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New cable-twisting machine is smaller and faster than many production units. Is useful mainly in production of short-run special cables. Already-twisted cable can be fed along axis of machine. Faster operation than typical industrial cable-twisting machines possible by using smaller spools of wire.
Commonly, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) being developed in cPCI embedded systems include the bus interface in the FPGA. This complicates the development because the interface is complicated and requires a lot of development time and FPGA resources. In addition, flight qualification requires a substantial amount of time be devoted to just this interface. Another complication of putting the cPCI interface into the FPGA being developed is that configuration information loaded into the device by the cPCI microprocessor is lost when a new bit file is loaded, requiring cumbersome operations to return the system to an operational state. Finally, SRAM-based FPGAs are typically programmed via specialized cables and software, with programming files being loaded either directly into the FPGA, or into PROM devices. This can be cumbersome when doing FPGA development in an embedded environment, and does not have an easy path to flight. Currently, FPGAs used in space applications are usually programmed via multiple space-qualified PROM devices that are physically large and require extra circuitry (typically including a separate one-time programmable FPGA) to enable them to be used for this application. This technology adds a cPCI interface device with a simple, flexible, high-performance backend interface supporting multiple backend FPGAs. It includes a mechanism for programming the FPGAs directly via the microprocessor in the embedded system, eliminating specialized hardware, software, and PROM devices and their associated circuitry. It has a direct path to flight, and no extra hardware and minimal software are required to support reprogramming in flight. The device added is currently a small FPGA, but an advantage of this technology is that the design of the device does not change, regardless of the application in which it is being used. This means that it needs to be qualified for flight only once, and is suitable for one-time programmable devices or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). An application programming interface (API) further reduces the development time needed to use the interface device in a system.
High-pressure-seal formed by forcing polyurethane into space surrounding wire or cable in special fitting. Wire or cable routed through fitting then through a tightly fitting cap. Wire insulation left intact. Cap filled with sealant and forced onto the fitting: this pushes sealant into fitting so it seals wire or cable in fitting as well as in cap.
Because of profound changes in government and the space program, this may be an ideal time to evaluate MSFC's Public Affairs television efforts. The changes are continued downsizing of government programs; reduction in research and development; changes in the space program from periodic manned launches to a full-time presence in space with Space Station; and greater emphasis on science and communicating science information. At the same time that NASA is undergoing change, the media and society are also undergoing substantial upheaval. Twenty-five years ago, the three main over-the-air television networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) had a 93 share of the television audience. We now have four popular over-the-air networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) who maintain a 52 percent share of the television audience. Technological development, competition, and changing consumer tastes have created specialized media and audiences. This media fragmentation is part of a normal maturation cycle of use or adoption. While phases in the cycle vary in length due to many factors, the cycle has been consistent and reflects patterns of adoption. The cycle is: (1) Elite Media usage, (2) Popular or Mass Media usage, and (3) Specialized Media usage. Another factor that affects the media development and adoption cycle is the creation of new and competing mass and personal mediums. While television remains the dominant and most popular mass medium, it is declining and we see (via cable television) specialized networks catering to small audience segments. Because of changing technology and consumer behavior, we may not see a dominant mass media like television again.
Tensolite, a custom cable manufacturer specializing in high temperature materials as the dielectric medium, develops an advance arc track resistant airframe wire called Tufflite 2000. Tufflite 2000 has the following advantages over the other traditional wires: lighter weight and smaller in diameter; excellent wet and dry arc track resistance; superior dynamic cut-through performance even at elevated temperatures; flight proven performance on Boeing 737 and 757 airplanes; and true 260 C performance by utilizing Nickel plated copper conductors. This paper reports the different tests performed on Tufflite 2000: accelerated aging, arc resistance (wet and dry), dynamic cut through, humidity resistance, wire-to-wire abrasion, flammability, smoke, weight, notch sensitivity, flexibility, and markability. It particularly focuses on the BSI (British Standards Institute) dry arc resistance test and BSI wet arc tracking.
