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At least 1,765 records · Page 98

A Systems Modeling Approach for Risk Management of Command File Errors

The main cause of commanding errors is often (but not always) due to procedures. Either lack of maturity in the processes, incompleteness of requirements or lack of compliance to these procedures. Other causes of commanding errors include lack of understanding of system states, inadequate communication, and making hasty changes in standard procedures in response to an unexpected event. In general, it's important to look at the big picture prior to making corrective actions. In the case of errors traced back to procedures, considering the reliability of the process as a metric during its' design may help to reduce risk. This metric is obtained by using data from Nuclear Industry regarding human reliability. A structured method for the collection of anomaly data will help the operator think systematically about the anomaly and facilitate risk management. Formal models can be used for risk based design and risk management. A generic set of models can be customized for a broad range of missions.

probabilistic risk↗

The Deep Impact Network Experiment Operations Center

Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) promises solutions in solving space communications challenges arising from disconnections as orbiters lose line-of-sight with landers, long propagation delays over interplanetary links, and other phenomena. DTN has been identified as the basis for the future NASA space communications network backbone, and international standardization is progressing through both the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). JPL has developed an implementation of the DTN architecture, called the Interplanetary Overlay Network (ION). ION is specifically implemented for space use, including design for use in a real-time operating system environment and high processing efficiency. In order to raise the Technology Readiness Level of ION, the first deep space flight demonstration of DTN is underway, using the Deep Impact (DI) spacecraft. Called the Deep Impact Network (DINET), operations are planned for Fall 2008. An essential component of the DINET project is the Experiment Operations Center (EOC), which will generate and receive the test communications traffic as well as "out-of-DTN band" command and control of the DTN experiment, store DTN flight test information in a database, provide display systems for monitoring DTN operations status and statistics (e.g., bundle throughput), and support query and analyses of the data collected. This paper describes the DINET EOC and its value in the DTN flight experiment and potential for further DTN testing.

flight experiment↗

TES-8: Advanced Exo-Brake, VR and COM Experiments

The TES-8 was jettisoned from the International Space Station on January 31, 2019. As an orbital laboratory and 8th in on-going series, the design makes use of a standard set of interfaces and safety features that permit rapid re-flight. On this flight, an advanced Exo-Brake is flown with de-orbit targeting capability that will engender sample return capability from LEO platforms. A Virtual Reality data recording system uses stereo imaging and efficient data-compression with an NVIDIA GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) to permit compression and transmission of very large data files. An SDR (Software Defined Radio) will download data to the NEN (Near Earth Network) for the first time - demonstrating potential use in cis-lunar space using S-band. For the first time, a comparison will be made regarding the functionality of the Iridium and Globalstar short burst data modems - as essential communication tools for future nano-sat projects. Lastly, the 7 micro-processors and 4 cameras provide an excellent learning platform for university students and NASA young professionals.

Exo-Brake↗

Citizen Science Twitter Data Management for Earth Science Applications

Social media data can provide useful real-time and historical information relating to the natural world, but managing this data poses challenges. Scientists at GES DISC are exploring the potential of Twitter data to augment precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. However, the format of Twitter data is unconventional in the context of NASA data centers, resulting in frustration for scientists who need to work with the data. This study investigated procedures and standards needed to properly manage Twitter data to make them compatible with these data centers. After comparing databases, the study found that the MongoDB database was best suited for the storage of raw Twitter data due to its flexibility, ability to be accessed by multiple users, and querying functionality. The study used the Python package Zarr to transform processed Twitter data into a gridded format similar to that of satellite data. Each Tweet was mapped onto a time-space grid; each grid location contained information about Tweet attributes and precipitation. The study developed a pipeline for downloading, storing, and gridding Twitter data and transformed Twitter data into an understandable format for users of NASA satellite data.

