider lens (f/0.95) on a Watec 902H2 Ultimate CCD video camera, producing a 21.7x15.5 degree field of view. This configuration sees meteors down to a magnitude of +6. This paper outlines the concepts of the system, the hardware and software, and results of 3,000+ orbits from the first 18 months of operations. Video from the cameras are run through ASGARD (All Sky and Guided Automatic Real‐time Detection), which performs the meteor detection/photometry, and invokes MILIG and MORB (Borovicka 1990) codes to determine the trajectory, speed, and orbit of the meteor. A subroutine in ASGARD allows for approximate shower identification in single‐station detections. The ASGARD output is used in routines to calculate the flux. Before a flux can be calculated, a weather algorithm indicates if sky conditions are clear enough to calculate fluxes, at which point a limiting magnitude algorithm is employed. The limiting stellar magnitude is found using astrometry.net (Lang et al. 2012) to identify stars and translated to the corresponding shower and sporadic limiting meteor magnitude. It is found every 10 minutes and is able to react to quickly changing sky conditions. The extensive testing of these results on the Geminids and Eta Aquariids is shown. The flux involves dividing the number of meteors by the collecting area of the system, over the time interval for which that collecting area is valid. The flux algorithm employed here differs from others currently in use in that it does not make the gross oversimplication of choosing a single height to calculate the collection area of the system. In the MEO system, the volume is broken up into a set of height intervals, with the collecting areas determined by the position of the active shower or sporadic source radiant. The flux per height interval is calculated and summed to obtain the total meteor flux. Both single station and double station fluxes are currently found daily. Geminid fluxes on the peak night in 2012 (12‐14‐2012) were 0.058 meteors/km2/hr as found with double‐station meteors and 0.057 meteors/ km2/hr as found with single‐station meteors, to a limiting magnitude of +6.5. Both of those numbers are in agreement with the well‐calibrated fluxes from the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar. Along with flux algorithms and initial flux results, presented will be results from the first 18 months of operation, covering 3,000+ meteoroid orbits.

Blaauw, R.↗

NASA NTRS2014

The Flux of Large Meteoroids Observed with Lunar Impact Monitoring

The flux of large meteoroids is not well determined due to relatively low number statistics, due mainly to the lack of collecting area available to meteor camera systems (10(2)-10(5) km2). Larger collecting areas are needed to provide reasonable statistics for flux calculations. The Moon, with millions of square kilometers of lunar surface, can be used as a detector for observing the population of large meteoroids in the tens of grams to kilogram mass range. This is accomplished by observing the flash of light produced when a meteoroid impacts the lunar surface, converting a portion of its kinetic energy to visible light detectable from Earth. A routine monitoring program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has recorded over 300 impact flashes since early 2006. The program utilizes multiple 0.35 m (14 inch) Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, outfitted with video cameras using the 1/2 inch Sony EXview HAD CCDTM chip, to perform simultaneous observations of the earthshine hemisphere of the Moon when the lunar phase is between 0.1 and 0.5. This optical arrangement permits monitoring of approximately 3.8x10(6) km2 of lunar surface. A selection of 126 flashes recorded in 266.88 hours of photometric skies was analyzed, creating the largest and most homogeneous dataset of lunar impact flashes to date. Standard CCD photometric techniques outlined in [1] were applied to the video to determine the luminous energy, kinetic energy, and mass for each impactor, considering a range of luminous efficiencies. The flux to a limiting energy of 2.5x10(-6) kT TNT or 1.05×10(7) J is 1.03×10(-7) km(-2) hr(-1) and the flux to a limiting mass of 30 g is 6.14×10(-10) m(-2) yr(-1). Comparisons made with measurements and models of the meteoroid population indicate that the flux of objects in this size range is slightly lower (but within the error bars) than the power law distribution determined for the near Earth object population by [2].

