SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Ambient Weather Stations”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

9 records

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2004

Oh! I Slipped the Surly Bounds of Earth....and Ran into Space Weather!

Over the past decade the concept of space weather has been introduced and matured in both the scientific community and popular press. Likewise the concept of space climatology recently also is being advanced. Closely linked to these concepts are their impacts on ground- and space-based technological systems; one such system commonly mentioned is manned space flight exemplified by the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS). From a manned space flight perspective, space weather and space climatology have significant effects on the amount of radiation exposure received by humans in space from the ambient high-energy charged particles present in interplanetary space and trapped in the geomagnetosphere. Whereas the impact of space weather for most technological systems is usually discrete and well correlated in time, the principle impact of space weather and space climatology is to increase the probability of latent cancer formation in thetraveler cohort. In this regard, while space weather may be the dominating factor for a given mission, over the life of a long-term program such as the Space Shuttle or ISS space climatology is the controlling factor of latent cancer risk. Human radiation exposure enhancements associated with space weather disturbances has been a concern among scientist and mission controllers since the inception of manned spaceflight nearly forty years ago. This led NASA to develop, in conjunction with the Environmental Science Services Administration s Space Disturbance Forecast Center and the USAF/AWS, the Solar Particle Alert Network (SPAN)-the foundation of an initial U.S. space weather monitoring and forecasting service. Since Apollo, routine space flight operations have evolved to include the use of space weather and climatology data provided through a world-wide network of operational space weather data services to predict and recommend actions to minimize astronaut radiation exposures. NASA Space Radiation Analysis Group (SRAG) flight controllers use real-time space weather data to detect and assess the impact of solar particle events, outer electron belt enhancements, the formation of pseudo-stable additional trapped radiation belts, and the solar cycle modulation of trapped radiation belts and galactic cosmic rays. Energetic particle data from GOES spacecraft are automatically ingested from NOAA Space Environment Center data servers and used to drive a model for the estimating the exposure to astronauts from solar particle events. While adequate for current manned space flight support, the existing operational space weather support system requires improvements to address the anticipated evolution in both the character of manned missions as well as space flight operations management. Necessary space weather data improvements include: reliably available (near) real-time space weather data on a fixed schedule via redundant access methods that support autonomous data acquisition by computer systems behind enterprise firewalls; and rapid transition of promising research sensors into operational systems.

Golightly, Michael J.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Web-Based Real-Time Emergency Monitoring

The Web-based Real-Time Asset Monitoring (RAM) module for emergency operations and facility management enables emergency personnel in federal agencies and local and state governments to monitor and analyze data in the event of a natural disaster or other crisis that threatens a large number of people and property. The software can manage many disparate sources of data within a facility, city, or county. It was developed on industry-standard Geo- Spatial software and is compliant with open GIS standards. RAM View can function as a standalone system, or as an integrated plugin module to Emergency Operations Center (EOC) software suites such as REACT (Real-time Emergency Action Coordination Tool), thus ensuring the widest possible distribution among potential users. RAM has the ability to monitor various data sources, including streaming data. Many disparate systems are included in the initial suite of supported hardware systems, such as mobile GPS units, ambient measurements of temperature, moisture and chemical agents, flow meters, air quality, asset location, and meteorological conditions. RAM View displays real-time data streams such as gauge heights from the U.S. Geological Survey gauging stations, flood crests from the National Weather Service, and meteorological data from numerous sources. Data points are clearly visible on the map interface, and attributes as specified in the user requirements can be viewed and queried.

