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At least 181 records · Page 10

Rational's experience using Ada for very large systems

The experience using the Rational Environment has confirmed the advantages forseen when the project was started. Interactive syntatic and semantic information makes a tremendous difference in the ease of constructing programs and making changes to them. The ability to follow semantic references makes it easier to understand exisiting programs and the impact of changes. The integrated debugger makes it much easier to find bugs and test fixes quickly. Taken together, these facilites have helped greatly in reducing the impact of ongoing maintenance of the ability to produce a new code. Similar improvements are anticipated as the same level of integration and interactivity are achieved for configuration management and version control. The environment has also proven useful in introducing personnel to the project and existing personnel to new parts of the system. Personnel benefit from the assistance with syntax and semantics; everyone benefits from the ability to traverse and understand the structure of unfamiliar software. It is often possible for someone completely unfamiliar with a body of code to use these facilities, to understand it well enough to successfully with a body of code to use these facilities to understand it well enough to successfully diagnose and fix bugs in a matter of minutes.

Archer, James E., Jr.↗

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): FMEA/CIL assessment

The McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company (MDAC) was selected to perform an Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL). Direction was given by the Orbiter and GFE Projects Office to perform the hardware analysis and assessment using the instructions and ground rules defined in NSTS 22206. The IOA analysis featured a top-down approach to determine hardware failure modes, criticality, and potential critical items. To preserve independence, the analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA and Prime Contractor FMEA/CIL documentation. The assessment process compared the independently derived failure modes and criticality assignments to the proposed NASA post 51-L FMEA/CIL documentation. When possible, assessment issues were discussed and resolved with the NASA subsystem managers. Unresolved issues were elevated to the Orbiter and GFE Projects Office manager, Configuration Control Board (CCB), or Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) for further resolution. The most important Orbiter assessment finding was the previously unknown stuck autopilot push-button criticality 1/1 failure mode. The worst case effect could cause loss of crew/vehicle when the microwave landing system is not active. It is concluded that NASA and Prime Contractor Post 51-L FMEA/CIL documentation assessed by IOA is believed to be technically accurate and complete. All CIL issues were resolved. No FMEA issues remain that have safety implications. Consideration should be given, however, to upgrading NSTS 22206 with definitive ground rules which more clearly spell out the limits of redundancy.

Hinsdale, L. W.↗

GCS plan for software aspects of certification

As part of the Guidance and Control Software (GCS) research project being sponsored by NASA to evaluate the failure processes of software, standard industry software development procedures are being employed. To ensure that these procedures are authentic, the guidelines outlined in the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA/DO-178A document entitled, software considerations in airborne systems and equipment certification, were adopted. A major aspect of these guidelines is proper documentation. As such, this report, the plan for software aspects of certification, was produced in accordance with DO-178A. An overview is given of the GCS research project, including the goals of the project, project organization, and project schedules. It also specifies the plans for all aspects of the project which relate to the certification of the GCS implementations developed under a NASA contract. These plans include decisions made regarding the software specification, accuracy requirements, configuration management, implementation development and verification, and the development of the GCS simulator.

Shagnea, Anita M.↗

Methodology for analysis and simulation of large multidisciplinary problems

The Integrated Structural Modeling (ISM) program is being developed for the Air Force Weapons Laboratory and will be available for Air Force work. Its goal is to provide a design, analysis, and simulation tool intended primarily for directed energy weapons (DEW), kinetic energy weapons (KEW), and surveillance applications. The code is designed to run on DEC (VMS and UNIX), IRIS, Alliant, and Cray hosts. Several technical disciplines are included in ISM, namely structures, controls, optics, thermal, and dynamics. Four topics from the broad ISM goal are discussed. The first is project configuration management and includes two major areas: the software and database arrangement and the system model control. The second is interdisciplinary data transfer and refers to exchange of data between various disciplines such as structures and thermal. Third is a discussion of the integration of component models into one system model, i.e., multiple discipline model synthesis. Last is a presentation of work on a distributed processing computing environment.

