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Crystal oscillators are extensively used in electronic circuits to provide timing or clocking signals in data acquisition, communications links, and control systems, to name a few. They are affordable, small in size, and reliable. Because of the inherent characteristics of the crystal, the oscillator usually exhibits extreme accuracy in its output frequency within the intrinsic crystal stability. Stability of the frequency could be affected under varying load levels or other operational conditions. Temperature is one of those important factors that influence the frequency stability of an oscillator; as it does to the functionality of other electronic components. Electronics designed for use in NASA deep space and planetary exploration missions are expected to be exposed to extreme temperatures and thermal cycling over a wide range. Thus, it is important to design and develop circuits that are able to operate efficiently and reliably under in these harsh temperature environments. Most of the commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) devices are very limited in terms of their specified operational temperature while very few custom-made commercial and military-grade parts have the ability to operate in a slightly wider range of temperature than those of the COTS parts. These parts are usually designed for operation under one temperature extreme, i.e. hot or cold, and do not address the wide swing in the operational temperature, which is typical of the space environment. For safe and successful space missions, electronic systems must therefore be designed not only to withstand the extreme temperature exposure but also to operate efficiently and reliably. This report presents the results obtained on the evaluation of a new COTS crystal oscillator under extreme temperatures.
The Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) element integrates all the subsystems needed for ascent flight, entry, and recovery of the combined Booster and Motor system. These include the structures, avionics, thrust vector control, pyrotechnic, range safety, deceleration, thermal protection, and retrieval systems. This represents the only human-rated, recoverable and refurbishable solid rocket ever developed and flown. Challenges included subsystem integration, thermal environments and severe loads (including water impact), sometimes resulting in hardware attrition. Several of the subsystems evolved during the program through design changes. These included the thermal protection system, range safety system, parachute/recovery system, and others. Obsolescence issues occasionally required component recertification. Because the system was recovered, the SRB was ideal for data and imagery acquisition, which proved essential for understanding loads and system response. The three main parachutes that lower the SRBs to the ocean are the largest parachutes ever designed, and the SRBs are the largest structures ever to be lowered by parachutes. SRB recovery from the ocean was a unique process and represented a significant operational challenge; requiring personnel, facilities, transportation, and ground support equipment. The SRB element achieved reliability via extensive system testing and checkout, redundancy management, and a thorough postflight assessment process. Assembly and integration of the booster subsystems was a unique process and acceptance testing of reused hardware components was required for each build. Extensive testing was done to assure hardware functionality at each level of stage integration. Because the booster element is recoverable, subsystems were available for inspection and testing postflight, unique to the Shuttle launch vehicle. Problems were noted and corrective actions were implemented as needed. The postflight assessment process was quite detailed and a significant portion of flight operations. The SRBs provided fully redundant critical systems including thrust vector control, mission critical pyrotechnics, avionics, and parachute recovery system. The design intent was to lift off with full redundancy. On occasion, the redundancy management scheme was needed during flight operations. This paper describes some of the design challenges, how the design evolved with time, and key areas where hardware reusability contributed to improved system level understanding.
The Data Transfer and Data Centers session will present papers on current data center activities as well as various topics geared towards enhancing the availability and acquisition of International Global Positions System Service (IGS) data and products. These topics include: strategies for reducing data file latency at IGS Data Centers, standardization of data file replacement notification methods, improving the efficiency of data file transfer among IGS Data Centers, and defining a network topology for GPS data files for use in applications.
Laser communication technology and laser communication performance are reviewed. The subjects discussed are: (1) characteristics of laser communication systems, (2) laser technology problems, (3) means of overcoming laser technology problems, and (4) potential schedule for including laser communications into data acquisition networks. Various types of laser communication systems are described and their capabilities are defined.
Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) sensor detection system was continued and refined modifications were made in the data acquisition and evaluation process during the last year. The ultrasonic and FPI detection system was improved from one to multiple sensor detectors. Physical models were developed to understand the physical phenomenon of this work. Multilayered flawed samples were fabricated for inspection by a prototype ultrasonic and FPI detection. Experimental data was verified with simulated results. Undergraduate students that were associated with this research gained valuable knowledge from this experience. This was a learning process helping students to understand the importance of research and its application to solve important technological problems. As a result of our students exposure to this research two and planning to continue this type of research work in graduate school. A prototype instrument package was laboratory tested an actual airframe structure for documentation purposes.
Plans for a new way of providing tracking and data acquisition support for future earth orbital missions, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), are reviewed. This system is to become the principal support facility for all NASA R&D missions below about 5000 km altitude. Current plans call for a 2-satellite system that is to provide upwards of 85% coverage of all orbits above 200 km and 100% coverage above 1200 km.
