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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1981

Design for active and passive flutter suppression and gust alleviation

Analytical design techniques for active and passive control of aeroelastic systems are based on a rational approximation of the unsteady aerodynamic loads in the entire Laplace domain, which yields matrix equations of motion with constant coefficients. Some existing schemes are reviewed, the matrix Pade approximant is modified, and a technique which yields a minimal number of augmented states for a desired accuracy is presented. The state-space aeroelastic model is used to design an active control system for simultaneous flutter suppression and gust alleviation. The design target is for a continuous controller which transfers some measurements taken on the vehicle to a control command applied to a control surface. Structural modifications are formulated in a way which enables the treatment of passive flutter suppression system with the same procedures by which active control systems are designed.

Karpel, M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Simplicity in command and control systems - A human factors consideration

The importance of simplicity in the man computer interface (MCI) is stressed because of the effect it has on the system containing the MCI. Results are used from an MCI study at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to find an area where the system MCIs can be simplified. The circumstances under which these simplifications are appropriate are listed. The concepts of cognitive simplicity and process simplicity are presented as design alternatives for the MCI. In addition, the concepts of understandability, operation, learnability, level of learning, and usability are presented as tools for the system designer. The use of these concepts in developing a systematic MCI design is discussed.

Chafin, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Small Payload Flight Systems (SPFS)

The Small Payload Flight System (SPFS) provides a simple and cost-effective approach to carrying small size experiments on the space shuttle. The system uses a bridge-like structure which spans the orbiter cargo bay but is only 3 feet in length. The structure can carry up to 4300 lb of payload weight and can be positioned at any location along the length of the cargo bay. In addition to the structural support, the SPFS provides avionics services to experiments. These include electrical power distribution and control, command and telemetry for control of the experiments and subsystem health monitoring, and software computations. The avionics system includes a flight qualified electrical power branching distributor, and a system control unit based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor. Data can be recorded on magnetic tape or transmitted to the ground. Finally, a Freon pump and cold plate system provides environmental control for both the avionics hardware and the experiments as necessary.

Mitchell, R. A. K.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Intelligent command and control systems for satellite ground operations

The Georgia Tech portion of the Intelligent Control Center project includes several complementary activities. Two major activities entail thesis level research; the other activities are either support activities or preliminary explorations (e.g., task analyses) to support the research. The first research activity is the development of principles for the design of active interfaces to support monitoring during real-time supports. It is well known that as the operator's task becomes less active, i.e., more monitoring and less active control, there is concern that the operator will be less involved and less able to rapidly identify anomalous or failure situations. The research project to design active monitoring interfaces is an attempt to remediate this undesirable side-effect of increasingly automated control systems that still depend ultimately on operator supervision. The second research activity is the exploration of the use of case-based reasoning as a way to accumulate operator experience and make it available in computational form.

Mitchell, Christine M.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Wireless Command-and-Control of UAV-Based Imaging LANs

Dual airborne imaging system networks were operated using a wireless line-of-sight telemetry system developed as part of a 2002 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imaging mission over the USA s largest coffee plantation on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. A primary mission objective was the evaluation of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) 802.11b wireless technology for reduction of payload telemetry costs associated with UAV remote sensing missions. Predeployment tests with a conventional aircraft demonstrated successful wireless broadband connectivity between a rapidly moving airborne imaging local area network (LAN) and a fixed ground station LAN. Subsequently, two separate LANs with imaging payloads, packaged in exterior-mounted pressure pods attached to the underwing of NASA's Pathfinder-Plus UAV, were operated wirelessly by ground-based LANs over independent Ethernet bridges. Digital images were downlinked from the solar-powered aircraft at data rates of 2-6 megabits per second (Mbps) over a range of 6.5 9.5 km. An integrated wide area network enabled payload monitoring and control through the Internet from a range of ca. 4000 km during parts of the mission. The recent advent of 802.11g technology is expected to boost the system data rate by about a factor of five.

Herwitz, Stanley↗
NASA NTRS2012

Integrated Laser Characterization, Data Acquisition, and Command and Control Test System

Satellite-based laser technology has been developed for topographical measurements of the Earth and of other planets. Lasers for such missions must be highly efficient and stable over long periods in the temperature variations of orbit. In this innovation, LabVIEW is used on an Apple Macintosh to acquire and analyze images of the laser beam as it exits the laser cavity to evaluate the laser s performance over time, and to monitor and control the environmental conditions under which the laser is tested. One computer attached to multiple cameras and instruments running LabVIEW-based software replaces a conglomeration of computers and software packages, saving hours in maintenance and data analysis, and making very longterm tests possible. This all-in-one system was written primarily using LabVIEW for Mac OS X, which allows the combining of data from multiple RS-232, USB, and Ethernet instruments for comprehensive laser analysis and control. The system acquires data from CCDs (charge coupled devices), power meters, thermistors, and oscilloscopes over a controllable period of time. This data is saved to an html file that can be accessed later from a variety of data analysis programs. Also, through the LabVIEW interface, engineers can easily control laser input parameters such as current, pulse width, chiller temperature, and repetition rates. All of these parameters can be adapted and cycled over a period of time.

Stysley, Paul↗
NASA NTRS2016

A Summary of Two Recent UAS Command and Control (C2) Communications Feasibility Studies

In Spring of 2015, the NextGen Institute conducted two UAS C2 Communications Feasibility Studies on behalf of the FAA UAS Integration Office to develop two limited UAS C2 operational examples, each involving low-altitude BLOS (Beyond Line of Sight) Line of Communication (LOC) UAS applications, as part of assessing the myriad practical UAS C2 deployment challenges associated with these approaches. The studies investigated the feasibility of "Point-to-Point" (PTP) and "Network" approaches to UAS C2 to better understand potential user needs and to explore evolutionary paths to establishing a nation-wide system for delivering UAS C2 communications. This paper will summarize the solicitation, approach and results of the two studies teams led by Aviation Management Associates, Inc. and Exelis Inc.

Navigation↗
NASA NTRS2017

Spaceport Command and Control System Software Development

During the course of this internship, software was developed to ensure the efficient management and allocation of an employee to an area of their expertise or experience that may otherwise have gone unnoticed. This directly affects any future missions prescribed to the SLS by allowing management to easily see where employees can be re-allocated to different mission specific projects or assist a project that may be lacking in a specific field. This software is intended to provide proof of NASA's diligence and deliberation in hiring new employees and in providing training and guidance to employees who may have fallen short of expectations. Allowing management to more easily statistically track and monitor the supply and demand of employees with specific experience will help introduce a beneficial culture where employees are given the ability to grow and hone skills which might otherwise atrophy over time. With this new system in place, NASA can prove the employees they hire and already have are exemplary and will remain exemplary to serve the nation as a whole.

Kessluk, Jonathan↗
NASA NTRS2017

Spaceport Command and Control System Software Development

There is an immense challenge in organizing personnel across a large agency such as NASA, or even over a subset of that, like a center's Engineering directorate. Workforce inefficiencies and challenges are bound to grow over time without oversight and management. It is also not always possible to hire new employees to fill workforce gaps, therefore available resources must be utilized more efficiently. The goal of this internship was to develop software that improves organizational efficiency by aiding managers, making employee information viewable and editable in an intuitive manner. This semester I created an application for managers that aids in optimizing allocation of employee resources for a single division with the possibility of scaling upwards. My duties this semester consisted of developing frontend and backend software to complete this task. The application provides user-friendly information displays and documentation of the workforce to allow NASA to track diligently track the status and skills of its workforce. This tool should be able to prove that current employees are being effectively utilized and if new hires are necessary to fulfill skill gaps.

SCCS↗