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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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At least 181 records · Page 10

Control technology development

The main objectives of the control technology development task are given in the slide below. The first is to develop control design techniques based on flexible structural models, rather than simple rigid-body models. Since large space structures are distributed parameter systems, a new degree of freedom, that of sensor/actuator placement, may be exercised for improving control system performance. Another characteristic of large space structures is numerous oscillatory modes within the control bandwidth. Reduced-order controller design models must be developed which produce stable closed-loop systems when combined with the full-order system. Since the date of an actual large-space-structure flight is rapidly approaching, it is vitally important that theoretical developments are tested in actual hardware. Experimental verification is a vital counterpart of all current theoretical developments.

Schaechter, D. B.↗

Operations management system advanced automation: Fault detection isolation and recovery prototyping

The purpose of this project is to address the global fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR) requirements for Operation's Management System (OMS) automation within the Space Station Freedom program. This shall be accomplished by developing a selected FDIR prototype for the Space Station Freedom distributed processing systems. The prototype shall be based on advanced automation methodologies in addition to traditional software methods to meet the requirements for automation. A secondary objective is to expand the scope of the prototyping to encompass multiple aspects of station-wide fault management (SWFM) as discussed in OMS requirements documentation.

Hanson, Matt↗

Space Station Freedom power management and distribution design status

The design status of the power management and distribution electric power system for the Space Station Freedom is presented. The current design is a star architecture, which has been found to be the best approach for meeting the requirement to deliver 120 V dc to the user interface. The architecture minimizes mass and power losses while improving element-to-element isolation and system flexibility. The design is partitioned into three elements: energy collection, storage and conversion, system protection and distribution, and management and control.

Javidi, S.↗

Proceedings of the First NASA Ada Users' Symposium

Ada has the potential to be a part of the most significant change in software engineering technology within NASA in the last twenty years. Thus, it is particularly important that all NASA centers be aware of Ada experience and plans at other centers. Ada activity across NASA are covered, with presenters representing five of the nine major NASA centers and the Space Station Freedom Program Office. Projects discussed included - Space Station Freedom Program Office: the implications of Ada on training, reuse, management and the software support environment; Johnson Space Center (JSC): early experience with the use of Ada, software engineering and Ada training and the evaluation of Ada compilers; Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC): university research with Ada and the application of Ada to Space Station Freedom, the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle, the Aero-Assist Flight Experiment and the Secure Shuttle Data System; Lewis Research Center (LeRC): the evolution of Ada software to support the Space Station Power Management and Distribution System; Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL): the creation of a centralized Ada development laboratory and current applications of Ada including the Real-time Weather Processor for the FAA; and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC): experiences with Ada in the Flight Dynamics Division and the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) project and the implications of GSFC experience for Ada use in NASA. Despite the diversity of the presentations, several common themes emerged from the program: Methodology - NASA experience in general indicates that the effective use of Ada requires modern software engineering methodologies; Training - It is the software engineering principles and methods that surround Ada, rather than Ada itself, which requires the major training effort; Reuse - Due to training and transition costs, the use of Ada may initially actually decrease productivity, as was clearly found at GSFC; and real-time work at LeRC, JPL and GSFC shows that it is possible to use Ada for real-time applications.

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Artificial intelligence approaches in space power systems automation at Marshall Space Flight Center

Various applications of AI to spacecraft electrical power systems are described. Particular attention is given to NICBES (nickel-cadmium battery expert system which is interfaced with the Hubble Space Telescope electrical power system test bed); the SSES; the three cooperating AI systems in the Space Station module power management and distribution system test bed; and I-DARE, the intelligent data reduction expert. It is found that the utilization of AI approaches permits comprehensive fault management and dynamic rescheduling capabilities for the electrical power system.

Weeks, David J.↗

Analysis of solar receiver flux distributions for US/Russian solar dynamic system demonstration on the MIR Space Station

The United States and Russia have agreed to jointly develop a solar dynamic (SD) system for flight demonstration on the Russian MIR space station starting in late 1997. Two important components of this SD system are the solar concentrator and heat receiver provided by Russia and the U.S., respectively. This paper describes optical analysis of the concentrator and solar flux predictions on target receiver surfaces. The optical analysis is performed using the code CIRCE2. These analyses account for finite sun size with limb darkening, concentrator surface slope and position errors, concentrator petal thermal deformation, gaps between petals, and the shading effect of the receiver support struts. The receiver spatial flux distributions are then combined with concentrator shadowing predictions. Geometric shadowing patterns are traced from the concentrator to the target receiver surfaces. These patterns vary with time depending on the chosen MIR flight attitude and orbital mechanics of the MIR spacecraft. The resulting predictions provide spatial and temporal receiver flux distributions for any specified mission profile. The impact these flux distributions have on receiver design and control of the Brayton engine are discussed.

