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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.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Enhanced/Synthetic Vision Systems for Advanced Flight Decks

One of the most challenging arenas for enhanced and synthetic vision systems is the flight deck. Here, pilots must perform active and supervisory control behaviors based on imagery generated in real time or transduced from imaging sensors. Although enhanced and synthetic vision technologies have been used in military vehicles for more than two decades, they have only recently been considered for civilian transport aircraft. In this paper we discuss the human performance issues still to be resolved for these systems, and consider the special constraints that must be considered for their use in the transport domain.

Kaiser, Mary K.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Scaling Properties of Algorithms in Nanotechnology

At the present time, several technologies are pressing the limits of microminiature manufacturing. In semiconductor technology, for example, the Intel Pentium Pro (which is used in the Department of Energy's ASCI 'red' parallel supercomputer system) and the DEC Alpha 21164 (which is used in the CRAY T3E) both are fabricated using 0.35 micron process technology. Recently Texas Instruments (TI) announced the availability of 0.25 micron technology chips by the end of 1996 and plans to have 0.18 micron devices in production within two years. However, some significant challenges lie down the road. These include the skyrocketing cost of manufacturing plants, the 0.1 micron foreseeable limit of the photolithography process, quantum effects, data communication bandwidth limitations, heat dissipation, and others. Some related microminiature technologies include micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), opto-electronic devices, quantum computing, biological computing, and others. All of these technologies require the fabrication of devices whose sizes are approaching the nanometer level. As such they are often collectively referred to with the name 'nanotechnology'. Clearly nanotechnology in this general sense is destined to be a very important technology of the 21st century. The ultimate dream in this arena is 'molecular nanotechnology', in other words the fabrication of devices and materials with most or all atoms and molecules in a pre-programmed position, possibly placed there by 'nano-robots'. This futuristic capability will probably not be achieved for at least two decades. However, it appears that somewhat less ambitious variations of molecular nanotechnology, such as devices and materials based on 'buckyballs' and 'nanotubes' may be realized significantly sooner, possibly within ten years or so. Even at the present time, semiconductor devices are approaching the regime where quantum chemical effects must be considered in design.

Saini, Subhash↗
NASA NTRS1997

Onward to Petaflops Computing

With the recent demonstration of a computing rate of one Tflop/s at Sandia National Lab, one might ask what lies ahead for high-end computing. The next major milestone is a sustained rate of one Pflop/s (also written one petaflops, or 10(exp 15) floating-point operations per second). It should be emphasized that we could just as well use the term "peta-ops", since it appears that large scientific systems will be required to perform intensive integer and logical computation in addition to floating-point operations, and completely non- floating-point applications are likely to be important as well. In addition to prodigiously high computational performance, such systems must of necessity feature very large main memories, between ten Tbyte (10(exp 13) byte) and one Pbyte (10 (exp 15) byte) depending on application, as well as commensurate I/O bandwidth and huge mass storage facilities. The current consensus of scientists who have performed initial studies in this field is that "affordable" petaflops systems may be feasible by the year 2010, assuming that certain key technologies continue to progress at current rates. A sustained petaflops computing capability however is a daunting challenge; it appears significantly more challenging from today's state-of-the-art than achieving one Tflop/s has been from the level of one Gflop/s about 12 years ago. Challenges are faced in the arena of device technology, system architecture, system software, algorithms and applications. This talk will give an overview of some of these challenges, and describe some of the recent initiatives to address them.

Bailey, David H.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Control Software

Real-Time Innovations, Inc. (RTI) collaborated with Ames Research Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Stanford University to leverage NASA research to produce ControlShell software. RTI is the first "graduate" of Ames Research Center's Technology Commercialization Center. The ControlShell system was used extensively on a cooperative project to enhance the capabilities of a Russian-built Marsokhod rover being evaluated for eventual flight to Mars. RTI's ControlShell is complex, real-time command and control software, capable of processing information and controlling mechanical devices. One ControlShell tool is StethoScope. As a real-time data collection and display tool, StethoScope allows a user to see how a program is running without changing its execution. RTI has successfully applied its software savvy in other arenas, such as telecommunications, networking, video editing, semiconductor manufacturing, automobile systems, and medical imaging.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1996

