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At least 163 records · Page 9

Facilities maintenance handbook

This handbook is a guide for facilities maintenance managers. Its objective is to set minimum facilities maintenance standards. It also provides recommendations on how to meet the standards to ensure that NASA maintains its facilities in a manner that protects and preserves its investment in the facilities in a cost-effective manner while safely and efficiently performing its mission. This handbook implements NMI 8831.1, which states NASA facilities maintenance policy and assigns organizational responsibilities for the management of facilities maintenance activities on all properties under NASA jurisdiction. It is a reference for facilities maintenance managers, not a step-by-step procedural manual. Because of the differences in NASA Field Installation organizations, this handbook does not assume or recommend a typical facilities maintenance organization. Instead, it uses a systems approach to describe the functions that should be included in any facilities maintenance management system, regardless of its organizational structure. For documents referenced in the handbook, the most recent version of the documents is applicable. This handbook is divided into three parts: Part 1 specifies common definitions and facilities maintenance requirements and amplifies the policy requirements contained in NMI 8831. 1; Part 2 provides guidance on how to meet the requirements of Part 1, containing recommendations only; Part 3 contains general facilities maintenance information. One objective of this handbook is to fix commonality of facilities maintenance definitions among the Centers. This will permit the application of uniform measures of facilities conditions, of the relationship between current replacement value and maintenance resources required, and of the backlog of deferred facilities maintenance. The utilization of facilities maintenance system functions will allow the Centers to quantitatively define maintenance objectives in common terms, prepare work plans, and develop management information in order to statistically identify and analyze variances from those plans. It will also add credibility to the NASA facilities maintenance budgeting process. The key to a successful maintenance program is the understanding and support of the senior Center managers.

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Optimal Sensor Selection for Health Monitoring Systems

Sensor data are the basis for performance and health assessment of most complex systems. Careful selection and implementation of sensors is critical to enable high fidelity system health assessment. A model-based procedure that systematically selects an optimal sensor suite for overall health assessment of a designated host system is described. This procedure, termed the Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy (S4), was developed at NASA John H. Glenn Research Center in order to enhance design phase planning and preparations for in-space propulsion health management systems (HMS). Information and capabilities required to utilize the S4 approach in support of design phase development of robust health diagnostics are outlined. A merit metric that quantifies diagnostic performance and overall risk reduction potential of individual sensor suites is introduced. The conceptual foundation for this merit metric is presented and the algorithmic organization of the S4 optimization process is described. Representative results from S4 analyses of a boost stage rocket engine previously under development as part of NASA's Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT) program are presented.

Santi, L. Michael↗

NASA reports

Activities and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) programs, both ongoing and planned, are described by NASA administrative personnel from the offices of Space Science and Applications, Space Systems Development, Space Flight, Exploration, and from the Johnson Space Center. NASA's multi-year strategic plan, called Vision 21, is also discussed. It proposes to use the unique perspective of space to better understand Earth. Among the NASA programs mentioned are the Magellan to Venus and Galileo to Jupiter spacecraft, the Cosmic Background Explorer, Pegsat (the first Pegasus payload), Hubble, the Joint U.S./German ROSAT X-ray Mission, Ulysses to Jupiter and over the sun, the Astro-Spacelab Mission, and the Gamma Ray Observatory. Copies of viewgraphs that illustrate some of these missions, and others, are provided. Also discussed were life science research plans, economic factors as they relate to space missions, and the outlook for international cooperation.

Obrien, John E.↗

Detect-and-Avoid Maneuver Planning: Benefits of Including Route Recapture

Development of Detect-and-avoid (DAA) systems’ maneuver guidance requirements at RTCA has centered on tactical maneuvers away from the intruder. Recapturing the flight-plan route the initial maneuver is not directly taken into account by most DAA maneuver guidance algorithms. This work demonstrates potential challenges and inefficiencies that can arise in recapturing the route after resolving a conflict. Horizontal resolution trajectories for a test matrix of encounters with varying aircraft speeds and geometries are computed by minimizing either flight time or deviation to serve as a baseline. Turn directions computed from a reference DAA algorithm coupled with a pilot selection model and a second algorithm called Autoresolver (AR) are compared to these baseline resolution trajectories. Baseline results show that turning into the intruder yields favorable cost for most encounters. Additional analysis of pilot response data shows that only three-fourths of pilots’ horizontal maneuvers turn into intruders, a percentage much lower than the baseline results. Improvement to a DAA guidance algorithm based on findings in this work is discussed.