Cooke, W. J.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Evaluation of the Performance Characteristics of the CGLSS and NLDN Systems Based on Two Years of Ground-Truth Data from Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

From May 2011 through July 2013, the lightning instrumentation at Launch Complex 39B (LC39B) at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, has obtained high-speed video records and field change waveforms (dE/dt and three-axis dH/dt) for 54 negative polarity return strokes whose strike termination locations and times are known with accuracy of the order of 10 m or less and 1 μs, respectively. A total of 18 strokes terminated directly to the LC39B lighting protection system (LPS), which contains three 181 m towers in a triangular configuration, an overhead catenary wire system on insulating masts, and nine down conductors. An additional 9 strokes terminated on the 106 m lightning protection mast of Launch Complex 39A (LC39A), which is located about 2.7 km southeast of LC39B. The remaining 27 return strokes struck either on the ground or attached to low-elevation grounded objects within about 500 m of the LC39B LPS. Leader/return stroke sequences were imaged at 3200 frames/sec by a network of six Phantom V310 high-speed video cameras. Each of the three towers on LC39B had two high-speed cameras installed at the 147 m level with overlapping fields of view of the center of the pad. The locations of the strike points of 54 return strokes have been compared to time-correlated reports of the Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Surveillance System (CGLSS) and the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), and the results of this comparison will be presented and discussed.

Waveforms↗

NASA NTRS2014

Fall 2014 Marketing Internship Final Report

The function of Kennedy Space Center's Center Planning and Development (CPD) directorate is to develop partnerships with the commercial space industry, academia, and other non-NASA government agencies to use KSC's facilities, technical capabilities, technologies and expertise, while building on existing partnerships. As an intern for the Spaceport Planning Office within the CPD, I played an essential part in promoting these opportunities by assisting the Marketing Specialist with organizing CPD's multi-booth exhibit for KSC's 2014 Innovation Expo. I was also responsible for gathering/reviewing video clips of interviews from existing partners to be used as potential footage for video testimonials that would be used to educate the public on KSC. My last project was to develop a standard presentation highlighting the benefits and potential of partnering with KSC, which would be used by KSC partnership development managers (PDMs) when presenting externally to potential partners. With these various projects and limited timeframe to complete each, learning to effectively manage my time and actively multitask was imperative.

Marketing↗

NASA NTRS2014

Experimental Measurement of Frozen and Partially Melted Water Droplet Impact Dynamics

High-speed video of single frozen water droplets impacting a surface was acquired. The droplets diameter ranged from 0.4 mm to 0.9 mm and impacted at velocities ranging from 140 m/sec to 309 m/sec. The techniques used to freeze the droplets and launch the particles against the surfaces is described in this paper. High-speed video was used to quantify the ice accretion area to the surface for varying impact angles (30 deg, 45 deg, 60 deg), impacting velocities, and break-up angles. An oxygen /acetylene cross-flow flame used to ensure partial melting of the traveling frozen droplets is also discussed. A linear relationship between impact angle and ice accretion is identified for fully frozen particles. The slope of the relationship is affected by impact speed. Perpendicular impacts, i.e. 30 deg, exhibited small differences in ice accretion for varying velocities, while an increase of 60% in velocity from 161 m/sec to 259 m/sec, provided an increase on ice accretion area of 96% at an impact angle of 60 deg. The increase accretion area highlights the importance of impact angle and velocity on the ice accretion process of ice crystals. It was experimentally observed that partial melting was not required for ice accretion at the tested velocities when high impact angles were used (45 and 60 deg). Partially melted droplets doubled the ice accretion areas on the impacting surface when 0.0023 Joules were applied to the particle. The partially melted state of the droplets and a method to quantify the percentage increase in ice accretion area is also described in the paper.

Impact Dynamics↗

NASA NTRS2014

Aggregation Tool to Create Curated Data albums to Support Disaster Recovery and Response