Ribbed Swimsuit

Langley Research Center's turbulent-drag reduction technology, as applied to airplanes and the winning yacht in America's Cup, finds another application: swimwear. The Strush SR swimsuit features silicon ribbing or "riblets" at the chest and buttocks, reducing friction in the water. Combined with innovations by its manufacturer, Arena North America, the company says the technology makes the suit 10 to 15 percent faster than any other world class swimsuit. The publicity for the Strush SR is handled by Suter Communications, Inc. *Company no longer exists (12/5/96).

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2002

Novel Advancements in Internet-Based Real-Time Data Technologies

AZ Technology has been working with NASA MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center) to find ways to make it easier for remote experimenters (RPI's) to monitor their International Space Station (ISS) payloads in real-time from anywhere using standard/familiar devices. That effort resulted in a product called 'EZStream' which is in use on several ISS-related projects. Although the initial implementation is geared toward ISS, the architecture and lessons learned are applicable to other space-related programs. This paper begins with a brief history on why Internet-based real-time data is important and where EZStream or products like it fit in the flow of data from orbit to experimenter/researcher. A high-level architecture is then presented along with explanations of the components used. A combination of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS), Open Source, and custom components are discussed. The use of standard protocols is shown along with some details on how data flows between server and client. Some examples are presented to illustrate how a system like EZStream can be used in real world applications and how care was taken to make the end-user experience as painless as possible. A system such as EZStream has potential in the commercial (non-ISS) arena and some possibilities are presented. During the development and fielding of EZStream, a lot was learned. Good and not so good decisions were made. Some of the major lessons learned will be shared. The development of EZStream is continuing and the future of EZStream will be discussed to shed some light over the technological horizon.

Myers, Gerry↗
NASA NTRS1983

Technology for Ice Rinks

Ron Urban's International Ice Shows set up portable ice rinks for touring troupes performing on temporary rinks at amusement parks, sports arenas, dinner theaters, shopping malls and civic centers. Key to enhanced rink portability, fast freezing and maintaining ice consistency is a mat of flexible tubing called ICEMAT, an offshoot of a solar heating system developed by Calmac, Mfg. under contract with Marshall.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2002

Surface Evaluation by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy of High Performance Polyimide Foams After Exposure to Oxygen Plasma

Aromatic polyimides have been attractive in the aerospace and electronics industries for applications such as cryogenic insulation, flame retardant panels and structural subcomponents. Newer to the arena of polyimides is the synthesis of polyimide foams and their applications. In the present work, three different, closely related, polyimide foams developed by NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) are studied by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) after exposure to radio frequency generated Oxygen Plasma. Although polyimide films exposure to atomic oxygen and plasma have been studied previously and reported, the data relate to films and not foams. Foams have much more surface area and thus present new information to be explored. Understanding degradation mechanisms and properties versus structure, foam versus solid is of interest and fundamental to the application and protection of foams exposed to atomic oxygen in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Melendez, Orlando↗
NASA NTRS2004

Spatial Information Technology Center at Fulton-Montgomery Community College

The Spatial Information Technology Center (SITC) at Fulton-Montgomery Community College (FMCC) continued to fulfill its mission and charter by successfully completing its third year of operations under Congressional funding and NASA sponsorship. Third year operations (01 Oct 02 - 30 Sep 03) have been funded and conducted utilizing two authorized Research Grants NAG 13-00043 (via a one-year no-cost extension expiring Sep 03) and NAG 13-02053 (one-year no-cost extension expiring Sep 04). Drawdowns and reporting of fiscal activities for SlTC operations continues to pass through the Institute for the Application of Geo-spatial Technology (IAGT) at Cayuga Community College in Auburn, New York. Fiscal activity of the Center is reported quarterly via SF 272 to IAGT, thus this report contains only a budgetary overview and forecast of future expenditures for the remaining funds of NAG 13 - 02053. Funds from NAG 13 - 00043 were exhausted during the fourth quarter of fiscal year FY02 - 03, which necessitated initial draw down of NAG 13 - 02053. The IAGT receives no compensation for administrative costs as authorized and approved by NASA in each award budget. This report also includes the necessary addendums for each NAG award, as required by federal guidelines, though no reportable activities took place within this report period. Attached are the signed Report of New Technology/lnventions and a Final Property Report identifying qualifying equipment purchased by the Center. As an academic, economic and workforce development oriented program, the Center has made significant strides in bringing the technology, knowledge and applications of the spatial information technology field to the region it serves. Through the mission of the Center, the region's educational, economic development and work force communities have become increasingly educated to the benefits of spatial (Geospatial) technology, particularly in the region's K-12 arena. SlTC continues to positively affect the region's education, employment and economic development, while expanding its services and operations designed to be customer driven, growing infrastructure and affecting systemic change.

