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An overview of the Communications Technology Satellite (CTS) project, a joint venture between NASA and the Canadian Department of Communications is given. A brief technical description of the CTS spacecraft and its cognate hardware and operations, a history of the CTS project, and a list of the CTS experiments and demonstrations conducted during the course of the project are given.
The Communications Technology Satellite (CTS) project is reviewed. A technical description of the CTS spacecraft and its cognate hardware and operations is included. A historical treatise of the CTS project is provided. Also presented is an overview of the CTS experiments and demonstrations conducted during the course of the project.
The NASA Ames Research Center is active in energy projects primarily in the role of providing assistance to users in the solution of a number of problems related to energy. Data bases were produced which can be used, in combination with other sources of information, to solve spatially related energy problems. Six project activities at Ames are described which relate to energy and remote sensing. Two projects involve power demand forecasting and estimations using remote sensing and geographic information systems; two others involve transmission line routing and corridor analysis; one involves a synfuel user needs assessment through remote sensing; and the sixth involves the siting of energy facilities.
An overview of the DOE/NASA Automotive Stirling Engine Project is presented. The background and objectives of the project are reviewed. Project activities are described and technical progress and status are presented and assessed. Prospects for achieving the objective 30% fuel economy improvement are considered good. The key remaining technology issues are primarily related to life, reliability and cost, such as piston rod seals, and low cost heat exchanges.
An overview of the DOE/NASA Automotive Stirling Engine Project is presented. The background and objectives of the project are reviewed. Project activities are described and technical progress and status are presented and assessed. Prospects for achieving the objective 30 percent fuel economy improvement are considered good. The key remaining technology issues are primarily related to life, reliability and cost, such as piston rod seals, and low cost heat exchanges. Previously announced in STAR as N83-27924
This report describes progress made by the Flat-Plate Solar Array Project during the period January to September 1983. It includes reports on silicon sheet growth and characterization, module technology, silicon material, cell processing and high-efficiency cells, environmental isolation, engineering sciences, module performance and failure analysis and project analysis and integration. It includes a report on, and copies of visual presentations made at the 22nd Project Integration Meeting held at Pasadena, California, on September 28 and 29, 1983.
The PIX follow-up project NICS is described. The purpose of PIX was access to X.25, the DATEX-P network of the Federal German Post Office. The development and implementation of higher protocols for levels 4-7 in the ISOSINN was the actual problem here. Results of the PIX project are given. NICS (Stuttgart Interconnection Network Project) is presented. International Protocols are reviewed. PAD service is described, which allows terminal access to DATEX-P network of the Federal German Post Office.
A review of the user's operating procedures for the scout project automatic data system, called SPADS is presented. SPADS is the results of the past seven years of software development on a prime mini-computer. SPADS was developed as a single entry, multiple cross-reference data management and information retrieval system for the automation of Project office tasks, including engineering, financial, managerial, and clerical support. This volume, three of three, provides the instructions to operate the projects directorate information programs in data retrieval and file maintenance via the user friendly menu drivers.
In research and development projects, a commonly occurring management decision is concerned with the optimum allocation of resources to achieve the project goals. Because of resource constraints, management has to make a decision regarding the set of proposed systems or tasks which should be undertaken. SIMRAND (Simulation of Research and Development Projects) is a methodology which was developed for aiding management in this decision. Attention is given to a problem description, aspects of model formulation, the reduction phase of the model solution, the simulation phase, and the evaluation phase. The implementation of the considered approach is illustrated with the aid of an example which involves a simplified network of the type used to determine the price of silicon solar cells.
The Closed Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) testbed project will achieve two major goals: It will develop the knowledge and technology needed to build and test biological or combined biological physiochemical regenerative life support systems. It will fabricate, test, and operate ground based facilities to accomplish proof-of-concent testing and evaluation leading to flight experimentation. The project will combine basic research and applied research/engineering to achieve a phased, integrated development of hardware, systems, and techniques for food and oxygen production, food processing, and waste processing in closed systems. The project will design, fabricate, and operate within three years a botanical production system scaled to a sufficient size to verify oxygen and nutrient load production (carbohydrates, fats, proteins) at a useable level. It will develop within five years a waste management system compatible with the botanical production system and a food processing system that converts available biomass into edible products. It will design, construct, and operate within ten years a ground based candidate CELSS that includes man as an active participant in the system. It will design a flight CELSS module within twelve years and construct and conduct initial flight tests within fifteen years.