The International Space Station (ISS) Configuration Analysis Modeling and Mass Properties (CAMMP) Team is presenting a demo of certain CAMMP capabilities at a Booz Allen Hamilton conference in San Antonio. The team will be showing pictures of low fidelity, simplified ISS models, but no dimensions or technical data. The presentation will include a brief description of the contract and task, description and picture of the Topology, description of Generic Ground Rules and Constraints (GGR&C), description of Stage Analysis with constraints applied, and wrap up with description of other tasks such as Special Studies, Cable Routing, etc. The models include conceptual Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and Lunar Lander images and animations created for promotional purposes, which are based entirely on public domain conceptual images from public NASA web sites and publicly available magazine articles and are not based on any actual designs, measurements, or 3D models. Conceptual Mars rover and lander are completely conceptual and are not based on any NASA designs or data. The demonstration includes High Fidelity Computer Aided Design (CAD) models of ISS provided by the ISS 3D CAD Team which will be used in a visual display to demonstrate the capabilities of the Teamcenter Visualization software. The demonstration will include 3D views of the CAD models including random measurements that will be taken to demonstrate the measurement tool. A 3D PDF file will be demonstrated of the Blue Book fidelity assembly complete model with no vehicles attached. The 3D zoom and rotation will be displayed as well as random measurements from the measurement tool. The External Configuration Analysis and Tracking Tool (ExCATT) Microsoft Access Database will be demonstrated to show its capabilities to organize and track hardware on ISS. The data included will be part numbers, serial numbers, historical, current, and future locations, of external hardware components on station. It includes dates of all external ISS events and flights and the associated hardware changes for each event. The hardware location information does not always reveal the exact location of the hardware, only the general location. In some cases the location is a module or carrier, in other cases it is a WIF socket, handrail, or attach point. Only small portions of the data will be displayed for demonstration purposes.
The Goddard Space Flight Center's thermal vacuum laboratory has developed a high-speed automated system for testing the integrity of 37-pin MIL-C-5015 cylindrical electrical feedthrough connectors used on penetration plates of thermal vacuum chambers. The system consists of a desktop PC driving a data acquisition front end. The latter measures the resistance through each pin of the connector and the resistance from each pin to all other pins and the connector shell. In addition to identifying unacceptable feedthroughs, the system is also used for testing cables. In the special case of Type T thermocouples (used almost exclusively at the lab), the difference in resistance between the copper and constantan wires provides positive proof of accidentally reversed connector wiring. Data acquisition time to completely test a cable or feedthrough connector is less than thirty seconds. The system provides a hardcopy printout of the resistance readings. Connectors or cables with fewer wires are tested using simple adapter cables. Initial tests indicate that the performance of a given feedthrough connector can be predicted on the basis of measured resistance readings, reducing ongoing cost of connector replacement. The opportunity to positively certify the integrity of cables, cable connectors and feedthroughs before the start of a thermal vacuum test minimizes the likelihood of a circuit problem that would require returning the chamber to ambient conditions for repair. This system has two principal advantages for the Goddard thermal vacuum laboratory. Its only significant cost was the labor to fabricate the test cable and shorting cable -- about 40 man-hours total. The system was built around a computer and data acquisition unit that were already on hand. The second advantage is that it very quickly tests both of the parameters that are essential.
Pertinent information for hardware selection, design, manufacture, and quality control necessary for flat conductor cable interconnecting harness application is presented. Comparisons are made between round wire cable and flat conductor cable. The flat conductor cable interconnecting harness systems show major cost, weight, and space savings, plus increased system performance and reliability. The design application section includes electrical characteristics, harness design and development, and a full treatise on EMC considerations. Manufacturing and quality control sections pertain primarily to the developed conductor-contact connector system and special flat conductor cable to round wire cable transitions.
Device includes cable wound on reel; special assembly enclosed in fluid medium controls unwinding speed of cable during descent. Device is compact and reliable. It can be rewound quickly because reel disengages from latches when it is turned in opposite direction.
Single cable using simplified, versatile clocking connector satisfies clocking variations that previously required many cables. Connector consists of specially fabricated grommet follower dial housing, dial assembly, and modified insert.