Flinton, Michael E.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Spaceflight Operations Services Grid (SOSG) Project

The motivation, goals, and objectives of the Space Operations Services Grid Project (SOSG) are covered in this viewgraph presentation. The goals and objectives of SOSG include: 1) Developing a grid-enabled prototype providing Space-based ground operations end user services through a collaborative effort between NASA, academia, and industry to assess the technical and cost feasibility of implementation of Grid technologies in the Space Operations arena; 2) Provide to space operations organizations and processes, through a single secure portal(s), access to all the information technology (Grid and Web based) services necessary for program/project development, operations and the ultimate creation of new processes, information and knowledge.

Bradford, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2004

Approach for Autonomous Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Using Intelligent Agents for Knowledge Creation

This paper describes the development of a planned approach for Autonomous operation of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). A Hybrid approach will seek to provide Knowledge Generation thru the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Intelligent Agents (IA) for UAV control. The application of many different types of AI techniques for flight will be explored during this research effort. The research concentration will be directed to the application of different AI methods within the UAV arena. By evaluating AI approaches, which will include Expert Systems, Neural Networks, Intelligent Agents, Fuzzy Logic, and Complex Adaptive Systems, a new insight may be gained into the benefits of AI techniques applied to achieving true autonomous operation of these systems thus providing new intellectual merit to this research field. The major area of discussion will be limited to the UAV. The systems of interest include small aircraft, insects, and miniature aircraft. Although flight systems will be explored, the benefits should apply to many Unmanned Vehicles such as: Rovers, Ocean Explorers, Robots, and autonomous operation systems. The flight system will be broken down into control agents that will represent the intelligent agent approach used in AI. After the completion of a successful approach, a framework of applying a Security Overseer will be added in an attempt to address errors, emergencies, failures, damage, or over dynamic environment. The chosen control problem was the landing phase of UAV operation. The initial results from simulation in FlightGear are presented.

Dufrene, Warren R., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Miniature Loop Heat Pipe (MLHP) Thermal Management System

The MLHP Thermal Management System consists of a loop heat pipe (LHP) with multiple evaporators and condensers, thermal electrical coolers, and deployable radiators coated with variable emittance coatings (VECs). All components are miniaturized. It retains all the performance characteristics of state-of-the-art LHPs and offers additional advantages to enhance the functionality, versatility, and reliability of the system, including flexible locations of instruments and radiators, a single interface temperature for multiple instruments, cooling the on instruments and warming the off instruments simultaneously, improving. start-up success, maintaining a constant LHP operating temperature over a wide range of instrument powers, effecting automatic thermal switching and thermal diode actions, and reducing supplemental heater powers. It can fully achieve low mass, low power and compactness necessary for future small spacecraft. Potential applications of the MLHP thermal technology for future missions include: 1) Magnetospheric Constellation; 2) Solar Sentinels; 3) Mars Science Laboratory; 4) Mars Scouts; 5) Mars Telecom Orbiter; 6) Space Interferometry Mission; 7) Laser Interferometer Space Antenna; 8) Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter; 9) Terrestrial Planet Finder; 10) Single Aperture Far-Infrared Observatory, and 11) Exploration Missions. The MLHP Thermal Management System combines the operating features of a variable conductance heat pipe, a thermal switch, a thermal diode, and a state-of-the-art LHP into a single integrated thermal system. It offers many advantages over conventional thermal control techniques, and can be a technology enabler for future space missions. Successful flight validation will bring the benefits of MLHP technology to the small satellite arena and will have cross-cutting applications to both Space Science and Earth Science Enterprises.