Li, Rachel↗

Towards a Preservation Content Standard for Earth Observation Data

Information from Earth observing missions (remote sensing with airborne and spaceborne instruments, and in situ measurements such as those from field campaigns) is proliferating in the world. Many agencies across the globe are generating important datasets by collecting measurements from instruments on board aircraft and spacecraft, globally and constantly. The data resulting from such measurements are a valuable resource that needs to be preserved for the benefit of future generations. These observations are the primary record of the Earths environment and therefore are the key to understanding how conditions in the future will compare to conditions today. Earth science observational data, derived products and models are used to answer key questions of global significance. In the near-term, as long as the missions data are being used actively for scientific research, it continues to be important to provide easy access to the data and services commensurate with current information technology. For the longer term, when the focus of the research community shifts toward new missions and observations, it is essential to preserve the previous mission data and associated information. This will enable a new user in the future to understand how the data were used for deriving information, knowledge and policy recommendations and to repeat the experiment to ascertain the validity and possible limitations of conclusions reached in the past and to provide confidence in long term trends that depended on data from multiple missions. Organizations that collect, process, and utilize Earth observation data today have a responsibility to ensure that the data and associated content continue to be preserved by them or are gathered and handed off to other organizations for preservation for the benefit of future generations. In order to ensure preservation of complete content necessary for understanding and reusing the data and derived digital products from todays missions, it is necessary to develop a specification of such preservation content. While there are existing standards that address archival and preservation in general, there are no existing international standards or specifications today to address what content should be preserved. The purpose of this paper is to outline briefly the existing standards that apply to preservation, describe a recent effort in getting an international standard in place for specifying preservation content for Earth observation data and derived digital data products and the remaining work needed to arrive at a standard.

ISO Standards↗

Spaceflight Biospecimen Sharing in Support of Science Discovery and Exploration

For decades, NASA and international partners have flown non-human biological experiments in space to understand the effects of spaceflight and address potential biological hazards. Sending organisms into space is a costly endeavor which makes space-flown biological specimens a valuable resource. To enable maximum scientific return, samples not required by the Principal Investigators are harvested and collected mostly by NASA’s Space Biology Biospecimen Sharing Program. These specimens are collected according to well-established SOPs that maintain quality and integrity. The specimens are then preserved, archived, and made available to the international scientific community through NASA’s Institutional Scientific Collection (ISC) at Ames Research Center (ARC). The ISC-ARC biospecimens and descriptive metadata are findable and accessible for request through the Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA). The NASA ISC-ARC currently stores over 32,000 specimens from Shuttle, International Space Station, and ground-based investigations (spaceflight analog experiments involving either hindlimb unloading, centrifugation, or partial weight-bearing study designs). Tissues are predominantly from mice and rats, though samples are also available from bacteria and quail. The specimens include tissues from many physiological systems including musculoskeletal, neurosensory, reproductive, respiratory, circulatory, and digestive. Tissues are stored at -80°C, -20°C, +4°C, or ambient and preserved in various fixatives. Descriptive metadata is available for all samples. Historically, these tissues have been used for a wide range of analyses, including histology, genomics, and transcriptomics. Plans are underway to expand the ISC-ARC beyond the mostly-rodent contents, to include a space-relevant microbial culture collection including bacteria, fungi, and yeast. This expansion of the ISC-ARC will now involve identifying and standardizing best practices for microbial curations. To ensure safe long-term storage of microbial isolates, a microbiology laboratory will be dedicated for identification, cell culture, and lyophilization. Awarding of tissue to public science investigators has resulted in 33 publications since 2011, with 48 requests being submitted since 2016. Of note, NASA GeneLab has been awarded ISC-ARC biospecimens in the past few years. GeneLab processes the biospecimens to generate various levels of ‘omics’ data, which are published on GeneLab’s open access online platform for bioinformatics analysis and visualization. This has helped a systems biology community grow around the processed-biospecimens’ datasets, resulting in many new publications and insights. Websites: https://www.nasa.gov/ames/research/space-biosciences/isc-bsp ; https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/Biospecimen

Ryan T. Scott↗

An Analysis of Peak Wind Speed Data from Collocated Mechanical and Ultrasonic Anemometers

