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At least 181 records · Page 10

Using magnetic tape technology for data migration

Magnetic tape and optical disk library units (jukeboxes) are satisfying the demand for high-capacity cost-effective storage. The choice between optical disk and magnetic tape technology must take into account the cost limitations as well as the performance and reliability requirements of the user environment. Library units require data management software in order to function in an automated and user-transparent way. The most common data management applications are backup and recovery, data migration, and archiving. The medium access patterns that these applications create will be described. Since the most user visible application is data migration, a queue simulator was developed to model its performance against a variety of library units. The major subject of this paper is the design and implementation of this simulator as well as some simulation results. The relative cost and reliability of magnetic tape versus optical disk library units is presented for completeness.

Therrien, David

Computational Support for Technology- Investment Decisions

Strategic Assessment of Risk and Technology (START) is a user-friendly computer program that assists human managers in making decisions regarding research-and-development investment portfolios in the presence of uncertainties and of non-technological constraints that include budgetary and time limits, restrictions related to infrastructure, and programmatic and institutional priorities. START facilitates quantitative analysis of technologies, capabilities, missions, scenarios and programs, and thereby enables the selection and scheduling of value-optimal development efforts. START incorporates features that, variously, perform or support a unique combination of functions, most of which are not systematically performed or supported by prior decision- support software. These functions include the following: Optimal portfolio selection using an expected-utility-based assessment of capabilities and technologies; Temporal investment recommendations; Distinctions between enhancing and enabling capabilities; Analysis of partial funding for enhancing capabilities; and Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. START can run on almost any computing hardware, within Linux and related operating systems that include Mac OS X versions 10.3 and later, and can run in Windows under the Cygwin environment. START can be distributed in binary code form. START calls, as external libraries, several open-source software packages. Output is in Excel (.xls) file format.

Adumitroaie, Virgil

Development of the FITS tools package for multiple software environments

The HEASARC is developing a package of general purpose software for analyzing data files in FITS format. This paper describes the design philosophy which makes the software both machine-independent (it runs on VAXs, Suns, and DEC-stations) and software environment-independent. Currently the software can be compiled and linked to produce IRAF tasks, or alternatively, the same source code can be used to generate stand-alone tasks using one of two implementations of a user-parameter interface library. The machine independence of the software is achieved by writing the source code in ANSI standard Fortran or C, using the machine-independent FITSIO subroutine interface for all data file I/O, and using a standard user-parameter subroutine interface for all user I/O. The latter interface is based on the Fortran IRAF Parameter File interface developed at STScI. The IRAF tasks are built by linking to the IRAF implementation of this parameter interface library. Two other implementations of this parameter interface library, which have no IRAF dependencies, are now available which can be used to generate stand-alone executable tasks. These stand-alone tasks can simply be executed from the machine operating system prompt either by supplying all the task parameters on the command line or by entering the task name after which the user will be prompted for any required parameters. A first release of this FTOOLS package is now publicly available. The currently available tasks are described, along with instructions on how to obtain a copy of the software.

Pence, W. D.

Processing MAGSAT data for comparison with geoid anomalies

A digital data library of MAGSAT data consisting of 1,615,636 measurements from the quiet data set, is geographically sorted, and allows rapid analysis and processing of all the quiet magnetic data about any selected location. Because this library of MAGSAT data is compatible with existing gravity and geoid data library processing and display system software, correlations between MAGSAT, surface gravity, GEOS-3 radar altimeter geoid and bathymetric data sets can be conveniently detected and analyzed. Polynomial trends from each half-orbit were removed as an effective way of estimating and removing ring current effects following estimation of the core field contribution. It was found that a third order polynomial is the lowest polynomial order that appears to provide the best consistency of residual anomalies between coincident orbits.

Bowin, C. O.

Architecture-Adaptive Computing Environment: A Tool for Teaching Parallel Programming

Recently, networked and cluster computation have become very popular. This paper is an introduction to a new C based parallel language for architecture-adaptive programming, aCe C. The primary purpose of aCe (Architecture-adaptive Computing Environment) is to encourage programmers to implement applications on parallel architectures by providing them the assurance that future architectures will be able to run their applications with a minimum of modification. A secondary purpose is to encourage computer architects to develop new types of architectures by providing an easily implemented software development environment and a library of test applications. This new language should be an ideal tool to teach parallel programming. In this paper, we will focus on some fundamental features of aCe C.