Harvey, Craig A.↗

NASA NTRS2014

The Situational Awareness Sensor Suite for the ISS (SASSI): A Mission Concept to Investigate ISS Charging and Wake Effects

The complex interaction between the International Space Station (ISS) and the surrounding plasma environment often generates unpredictable environmental situations that affect operations. Examples of affected systems include extravehicular activity (EVA) safety, solar panel efficiency, and scientific instrument integrity. Models and heuristically‐derived best practices are well‐suited for routine operations, but when it comes to unusual or anomalous events or situations, especially those driven by space weather, there is no substitute for real‐time monitoring. Space environment data collected in real‐time (or near‐real time) can be used operationally for both real‐time alarms and data sources in assimilative models to predict environmental conditions important for operational planning. Fixed space weather instruments mounted to the ISS can be used for monitoring the ambient space environment, but knowing whether or not (or to what extent) the ISS affects the measurements themselves requires adequate space situational awareness (SSA) local to the ISS. This paper presents a mission concept to use a suite of plasma instruments mounted at the end of the ISS robotic arm to systematically explore the interaction between the Space Station structure and its surrounding environment. The Situational Awareness Sensor Suite for the ISS (SASSI) would be deployed and operated on the ISS Express Logistics Carrier (ELC) for long‐term "survey mode" observations and the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) for short‐term "campaign mode" observations. Specific areas of investigation include: 1) ISS frame and surface charging during perturbations of the local ISS space environment, 2) calibration of the ISS Floating Point Measurement Unit (FPMU), 3) long baseline measurements of ambient ionospheric electric potential structures, 4) electromotive force-induced currents within large structures moving through a magnetized plasma, and 5) wake‐induced ion waves in both electrostatic (i.e. particles) and electromagnetic modes. SASSI will advance the understanding of plasma‐boundary interaction phenomena, demonstrate a suite a sensors acting in concert to provide effective SSA, and validate and/or calibrate existing ISS space environment instruments and models.

Krause, L. Habash↗

NASA NTRS2010

Opportunities for Utilizing the International Space Station for Studies of F2- Region Plasma Science and High Voltage Solar Array Interactions with the Plasma Environment

The near circular, 51.6deg inclination orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) is maintained within an altitude range of approximately 300 km to 400 km providing an ideal platform for conducting in-situ studies of space weather effects on the mid and low-latitude F-2 region ionosphere. The Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) is a suite of instruments installed on the ISS in August 2006 which includes a Floating Potential Probe (FPP), a Plasma Impedance Probe (PIP), a Wide-sweep Langmuir Probe (WLP), and a Narrow-sweep Langmuir Probe (NLP). The primary purpose for deploying the FPMU is to characterize ambient plasma temperatures and densities in which the ISS operates and to obtain measurements of the ISS potential relative to the space plasma environment for use in characterizing and mitigating spacecraft charging hazards to the vehicle and crew. In addition to the engineering goals, data from the FPMU instrument package is available for collaborative multi-satellite and ground based instrument studies of the F-region ionosphere during both quiet and disturbed periods. Finally, the FPMU measurements supported by ISS engineering telemetry data provides a unique opportunity to investigate interactions of the ISS high voltage (160 volt) solar array system with the plasma environment. This presentation will provide examples of FPMU measurements along the ISS orbit including night-time equatorial plasma density depletions sampled near the peak electron density in the F2-region ionosphere, charging phenomenon due to interaction of the ISS solar arrays with the plasma environment, and modification of ISS charging due to visiting vehicles demonstrating the capabilities of the FPMU probes for monitoring mid and low latitude plasma processes as well as vehicle interactions with the plasma environment.

Minow, Joseph I.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ground Testing of the MISSE-16 Materials