The major focus of the Phase II effort described herein is to develop and demonstrate an aircraft capable of autonomously sailing (i.e., to cruise without propulsion or external assistance), and thereby prove that the dual-aircraft platform (DAP) atmospheric satellite concept is potentially viable. This sailing mode of flight was identified as the number-1 enabling technology required for the stratospheric DAP concept (also known as Stratosat) in the NIAC (NASA Innovative Advanced Concept) Phase I effort. No scientific demonstration of this technology has ever been done or documented to our knowledge. This report describes efforts to take a major step towards the sailing mode of flight capability using a single aircraft connected by cable to a moving ground vehicle which uses sufficient crosswind to cruise without propulsion while "pulling" the ground vehicle forward (i.e., without external assistance). The development of a prototype aircraft is described in terms of novel and key hardware and software elements. A specialized prototype aircraft is described, including a novel cable release mechanism, novel "lateron" control surfaces, and a highly-accurate onboard wind measurement system. Additionally, a novel means to safely connect the aircraft to the moving ground vehicle is described involving a fishing rod/reel and integrated load cell. All of these devices were designed and developed in-house and validated in flight testing. Software is developed to provide look-up tables that give the flight condition targets (i.e., 3-D position relative to ground vehicle, forward speed, aircraft orientation, etc.), based on current wind speed and direction. These tables are successfully validated in flight simulation and used onboard the aircraft. High fidelity analysis of the aircraft aerodynamics are described - required to produce accurate target sailing flight conditions. A novel wind tunnel measurement technique is developed to accurately assess the aerodynamics of the ultra-thin cable. A new specialized flight simulator is described which is utilized to develop and verify the flight software required onboard the aircraft, and to support training of pilots for flying the aircraft while tethered to a ground vehicle. The DAP flight simulator was developed within the Matlab-Simulink framework and included detailed treatment of aircraft/cable aerodynamics, cable dynamics, experimentally-derived propeller-motor thrust curves, actuator responsiveness, and realistic air turbulence. The specialized formation flight controller algorithm, developed using this flight simulator, and onboard the aircraft is described. Finally, a novel auto-tuning software is described and verified within the flight simulator that is shown to refine the sailing flight condition targets during flight using an optimization technique involving doublet maneuvers. Virtual flights using the auto-tuning software indicate that the prototype aircraft should be able to reach and hold sailing conditions despite moderate levels of turbulence provided there is sufficient mean wind available. An overview of the flight testing program is provided. Hundreds of short flights were conducted, primarily using a “dead” short runway at Deland Municipal Airport which permitted use of a moving ground vehicle. Additional flight tests at Space Florida’s Shuttle Landing Facility are also described. First year results from these tests in which the aircraft is controlled manually, demonstrated that excessive flight testing would be required for a pilot to learn to sail with visual cues. However, second year results from autonomous flight these tests included successful demonstration of the closed-loop autonomous formation flight capability (i.e., autonomously determine, reach, and hold the required 3-D location relative to the ground vehicle required for sailing). The next step of using the auto-tune software to autonomously refine the aircraft orientation targets to finally achieve sailing remains the primary goal of future work.
The design and implementation of hardware and software systems involved in using a 40,000 bit/second communication line as the connecting link between an IMLAC PDS 1-D display computer and a Univac 1108 computer system were described. The IMLAC consists of two independent processors sharing a common memory. The display processor generates the deflection and beam control currents as it interprets a program contained in the memory; the minicomputer has a general instruction set and is responsible for starting and stopping the display processor and for communicating with the outside world through the keyboard, teletype, light pen, and communication line. The processing time associated with each data byte was minimized by designing the input and output processes as finite state machines which automatically sequence from each state to the next. Several tests of the communication link and the IMLAC software were made using a special low capacity computer grade cable between the IMLAC and the Univac.
This report summarizes the results of the candidate head evaluation for the new long-life magnetic head per the SOW of Contract No. NAS8-39407, MSFC Head Development Program. The original program plans were to test a candidate head, fabricate a new head, then qualify the new head. These activities were scheduled to be carried out between March 1993 and March 1994. The program was halted after the evaluation of the candidate head by NAS8-39407 Amendment No. 4. MSFC has provided and authorized the use the MARS-2000 SRB QUAL Recorder PN 10400-0677-801 - Serial Number 200004 (Datatape PN 591000 - Serial Number 1004), Reproduce Amplifier Module (RAM) Datatape PN 533040 - Serial Number 2006, associated cables, and magnetic tape on special SRB/DFI tapered reels to Datatape for this program. All the testing that has been done for the candidate head evaluation was done at Datatape's facility in Pasadena,CA. The testing was performed in a Class 100,000 particle counts clean room at ambient temperature, except for the thermal testing which was conducted in a different area at Datatape. The Performance Verification Test Procedure PVT-11004-4 (PVT) and Acceptance Test Procedure ATP-11004-09 (ATP) procedures were used when tests were conducted on the recorder.
This report describes the theory of calculating the principal stresses in the envelope of a nonrigid airship used by the Bureau of Aeronautics, United States Navy. The principal stresses are due to the gas pressure and the unequal distribution of weight and buoyancy, and the concentrated loads from the car suspension cables. The second part of the report deals with the variations of tensions in the car suspension cables of any type of airship, with special reference to the rigid type, due to the propeller thrust or the inclination of the airship longitudinally.