A software production environment was constructed to meet the specific goals of a particular large programming project. These goals, the specific solutions as implemented, and the experiences on a project of over 100,000 lines of source code are discussed. The base development environment for this project was an ordinary PWB Unix (tm) system. Several important aspects of the development process required support not available in the existing tool set.
This report is the tenth in a series of Technical Summary reports for the Advanced Gas Turbine (AGT) Technology Development Project, authorized under NASA Contract DEN3-167, and sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE). This report was prepared by Garrett Turbine Engine Company, A Division of the Garrett Corporation, and includes information provided by Ford Motor Company, the Carborundum Company, and AiResearch Casting Company. The Project is administered by Mr. Thomas N. Strom, Project Manager, NASA-Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. This report covers plans and progress for the period July 1, 1984 through June 30, 1985.
The Cal Poly Space Project is an effort on the part of several highly motivated students to deploy a space canister which will examine the effects of microgravity on electroplating and immiscible metals. The experiments will be controlled and monitored by a specialized triple redundancy system developed to defer the possible electronic errors due to uncontrollable factors such as photons from the Sun. With the finalization of the payload design and the near completion of the data control system, the integration phase of the project is anticipated to be completed and the project ready for launching by early 1987. It is hoped that the experiments will lead to new insights in space research and also prove profitable to industry.
The Flat-Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project, a Government-sponsored photovoltaics project, was initiated in January 1975 (previously named the Low-Cost Silicon Solar Array Project) to stimulate the development of PV systems for widespread use. Its goal then was to develop PV modules with 10% efficiency, a 20-year lifetime, and a selling price of $0.50 per peak watt of generating capacity (1975 dollars). It was recognized that cost reduction of PV solar-cell and module manufacturing was the key achievement needed if PV power systems were to be economically competitive for large-scale terrestrial use.
Abstracts of final reports, or the latest quarterly or annual, of the Flat-Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project Contractor of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in-house activities are presented. Also presented is a list of proceedings and publications, by author, of work connected with the project. The aim of the program has been to stimulate the development of technology that will enable the private sector to manufacture and widely use photovoltaic systems for the generation of electricity in residential, commercial, industrial, and Government applications at a cost per watt that is competitive with utility generated power. FSA Project activities have included the sponsoring of research and development efforts in silicon refinement processes, advanced silicon sheet growth techniques, higher efficiency solar cells, solar cell/module fabrication processes, encapsulation, module/array engineering and reliability, and economic analyses.
In 1975, the U.S. Government contracted the Jet Propulsion Lab. to develop, by 1985, in conjunction with industry, the photovoltaics (PV) module and array technology required for widespread use of photovoltaics as a significant terrestrial energy source. As a result, a project that eventually became known as the Flat Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project was formed to manage an industry, university, and Government team to perform the necessary research and development. The original goals were to achieve widespread commercial use of PV modules and arrays through the development of technology that would allow them to be profitably sold for $1.07/peak watts (1985 dollars). A 10% module conversion efficiency and a 20 year lifetime were also goals. It is intended that the executive summary provide the means by which one can gain a perspective on 11 years of terrestrial photovoltaic research and development conducted by the FSA Project.
The goal of the Process Development Area, as part of the Flat-Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project, was to develop and demonstrate solar cell fabrication and module assembly process technologies required to meet the cost, lifetime, production capacity, and performance goals of the FSA Project. R&D efforts expended by Government, Industry, and Universities in developing processes capable of meeting the projects goals during volume production conditions are summarized. The cost goals allocated for processing were demonstrated by small volume quantities that were extrapolated by cost analysis to large volume production. To provide proper focus and coverage of the process development effort, four separate technology sections are discussed: surface preparation, junction formation, metallization, and module assembly.
Described are the contents of the Crustal Dynamics Project Data Information System (DIS) and instructions on the use of this facility. The main purpose of the DIS is to store all geodetic data products acquired by the Project in a central data bank and to maintain information about the archive of all Project-related data. Access and use of the DIS menu-driven system is described as well as procedures for contacting DIS staff and submitting data requests.