This study focuses on a comparison of peak wind speeds reported by mechanical and ultrasonic anemometers at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center (CCAFS/KSC) on the east central coast of Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) on the central coast of California. The legacy mechanical wind instruments on CCAFS/KSC and VAFB weather towers are being changed from propeller-and-vane (CCAFS/KSC) and cup-and-vane (VAFB) sensors to ultrasonic sensors under the Range Standardization and Automation (RSA) program. The wind tower networks on KSC/CCAFS and VAFB have 41 and 27 towers, respectively. Launch Weather Officers, forecasters, and Range Safety analysts at both locations need to understand the performance of the new wind sensors for a myriad of reasons that include weather warnings, watches, advisories, special ground processing operations, launch pad exposure forecasts, user Launch Commit Criteria (LCC) forecasts and evaluations, and toxic dispersion support. The Legacy sensors measure wind speed and direction mechanically. The ultrasonic RSA sensors have no moving parts. Ultrasonic sensors were originally developed to measure very light winds (Lewis and Dover 2004). The technology has evolved and now ultrasonic sensors provide reliable wind data over a broad range of wind speeds. However, because ultrasonic sensors respond more quickly than mechanical sensors to rapid fluctuations in speed, characteristic of gusty wind conditions, comparisons of data from the two sensor types have shown differences in the statistics of peak wind speeds (Lewis and Dover 2004). The 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) and the 30 WS requested the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) to compare data from RSA and Legacy sensors to determine if there are significant differences in peak wind speed information from the two systems.

Short, David A.↗

Spatial Growth Modeling and High Resolution Remote Sensing Data Coupled with Air Quality Modeling to Assess the Impact of Atlanta, Georgia on the Local and Regional Environment

The growth of cities, both in population and areal extent, appears as an inexorable process. Urbanization continues at a rapid rate, and it is estimated that by the year 2025, 60 percent of the world s population will live in cities. Urban expansion has profound impacts on a host of biophysical, environmental, and atmospheric processes within an urban ecosystems perspective. A reduction in air quality over cities is a major result of these impacts. Because of its complexity, the urban landscape is not adequately captured in air quality models such as the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model that is used to assess whether urban areas are in attainment of EPA air quality standards, primarily for ground level ozone. This inadequacy of the CMAQ model to sufficiently respond to the heterogeneous nature of the urban landscape can impact how well the model predicts ozone levels over metropolitan areas and ultimately, whether cities exceed EPA ozone air quality standards. We are exploring the utility of high-resolution remote sensing data and urban spatial growth modeling (SGM) projections as improved inputs to a meteorological/air quality modeling system focusing on the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area as a case study. These growth projections include business as usual and smart growth scenarios out to 2030. The growth projections illustrate the effects of employing urban heat island mitigation strategies, such as increasing tree canopy and albedo across the Atlanta metro area, which in turn, are used to model how air temperature can potentially be moderated as impacts on elevating ground-level ozone, as opposed to not utilizing heat island mitigation strategies. The National Land Cover Dataset at 30m resolution is being used as the land use/land cover input and aggregated to the 4km scale for the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model and the CMAQ modeling schemes. Use of these data has been found to better characterize low density/suburban development as compared with USGS lkm land use/land cover data that have traditionally been used in modeling. Air quality prediction for future scenarios to 2030 is being facilitated by land use projections using a spatial growth model. Land use projections were developed using the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan developed by the Atlanta Regional Commission, the regional planning agency for the area. This allows the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to evaluate how these transportation plans will affect future air quality. The coupled SGM and air quality modeling approach provides insight on what the impacts of Atlanta s growth will be on the local and regional environment and exists as a mechanism that can be used by policy makers to make rational decisions on urban growth and sustainability for the metropolitan area in the future.