Topics covered include: Lighting the Way for Quicker, Safer Healing; Discovering New Drugs on the Cellular Level; Hydrogen Sensors Boost Hybrids; Today s Models Losing Gas?; 3-D Highway in the Sky; Popping a Hole in High-Speed Pursuits; Monitoring Wake Vortices for More Efficient Airports; From Rockets to Racecars; All-Terrain Intelligent Robot Braves Battlefront to Save Lives; Keeping the Air Clean and Safe--An Anthrax Smoke Detector; Lightning Often Strikes Twice; Technology That's Ready and Able to Inspect Those Cables; Secure Networks for First Responders and Special Forces; Space Suit Spins; Cooking Dinner at Home--From the Office; Nanoscale Materials Make for Large-Scale Applications; NASA s Growing Commitment: The Space Garden; Bringing Thunder and Lightning Indoors; Forty-Year-Old Foam Springs Back With New Benefits; Experiments With Small Animals Rarely Go This Well; NASA, the Fisherman's Friend; Crystal-Clear Communication a Sweet-Sounding Success; Inertial Motion-Tracking Technology for Virtual 3-D; Then Why Do They Call Earth the Blue Planet?; Valiant 'Zero-Valent' Effort Restores Contaminated Grounds; Harnessing the Power of the Sun; Water and Air Measures That Make 'PureSense'; Remote Sensing for Farmers and Flood Watching; Pesticide-Free Device a Fatal Attraction for Mosquitoes Making the Most of Waste Energy Washing Away the Worries About Germs Celestial Software Scratches More Than the Surface A Search Engine That's Aware of Your Needs Fault-Detection Tool Has Companies 'Mining' Own Business; Software to Manage the Unmanageable; Tracking Electromagnetic Energy With SQUIDs; Taking the Risk Out of Risk Assessment; Satellite and Ground System Solutions at Your Fingertips; Structural Analysis Made 'NESSUSary'; Software of Seismic Proportions Promotes Enjoyable Learning; Making a Reliable Actuator Faster and More Affordable; Cost-Cutting Powdered Lubricant NASA s Radio Frequency Bolt Monitor: A Lifetime of Spinoffs Going End to End to Deliver High-Speed Data; Advanced Joining Technology: Simple, Strong, and Secure; Big Results From a Smaller Gearbox; Low-Pressure Generator Makes Cleanrooms Cleaner; and The Space Laser Business Model.
A new NASA Ames concept for an aircraft passenger seat has been under research and development since 1968. It includes many human-factor features that will provide protection to the passenger from vibration, jostle, and high impact. It is comfortable and safer than any of the seats presently in use. An in-depth design, fabrication, and impact analysis was conducted in order to design a seat that will maximize passenger protection in high g impacts (20 g horizontal -Gx, 36 g vertical +Gz, 16 g lateral Gy). The method for absorbing impact energy was accomplished with a combination of stretching stainless steel cables, thread breaking of stitches, hydraulic mechanism and the special Temper Form cushions. The restraint system for the seat consisted of a lap belt and shoulder harness inertia reel combination.
Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) represents an approach for expanding the communication capacity and for implementing special data techniques in a fiber optics system. This technology is implemented by adding optical sources of different wavelengths at optical transmitting locations. The present paper is concerned with some of the current efforts in WDM. WDM applications are related to long haul communications, local area data networks, spacecraft and aircraft data systems, fault tolerant computer networks, special sensor devices, high speed data processors, closed circuit and cable television, and submarine cable systems. Attention is given to the current state of wavelength division multiplexing applications, the availability and status of WDM components semiconductor lasers/transmitters, availability and status of fiber optic detectors/receivers, optical fibers/cables/connectors/taps/star couplers, wavelength multiplexers/demultiplexers, and future WDM for local area networks.
A tool has been developed for the special purpose of inserting the terminus of an optical fiber in a cable connector that conforms to NASA Specification SSQ- 21635. What prompted the development of the tool was the observation that because of some aspects of the designs of fiber-optic termini and of springs, sealing rings, and a grommet inside the shell of such a connector, there is a tendency for the grommet to become damaged and detached from the sealing rings during installation. It is necessary to ensure the integrity of the grommet for proper sealing and proper functioning of the connector. The special-purpose tool provides the needed protection for the grommet. The grommet-protection tool resembles a funnel into which an axial slit has been cut (see figure). Prior to insertion, the grommet-protection tool is rolled so that one side of the slit overlaps the other side. The rolled-up grommet-protection tool is inserted in one of the connector holes that accommodate the fiber-optic termini and is pushed in until the flange (the wider of the two conical portions) of the tool becomes seated on the connector grommet. Then a special-purpose installation tool is inserted in the flange of the grommet-protection tool and pressed in until it becomes seated in the flange. This operation expands the narrower of the two conical portions of the grommet-protection tool. The installation tool is removed and the grommet-protection tool remains expanded due to the flat surfaces on the axial slit. By use of a standard contact-insertion tool, a fiber-optic terminus is inserted, through the grommet-protection tool, into the connector cavity. By use of a pair of forceps or needle-nose pliers, the grommet-protection tool is then pulled out of the cavity. Finally, the grommet-protection tool is removed from around the installed fiber-optic cable by pulling the cable through the axial slit. Unlike in some prior procedures for installing the fiber-optic termini in the connector, the procedure that involves the use of the present grommet-protection tool does not include the use of lubricants that can contaminate the interior of the connector. The grommet-protection tool is made of a fluoropolymer, taking advantage of the flexibility of such polymers and further taking advantage of the inherent slipperiness of fluoropolymers. Although the tool is designed primarily for insertion of a fiber-optic terminus, it might also be useful for extracting a previously installed fiber-optic terminus.