Kerslake, Thomas W.↗

Artificial intelligence and space power systems automation

Various applications of artificial intelligence to space electrical power systems are discussed. An overview is given of completed, on-going, and planned knowledge-based system activities. These applications include the Nickel-Cadmium Battery Expert System (NICBES) (the expert system interfaced with the Hubble Space Telescope electrical power system test bed); the early work with the Space Station Experiment Scheduler (SSES); the three expert systems under development in the space station advanced development effort in the core module power management and distribution system test bed; planned cooperation of expert systems in the Core Module Power Management and Distribution (CM/PMAD) system breadboard with expert systems for the space station at other research centers; and the intelligent data reduction expert system under development.

Weeks, David J.↗

Space station communications and tracking equipment management/control system

Design details of a communications and tracking (C and T) local area network and the distribution system requirements for the prospective space station are described. The hardware will be constructed of LRUs, including those for baseband, RF, and antenna subsystems. It is noted that the C and T equipment must be routed throughout the station to accommodate growth of the station. Configurations of the C and T modules will therefore be dependent on the function of the space station module where they are located. A block diagram is provided of a sample C and T hardware distribution configuration. A topology and protocol will be needed to accommodate new terminals, wide bandwidths, bidirectional message transmission, and distributed functioning. Consideration will be given to collisions occurring in the data transmission channels.

Kapell, M. H.↗

Telepresence and Space Station Freedom workstation operations

The Space Station Freedom workstation system is a distributed network of computer based workstations that provides the man-machine interfaces for controlling space station systems. This includes control of external manipulator, robotic and free flyer devices by crewmembers in the space station's pressurized shirt-sleeve environment. These remotely controlled devices help minimize the requirement for costly crew extravehicular activity (EVA) time for such tasks as station assembly and payload support. Direct window views may be used for controlling some of the systems, but many activities will be remote or require levels of detail not possible by direct observation. Since controlling remote devices becomes more difficult when direct views are inadequate or unavailable, many performance enhancing techniques have been considered for representing information about remote activities to the operator. Described here are the telepresence techniques under consideration to support operations and training. This includes video enhancements (e.g., graphic and text overlays and stereo viewing), machine vision systems, remote activity animation, and force reflection representation.

Jensen, Dean G.↗

Comparison of joint space versus task force load distribution optimization for a multiarm manipulator system

It is often proposed that the redundancy in choosing a force distribution for multiple arms grasping a single object should be handled by minimizing a quadratic performance index. The performance index may be formulated in terms of joint torques or in terms of the Cartesian space force/torque applied to the body by the grippers. The former seeks to minimize power consumption while the latter minimizes body stresses. Because the cost functions are related to each other by a joint angle dependent transformation on the weight matrix, it might be argued that either method tends to reduce power consumption, but clearly the joint space minimization is optimal. A comparison of these two options is presented with consideration given to computational cost and power consumption. Simulation results using a two arm robot system are presented to show the savings realized by employing the joint space optimization. These savings are offset by additional complexity, computation time and in some cases processor power consumption.

Soloway, Donald I.↗

Unified control/structure design and modeling research

To demonstrate the applicability of the control theory for distributed systems to large flexible space structures, research was focused on a model of a space antenna which consists of a rigid hub, flexible ribs, and a mesh reflecting surface. The space antenna model used is discussed along with the finite element approximation of the distributed model. The basic control problem is to design an optimal or near-optimal compensator to suppress the linear vibrations and rigid-body displacements of the structure. The application of an infinite dimensional Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control theory to flexible structure is discussed. Two basic approaches for robustness enhancement were investigated: loop transfer recovery and sensitivity optimization. A third approach synthesized from elements of these two basic approaches is currently under development. The control driven finite element approximation of flexible structures is discussed. Three sets of finite element basic vectors for computing functional control gains are compared. The possibility of constructing a finite element scheme to approximate the infinite dimensional Hamiltonian system directly, instead of indirectly is discussed.