Quattrochi, Dale A.↗

Validation and Verification for INL Modelica-based TEDS models Via Experimental Results

This report provides an overview on the verification and validation (V&V) of the Thermal Energy Distribution System (TEDS) model developed in the Modelica process modeling ecosystem using experimental data. Model development has led to the creation of a dynamic process model of the experimental TEDS facility housed within the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The model was then used during the preconstruction phase of the experimental effort to inform experimental design (e.g., insulation requirements, bypass line placement, expected performance of components) and to test innovative control schemes prior to the initial operation. The TEDS model developed in Modelica includes the primary components of the TEDS experimental unit: a 200kW Chromalox heater; a single-tank packed-bed thermal energy storage system filled with 0.125-inch alumina (Al2O3) beads; an ethylene-glycol-to-Therminol-66 heat exchanger; system piping; five control valves; and all associated temperature, pressure, and volumetric flow sensors. Using the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) V&V methodologies, considered the gold standard in the engineering field, the model was verified using a combination of static analysis, spatial convergence, and regression tests. Then using dynamic time warping (DTW) initial runs to validate and tune the TEDS model versus the experiment were conducted. This tuning method was accomplished using the INL Risk Analysis Virtual ENvironment (RAVEN) software package. Tuning is required to account for physical phenomena that are less understood within the empirical heat transfer correlations. Through the commencement of this work, a systems-level model of TEDS with associated control systems, sensors, piping diameters, and component capabilities has been created. This model was utilized in the pre-experimental phase to inform system design, insulation thicknesses, and potential control schemes to operate the system effectively and safely. Then, initial experimental startup and operational data were used to demonstrate the validation and tuning methodology. This process demonstrates the classical two-step approach of a model informing experimental design followed by the experiment validation and tuning the model.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Search for a new scalar resonance in flavour-changing neutral-current top-quark decays $t → qX (q = u, c)$, with $X → b\overline{b} $, in proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for flavour-changing neutral-current decays of a top quark into an up-type quark (either up or charm) and a light scalar particle X decaying into a bottom anti-bottom quark pair is presented. The search focuses on top-quark pair production where one top quark decays to qX, with X → $b\bar{b}$, and the other top quark decays according to the Standard Model, with the W boson decaying leptonically. The final state is thus characterised by an isolated electron or muon and at least four jets. Events are categorised according to the multiplicity of jets and jets tagged as originating from b-quarks, and a neural network is used to discriminate between signal and background processes. The data analysed correspond to 139 fb –1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The 95% confidence-level upper limits between 0.019% and 0.062% are derived for the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}$(t → uX) and between 0.018% and 0.078% for the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}$(t → cX), for masses of the scalar particle X between 20 and 160 GeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Stable parallel training of Wasserstein conditional generative adversarial neural networks

In this work, we propose a stable, parallel approach to train Wasserstein conditional generative adversarial neural networks (W-CGANs) under the constraint of a fixed computational budget. Differently from previous distributed GANs training techniques, our approach avoids inter-process communications, reduces the risk of mode collapse and enhances scalability by using multiple generators, each one of them concurrently trained on a single data label. The use of the Wasserstein metric also reduces the risk of cycling by stabilizing the training of each generator. We illustrate the approach on the CIFAR10, CIFAR100, and ImageNet1k datasets, three standard benchmark image datasets, maintaining the original resolution of the images for each dataset. Performance is assessed in terms of scalability and final accuracy within a limited fixed computational time and computational resources. To measure accuracy, we use the inception score, the Fréchet inception distance, and image quality. An improvement in inception score and Fréchet inception distance is shown in comparison to previous results obtained by performing the parallel approach on deep convolutional conditional generative adversarial neural networks as well as an improvement of image quality of the new images created by the GANs approach. Weak scaling is attained on both datasets using up to 2000 NVIDIA V100 GPUs on the OLCF supercomputer Summit.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Uncertainty analysis of Raman spectra for measuring ortho-parahydrogen compositions