Dorband, John E.

Math Description Engine Software Development Kit

The Math Description Engine Software Development Kit (MDE SDK) can be used by software developers to make computer-rendered graphs more accessible to blind and visually-impaired users. The MDE SDK generates alternative graph descriptions in two forms: textual descriptions and non-verbal sound renderings, or sonification. It also enables display of an animated trace of a graph sonification on a visual graph component, with color and line-thickness options for users having low vision or color-related impairments. A set of accessible graphical user interface widgets is provided for operation by end users and for control of accessible graph displays. Version 1.0 of the MDE SDK generates text descriptions for 2D graphs commonly seen in math and science curriculum (and practice). The mathematically rich text descriptions can also serve as a virtual math and science assistant for blind and sighted users, making graphs more accessible for everyone. The MDE SDK has a simple application programming interface (API) that makes it easy for programmers and Web-site developers to make graphs accessible with just a few lines of code. The source code is written in Java for cross-platform compatibility and to take advantage of Java s built-in support for building accessible software application interfaces. Compiled-library and NASA Open Source versions are available with API documentation and Programmer s Guide at http:/ / prim e.jsc.n asa. gov.

Shelton, Robert O.

A Framework for Robust Multivariable Optimization of Integrated Circuits in Space Applications

Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) design for space applications involves multiple challenges of maximizing performance, minimizing power and ensuring reliable operation in extreme environments. This is a complex multidimensional optimization problem which must be solved early in the development cycle of a system due to the time required for testing and qualification severely limiting opportunities to modify and iterate. Manual design techniques which generally involve simulation at one or a small number of corners with a very limited set of simultaneously variable parameters in order to make the problem tractable are inefficient and not guaranteed to achieve the best possible results within the performance envelope defined by the process and environmental requirements. What is required is a means to automate design parameter variation, allow the designer to specify operational constraints and performance goals, and to analyze the results in a way which facilitates identifying the tradeoffs defining the performance envelope over the full set of process and environmental corner cases. The system developed by the Mixed Signal ASIC Group (MSAG) at the Goddard Space Flight Center is implemented as framework of software modules, templates and function libraries. It integrates CAD tools and a mathematical computing environment, and can be customized for new circuit designs with only a modest amount of effort as most common tasks are already encapsulated. Customization is required for simulation test benches to determine performance metrics and for cost function computation. Templates provide a starting point for both while toolbox functions minimize the code required. Once a test bench has been coded to optimize a particular circuit, it is also used to verify the final design. The combination of test bench and cost function can then serve as a template for similar circuits or be re-used to migrate the design to different processes by re-running it with the new process specific device models. The system has been used in the design of time to digital converters for laser ranging and time-of-flight mass spectrometry to optimize analog, mixed signal and digital circuits such as charge sensitive amplifiers, comparators, delay elements, radiation tolerant dual interlocked (DICE) flip-flops and two of three voter gates.

DuMonthier, Jeffrey

Robust Multivariable Optimization and Performance Simulation for ASIC Design

Application-specific-integrated-circuit (ASIC) design for space applications involves multiple challenges of maximizing performance, minimizing power, and ensuring reliable operation in extreme environments. This is a complex multidimensional optimization problem, which must be solved early in the development cycle of a system due to the time required for testing and qualification severely limiting opportunities to modify and iterate. Manual design techniques, which generally involve simulation at one or a small number of corners with a very limited set of simultaneously variable parameters in order to make the problem tractable, are inefficient and not guaranteed to achieve the best possible results within the performance envelope defined by the process and environmental requirements. What is required is a means to automate design parameter variation, allow the designer to specify operational constraints and performance goals, and to analyze the results in a way that facilitates identifying the tradeoffs defining the performance envelope over the full set of process and environmental corner cases. The system developed by the Mixed Signal ASIC Group (MSAG) at the Goddard Space Flight Center is implemented as a framework of software modules, templates, and function libraries. It integrates CAD tools and a mathematical computing environment, and can be customized for new circuit designs with only a modest amount of effort as most common tasks are already encapsulated. Customization is required for simulation test benches to determine performance metrics and for cost function computation.