Mingori, D. L.↗

The Distributed Space Exploration Simulation (DSES)

The paper describes the Distributed Space Exploration Simulation (DSES) Project, a research and development collaboration between NASA centers which focuses on the investigation and development of technologies, processes and integrated simulations related to the collaborative distributed simulation of complex space systems in support of NASA's Exploration Initiative. This paper describes the three major components of DSES: network infrastructure, software infrastructure and simulation development. In the network work area, DSES is developing a Distributed Simulation Network that will provide agency wide support for distributed simulation between all NASA centers. In the software work area, DSES is developing a collection of software models, tool and procedures that ease the burden of developing distributed simulations and provides a consistent interoperability infrastructure for agency wide participation in integrated simulation. Finally, for simulation development, DSES is developing an integrated end-to-end simulation capability to support NASA development of new exploration spacecraft and missions. This paper will present current status and plans for each of these work areas with specific examples of simulations that support NASA's exploration initiatives.

Crues, Edwin Z.↗

An Overview of the Distributed Space Exploration Simulation (DSES) Project

This paper describes the Distributed Space Exploration Simulation (DSES) Project, a research and development collaboration between NASA centers which investigates technologies, and processes related to integrated, distributed simulation of complex space systems in support of NASA's Exploration Initiative. In particular, it describes the three major components of DSES: network infrastructure, software infrastructure and simulation development. With regard to network infrastructure, DSES is developing a Distributed Simulation Network for use by all NASA centers. With regard to software, DSES is developing software models, tools and procedures that streamline distributed simulation development and provide an interoperable infrastructure for agency-wide integrated simulation. Finally, with regard to simulation development, DSES is developing an integrated end-to-end simulation capability to support NASA development of new exploration spacecraft and missions. This paper presents the current status and plans for these three areas, including examples of specific simulations.

Crues, Edwin Z.↗

Analysis of Solar Receiver Flux Distributions for US/Russian Solar Dynamic System Demonstration on the MIR Space Station

Analyses have been performed at the NASA Lewis Research Center's Power Systems Project Office to support the design and development of the joint U.S./Russian Solar Dynamic Flight Demonstration Project. The optical analysis of the concentrator and solar flux predictions on target receiver surfaces have an important influence on receiver design and control of the Brayton engine.

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Improvements in Space Geodesy Data Discovery at the CDDIS

The Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS) supports data archiving and distribution activities for the space geodesy and geodynamics community. The main objectives of the system are to store space geodesy and geodynamics related data products in a central data bank. to maintain information about the archival of these data, and to disseminate these data and information in a timely manner to a global scientific research community. The archive consists of GNSS, laser ranging, VLBI, and DORIS data sets and products derived from these data. The CDDIS is one of NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) distributed data centers; EOSDIS data centers serve a diverse user community and arc tasked to provide facilities to search and access science data and products. Several activities are currently under development at the CDDIS to aid users in data discovery, both within the current community and beyond. The CDDIS is cooperating in the development of Geodetic Seamless Archive Centers (GSAC) with colleagues at UNAVCO and SIO. TIle activity will provide web services to facilitate data discovery within and across participating archives. In addition, the CDDIS is currently implementing modifications to the metadata extracted from incoming data and product files pushed to its archive. These enhancements will permit information about COOlS archive holdings to be made available through other data portals such as Earth Observing System (EOS) Clearinghouse (ECHO) and integration into the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) portal.

Noll, C.↗

Charter for Systems Engineer Working Group

This charter establishes the International Space Station Program (ISSP) Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Systems Engineering Working Group (SEWG). The MSS SEWG is established to provide a mechanism for Systems Engineering for the end-to-end MSS function. The MSS end-to-end function includes the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), the Mobile Remote Servicer (MRS) Base System (MBS), Robotic Work Station (RWS), Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), Video Signal Converters (VSC), and Operations Control Software (OCS), the Mobile Transporter (MT), and by interfaces between and among these elements, and United States On-Orbit Segment (USOS) distributed systems, and other International Space Station Elements and Payloads, (including the Power Data Grapple Fixtures (PDGFs), MSS Capture Attach System (MCAS) and the Mobile Transporter Capture Latch (MTCL)). This end-to-end function will be supported by the ISS and MSS ground segment facilities. This charter defines the scope and limits of the program authority and document control that is delegated to the SEWG and it also identifies the panel core membership and specific operating policies.

Suffredini, Michael T.↗

Space station data management system - A common GSE test interface for systems testing and verification

This paper examines the fundamental problems and goals associated with test, verification, and flight-certification of man-rated distributed data systems. First, a summary of the characteristics of modern computer systems that affect the testing process is provided. Then, verification requirements are expressed in terms of an overall test philosophy for distributed computer systems. This test philosophy stems from previous experience that was gained with centralized systems (Apollo and the Space Shuttle), and deals directly with the new problems that verification of distributed systems may present. Finally, a description of potential hardware and software tools to help solve these problems is provided.

Martinez, Pedro A.↗