The harsh space environment imposes very stringent requirements upon spacecraft materials, especially those located on exterior surfaces of space objects in low Earth orbit (LEO). As humankind moves from space exploration to space commercialization, these materials may have to last for 15–20 years without considerable degradation of their optical, electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Operational requirements dictate that these materials continue to function according to expectations. Hence, we must understand the effects of the space environment on materials currently in use as well as on untested materials. For the years, the Materials International Space Station Experiment Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) have flown many different materials to investigate the effect of LEO space weather exposure on the performance and durability of materials and devices. The MISSE-16 scientific team members plan to launch fifteen different novel and well-characterized spacecraft-relevant materials to the LEO environment for a duration of six months during the MISSE-16 mission. Changes in spectral reflectivity will be measured throughout the mission as the samples are exposed to the space environment. The same chemical damage the produces changes in optical reflectance also causes changes in numerous other physical properties such as electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, and chemical reactivity. Correlation of the changes in each of these properties as a function of radiation type, flux, and fluence allows various material properties to be inferred from one experimentally tractable measurement: color change. Flying identical test fixtures on the ram, zenith, and wake positions of the MISSE-FF, collecting spectrally resolved images of the materials, and concomitantly measuring the ambient space environment allows deconvolution of the material effects which occur as a result of exposure to neutral atomic oxygen (AO), unfiltered solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and electrons. The flight experiment will function as a ground truth reference for our team’s ongoing laboratory-based space weather-material interactions experiments. Comparison of the MISSE-16 data with extensive testing of “flight-duplicate” samples under simulated space weather conditions will enable development of chemical models for prediction of material degradation. This paper discusses preliminary results from the ground test campaign including measurements of UV/VIS/IR reflectance spectra, bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), surface potential decay, and surface morphology under electron and AO exposure.

Elena A. Plis↗

NASA NTRS2019

Marsbee - Swarm of Flapping Wing Flyers for Enhanced Mars Exploration: NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) - Phase I: Final Report

Mars exploration has received significant interest from academia, industry, government, and the general public. Despite continued interest, flying on Mars remains challenging, mainly due to the ultra-thin Martian atmospheric density. Although the gravitational acceleration on Mars is 38 percent of Earth's 9.8 meters per second squared, the Martian atmospheric density is only 1.3 percent of the air density on Earth. The aerodynamic forces are proportional to the ambient fluid density. Therefore, flying near the surface of Mars has been considered nearly impossible. The proposed mission architecture (Fig. 1) consists of a Mars rover (already existing) that serves as a mobile base for Marsbees - a deployable swarm of small bio-inspired flapping wing vehicles. In one ConOps scenario, each Marsbee would carry an integrated stereographic video camera and the swarm could construct a 3D topographic map of the local surface for rover path planning. These flying scouts would provide a "third-dimension" to the rover capabilities. In other scenarios, each part of the swarm of Marsbees could carry pressure and temperature sensors for atmospheric sampling, or small spectral analyzers for identification of mineral outcroppings. In each scenario, the rover acts as a recharging and deployment/return station and data and communication hub. Human exploration of Mars is one of the major objectives of NASA and commercial entities such as SpaceX and Boeing. The identified innovations unique to the bio-inspired flapping Marsbee provide viable multi-mode flying mobility for Martian atmospheric and terrain exploration. A swarm of Marsbees provides an enhanced reconfigurable Mars exploration system that is resilient to individual component failures. These Marsbees can carry sensors and wireless communication devices in combination with a Mars rover and helicopters. These enhanced sensing and information gathering abilities can contribute to the following NASA Mars mission objectives: i) "Determine the habitability of an environment", ii) "Obtain surface weather measurements to validate global atmospheric models", and iii) "Prepare for human exploration on Mars." Various commercial entities, e.g. SpaceX and Boeing, are investing in technologies to transport humans to Mars.

Kang, Chang-kwon↗

NASA NTRS2005

Probabilistic Analysis of Impact of Wake Vortices on Closely-Spaced Parallel Approaches

