Results for “POSITIONING EQUIPMENT” — Page 10

NASA NTRS1979

Leading-edge slat optimization for maximum airfoil lift

A numerical procedure for determining the position (horizontal location, vertical location, and deflection) of a leading edge slat that maximizes the lift of multielement airfoils is presented. The structure of the flow field is calculated by iteratively coupling potential flow and boundary layer analysis. This aerodynamic calculation is combined with a constrained function minimization analysis to determine the position of a leading edge slat so that the suction peak on the nose of the main airfoil is minized. The slat position is constrained by the numerical procedure to ensure an attached boundary layer on the upper surface of the slat and to ensure negligible interaction between the slat wake and the boundary layer on the upper surface of the main airfoil. The highest angle attack at which this optimized slat position can maintain attached flow on the main airfoil defines the optimum slat position for maximum lift. The design method is demonstrated for an airfoil equipped with a leading-edge slat and a trailing edge, single-slotted flap. The theoretical results are compared with experimental data, obtained in the Ames 40 by 80 Foot Wind Tunnel, to verify experimentally the predicted slat position for maximum lift. The experimentally optimized slat position is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction, indicating that the theoretical procedure is a feasible design method.

Olson, L. E.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Search and rescue by satellite

A system of satellites, ground stations and user equipments is proposed to provide an operational demonstration, using existing technology, for the timely detection and position location of general aviation aircraft and marine distress incidents so that rescue efforts can be started as soon as possible. The spaceborne equipment will consist of a transponder capable of receiving signals from existing and planned distress beacons at 121.5, 243.0 and 406.0 MHz, and transmitting at 1543 MHz. The program has generated international interest with Canada, France and the USSR presently planning to participate jointly with the U.S. in the development of the space and ground hardware.

Ehrlich, E.↗

NASA NTRS1997

A Cognitive System Model for Human/Automation Dynamics in Airspace Management

NASA has initiated a significant thrust of research and development focused on providing the flight crew and air traffic managers automation aids to increase capacity in en route and terminal area operations through the use of flexible, more fuel-efficient routing, while improving the level of safety in commercial carrier operations. In that system development, definition of cognitive requirements for integrated multi-operator dynamic aiding systems is fundamental. In order to support that cognitive function definition, we have extended the Man Machine Integrated Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) to include representation of multiple cognitive agents (both human operators and intelligent aiding systems) operating aircraft, airline operations centers and air traffic control centers in the evolving airspace. The demands of this application require representation of many intelligent agents sharing world-models, and coordinating action/intention with cooperative scheduling of goals and actions in a potentially unpredictable world of operations. The MIDAS operator models have undergone significant development in order to understand the requirements for operator aiding and the impact of that aiding in the complex nondeterminate system of national airspace operations. The operator model's structure has been modified to include attention functions, action priority, and situation assessment. The cognitive function model has been expanded to include working memory operations including retrieval from long-term store, interference, visual-motor and verbal articulatory loop functions, and time-based losses. The operator's activity structures have been developed to include prioritization and interruption of multiple parallel activities among multiple operators, to provide for anticipation (knowledge of the intention and action of remote operators), and to respond to failures of the system and other operators in the system in situation-specific paradigms. The model's internal representation has been be modified so that multiple, autonomous sets of equipment will function in a scenario as the single equipment sets do now. In order to support the analysis requirements with multiple items of equipment, it is necessary for equipment to access the state of other equipment objects at initialization time (a radar object may need to access the position and speed of aircraft in its area, for example), and as a function of perception and sensor system interaction. The model has been improved to include multiple world-states as a function of equipment am operator interaction. The model has been used -1o predict the impact of warning and alert zones in aircraft operation, and, more critic-ally, the interaction of flight-deck based warning mechanisms and air traffic controller action in response to ground-based conflict prediction and alerting systems. In this operation, two operating systems provide alerting to two autonomous, but linked sets of operators, whose view of the system and whose dynamics in response are radically different. System stability and operator action was predicted using the MIDAS model.

