Engineering topics

Mclaughlin, William I.

Publications and source records attributed to Mclaughlin, William I..

12 records

NASA NTRS1993

The potential of space exploration for the fine arts

Art provides an integrating function between the 'upper' and 'lower' centers of the human psyche. The nature of this function can be made more specific through the triune model of the brain. The evolution of the fine arts - painting, drawing, architecture, sculpture, literature, music, dance, and drama, plus cinema and mathematics-as-a-fine-art - are examined in the context of their probable stimulations by space exploration: near term and long term.

Mclaughlin, William I.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Radar images of asteroid Toutatis

Radar images of a near-Earth asteroid, Toutatis, were obtained from earth in December 1992. The asteroid was found to be a compact binary consisting of two irregularly shaped cratered objects and rotating with a period of 10 and 11 days. These results carry significant implications for understanding the origin and evolution of near-earth asteroids.

Mclaughlin, William I.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Cost, capability, and risk for planetary operations

The three key factors for flight projects - cost, capability, and risk - are examined with respect to their interplay, the uplink process, cost drivers, and risk factors. Scientific objectives are translated into a computer program during the uplink process, and examples are given relating to the Voyager Interstellar Mission, Galileo, and the Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby. The development of a multimission sequence system based on these uplinks is described with reference to specific subsystems such as the pointer and the sequence generator. Operational cost drivers include mission, flight-system, and ground-system complexity, uplink traffic, and work force. Operational risks are listed in terms of the mission operations, the environment, and the mission facilities. The uplink process can be analyzed in terms of software development, and spacecraft operability is shown to be an important factor from the initial stages of spacecraft development.

Mclaughlin, William I.↗

NASA NTRS1991

System requirements and design for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is the fourth in NASA's series of Great Observatories and will feature a one-meter class telescope in high earth orbit. Planned for launch around the turn of the century, the lifetime of this cryogenically cooled observatory will be approximately five years. This paper presents an overview of the current status of the requirements and design for SIRTF. This iterative process is described, and some examples are drawn from the upper end of the hierarchy.

Mclaughlin, William I.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) implementation plans

This paper describes the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRFT) mission planned by NASA for a launch by a Titan IV launch vehicle near the end of this decade. Special attention is given to the SIRFT's scientific goals, instruments, and technology. The cryogenically cooled SIRFT will utilize three scientific instruments, the Infrared Array Camera, the Infrared Spectrograph, and the Multiband Imaging Photometer for SIRFT and will achieve sensitivities 100 to 10,000 times greater than previous space telescope missions. During its five or six years of operation, SIRFT is expected to yield information on the formation and evolution of galaxies and stars and the solar-system phenomena and supernovae, as well as on the formation of other solar systems.

Spehalski, Richard J.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Voyager 2's encounter with Neptune

The results of Voyager 2 observations of Neptune are reviewed. Observations of Neptune's Great Dark Spot, rotation atmosphere, magnetic field, rings, and satellites are discussed. Also, observations of Triton are considered, noting the presence of geyser activity on the satellite. Several photographs of features on both Neptune and Triton are presented.

Mclaughlin, William I.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Putting Voyager together

The development of the Voyager missions is reviewed. The development of the technology is described, and the various components of the Voyager spacecraft are depicted and their functions identified. The budget pressures and their effects on the missions are discussed, and the problems experienced by the Voyager 2 spacecraft on its mission, and the way those were solved, are summarized.

Mclaughlin, William I.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Voyager's decade of wonder

The development and implementation of the Voyager missions are reviewed. The interplanetary missions preceding Voyager are discussed, focusing on the technological development leading up to the Voyager spacecraft. The main results from Voyager observations of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus are outlined. Also, consideration is given to the prospects for observations of Neptune.

Mclaughlin, William I.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Automating the uplink process for planetary missions

The dual challenges of increased capability along with lower costs are addressed with regard to flight operations. A program has been formulated to take advantage of advances in software and hardware in order to design, and prototype where indicated, a set of tools which can be applied to the building of a more productive uplink process for NASA missions that are envisaged for the the next decade. Techniques such as object-oriented programming, expert systems, natural-language parsing, interactive graphics, and parallel processing are employed in the quest for increased productivity. The paper is organized hierarchically with the level of 'goal', 'objectives' and 'tasks'. A brief review of the uplink process is included.

Mclaughlin, William I.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Planetary missions

The scientific and engineering aspects of near-term missions for planetary exploration are outlined. The missions include the Voyager Neptune flyby, the Magellan survey of Venus, the Ocean Topography Experiment, the Mars Observer mission, the Galileo Jupiter Orbiter and Probe, the Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby mission, the Mars Rover Sample Return mission, the Cassini mission to Saturn and Titan, and the Daedalus probe to Barnard's star. The spacecraft, scientific goals, and instruments for these missions are noted.

Mclaughlin, William I.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Mission operations systems for planetary exploration

The purpose of the paper is twofold: (1) to present an overview of the processes comprising planetary mission operations as conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and (2) to present a project-specific and historical context within which this evolving process functions. In order to accomplish these objectives, the generic uplink and downlink functions are described along with their specialization to current flight projects. Also, new multimission capabilities are outlined, including prototyping of advanced-capability software for subsequent incorporation into more automated future operations. Finally, a specific historical ground is provided by listing some major operations software plus a genealogy of planetary missions beginning with Mariner 2 in 1962.

Mclaughlin, William I.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Engineering Voyager 2's encounter with Uranus

Changes made by radio control from the ground in the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it approached Uranus are described. Reduced power required that subsystems and heaters had to be switched on and off in carefully synchronized fashion. Low light levels required increased exposure times, so the jiggling of the spacecraft had to be minimized. Coding changes were made and image data were compressed to cope with the reduced bit rate at larger distances. Successful efforts to cope with failures in the primary radio receiver and in the computer instructions for image compression are described, as are changes made on the ground in the spacecraft navigation.

Laeser, Richard P.↗