Ku, Jentung↗
NASA NTRS2004

What Multilevel Parallel Programs do when you are not Watching: A Performance Analysis Case Study Comparing MPI/OpenMP, MLP, and Nested OpenMP

With the current trend in parallel computer architectures towards clusters of shared memory symmetric multi-processors, parallel programming techniques have evolved that support parallelism beyond a single level. When comparing the performance of applications based on different programming paradigms, it is important to differentiate between the influence of the programming model itself and other factors, such as implementation specific behavior of the operating system (OS) or architectural issues. Rewriting-a large scientific application in order to employ a new programming paradigms is usually a time consuming and error prone task. Before embarking on such an endeavor it is important to determine that there is really a gain that would not be possible with the current implementation. A detailed performance analysis is crucial to clarify these issues. The multilevel programming paradigms considered in this study are hybrid MPI/OpenMP, MLP, and nested OpenMP. The hybrid MPI/OpenMP approach is based on using MPI [7] for the coarse grained parallelization and OpenMP [9] for fine grained loop level parallelism. The MPI programming paradigm assumes a private address space for each process. Data is transferred by explicitly exchanging messages via calls to the MPI library. This model was originally designed for distributed memory architectures but is also suitable for shared memory systems. The second paradigm under consideration is MLP which was developed by Taft. The approach is similar to MPi/OpenMP, using a mix of coarse grain process level parallelization and loop level OpenMP parallelization. As it is the case with MPI, a private address space is assumed for each process. The MLP approach was developed for ccNUMA architectures and explicitly takes advantage of the availability of shared memory. A shared memory arena which is accessible by all processes is required. Communication is done by reading from and writing to the shared memory.

Jost, Gabriele↗
NASA NTRS2004

A Formal Methods Approach to the Analysis of Mode Confusion

The goal of the new NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) is to reduce the civil aviation fatal accident rate by 80% in ten years and 90% in twenty years. This program is being driven by the accident data with a focus on the most recent history. Pilot error is the most commonly cited cause for fatal accidents (up to 70%) and obviously must be given major consideration in this program. While the greatest source of pilot error is the loss of situation awareness , mode confusion is increasingly becoming a major contributor as well. The January 30, 1995 issue of Aviation Week lists 184 incidents and accidents involving mode awareness including the Bangalore A320 crash 2/14/90, the Strasbourg A320 crash 1/20/92, the Mulhouse-Habsheim A320 crash 6/26/88, and the Toulouse A330 crash 6/30/94. These incidents and accidents reveal that pilots sometimes become confused about what the cockpit automation is doing. Consequently, human factors research is an obvious investment area. However, even a cursory look at the accident data reveals that the mode confusion problem is much deeper than just training deficiencies and a lack of human-oriented design. This is readily acknowledged by human factors experts. It seems that further progress in human factors must come through a deeper scrutiny of the internals of the automation. It is in this arena that formal methods can contribute. Formal methods refers to the use of techniques from logic and discrete mathematics in the specification, design, and verification of computer systems, both hardware and software. The fundamental goal of formal methods is to capture requirements, designs and implementations in a mathematically based model that can be analyzed in a rigorous manner. Research in formal methods is aimed at automating this analysis as much as possible. By capturing the internal behavior of a flight deck in a rigorous and detailed formal model, the dark corners of a design can be analyzed. This paper will explore how formal models and analyses can be used to help eliminate mode confusion from flight deck designs and at the same time increase our confidence in the safety of the implementation. The paper is based upon interim results from a new project involving NASA Langley and Rockwell Collins in applying formal methods to a realistic business jet Flight Guidance System (FGS).