Corker, Kevin M.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Sensing Super-position: Visual Instrument Sensor Replacement

The coming decade of fast, cheap and miniaturized electronics and sensory devices opens new pathways for the development of sophisticated equipment to overcome limitations of the human senses. This project addresses the technical feasibility of augmenting human vision through Sensing Super-position using a Visual Instrument Sensory Organ Replacement (VISOR). The current implementation of the VISOR device translates visual and other passive or active sensory instruments into sounds, which become relevant when the visual resolution is insufficient for very difficult and particular sensing tasks. A successful Sensing Super-position meets many human and pilot vehicle system requirements. The system can be further developed into cheap, portable, and low power taking into account the limited capabilities of the human user as well as the typical characteristics of his dynamic environment. The system operates in real time, giving the desired information for the particular augmented sensing tasks. The Sensing Super-position device increases the image resolution perception and is obtained via an auditory representation as well as the visual representation. Auditory mapping is performed to distribute an image in time. The three-dimensional spatial brightness and multi-spectral maps of a sensed image are processed using real-time image processing techniques (e.g. histogram normalization) and transformed into a two-dimensional map of an audio signal as a function of frequency and time. This paper details the approach of developing Sensing Super-position systems as a way to augment the human vision system by exploiting the capabilities of the human hearing system as an additional neural input. The human hearing system is capable of learning to process and interpret extremely complicated and rapidly changing auditory patterns. The known capabilities of the human hearing system to learn and understand complicated auditory patterns provided the basic motivation for developing an image-to-sound mapping system.

Maluf, David A.↗

NASA NTRS1968

Method of reducing time base error in digital magnetic recorders

Apparatus reduces Time Base Error /TBE/ in the playback of digital data from magnetic recording equipment. The apparatus uses a magnet which employs a servo position control of the tape by which the playback data clock is phase locked with a fixed frequency reference signal.

Moore, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Helical automatic approaches of helicopters with microwave landing systems

A program is under way to develop a data base for establishing navigation and guidance concepts for all-weather operation of rotorcraft. One of the objectives is to examine the feasibility of conducting simultaneous rotorcraft and conventional fixed-wing, noninterfering, landing operations in instrument meteorological conditions at airports equipped with microwave landing systems (MLSs) for fixed-wing traffic. An initial test program to investigate the feasibility of conducting automatic helical approaches was completed, using the MLS at Crows Landing near Ames. These tests were flown on board a UH-1H helicopter equipped with a digital automatic landing system. A total of 48 automatic approaches and landings were flown along a two-turn helical descent, tangent to the centerline of the MLS-equipped runway to determine helical light performance and to provide a data base for comparison with future flights for which the helical approach path will be located near the edge of the MLS coverage. In addition, 13 straight-in approaches were conducted. The performance with varying levels of state-estimation system sophistication was evaluated as part of the flight tests. The results indicate that helical approaches to MLS-equipped runways are feasible for rotorcraft and that the best position accuracy was obtained using the Kalman-filter state-estimation with inertial navigation systems sensors.

Foster, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Improved computer simulation of the TCAS 3 circular array mounted on an aircraft

The Traffic advisory and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) is being developed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to assist aircraft pilots in mid-air collision avoidance. This report concentrates on the computer simulation of the enchanced TCAS 2 systems mounted on a Boeing 727. First, the moment method is used to obtain an accurate model for the enhanced TCAS 2 antenna array. Then, the OSU Aircraft Code is used to generate theoretical radiation patterns of this model mounted on a simulated Boeing 727 model. Scattering error curves obtained from these patterns can be used to evaluate the performance of this system in determining the angular position of another aircraft with respect to the TCAS-equipped aircraft. Finally, the tracking of another aircraft is simulated when the TCAS-equipped aircraft follows a prescribed escape curve. In short, the computer models developed in this report have generality, completeness and yield reasonable results.