Russell, William C.↗

An automated calibration laboratory for flight research instrumentation: Requirements and a proposed design approach

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility (Ames-Dryden), operates a diverse fleet of research aircraft which are heavily instrumented to provide both real time data for in-flight monitoring and recorded data for postflight analysis. Ames-Dryden's existing automated calibration (AUTOCAL) laboratory is a computerized facility which tests aircraft sensors to certify accuracy for anticipated harsh flight environments. Recently, a major AUTOCAL lab upgrade was initiated; the goal of this modernization is to enhance productivity and improve configuration management for both software and test data. The new system will have multiple testing stations employing distributed processing linked by a local area network to a centralized database. The baseline requirements for the new AUTOCAL lab and the design approach being taken for its mechanization are described.

Oneill-Rood, Nora↗

Design knowledge capture for a corporate memory facility

Currently, much of the information regarding decision alternatives and trade-offs made in the course of a major program development effort is not represented or retained in a way that permits computer-based reasoning over the life cycle of the program. The loss of this information results in problems in tracing design alternatives to requirements, in assessing the impact of change in requirements, and in configuration management. To address these problems, the problem was studied of building an intelligent, active corporate memory facility which would provide for the capture of the requirements and standards of a program, analyze the design alternatives and trade-offs made over the program's lifetime, and examine relationships between requirements and design trade-offs. Early phases of the work have concentrated on design knowledge capture for the Space Station Freedom. Tools are demonstrated and extended which helps automate and document engineering trade studies, and another tool is being developed to help designers interactively explore design alternatives and constraints.

Boose, John H.↗

AdaNET prototype library administration manual

The functions of the AdaNET Prototype Library of Reusable Software Parts is described. Adopted from the Navy Research Laboratory's Reusability Guidebook (V.5.0), this is a working document, customized for use the the AdaNET Project. Within this document, the term part is used to denote the smallest unit controlled by a library and retrievable from it. A part may have several constituents, which may not be individually tracked. Presented are the types of parts which may be stored in the library and the relationships among those parts; a concept of trust indicators which provide measures of confidence that a user of a previously developed part may reasonably apply to a part for a new application; search and retrieval, configuration management, and communications among those who interact with the AdaNET Prototype Library; and the AdaNET Prototype, described from the perspective of its three major users: the part reuser and retriever, the part submitter, and the librarian and/or administrator.

Hanley, Lionel↗

The Temporal Logic of the Tower Chief System

The purpose is to describe the logic used in the reasoning scheme employed in the Tower Chief system, a runway configuration management system. First, a review of classical logic is given. Defensible logics, truth maintenance, default logic, temporally dependent propositions, and resource allocation and planning are discussed.

Hazelton, Lyman R., Jr.↗

High resolution microwave spectrometer sounder (HIMSS), volume 1, book 2

The following topics are presented with respect to the high resolution microwave spectrometer sounder (HIMSS) that is to be used as an instrument for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS): (1) preliminary program plans; (2) contract end item (CEI) specification; and (3) the instrument interface description document. Under the preliminary program plans section, plans dealing with the following subject areas are discussed: spares, performance assurance, configuration management, software implementation, contamination, calibration management, and verification.

Source record↗

High performance processors for real-time flight simulation

In order to meet the requirements of the NASA Langley Research Center for simulating the increased complexity and higher performance of modern aircraft, a flight simulation computing system with very high scalar performance is needed. The requirements and proposed response, probable areas of difficulty, planned implementation, and current status and plans are reviewed. A solution utilizing centralized minisupercomputers coupled with a proven real-time network technology will provide engineers and research scientists with the tools required for high-performance flight simulation. Subsequent to testing and verification of the initial simulation, general-purpose configuration management software with a nonconfiguration dependent serial highway driver software will be integrated to support any arbitrary combination of simulation sites.

Cleveland, Jeff I., II↗

Quality assurance planning for lunar Mars exploration

A review is presented of the tools and techniques required to meet the challenge of total quality in the goal of traveling to Mars and returning to the moon. One program used by NASA to ensure the integrity of baselined requirements documents is configuration management (CM). CM is defined as an integrated management process that documents and identifies the functional and physical characteristics of a facility's systems, structures, computer software, and components. It also ensures that changes to these characteristics are properly assessed, developed, approved, implemented, verified, recorded, and incorporated into the facility's documentation. Three principal areas are discussed that will realize significant efficiencies and enhanced effectiveness, change assessment, change avoidance, and requirements management.