Butler, Ricky W.↗
NASA NTRS2004

SCDM in a Distributed Environment

The Software Configuration Management (SCM) of the Space Launch Initiative (SLI) Advanced Engineering Environment (AEE) products is performed in a distributed environment-meaning the activities performed during the project lifecycle are across numerous NASA Centers, facilities, organizations, colleges and industry. SCM is the glue that holds the project and products together-especially in a distributed environment. It identifies, controls, accounts, and verified the details of the products; the schedule of activities; the assigned responsibilities; and the required resources, including staff, tools, and computer facilities. Data/document management (DM) captures and conveys the SCM and project efforts. SCM and DM are integrally linked; hence, Software Configuration and Data Management (SCDM). This paper discusses one team's challenges in implementing SCDM in a distributed environment. The distributed nature of the project introduces new opportunities for moving SCDM to the next level of usefulness in today's high-tech development arena. The lessons learned from the implementation of distributed SCDM in support of the SLI AEE Project provide valuable information for future implementations of SCM and DM.

Crowley, Sandra L.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Aspect-Oriented Programming

Computer science has experienced an evolution in programming languages and systems from the crude assembly and machine codes of the earliest computers through concepts such as formula translation, procedural programming, structured programming, functional programming, logic programming, and programming with abstract data types. Each of these steps in programming technology has advanced our ability to achieve clear separation of concerns at the source code level. Currently, the dominant programming paradigm is object-oriented programming - the idea that one builds a software system by decomposing a problem into objects and then writing the code of those objects. Such objects abstract together behavior and data into a single conceptual and physical entity. Object-orientation is reflected in the entire spectrum of current software development methodologies and tools - we have OO methodologies, analysis and design tools, and OO programming languages. Writing complex applications such as graphical user interfaces, operating systems, and distributed applications while maintaining comprehensible source code has been made possible with OOP. Success at developing simpler systems leads to aspirations for greater complexity. Object orientation is a clever idea, but has certain limitations. We are now seeing that many requirements do not decompose neatly into behavior centered on a single locus. Object technology has difficulty localizing concerns invoking global constraints and pandemic behaviors, appropriately segregating concerns, and applying domain-specific knowledge. Post-object programming (POP) mechanisms that look to increase the expressiveness of the OO paradigm are a fertile arena for current research. Examples of POP technologies include domain-specific languages, generative programming, generic programming, constraint languages, reflection and metaprogramming, feature-oriented development, views/viewpoints, and asynchronous message brokering. (Czarneclu and Eisenecker s book includes a good survey of many of these technologies).

Elrad, Tzilla↗
NASA NTRS2004

AROTAL Ozone and Temperature Vertical Profile Measurements from the NASA DC-8 during the SOLVE II Campaign

The AROTAL instrument (Airborne Raman Ozone Temperature and Aerosol Lidar) - a collaboration between scientists at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and Langley Research Center - was flown on the NASA DC-8 during the SOLVE II Campaign during January and February, 2003. The flights were flown from the Arena Arctica in Kiruna, Sweden. We report measurements of temperature and ozone profiles showing approximately a 600 ppbv loss in ozone near 17.5 km, over the time frame of the aircraft campaign. Comparisons of ozone profiles from AROTAL are made with the SAGE III instrument.

McGee, Thomas J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Approach for Autonomous Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Using Intelligent Agents for Knowledge Creation

This paper describes the development of a planned approach for Autonomous operation of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). A Hybrid approach will seek to provide Knowledge Generation through the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Intelligent Agents (IA) for UAV control. The applications of several different types of AI techniques for flight are explored during this research effort. The research concentration is directed to the application of different AI methods within the UAV arena. By evaluating AI and biological system approaches. which include Expert Systems, Neural Networks. Intelligent Agents, Fuzzy Logic, and Complex Adaptive Systems, a new insight may be gained into the benefits of AI and CAS techniques applied to achieving true autonomous operation of these systems. Although flight systems were explored, the benefits should apply to many Unmanned Vehicles such as: Rovers. Ocean Explorers, Robots, and autonomous operation systems. A portion of the flight system is broken down into control agents that represent the intelligent agent approach used in AI. After the completion of a successful approach, a framework for applying an intelligent agent is presented. The initial results from simulation of a security agent for communication are presented.

Dufrene, Warren R., Jr.↗