Determining ortho-parahydrogen compositions at cryogenic temperatures is an important quality control for liquid hydrogen custody exchange. High orthohydrogen compositions lead to an exothermic reaction resulting in increased boil off and increased venting losses of liquid hydrogen product by either the supplier or consumer. Traditional methods for measuring ortho-parahydrogen compositions such as hot-wire anemometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and infrared spectroscopy are typically inconvenient at best. As the number of cryogenic hydrogen systems continue to increase, there is an increased need for flexible, standardized techniques for post processing composition measurements. A Raman spectrometer implemented in the Cryo-Catalysis Hydrogen Experimental Facility (CHEF) has demonstrated incredible flexibility for composition measurements of cryogenic hydrogen flows through a wide range of temperatures and pressures with the Raman probe in-situ at cryogenic temperatures. This article analyzes the uncertainty of Raman spectroscopy data of cryogenic hydrogen equilibrated at temperatures in IONEX catalyst. Spectra from hydrogen catalyzed to the equilibrium ortho-parahydrogen composition are processed and compared to expected statistical distributions for method verification.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Key results from examinations of seven high burnup pressurized water reactor spent nuclear fuel rods

At present, spent nuclear fuel (SNF) assemblies discharged from US commercial power plants are placed into dry storage following a short cooling time (<10 years) in the plant’s spent fuel pool. The process of packaging the spent fuel into dry-storage canisters includes a drying step to remove residual water from the canister. During the drying process, the fuel rod cladding may reach temperatures as high as 400°C. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is performing destructive examinations of high burnup (HBU) (>45 GWd/MTU) SNF rods to address knowledge and data gaps related to extended interim storage and eventual transportation for disposal. The rods examined include four different kinds of fuel rod cladding: standard Zircaloy-4 (Zirc-4), low-tin (LT) Zirc-4, ZIRLO, and M5. Three rods were subjected to a thermal transient to assess the effects of decay-heat-driven high temperatures expected during vacuum drying of the fuel as it is prepared for interim dry storage. The examinations focus on the composite fuel rod performance, as compared with the performance of defueled rod cladding, and establish the baseline mechanical properties of a fuel rod before interim dry storage. The key results of these examinations are presented, including the measured mechanical and fatigue properties, observations of cladding hydrogen pickup and hydride reorientation effects on rod performance, effects of the simulated drying temperatures on rod performance, and general conclusions of SNF performance in extended interim dry storage and transport. The rods were found to be strong and durable in the expected loading conditions, even considering the formation of radial hydrides associated with vacuum drying. The combined testing provides a broad body of data supporting extended interim storage and transportation performance of HBU spent fuel.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Effect of polarity of electric current on friction behavior of two gallium-lubricated tantalum slipring assemblies

Computer-processed data from low-speed (10 rpm) slipring experiments with two similar (but of opposite polarity) gallium-lubricated tantalum slipring assemblies (hemisphere against disk) carrying 50 amperes dc in vacuum (10 to the minus 9th power torr) showed that the slipring assembly with the anodic hemisphere had significantly lower peak-to-peak values and standard deviations of coefficient-of-friction samples (a measure of smoothness of operation) than the slipring assembly with the cathodic hemisphere. Similar data from an experiment with the same slipring assemblies running currentless showed more random differences in the frictional behavior between the two assemblies.

Przybyszewski, J.↗

Interpretation of HCMM images: A regional study

Potential users of HCMM data, especially those with only a cursory background in thermal remote sensing are familiarized with the kinds of information contained in the images that can be extracted with some reliability solely from inspection of such standard products as those generated at NASA/GSFC and now achieved in the National Space Science Data Center. Visual analysis of photoimagery is prone to various misimpressions and outright errors brought on by unawareness of the influence of physical factors as well as by sometimes misleading tonal patterns introduced during photoprocessing. The quantitative approach, which relies on computer processing of digital HCMM data, field measurements, and integration of rigorous mathematical models, can usually be used to identify, compensate for, or correct the contributions from at least some of the natural factors and those associated with photoprocessing. Color composite, day-IR, night-IR and visible images of California and Nevada are examined.