Myers, Kay↗

High performance computing system for flight simulation at NASA Langley

The computer architecture and components used in the NASA Langley Advanced Real-Time Simulation System (ARTSS) are briefly described and illustrated with diagrams and graphs. Particular attention is given to the advanced Convex C220 processing units, the UNIX-based operating system, the software interface to the fiber-optic-linked Computer Automated Measurement and Control system, configuration-management and real-time supervisor software, ARTSS hardware modifications, and the current implementation status. Simulation applications considered include the Transport Systems Research Vehicle, the Differential Maneuvering Simulator, the General Aviation Simulator, and the Visual Motion Simulator.

Cleveland, Jeff I., II↗

An automated calibration laboratory - Requirements and design approach

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility (Ames-Dryden), operates a diverse fleet of research aircraft which are heavily instrumented to provide both real time data for in-flight monitoring and recorded data for postflight analysis. Ames-Dryden's existing automated calibration (AUTOCAL) laboratory is a computerized facility which tests aircraft sensors to certify accuracy for anticipated harsh flight environments. Recently, a major AUTOCAL lab upgrade was initiated; the goal of this modernization is to enhance productivity and improve configuration management for both software and test data. The new system will have multiple testing stations employing distributed processing linked by a local area network to a centralized database. The baseline requirements for the new AUTOCAL lab and the design approach being taken for its mechanization are described.

O'Neil-Rood, Nora↗

Application of industry-standard guidelines for the validation of avionics software

The application of industry standards to the development of avionics software is discussed, focusing on verification and validation activities. It is pointed out that the procedures that guide the avionics software development and testing process are under increased scrutiny. The DO-178A guidelines, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification, are used by the FAA for certifying avionics software. To investigate the effectiveness of the DO-178A guidelines for improving the quality of avionics software, guidance and control software (GCS) is being developed according to the DO-178A development method. It is noted that, due to the extent of the data collection and configuration management procedures, any phase in the life cycle of a GCS implementation can be reconstructed. Hence, a fundamental development and testing platform has been established that is suitable for investigating the adequacy of various software development processes. In particular, the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the development method recommended by the DO-178A guidelines are being closely examined.

Hayhurst, Kelly J.↗

Ground Systems Development Environment (GSDE) interface requirements analysis

A set of procedural and functional requirements are presented for the interface between software development environments and software integration and test systems used for space station ground systems software. The requirements focus on the need for centralized configuration management of software as it is transitioned from development to formal, target based testing. This concludes the GSDE Interface Requirements study. A summary is presented of findings concerning the interface itself, possible interface and prototyping directions for further study, and results of the investigation of the Cronus distributed applications environment.

Church, Victor E.↗

An investigation of air transportation technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990-1991

Brief summaries are given of research activities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) under the sponsorship of the FAA/NASA Joint University Program. Topics covered include hazard assessment and cockpit presentation issues for microburst alerting systems; the situational awareness effect of automated air traffic control (ATC) datalink clearance amendments; a graphical simulation system for adaptive, automated approach spacing; an expert system for temporal planning with application to runway configuration management; deterministic multi-zone ice accretion modeling; alert generation and cockpit presentation for an integrated microburst alerting system; and passive infrared ice detection for helicopter applications.

Simpson, Robert W.↗

High performance flight simulation at NASA Langley

The use of real-time simulation at the NASA facility is reviewed specifically with regard to hardware, software, and the use of a fiberoptic-based digital simulation network. The network hardware includes supercomputers that support 32- and 64-bit scalar, vector, and parallel processing technologies. The software include drivers, real-time supervisors, and routines for site-configuration management and scheduling. Performance specifications include: (1) benchmark solution at 165 sec for a single CPU; (2) a transfer rate of 24 million bits/s; and (3) time-critical system responsiveness of less than 35 msec. Simulation applications include the Differential Maneuvering Simulator, Transport Systems Research Vehicle simulations, and the Visual Motion Simulator. NASA is shown to be in the final stages of developing a high-performance computing system for the real-time simulation of complex high-performance aircraft.

Cleveland, Jeff I., II↗

The M68HC11 gripper controller software

This thesis discusses the development of firmware for the 68HC11 gripper controller. A general description of the software and hardware interfaces is given. The C library interface for the gripper is then described and followed by a detailed discussion of the software architecture of the firmware. A procedure to assemble and download 68HC11 programs is presented in the form of a tutorial. The tools used to implement this environment are then described. Finally, the implementation of the configuration management scheme used to manage all CIRSSE software is presented.

Tsai, Jodi Wei-Duk↗