Route Recapture↗

Detect-and-Avoid Maneuver Planning: Benefits of Including Route Recapture

Development of Detect-and-avoid (DAA) systems’ maneuver guidance requirements at RTCA has centered on tactical maneuvers away from the intruder. Recapturing the flight-plan route the initial maneuver is not directly taken into account by most DAA maneuver guidance algorithms. This work demonstrates potential challenges and inefficiencies that can arise in recapturing the route after resolving a conflict. Horizontal resolution trajectories for a test matrix of encounters with varying aircraft speeds and geometries are computed by minimizing either flight time or deviation to serve as a baseline. Turn directions computed from a reference DAA algorithm coupled with a pilot selection model and a second algorithm called Autoresolver (AR) are compared to these baseline resolution trajectories. Baseline results show that turning into the intruder yields favorable cost for most encounters. Additional analysis of pilot response data shows that only three-fourths of pilots’ horizontal maneuvers turn into intruders, a percentage much lower than the baseline results. Improvement to a DAA guidance algorithm based on findings in this work is discussed.

Route Recapture↗

Lessons Learned In Developing Multiple Distributed Planning Systems for the International Space Station

The planning processes for the International Space Station (ISS) Program are quite complex. Detailed mission planning for ISS on-orbit operations is a distributed function. Pieces of the on-orbit plan are developed by multiple planning organizations, located around the world, based on their respective expertise and responsibilities. The "pieces" are then integrated to yield the final detailed plan that will be executed onboard the ISS. Previous space programs have not distributed the planning and scheduling functions to this extent. Major ISS planning organizations are currently located in the United States (at both the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)), in Russia, in Europe, and in Japan. Software systems have been developed by each of these planning organizations to support their assigned planning and scheduling functions. Although there is some cooperative development and sharing of key software components, each planning system has been tailored to meet the unique requirements and operational environment of the facility in which it operates. However, all the systems must operate in a coordinated fashion in order to effectively and efficiently produce a single integrated plan of ISS operations, in accordance with the established planning processes. This paper addresses lessons learned during the development of these multiple distributed planning systems, from the perspective of the developer of one of the software systems. The lessons focus on the coordination required to allow the multiple systems to operate together, rather than on the problems associated with the development of any particular system. Included in the paper is a discussion of typical problems faced during the development and coordination process, such as incompatible development schedules, difficulties in defining system interfaces, technical coordination and funding for shared tools, continually evolving planning concepts/requirements, programmatic and budget issues, and external influences. Techniques that mitigated some of these problems will also be addressed, along with recommendations for any future programs involving the development of multiple planning and scheduling systems. Many of these lessons learned are not unique to the area of planning and scheduling systems, so may be applied to other distributed ground systems that must operate in concert to successfully support space mission operations.

Maxwell, Theresa G.↗

Lessons Learned in Developing Multiple Distributed Planning Systems for the International Space Station

The planning processes for the International Space Station (ISS) Program are quite complex. Detailed mission planning for ISS on-orbit operations is a distributed function. Pieces of the on-orbit plan are developed by multiple planning organizations, located around the world, based on their respective expertise and responsibilities. The pieces are then integrated to yield the final detailed plan that will be executed onboard the ISS. Previous space programs have not distributed the planning and scheduling functions to this extent. Major ISS planning organizations are currently located in the United States (at both the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)), in Russia, in Europe, and in Japan. Software systems have been developed by each of these planning organizations to support their assigned planning and scheduling functions. Although there is some cooperative development and sharing of key software components, each planning system has been tailored to meet the unique requirements and operational environment of the facility in which it operates. However, all the systems must operate in a coordinated fashion in order to effectively and efficiently produce a single integrated plan of ISS operations, in accordance with the established planning processes. This paper addresses lessons learned during the development of these multiple distributed planning systems, from the perspective of the developer of one of the software systems. The lessons focus on the coordination required to allow the multiple systems to operate together, rather than on the problems associated with the development of any particular system. Included in the paper is a discussion of typical problems faced during the development and coordination process, such as incompatible development schedules, difficulties in defining system interfaces, technical coordination and funding for shared tools, continually evolving planning concepts/requirements, programmatic and budget issues, and external influences. Techniques that mitigated some of these problems will also be addressed, along with recommendations for any future programs involving the development of multiple planning and scheduling systems. Many of these lessons learned are not unique to the area of planning and scheduling systems, so may be applied to other distributed ground systems that must operate in concert to successfully support space mission operations.