Source record↗

Quality and Control of Water Vapor Winds

Water vapor imagery from the geostationary satellites such as GOES, Meteosat, and GMS provides synoptic views of dynamical events on a continual basis. Because the imagery represents a non-linear combination of mid- and upper-tropospheric thermodynamic parameters (three-dimensional variations in temperature and humidity), video loops of these image products provide enlightening views of regional flow fields, the movement of tropical and extratropical storm systems, the transfer of moisture between hemispheres and from the tropics to the mid- latitudes, and the dominance of high pressure systems over particular regions of the Earth. Despite the obvious larger scale features, the water vapor imagery contains significant image variability down to the single 8 km GOES pixel. These features can be quantitatively identified and tracked from one time to the next using various image processing techniques. Merrill et al. (1991), Hayden and Schmidt (1992), and Laurent (1993) have documented the operational procedures and capabilities of NOAA and ESOC to produce cloud and water vapor winds. These techniques employ standard correlation and template matching approaches to wind tracking and use qualitative and quantitative procedures to eliminate bad wind vectors from the wind data set. Techniques have also been developed to improve the quality of the operational winds though robust editing procedures (Hayden and Veldon 1991). These quality and control approaches have limitations, are often subjective, and constrain wind variability to be consistent with model derived wind fields. This paper describes research focused on the refinement of objective quality and control parameters for water vapor wind vector data sets. New quality and control measures are developed and employed to provide a more robust wind data set for climate analysis, data assimilation studies, as well as operational weather forecasting. The parameters are applicable to cloud-tracked winds as well with minor modifications. The improvement in winds through use of these new quality and control parameters is measured without the use of rawinsonde or modeled wind field data and compared with other approaches.

Jedlovec, Gary J.↗

Flexible All-Digital Receiver for Bandwidth Efficient Modulations

An all-digital high data rate parallel receiver architecture developed jointly by Goddard Space Flight Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is presented. This receiver utilizes only a small number of high speed components along with a majority of lower speed components operating in a parallel frequency domain structure implementable in CMOS, and can currently process up to 600 Mbps with standard QPSK modulation. Performance results for this receiver for bandwidth efficient QPSK modulation schemes such as square-root raised cosine pulse shaped QPSK and Feher's patented QPSK are presented, demonstrating the flexibility of the receiver architecture.

Gray, Andrew↗

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE III) on the International Space Station (ISS) Mission

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III on the International Space Station (SAGE III/ISS) mission will provide the science community with high-vertical resolution and nearly global observations of ozone, aerosols, water vapor, nitrogen dioxide, and other trace gas species in the stratosphere and upper-troposphere. SAGE III/ISS measurements will extend the long-term Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement (SAM) and SAGE data record begun in the 1970s. The multi-decadal SAGE ozone and aerosol data sets have undergone intense scrutiny and are considered the international standard for accuracy and stability. SAGE data have been used to monitor the effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol. Key objectives of the mission are to assess the state of the recovery in the distribution of ozone, to re-establish the aerosol measurements needed by both climate and ozone models, and to gain further insight into key processes contributing to ozone and aerosol variability. The space station mid-inclination orbit allows for a large range in latitude sampling and nearly continuous communications with payloads. The SAGE III instrument is the fifth in a series of instruments developed for monitoring atmospheric constituents with high vertical resolution. The SAGE III instrument is a moderate resolution spectrometer covering wavelengths from 290 nm to 1550 nm. Science data is collected in solar occultation mode, lunar occultation mode, and limb scatter measurement mode. A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle will provide access to space. Mounted in the unpressurized section of the Dragon trunk, SAGE III will be robotically removed from the Dragon and installed on the space station. SAGE III/ISS will be mounted to the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier-4 (ELC-4) location on the starboard side of the station. To facilitate a nadir view from this location, a Nadir Viewing Platform (NVP) payload was developed which mounts between the carrier and the SAGE III Instrument Payload (IP).

Cisewski, Michael↗