Despite advances in science and technology of prediction and simulation of natural hazards, losses incurred due to natural disasters keep growing every year. Natural disasters cause more economic losses as compared to anthropogenic disasters. Economic losses due to natural hazards are estimated to be around $6-$10 billion dollars annually for the U.S. and this number keeps increasing every year. This increase has been attributed to population growth and migration to more hazard prone locations such as coasts. As this trend continues, in concert with shifts in weather patterns caused by climate change, it is anticipated that losses associated with natural disasters will keep growing substantially. One of challenges disaster response and recovery analysts face is to quickly find, access and utilize a vast variety of relevant geospatial data collected by different federal agencies such as DoD, NASA, NOAA, EPA, USGS etc. Some examples of these data sets include high spatio-temporal resolution multi/hyperspectral satellite imagery, model prediction outputs from weather models, latest radar scans, measurements from an array of sensor networks such as Integrated Ocean Observing System etc. More often analysts may be familiar with limited, but specific datasets and are often unaware of or unfamiliar with a large quantity of other useful resources. Finding airborne or satellite data useful to a natural disaster event often requires a time consuming search through web pages and data archives. Additional information related to damages, deaths, and injuries requires extensive online searches for news reports and official report summaries. An analyst must also sift through vast amounts of potentially useful digital information captured by the general public such as geo-tagged photos, videos and real time damage updates within twitter feeds. Collecting and aggregating these information fragments can provide useful information in assessing damage in real time and help direct recovery efforts. The search process for the analyst could be made much more efficient and productive if a tool could go beyond a typical search engine and provide not just links to web sites but actual links to specific data relevant to the natural disaster, parse unstructured reports for useful information nuggets, as well as gather other related reports, summaries, news stories, and images. This presentation will describe a semantic aggregation tool developed to address similar problem for Earth Science researchers. This tool provides automated curation, and creates "Data Albums" to support case studies. The generated "Data Albums" are compiled collections of information related to a specific science topic or event, containing links to relevant data files (granules) from different instruments; tools and services for visualization and analysis; information about the event contained in news reports, and images or videos to supplement research analysis. An ontology-based relevancy-ranking algorithm drives the curation of relevant data sets for a given event. This tool is now being used to generate a catalog of Hurricane Case Studies at Global Hydrology Resource Center (GHRC), one of NASA's Distribute Active Archive Centers. Another instance of the Data Albums tool is currently being created in collaboration with NASA/MSFC's SPoRT Center, which conducts research on unique NASA products and capabilities that can be transitioned to the operational community to solve forecast problems. This new instance focuses on severe weather to support SPoRT researchers in their model evaluation studies

Ramachandran, Rahul↗

NASA NTRS2014

An Experimental Study of Launch Vehicle Propellant Tank Fragmentation

In order to better understand launch vehicle abort environments, Bangham Engineering Inc. (BEi) built a test assembly that fails sample materials (steel and aluminum plates of various alloys and thicknesses) under quasi-realistic vehicle failure conditions. Samples are exposed to pressures similar to those expected in vehicle failure scenarios and filmed at high speed to increase understanding of complex fracture mechanics. After failure, the fragments of each test sample are collected, catalogued and reconstructed for further study. Post-test analysis shows that aluminum samples consistently produce fewer fragments than steel samples of similar thickness and at similar failure pressures. Video analysis shows that there are several failure 'patterns' that can be observed for all test samples based on configuration. Fragment velocities are also measured from high speed video data. Sample thickness and material are analyzed for trends in failure pressure. Testing is also done with cryogenic and noncryogenic liquid loading on the samples. It is determined that liquid loading and cryogenic temperatures can decrease material fragmentation for sub-flight thicknesses. A method is developed for capture and collection of fragments that is greater than 97 percent effective in recovering sample mass, addressing the generation of tiny fragments. Currently, samples tested do not match actual launch vehicle propellant tank material thicknesses because of size constraints on test assembly, but test findings are used to inform the design and build of another, larger test assembly with the purpose of testing actual vehicle flight materials that include structural components such as iso-grid and friction stir welds.

Richardson, Erin↗

NASA NTRS2014

Wireless Augmented Reality Communication System

The system of the present invention is a highly integrated radio communication system with a multimedia co-processor which allows true two-way multimedia (video, audio, data) access as well as real-time biomedical monitoring in a pager-sized portable access unit. The system is integrated in a network structure including one or more general purpose nodes for providing a wireless-to-wired interface. The network architecture allows video, audio and data (including biomedical data) streams to be connected directly to external users and devices. The portable access units may also be mated to various non-personal devices such as cameras or environmental sensors for providing a method for setting up wireless sensor nets from which reported data may be accessed through the portable access unit. The reported data may alternatively be automatically logged at a remote computer for access and viewing through a portable access unit, including the user's own.

Devereaux, Ann↗

NASA NTRS2014

Wireless Augmented Reality Communication System

Devereaux, Ann↗

NASA NTRS2014

Physiologically Modulating Videogames or Simulations which use Motion-Sensing Input Devices

New types of controllers allow players to make inputs to a video game or simulation by moving the entire controller itself. This capability is typically accomplished using a wireless input device having accelerometers, gyroscopes, and an infrared LED tracking camera. The present invention exploits these wireless motion-sensing technologies to modulate the player's movement inputs to the videogame based upon physiological signals. Such biofeedback-modulated video games train valuable mental skills beyond eye-hand coordination. These psychophysiological training technologies enhance personal improvement, not just the diversion, of the user.

Pope, Alan T.↗