Maxwell, Theresa G.↗

Operations planning for Space Station Freedom - And beyond

The potential of automated planning and electronic execution systems for enhancing operations on board Space Station Freedom (SSF) are discussed. To exploit this potential the Operations Planning and Scheduling Subsystem is being developed at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Such systems may also make valuable contributions to the operation of resource-constrained, long-duration space habitats of the future. Points that should be considered during the design of future long-duration manned space missions are discussed. Early development of a detailed operations concept as an end-to-end mission description offers a basis for iterative design evaluation, refinement, and option comparison, particularly when used with an advanced operations planning system capable of modeling the operations and resource constraints of the proposed designs.

Gibson, Stephen S.↗

Pre-Test CFD for the Design and Execution of the Enhanced Injection and Mixing Project at NASA Langley Research Center

With the increasing costs of physics experiments and simultaneous increase in availability and maturity of computational tools it is not surprising that computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is playing an increasingly important role, not only in post-test investigations, but also in the early stages of experimental planning. This paper describes a CFD-based effort executed in close collaboration between computational fluid dynamicists and experimentalists to develop a virtual experiment during the early planning stages of the Enhanced Injection and Mixing project at NASA Langley Research Center. This projects aims to investigate supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) fuel injection and mixing physics, improve the understanding of underlying physical processes, and develop enhancement strategies and functional relationships relevant to flight Mach numbers greater than 8. The purpose of the virtual experiment was to provide flow field data to aid in the design of the experimental apparatus and the in-stream rake probes, to verify the nonintrusive measurements based on NO-PLIF, and to perform pre-test analysis of quantities obtainable from the experiment and CFD. The approach also allowed for the joint team to develop common data processing and analysis tools, and to test research ideas. The virtual experiment consisted of a series of Reynolds-averaged simulations (RAS). These simulations included the facility nozzle, the experimental apparatus with a baseline strut injector, and the test cabin. Pure helium and helium-air mixtures were used to determine the efficacy of different inert gases to model hydrogen injection. The results of the simulations were analyzed by computing mixing efficiency, total pressure recovery, and stream thrust potential. As the experimental effort progresses, the simulation results will be compared with the experimental data to calibrate the modeling constants present in the CFD and validate simulation fidelity. CFD will also be used to investigate different injector concepts, improve understanding of the flow structure and flow physics, and develop functional relationships. Both RAS and large eddy simulations (LES) are planned for post-test analysis of the experimental data.

Drozda, Tomasz G.↗

NASA's Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint Research and Operational Capability Developments

In the last three years, several advancements have been made to produce a new state-of-the-art capability in the field of Aerosciences. NASA’s Aerosciences Evaluations and Test Capabilities (AETC) Portfolio Office has funded a multi-year project to produce the unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint (uPSP) technology as an operational capability in key ground test facilities at NASA. The research and development has primarily been conducted at NASA Ames Research Center’s (ARC) Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) 11-by 11-ft Transonic Wind Tunnel (TWT). The NASA ARC UPWT is one of the ground test facilities under NASA AETC’s Portfolio Office. AETC’s goals are to provide the tools to deliver the technology innovations and breakthroughs necessary to address increasingly complex research and development challenges. AETC’s integrated approach will consider the complimentary high-end compute capabilities necessary to advance analysis in conjunction with ground experimental capabilities. The uPSP Capability Challenge Project is a demonstration of several different technologies: 1) the unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint (uPSP) technology, and 2) Project: Red Rover, establishing a secure, reliable, fast connection between experimental and computation facilities, leveraging NASA’s computational resources within the High-End Compute Capability (HECC) Project for processing, storing, and sharing data efficiently. This project demonstrates the technical diversity and technical inclusion need to advance the field of Aerosciences. The approach to combine subject matter experts in experimental methods, optical methods, production wind tunnel testing, network engineering, high-end computing, signal processing, grid generation, and visualization while establishing the required infrastructure for subject matter experts to have access to the data while the wind tunnel test is being conducted. The most recent advancements for the uPSP technology have focused on three key areas: development of data products, robust processing pipeline, operational efficiencies and uncertainty quantification.

buffet↗

Project resources planning and control

This report contains instructional guidelines for the resources planning and control of research and development (R&D) projects managed by NASA's Langley Research Center (LaRC). Although written to serve primarily as a practical guide and reference for those LaRC personnel who perform resources planning, analysis, control, and reporting functions, it should also be meaningful to other NASA personnel who are directly or indirectly involved in or affected by these functions, especially project technical managers whose responsibilities include resources management. Certain sections should help Contractor personnel to better understand what resources information must usually be submitted on LaRC projects and what use is made of such information. The Project Manager of a large R&D project typicaly receives support from an Analyst in the area of resources management. The Analyst provides assistance in four functional areas: Planning, Analysis/Control, Administration, and Reporting. Each of these functions are discussed in detail. Examples of techniques used effectively on LaRC projects have been included where applicable. A considerable amount of information has been included on the use of Performance Measurement (Earned Value) Systems for contract cost control and reporting as little information is currently available on this subject in NASA publications.