One of the primary constraints on the capacity of the nation's air transportation system is the landing capacity of its largest airports. Many airports with closely spaced parallel runways suffer a severe runway acceptance rate when the weather conditions do not allow full utilization of these parallel runways. The present requirement for simultaneous independent landings in Instrument Meteorological Conditions, IMC, is at least 4300 feet of lateral runway spacing (as close as 3000 feet for runways with a Precision Runway Monitor). Operations in Visual Meteorological Conditions, VMC, to Closely Spaced Parallel Approaches only require a lateral runway spacing greater than 750 feet. A study by Hardy and Lewis integrated and extended earlier studies and concepts in lateral traffic separation, longitudinal station keeping, wake prediction, wake display, and the concepts of R N P into a preliminary system concept for Closely Spaced Parallel Approaches in IMC. This system allows IMC airport acceptance rates to approach those for VMC. The system concept that was developed, presented traffic and wake information on the NAVigation Display, NAV, and developed operational procedures for a mix of conventional and Runway Independent Aircraft with different approach speeds to Closely Spaced Parallel Runways. This paper first describes some improvements made on the technology needed to better predict and formulate a probabilistic representation for the time-dependent motion and spreading of the hazardous region associated with the lift-generated vortex wakes of preceding aircraft. In this way, the time at which the vortex wakes of leading aircraft intrude into the airspace of adjacent flight-corridor/runway combinations can be more reliably predicted. Such a prediction is needed because it determines restraints to be placed on in-trail separation distances; or, the allowable time intervals between aircraft executing nearly simultaneous landings or takeoffs on very closely-spaced runways. Improved estimates of wake spreading are achieved by inclusion of representations in the equations for wake spreading due to ambient turbulence and due to the long-wave instability of a vortex pair. Wake motion and spreading due to the time-averaged wind and its variations with time, are retained. The more detailed representation of wake spreading presented here permits the development of probabilistically-based uncertainty estimates for wake spreading. Measurements needed within actual aircraft wake vortices to validate and support this analysis are also described. The second part of the paper uses the improvements in the accuracy of the location of wake vortices to extend the preliminary system concept for Closely Spaced Parallel Approaches described earlier with more robust operational procedures. Additionally, improvements in longitudinal station keeping, wake display, and risk assessment methodologies are incorporated and described.

Hardy, Gordon H.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Fabrication and Deployment Testing of Solar Sail Quadrants for a 20-Meter Solar Sail Ground Test System Demonstration

A 20-meter Scalable Square Solar Sail (S(sup 4)) System was produced and successfully completed functional vacuum testing in NASA Glenn's Space Power Facility at Plum Brook Station Ohio in May 2005. The S(sup 4) system was designed and developed by ATK Space Systems, and the design and production of the Solar Sails for this system was carried out by SRS Technologies. The S(sup 4) system consists of a central structure with four deployable carbon fiber masts that support four triangular sails. SRS has developed an effective and efficient design for triangular sail quadrants that are supported at three points and provide a flat reflective surface with a high fill factor. This sail design is robust enough for deployments in a one atmosphere, one gravity environment and incorporates several advanced features including adhesiveless seaming of membrane strips, compliant edge borders to allow for film membrane cord strain mismatch without causing wrinkling and low mass (3% of total sail mass) ripstop. This paper will outline some of the sail design and fabrication processes and the mature production, packaging and deployment processes that have been developed. This paper will also detail the successful ambient and vacuum testing of the sails and the ATK spacecraft structure. Based on recent experience and testing, SRS is confidant that high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5-6 solar sails in the 40-120-meter size range with areal density in the 4-5 grams per square meters (sail minus structure) range can be produced with existing technology. Additional film production research will lead to further reductions in film thickness to less than 1 micron enabling production of sails with areal densities as low as 2.0 grams per square meters using the current design, resulting in a system areal densities as low as 5.3 grams per square meters (sail and structure). These areal densities are low enough to allow nearly all of the Solar Sail missions that have been proposed by the scientific community. The fundamental technologies required to produce these systems has been demonstrated on the 20-meter S(sup 4) sails that have recently completed ground testing demonstrating a mature and technology suitable for incorporation into future flight validation and future mission. Solar Sails can support NASA's Vision for Space Exploration by allowing communication satellite orbits that can maintain continuous communication with the polar regions of the Moon and Mars and to support solar weather monitoring to provide early warning of solar flares and storms that could threaten the safety of astronauts and other spacecraft.