Rojas, R. G.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Experiments On Active Members In Large Space Structures

Report discusses continuing research on structures including active members, which incorporate sensors, actuators, and electronic circuits to monitor and control vibrations. Describes experiments on two structures with active members, progress in design, testing, and simulation of behavior of active members. Objective is to develop systems to enhance performances of large, flexible structures in space. Also applicable to some terrestrial structures and testing equipment involving close tolerances in feedback control of forces and/or positions.

Fanson, James L.↗

NASA NTRS2002

STS-112 Flight Day 5 Highlights

On this fifth day of the STS-112 mission, the crewmembers Atlantis will begin transferring equipment and supplies to the orbiting laboratory. The crew reviews procedures for Saturday's spacewalk. Mission Specialists, Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers will prepare the tools and other equipment for use during Saturday's spacewalk. The spacewalkers reverse positions for most of the EVA, with Sellers riding the arm and Wolf free-floating while tethered to the station. They will attach umbilicals, install a second camera, install spool positioning devices to quickly disconnect fittings on ammonia lines and release radiator beam launch locks. The crewmembers will move a number of scientific experiments back and forth between the vehicles to return completed experiments to Earth and deploy new experiments at the station. One experiment transferred includes a set of liver cell tissue samples from an experiment studying the function of human liver cells in micro-gravity experiments were moved from the station onto the shuttle for return to Earth. Payload experiments such as Marshall Space Flight Center's protein crystals in micro-gravity experiments were moved to and from the station.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2003

Lumbar spine disc heights and curvature: upright posture vs. supine compression harness

INTRODUCTION: Spinal lengthening in microgravity is thought to cause back pain in astronauts. A spinal compression harness can compress the spine to eliminate lengthening but the loading condition with harness is different than physiologic conditions. Our purpose was to compare the effect of spine compression with a harness in supine position on disk height and spinal curvature in the lumbar spine to that of upright position as measured using a vertically open magnetic resonance imaging system. METHODS: Fifteen healthy subjects volunteered. On day 1, each subject lay supine for an hour and a baseline scan of the lumbar spine was performed. After applying a load of fifty percent of body weight with the harness for thirty minutes, the lumbar spine was scanned again. On day 2, after a baseline scan, a follow up scan was performed after kneeling for thirty minutes within the gap between two vertically oriented magnetic coils. Anterior and posterior disk heights, posterior disk bulging, and spinal curvature were measured from the baseline and follow up scans. RESULTS: Anterior disk heights increased and posterior disk heights decreased compared with baseline scans both after spinal compression with harness and upright posture. The spinal curvature increased by both loading conditions of the spine. DISCUSSION: The spinal compression with specially designed harness has the same effect as the physiologic loading of the spine in the kneeling upright position. The harness shows some promise as a tool to increase the diagnostic capabilities of a conventional MR system.

Non-NASA Center↗

NASA NTRS2010

Design/Development of Spacecraft and Module Crew Compartments

This slide presentation reviews the design and development of crew compartments for spacecraft and for modules. The Crew Compartment or Crew Station is defined as the spacecraft interior and all other areas the crewman interfaces inside the cabin, or may potentially interface.It uses examples from all of the human rated spacecraft. It includes information about the process, significant drivers for the design, habitability, definitions of models, mockups, prototypes and trainers, including pictures of each stage in the development from Apollo, pictures of the space shuttle trainers, and International Space Station trainers. It further reviews the size and shape of the Space Shuttle orbiter crew compartment, and the Apollo command module and the lunar module. It also has a chart which reviews the International Space Station (ISS) internal volume by stage. The placement and use of windows is also discussed. Interestingly according to the table presented, the number 1 rated piece of equipment for recreation was viewing windows. The design of crew positions and restraints, crew translation aids and hardware restraints is shown with views of the restraints and handholds used from the Apollo program through the ISS.