Sibbers, C. W.↗

Overview of the Communications and Intelligent Systems Division at the NASA Glenn Research Center

NASA's plans for advancing aeronautics and space exploration requires optimization of current capabilities and development of new ones to support its mission. A key requirement associated with these efforts is the constant upgrading and optimization of communication systems. This presentation will provide a brief overview of NASA efforts, with emphasis on those being performed at the NASA Glenn Research Center, to develop communications technologies and systems in support of NASA aerospace communications needs. Status of specific technology examples in the area of cognitive communication systems, Advanced RF Technologies, Networks, and Systems Architectures will be presented and their impact in the overall scheme of needs will be discussed. In addition, cross- cutting technologies which enable sensing, control and communications technologies to perform in extreme environments as well as non-destructive evaluations techniques for vehicle health monitoring and related purposes will be presented.

Miranda, Felix A.↗

Landsat Data Continuity Mission

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is currently under development and is on schedule to launch the 8th satellite in the Landsat series in December of 2012. LDCM is a joint project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). NASA is responsible for developing and launching the flight hardware and on-orbit commissioning and USGS is responsible for developing the ground system and operating the system onorbit after commissioning. Key components of the flight hardware are the Operational Land Imager (OLI), nearing completion by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp in Boulder, CO, the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), being built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the spacecraft, undergoing integration at Orbital Sciences Corp in Gilbert, Arizona. The launch vehicle will be an Atlas-5 with launch services provided by NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Key ground systems elements are the Mission Operations Element, being developed by the Hammers Corporation, and the Collection Activity Planning Element, Ground Network Element, and Data Processing and Archive System, being developed internally by the USGS Earth Resources Observations and Science (EROS) Center. The primary measurement goal of LDCM is to continue the global coverage of moderate spatial resolution imagery providing continuity with the existing Landsat record. The science goal for this imagery is to monitor land use and land cover, particularly as it relates to global climate change. Together the OLI and TIRS instruments on LDCM replace the ETM+ instrument on Landsat-7 with significant enhancements. The OLI is a pushbroom design instrument where the scanning mechanism of the ETM+ is effectively replaced by a long line of detectors. The OLI has 9 spectral bands with similar spatial resolution to ETM+: 7 of them similar to the reflective spectral bands on ETM+ and two new bands. The two new bands cover (1) the shorter wavelength blue part of the spectrum to help with coastal studies and aerosol analyses/atmospheric correction and (2) an atmospheric water absorption band, where the Earth surface is generally not visible, but Cirrus clouds are, to aid in cloud detection and screening. The radiometry of OLI benefits from improved SNR, dynamic range and quantization. OLI is undergoing system testing with a delivery scheduled for Spring 2011. The TIRS is also a pushbroom design and used QWIPS detectors that require cooling to 43K using a cryocooler. It.has two spectral bands, effectively splitting the ETM+ band 6 in half, that can be used as a split window to aid in atmospheric correction. It has nominally 100 m spatial resolution as opposed to the 60 m of Landsat-7 ETM+: TIRS has commenced integration and test, with a delivery to the spacecraft vendor scheduled for Winter 2011-2012. The Orbital spacecraft currently being integrated for LDCM will have improved capabilities for pointing over previous missions. These capabilities will allow the OLI and TIRS instruments to point off-nadir the equivalent of one WRS-2 path to increase the chances of coverage for high priority targets, particularly in the event of natural disasters. Also, the pointing capability will allow the calibration of the OLI using the sun (roughly weekly), the moon (monthly), stars (during commissioning) and the Earth (at 90 deg from normal orientation, a.k.a., side slither) quarterly. The solar calibration will be used for OLI absolute and relative calibration, the moon for trending the stability of the OLI response, the stars will be used for Line of Sight determination and the side slither will be an alternate OLI and relative gain determination methodology. The spacecraft is scheduled to begin integration with the OLI instrument in Summer 2011. The LDCM data processing and archive system (DPAS), located at USGS EROS, generates the products for distribution to users. Like Landsat-7 this includes an image assessment system for characrizing instrument performance and updating calibration parameters. Products will be generated that include the spectral bands from both instruments, terrain corrected and registered to the geoid. Also, like Landsat-7, data products will be distributed at no charge to the user. The current status and plans of the space and ground segments of the LDCM project will be presented along with performance predictions as available. More detailed information on the two instruments is intended to be presented in separate papers.