Laue, Greg↗

NASA NTRS1999

The MSP 2001 Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment (MECA)

The Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment (MECA) will evaluate the Martian environment for soil and dust-related hazards to human exploration as part of the Mars Surveyor Program 2001 Lander. Sponsored by the Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) enterprise, MECA's goal is to evaluate potential geochemical and environmental hazards that may confront future Martian explorers, and to guide HEDS scientists in the development of high fidelity Mars soil simulants. The integrated MECA payload contains a wet-chemistry laboratory, a microscopy station, an electrometer to characterize the electrostatics of the soil and its environment, and arrays of material patches to study the abrasive and adhesive properties of soil grains. The instrument will acquire soil samples with a robotic arm equipped with a camera. MECA will examine surface and subsurface soil and dust in order to characterize particle size, shape, hardness, and also physical characteristics that may provide clues to mineralogy. MECA will characterize soil/water mixtures with respect to pH, redox potential, total dissolved ions, and trace toxins. MECA will determine the nature of electrostatic charging associated with excavation of soil, and the influence of ionizing radiation on material properties. It will also observe natural dust accumulation on engineering materials. To accomplish these objectives, MECA is allocated a mass of 10 kg within an enclosure of 35 x 25 x 15 cm. The Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL) consists of four identical cells that will accept samples from surface and subsurface regions accessible to the Lander's robotic arm, mix them with water, and perform extensive analysis of the solution. Ion-selective electrodes and related sensors will evaluate total dissolved solids, redox potential, pH, and the concentration of many soluble ions and gases in wet Martian soil. These electrodes can detect potentially dangerous heavy-metal ions, emitted pathogenic gases, and the soil's corrosive potential. Experiments will include cyclic voltammetry and anodic stripping voltammetry. Complementary to the Viking experiments, the chemical laboratory will characterize the water-soil solution rather than emitted gases. Nonetheless, through analysis of dissolved gases it will be able to replicate many of the Viking observations related to oxidants. MECA's microscopy station combines optical and atomic-force microscopy (AFM) in an actively focused, controlled illumination environment to image particles from millimeters to nanometers in size. Careful selection of substrates allows controlled experiments in adhesion, abrasion, hardness, aggregation, magnetic and other properties. Special tools allow primitive manipulation (brushing and scraping) of samples. Soil particle properties including size, shape, color, hardness, adhesive potential (electrostatic and magnetic), will be determined using an array of sample receptacles and collection substrates. The simple, rugged atomic-force microscope will image in the submicron size range and has the capability of performing a particle-by-particle analysis of the dust and soil. On Earth, the earliest forms of life are preserved as microfossils. The atomic-force microscope will have the required resolution to image down to the scale of terrestrial microfossils and beyond. Mounted on the end of the robot arm, MECA's electrometer actually consists of four types of sensors: an electric field meter, several triboelectricity monitors, an ion gauge, and a thermometer. Tempered only by ultraviolet-light-induced ions and a low-voltage breakdown threshold, the dry, cold, dusty martian environment presents an imposing electrostatic hazard to both robots and humans. The field meter will measure the ambient field on nearby objects while the triboelectric sensors, using identical circuitry, will measure the charge accumulated on test substances as they are dragged through the soil by the arm. The ion chamber, open to the environment, will sense both charged dust and free ions in the air. Over and above the potential threat to electronics, the electrostatic environment holds one of the keys to transport of dust and, consequently, Martian meteorology. Viewed with the robot arm camera, the abrasion and adhesion plates are strategically placed to allow direct observation of the interaction between materials and soils on a macroscopic scale. Materials of graded hardness are placed directly under the robot arm scoop to sense wear and soil hardness. A second array, placed on the lander deck, is deployed after the dust plume of landing has settled. It can be manipulated in a primitive fashion by the arm, first having dirt deposited on it from the scoop and subsequently shaken clean. A third array will passively collect dust from the atmosphere. In addition to objectives related to human exploration, the MECA data set will be rich in information relevant to basic geology, paleoclimate, and exobiology issues. To understand both contemporaneous and ancient processes on Mars, the mineralogy, petrology, and reactivity of Martian surface materials should be constrained. The MECA experiment will shed light on these quantities through its combination of chemistry and microscopy. MECA will be capable of measuring the composition of ancient surface water environments, observing microscopic evidence of geological (and biological?) processes, inferring soil and dust transport, comminution and weathering mechanisms, and characterizing soil horizons that might be encountered during excavation.

Hecht, M. H.↗