Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Over, Ann P.

Publications and source records attributed to Over, Ann P..

Orion European Service Module (ESM) Development, Integration and Qualification Status

Following the very successful series of five Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) missions to the International Space Station (ISS) which were completed in 2015, ESA and NASA jointly decided to partially offset the European obligations deriving from the extension of the ISS Programme until the end of 2020 with different means. The selected barter option was a new development : the provision by ESA of the European Service Module (ESM) for NASA's new Orion human exploration spacecraft as part of the Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1). This development and production was entrusted to the prime contractor of the ATV, Airbus Defence and Space in Bremen, Germany.

Berthe, Philippe↗

Orion European Service Module (ESM) Development, Integration and Qualification Status

ESA and the European Industry are supplying the European Service Module for Orion. An overview of the system and subsystem configuration of the Orion European Service Module (ESM) as designed and built for the EM-1 mission is provided as well as an outline of its development, assembly, integration and verification process performed by ESA and NASA in coordination with their respective Industrial prime contractors, Airbus Defence and Space and Lockheed Martin.

Berthe, Philippe↗

Design, Development and Pre-Flight Testing of the Communications, Navigation, and Networking Reconfigurable Testbed (Connect) to Investigate Software Defined Radio Architecture on the International Space Station

The Communication Navigation and Networking Reconfigurable Testbed (CoNNeCT) is a NASA-sponsored mission, which will investigate the usage of Software Defined Radios (SDRs) as a multi-function communication system for space missions. A softwaredefined radio system is a communication system in which typical components of the system (e.g., modulators) are incorporated into software. The software-defined capability allows flexibility and experimentation in different modulation, coding and other parameters to understand their effects on performance. This flexibility builds inherent redundancy and flexibility into the system for improved operational efficiency, real-time changes to space missions and enhanced reliability/redundancy. The CoNNeCT Project is a collaboration between industrial radio providers and NASA. The industrial radio providers are providing the SDRs and NASA is designing, building and testing the entire flight system. The flight system will be integrated on the Express Logistics Carrier (ELC) on the International Space Station (ISS) after launch on the H-IIB Transfer Vehicle in 2012. This paper provides an overview of the technology research objectives, payload description, design challenges and pre-flight testing results.

Over, Ann P.↗

A Successful Infusion Process for Enabling Lunar Exploration Technologies

The NASA Vision for Space Exploration begins with a more reliable flight capability to the International Space Station and ends with sending humans to Mars. An important stepping stone on the path to Mars encompasses human missions to the Moon. There is little doubt throughout the stakeholder community that new technologies will be required to enable this Vision. However, there are many factors that influence the ability to successfully infuse any technology including the technical risk, requirement and development schedule maturity, and, funds available. This paper focuses on effective infusion processes that have been used recently for the technologies in development for the lunar exploration flight program, Constellation. Recent successes with Constellation customers are highlighted for the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) Projects managed by NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC). Following an overview of the technical context of both the flight program and the technology capability mapping, the process is described for how to effectively build an integrated technology infusion plan. The process starts with a sound risk development plan and is completed with an integrated project plan, including content, schedule and cost. In reality, the available resources for this development are going to change over time, necessitating some level of iteration in the planning. However, the driving process is based on the initial risk assessment, which changes only when the overall architecture changes, enabling some level of stability in the process.

Over, Ann P.↗

Combustion Module-2 Achieved Scientific Success on Shuttle Mission STS-107

The familiar teardrop shape of a candle is caused by hot, spent air rising and cool fresh air flowing behind it. This type of airflow obscures many of the fundamental processes of combustion and is an impediment to our understanding and modeling of key combustion controls used for manufacturing, transportation, fire safety, and pollution. Conducting experiments in the microgravity environment onboard the space shuttles eliminates these impediments. NASA Glenn Research Center's Combustion Module-2 (CM-2) and its three experiments successfully flew on STS-107/Columbia in the SPACEHAB module and provided the answers for many research questions. However, this research also opened up new questions. The CM-2 facility was the largest and most complex pressurized system ever flown by NASA and was a precursor to the Glenn Fluids and Combustion Facility planned to fly on the International Space Station. CM-2 operated three combustion experiments: Laminar Soot Processes (LSP), Structure of Flame Balls at Low Lewis-Number (SOFBALL), and Water Mist Fire Suppression Experiment (Mist). Although Columbia's mission ended in tragedy with the loss of her crew and much data, most of the CM-2 results were sent to the ground team during the mission.

Over, Ann P.↗

Combustion Module-2 Preparations Completed for SPACEHAB Mission Including the Addition of a New Major Experiment

The Combustion Module-1 (CM-1) was a large, state-of-the-art space shuttle Spacelab facility that was designed, built, and operated on STS-83 and STS-94 by a team from the NASA Glenn Research Center composed of civil servants and local support contractors (Analex and Zin Technologies). CM-1 accomplished the incredible task of providing a safe environment to support flammable and toxic gases while providing a suite of diagnostics for science measurements more extensive than any prior shuttle experiment (or anything since). Finally, CM-1 proved that multiple science investigations can be accommodated in one facility, a crucial step for Glenn's Fluids and Combustion Facility developed for the International Space Station. However, the story does not end with CM-1. In 1998, CM-2 was authorized to take the CM-1 accomplishments a big step further by completing three major steps: Converting the entire experiment to operate in a SPACEHAB module. Conducting an extensive hardware refurbishment and upgrading diagnostics (e.g., cameras, gas chromatograph, and numerous sensors). Adding a new, completely different combustion experiment.

Over, Ann P.↗