Markham, Brian↗

Three-Dimensional CFD Analysis of Construction Design Alternatives for an ERDC Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory Flow Accelerator

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, ERDC, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory in Vicksburg Mississippi is planning to build a large flume with a 10-foot-wide flow channel. Three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was used in the design of the flume entry and flow accelerator sections that feed into the 10-foot-wide channel. The design is based on the plans of the existing fiberglass flume inlet at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) J. Sterling Jones Hydraulics Research Laboratory in McLean Virginia. The TFHRC flume inlet feeds water to a 6-foot-wide flume channel, and therefore a scale up factor of 10/6 in the width of the inlet section of the TFHRC flume would meet the width requirement of the ERDC flume channel. The CFD analysis was performed using STAR-CCM+ commercial CFD software. Additional analysis was done with the open-source CFD software, OpenFOAM, to cross-check the analysis of one of the cases with a code-to-code comparison.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Transforming Uinta Basin Earth Materials for Advanced Products (TUBE-MAP)

The objectives of this project were to quantify, assess, and plan to enable the transformation of Uinta Basin earth resources, such as coal, oil shale, resin, rare earth elements, and critical minerals into high value metal, mineral, and carbon-based products. The specific major goals were 1) basinal assessments and initial planning (Task 2), 2) basinal assessment for waste stream reuse with associated plan development (Task 3), 3) basinal strategies development for infrastructure, industries, and business (Task 4), 4) technology assessment, development, and field-testing plan (Task 5), 5) technology innovation center plan (Task 6), and 6) stakeholder outreach and education plan (Task 7).

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

A Markovian model for assessment of personnel hiring plans

As a result of the current economic environment, many organizations are having to operate with fewer resources. In the manpower area, these constraints have forced organizations to operate within well-defined hiring plans. Exceeding personnel ceilings is in most cases an intolerable situation. A mathematical model, based on the theory of Markov processes, is presented which can be used to assess the chances of success of personnel hiring plans. The model considers a plan to be successful if the final population size, at the end of the planning period, lies within a range specified by management. Although this model was developed to assess personnel hiring plans at the Goddard Space Flight Center, it is directly applicable wherever personnel hiring plans are used.

Katz, L. G.↗

Shuttle operations era planning for flight operations

The Space Transportation System (STS) provides routine access to space for a wide range of customers in which cargos vary from single payloads on dedicated flights to multiple payloads that share Shuttle resources. This paper describes the flight operations planning process from payload introduction through flight assignment to execution of the payload objectives and the changes that have been introduced to improve that process. Particular attention is given to the factors that influence the amount of preflight preparation necessary to satisfy customer requirements. The partnership between the STS operations team and the customer is described in terms of their functions and responsibilities in the development of a flight plan. A description of the Mission Control Center (MCC) and payload support capabilities completes the overview of Shuttle flight operations.

Holt, J. D.↗

Activities of the Structures Division, Lewis Research Center

The purpose of the NASA Lewis Research Center, Structures Division's 1990 Annual Report is to give a brief, but comprehensive, review of the technical accomplishments of the Division during the past calendar year. The report is organized topically to match the Center's Strategic Plan. Over the years, the Structures Division has developed the technology base necessary for improving the future of aeronautical and space propulsion systems. In the future, propulsion systems will need to be lighter, to operate at higher temperatures and to be more reliable in order to achieve higher performance. Achieving these goals is complex and challenging. Our approach has been to work cooperatively with both industry and universities to develop the technology necessary for state-of-the-art advancement in aeronautical and space propulsion systems. The Structures Division consists of four branches: Structural Mechanics, Fatigue and Fracture, Structural Dynamics, and Structural Integrity. This publication describes the work of the four branches by three topic areas of Research: (1) Basic Discipline; (2) Aeropropulsion; and (3) Space Propulsion. Each topic area is further divided into the following: (1) Materials; (2) Structural Mechanics; (3) Life Prediction; (4) Instruments, Controls, and Testing Techniques; and (5) Mechanisms. The publication covers 78 separate topics with a bibliography containing 159 citations. We hope you will find the publication interesting as well as useful.

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