Goodman, Jerry R.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Use of Heritage Hardware on Orion MPCV Exploration Flight Test One

Due to an aggressive schedule for the first space flight of an unmanned Orion capsule, currently known as Exploration Flight Test One (EFT1), combined with severe programmatic funding constraints, an effort was made within the Orion Program to identify heritage hardware, i.e., already existing, flight-certified components from previous manned space programs, which might be available for use on EFT1. With the end of the Space Shuttle Program, no current means exists to launch Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs) to the International Space Station (ISS), and so the inventory of many flight-certified Shuttle and MPLM components are available for other purposes. Two of these items are the MPLM cabin Positive Pressure Relief Assembly (PPRA), and the Shuttle Ground Support Equipment Heat Exchanger (GSE HX). In preparation for the utilization of these components by the Orion Program, analyses and testing of the hardware were performed. The PPRA had to be analyzed to determine its susceptibility to pyrotechnic shock, and vibration testing had to be performed, since those environments are predicted to be more severe during an Orion mission than those the hardware was originally designed to accommodate. The GSE HX had to be tested for performance with the Orion thermal working fluids, which are different from those used by the Space Shuttle. This paper summarizes the activities required in order to utilize heritage hardware for EFT1.

Rains, George Edward↗

NASA NTRS2024

Development of a Surface Water Transportation System for ISRU Operations on Mars

NASA is working to define the architecture needed for a Mars exploration campaign. Initial analysis assumptions allow for pre-deployment of essential cargo and equipment to support a crew landing, including the pre-positioning of a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). This MAV is likely to represent the largest single payload that must be landed on the Mars surface. Its size would be influenced by the amount of mass that state-of-the-art Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) systems would be capable of placing on Mars. One possible method of increasing the usable size of the MAV without exceeding available EDL capabilities is to land the MAV without ascent propellant on board. Following such a method may necessitate a strategy to acquire sufficient ascent propellant to allow a crew to safely depart the Martian surface. This paper describes a conceptual return propellant strategy that uses a liquid transportation skid, or pallet, to be used in conjunction with a rover mobility system to transfer water across the Martian surface from a source point to an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) plant that would use this water as a feedstock to generate oxygen and methane to enable launch of the MAV. Design considerations, concept of operations, and rover energetics will be discussed in this paper.

Fluid Structure Interface↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessment of a Surface Water Transportation System for ISRU Operations on Mars

NASA is working to define the architecture needed for a Mars exploration campaign. Initial analysis assumptions allow for pre-deployment of essential cargo and equipment to support a crew landing, including the pre-positioning of a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). This MAV is likely to represent the largest single payload that must be landed on the Mars surface. Its size would be influenced by the amount of mass that state-of-the-art Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) systems would be capable of placing on Mars. One possible method of increasing the usable size of the MAV without exceeding available EDL capabilities is to land the MAV without ascent propellant on board. Following such a method may necessitate a strategy to acquire sufficient ascent propellant to allow a crew to safely depart the Martian surface. This paper describes a conceptual return propellant strategy that uses a liquid transportation skid, or pallet, to be used in conjunction with a rover mobility system to transfer water across the Martian surface from a source point to an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) plant that would use this water as a feedstock to generate oxygen and methane to enable launch of the MAV. Design considerations, concept of operations, and rover energetics will be discussed in this paper.

Fluid Structure Interface↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessment of a Surface Propellant Transportation System Concept for Operations on Mars

NASA is working to define the architecture needed for a Mars exploration campaign. One potential architecture option allows for pre-deployment of essential cargo and equipment to support a crew landing, including the pre-positioning of a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). This MAV is likely to represent the largest single payload that must be landed on the Martian surface. Its size would be influenced by the amount of mass that state-of-the-art Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) systems would be capable of placing on Mars. One possible method of increasing the usable size of the MAV without exceeding available EDL capabilities is to land the MAV without its ascent propellant on board. Following such a method may necessitate a strategy to acquire sufficient ascent propellant to allow a crew to safely depart the Martian surface. This paper describes a conceptual return propellant strategy that uses a liquid transportation skid, or pallet, to be used in conjunction with a rover mobility system to transfer cryogenic propellant, consisting of oxygen and methane, across the Martian surface from a delivery lander to the MAV to enable its launch. Design considerations, concept of operations, and rover energetics will be discussed in this paper.