The Space Propulsion Research Facility, commonly referred to as B-2, is designed to hot fire rocket engines or upper stage launch vehicles with up to 890,000 N force (200,000 lb force), after environmental conditioning of the test article in simulated thermal vacuum space environment. As NASA s third largest thermal vacuum facility, and the largest designed to store and transfer large quantities of propellant, it is uniquely suited to support developmental testing associated with large lightweight structures and Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) systems, as well as non-traditional propulsion test programs such as Electric and In-Space propulsion. B-2 has undergone refurbishment of key subsystems to support the NASA s future test needs, including data acquisition and controls, vacuum, and propellant systems. This paper details the modernization efforts at B-2 to support the Nation s thermal vacuum/propellant test capabilities, the unique design considerations implemented for efficient operations and maintenance, and ultimately to reduce test costs.
Detailed aeroheating information is critical to the successful design of a thermal protection system (TPS) for an aerospace vehicle. This report describes NASA Langley Research Center's (LaRC) two-color relative-intensity phosphor thermography method and the IHEAT software package which is used for the efficient data reduction and analysis of the phosphor image data. Development of theory is provided for a new weighted two-color relative-intensity fluorescence theory for quantitatively determining surface temperatures on hypersonic wind tunnel models; an improved application of the one-dimensional conduction theory for use in determining global heating mappings; and extrapolation of wind tunnel data to flight surface temperatures. The phosphor methodology at LaRC is presented including descriptions of phosphor model fabrication, test facilities and phosphor video acquisition systems. A discussion of the calibration procedures, data reduction and data analysis is given. Estimates of the total uncertainties (with a 95% confidence level) associated with the phosphor technique are shown to be approximately 8 to 10 percent in the Langley's 31-Inch Mach 10 Tunnel and 7 to 10 percent in the 20-Inch Mach 6 Tunnel. A comparison with thin-film measurements using two-inch radius hemispheres shows the phosphor data to be within 7 percent of thin-film measurements and to agree even better with predictions via a LATCH computational fluid dynamics solution (CFD). Good agreement between phosphor data and LAURA CFD computations on the forebody of a vertical takeoff/vertical lander configuration at four angles of attack is also shown. In addition, a comparison is given between Mach 6 phosphor data and laminar and turbulent solutions generated using the LAURA, GASP and LATCH CFD codes. Finally, the extrapolation method developed in this report is applied to the X-34 configuration with good agreement between the phosphor extrapolation and LAURA flight surface temperature predictions. The phosphor process outlined in the paper is believed to provide the aerothermodynamic community with a valuable capability for rapidly obtaining (4 to 5 weeks) detailed heating information needed in TPS design.
Onboard computers for pre-transmission data processing, automation of data acquisition centers, and real time data relay to control centers for advanced space information systems
Software provides for control and acquisition of data from optical pyrometer. There are six individual programs in PYROLASER package. Provides quick and easy way to set up, control, and program standard Pyrolaser. Temperature and emisivity measurements either collected as if Pyrolaser in manual operating mode or displayed on real-time strip charts and stored in standard spreadsheet format for posttest analysis. Shell supplied to allow macros, which are test-specific, added to system easily. Written using Labview software for use on Macintosh-series computers running System 6.0.3 or later, Sun Sparc-series computers running Open-Windows 3.0 or MIT's X Window System (X11R4 or X11R5), and IBM PC or compatible computers running Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA conducted a full-scale air-to-surface impact-survivable impact demonstration with a remotely piloted transport aircraft on 1 December 1984, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The test article consisted of experiments, special equipment, and supporting systems, such as antimisting kerosene (AMK), crashworthiness structural/restraint, analytical modeling, cabin fire safety, flight data recorders, post-impact investigation, instrumentation/data acquisition systems, remotely piloted vehicle/flight control systems, range and flight safety provisions, etc. This report describes the aircraft, experiments, systems, activities, and events which lead up to the Controlled Impact Demonstration (CID). An overview of the final unmanned remote control flight and sequence of impact events are delineated. Preliminary post CID observations are presented.