Propellant↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessment of a Surface Propellant Transportation System Concept for Operations on Mars

NASA is working to define the architecture needed for a Mars exploration campaign. One potential architecture option allows for pre-deployment of essential cargo and equipment to support a crew landing, including the pre-positioning of a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). This MAV is likely to represent the largest single payload that must be landed on the Martian surface. Its size would be influenced by the amount of mass that state-of-the-art Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) systems would be capable of placing on Mars. One possible method of increasing the usable size of the MAV without exceeding available EDL capabilities is to land the MAV without its ascent propellant on board. Following such a method may necessitate a strategy to acquire sufficient ascent propellant to allow a crew to safely depart the Martian surface. This presentation describes a conceptual return propellant strategy that uses a liquid transportation skid, or pallet, to be used in conjunction with a rover mobility system to transfer cryogenic propellant, consisting of oxygen and methane, across the Martian surface from a delivery lander to the MAV to enable its launch. Design considerations, concept of operations, and rover energetics will be discussed in this presentation.

Surface↗

NASA NTRS2007

Sensing Super-Position: Human Sensing Beyond the Visual Spectrum

The coming decade of fast, cheap and miniaturized electronics and sensory devices opens new pathways for the development of sophisticated equipment to overcome limitations of the human senses. This paper addresses the technical feasibility of augmenting human vision through Sensing Super-position by mixing natural Human sensing. The current implementation of the device translates visual and other passive or active sensory instruments into sounds, which become relevant when the visual resolution is insufficient for very difficult and particular sensing tasks. A successful Sensing Super-position meets many human and pilot vehicle system requirements. The system can be further developed into cheap, portable, and low power taking into account the limited capabilities of the human user as well as the typical characteristics of his dynamic environment. The system operates in real time, giving the desired information for the particular augmented sensing tasks. The Sensing Super-position device increases the image resolution perception and is obtained via an auditory representation as well as the visual representation. Auditory mapping is performed to distribute an image in time. The three-dimensional spatial brightness and multi-spectral maps of a sensed image are processed using real-time image processing techniques (e.g. histogram normalization) and transformed into a two-dimensional map of an audio signal as a function of frequency and time. This paper details the approach of developing Sensing Super-position systems as a way to augment the human vision system by exploiting the capabilities of Lie human hearing system as an additional neural input. The human hearing system is capable of learning to process and interpret extremely complicated and rapidly changing auditory patterns. The known capabilities of the human hearing system to learn and understand complicated auditory patterns provided the basic motivation for developing an image-to-sound mapping system. The human brain is superior to most existing computer systems in rapidly extracting relevant information from blurred, noisy, and redundant images. From a theoretical viewpoint, this means that the available bandwidth is not exploited in an optimal way. While image-processing techniques can manipulate, condense and focus the information (e.g., Fourier Transforms), keeping the mapping as direct and simple as possible might also reduce the risk of accidentally filtering out important clues. After all, especially a perfect non-redundant sound representation is prone to loss of relevant information in the non-perfect human hearing system. Also, a complicated non-redundant image-to-sound mapping may well be far more difficult to learn and comprehend than a straightforward mapping, while the mapping system would increase in complexity and cost. This work will demonstrate some basic information processing for optimal information capture for headmounted systems.

Maluf, David A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Astrometric observations of comets and minor planets

Comets and planet crossing asteroids are observed so that accurate positions can be determined. The observations are made with the Palomar 1.5 m telescope equipped with a CCD array. The combination of telescope and detector is quite effective at recording faint comets and minor planets. This proves useful for early acquisition of comets and asteroids returning for a new opposition. The resulting positions permit accurate orbits to be determined and allow the properties of the comets and asteroids to be measured by other observers using a variety of techniques. Recoveries and other notable observations of comets and planet crossing asteroids observed during the past years are discussed.

Williams, J. G.↗