Intelligent sensor technology and systems are increasingly becoming attractive means to serve as frameworks for intelligent rocket test facilities with embedded intelligent sensor elements, distributed data acquisition elements, and onboard data acquisition elements. Networked intelligent processors enable users and systems integrators to automatically configure their measurement automation systems for analog sensors. NASA and leading sensor vendors are working together to apply the IEEE 1451 standard for adding plug-and-play capabilities for wireless analog transducers through the use of a Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) in order to simplify sensor setup, use, and maintenance, to automatically obtain calibration data, and to eliminate manual data entry and error. A TEDS contains the critical information needed by an instrument or measurement system to identify, characterize, interface, and properly use the signal from an analog sensor. A TEDS is deployed for a sensor in one of two ways. First, the TEDS can reside in embedded, nonvolatile memory (typically flash memory) within the intelligent processor. Second, a virtual TEDS can exist as a separate file, downloadable from the Internet. This concept of virtual TEDS extends the benefits of the standardized TEDS to legacy sensors and applications where the embedded memory is not available. An HTML-based user interface provides a visual tool to interface with those distributed sensors that a TEDS is associated with, to automate the sensor management process. Implementing and deploying the IEEE 1451.1-based Network-Capable Application Process (NCAP) can achieve support for intelligent process in Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) for the purpose of monitoring, detection of anomalies, diagnosis of causes of anomalies, prediction of future anomalies, mitigation to maintain operability, and integrated awareness of system health by the operator. It can also support local data collection and storage. This invention enables wide-area sensing and employs numerous globally distributed sensing devices that observe the physical world through the existing sensor network. This innovation enables distributed storage, distributed processing, distributed intelligence, and the availability of DiaK (Data, Information, and Knowledge) to any element as needed. It also enables the simultaneous execution of multiple processes, and represents models that contribute to the determination of the condition and health of each element in the system. The NCAP (intelligent process) can configure data-collection and filtering processes in reaction to sensed data, allowing it to decide when and how to adapt collection and processing with regard to sophisticated analysis of data derived from multiple sensors. The user will be able to view the sensing device network as a single unit that supports a high-level query language. Each query would be able to operate over data collected from across the global sensor network just as a search query encompasses millions of Web pages. The sensor web can preserve ubiquitous information access between the querier and the queried data. Pervasive monitoring of the physical world raises significant data and privacy concerns. This innovation enables different authorities to control portions of the sensing infrastructure, and sensor service authors may wish to compose services across authority boundaries.
A single-scan radiography system has been interfaced to a minicomputer, and the combined system has been used with a variety of fluoroscopic systems and image intensifiers available in clinical facilities. The system's response range is analyzed, and several applications are described. These include determination of the gray scale for typical X-ray-fluoroscopic-television chains, measurement of gallstone volume in patients, localization of markers or other small anatomical features, determinations of organ areas and volumes, computer reconstruction of tomographic sections of organs in motion, and computer reconstruction of transverse axial body sections from fluoroscopic images. It is concluded that this type of system combined with a minimum of statistical processing shows excellent capabilities for delineating small changes in differential X-ray attenuation.
Single scan operation of television X-ray fluoroscopic systems allow both analog and digital reconstruction of tomographic sections from single plan images. This type of system combined with a minimum of statistical processing showed excellent capabilities for delineating small changes in differential X-ray attenuation. Patient dose reduction is significant when compared to normal operation or film recording. Flat screen, low light level systems were both rugged and light in weight, making them applicable for a variety of special purposes. Three dimensional information was available from the tomographic methods and the recorded data was sufficient when used with appropriate computer display devices to give representative 3D images.
The command and data acquisition (CDA) station for the Synchronous Meteorological Satellite (SMS) program, located on the Eastern shore of Virginia, is described in terms of facility layout, ground support instrumentation, and capabilities. Data systems and equipment are described in detailed block diagrams. The major subsystems are identified and information on equipment specifications, frequency ranges, and data processing format is given. Automatic picture transmission, data utilization stations, data collection platforms, and the various communication links from the CDA station to the SMS spacecraft are discussed.
Using a structured, experienced-based approach, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has assessed the generic functional requirements for a lunar mission control and data delivery (CDD) system. This analysis was based on lunar mission requirements outlined in GSFC-developed user traffic models. The CDD system will facilitate data transportation among user elements, element operations, and user teams by providing functions such as data management, fault isolation, fault correction, and link acquisition. The CDD system for the lunar missions must not only satisfy lunar requirements but also facilitate and provide early development of data system technologies for Mars. Reuse and evolution of existing data systems can help to maximize system reliability and minimize cost. This paper presents a set of existing and currently planned NASA data systems that provide the basic functionality. Reuse of such systems can have an impact on mission design and significantly reduce CDD and other system development costs.
The emergent technology of system-on-chip (SoC) devices promises lighter, smaller, cheaper, and more capable and reliable space electronic systems that could help to unveil some of the most treasured secrets in our universe. This technology is an improvement over the technology that is currently used in space applications, which lags behind stateof-the-art commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment by several generations. SoC technology integrates all computational power required by next-generation space exploration science instruments onto a single chip. This presentation will describe a Xilinx Zynq-based data acquisition, cloud-screening and compression computing system that has been developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for JPL’s Next Generation Imaging Spectrometers (NGIS). The Xilinx Zynq-based Alpha Data hardware assembly fits into a 120mm by 190m by 40mm assembly and uses 9 watts at peak performance. The computing element is a Xilinx Zynq Z7045Q which includes a Kintex-7 FPGA (equivalent to 3 RAD Virtex5 FPGAs in terms of logic cell resources) and dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 Processors (equivalent to 10 RAD750 Power PCs in term of processing capability).