DuMonthier, Jeffrey

Tracking Community Building in Open Science

Open Science is enabled by a vibrant community of researchers who regularly engage with the data, from its production to its organization, curation, archiving, dissemination, analysis, and publication. This presentation will examine community building in open science. The NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) makes data available to the public following the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) principles. OSDR takes open science further with the OS Analysis Working Groups (AWGs) that facilitate community development and promotion. The primary activity of each AWG is to establish and validate analytical processes to generate higher-order data from data housed in OSDR. There are a number of these groups on various topics, including the Animal AWG, Plant AWG, Microbial AWG, Multi-Omics AWG, AI/ML AWG, and the Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA) AWG. The international volunteers participating in these AWGs come from academia, citizen science initiatives, industry, and government. They include researchers, principal investigators, professors, trained hobbyists, and students from various domains and disciplines. Anyone may request to join the AWGs, and membership requests are vetted monthly by the group organizers before granting admission. Core to membership is demonstrated expertise through records of training, integrity, work in the professed domain(s), and good community standing. Regular virtual meetings are held for each AWG, with a varying cadence depending on the group's needs and goals. AWG communities share their expertise in research including cutting edge tools, software, frameworks, data formats, and libraries accelerating research collectively. This collaborative approach helps community members cross technology gaps and identify emerging challenges. These diverse communities encompass a wide range of individuals hailing from various sectors within the Science Mission Directorate and beyond. They serve as a means to promote and enhance transparency, accessibility, and inclusion. An annual AWG Symposium brings contributors together in person. Participation in AWGs can be synchronous or asynchronous, with some groups performing most of their work in off hours. Participants gain valuable skills and connections that allow them to add value to their communities and new organizations that they join, resulting in an expanded return on investment for the space life science community. Open science is increasingly a federal mandate and initiatives like NASA's Transform to Open Science and instruments like the Decadal Survey of Biological and Physical Sciences in Space demonstrate the need to carefully consider best practices in this domain. Here, we present greater detail about the makeup and participation metrics of the various AWGs affiliated with OSDR and details of successful peer-reviewed publication campaigns.

Christina M Johnson

Tracking Community Building in Open Science

Open Science is enabled by a vibrant community of researchers who regularly engage with the data, from its production to its organization, curation, archiving, dissemination, analysis, and publication. This presentation will examine community building in open science. The NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) makes data available to the public following the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) principles. OSDR takes open science further with the OS Analysis Working Groups (AWGs) that facilitate community development and promotion. The primary activity of each AWG is to establish and validate analytical processes to generate higher-order data from data housed in OSDR. There are a number of these groups on various topics, including the Animal AWG, Plant AWG, Microbial AWG, Multi-Omics AWG, AI/ML AWG, and the Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA) AWG. The international volunteers participating in these AWGs come from academia, citizen science initiatives, industry, and government. They include researchers, principal investigators, professors, trained hobbyists, and students from various domains and disciplines. Anyone may request to join the AWGs, and membership requests are vetted monthly by the group organizers before granting admission. Core to membership is demonstrated expertise through records of training, integrity, work in the professed domain(s), and good community standing. Regular virtual meetings are held for each AWG, with a varying cadence depending on the group's needs and goals. AWG communities share their expertise in research including cutting edge tools, software, frameworks, data formats, and libraries accelerating research collectively. This collaborative approach helps community members cross technology gaps and identify emerging challenges. These diverse communities encompass a wide range of individuals hailing from various sectors within the Science Mission Directorate and beyond. They serve as a means to promote and enhance transparency, accessibility, and inclusion. An annual AWG Symposium brings contributors together in person. Participation in AWGs can be synchronous or asynchronous, with some groups performing most of their work in off hours. Participants gain valuable skills and connections that allow them to add value to their communities and new organizations that they join, resulting in an expanded return on investment for the space life science community. Open science is increasingly a federal mandate and initiatives like NASA's Transform to Open Science and instruments like the Decadal Survey of Biological and Physical Sciences in Space demonstrate the need to carefully consider best practices in this domain. Here, we present greater detail about the makeup and participation metrics of the various AWGs affiliated with OSDR and details of successful peer-reviewed publication campaigns.

Christina M Johnson

The Implementation of Satellite Attitude Control System Software Using Object Oriented Design

NASA established the Small Explorer (SNMX) program in 1988 to provide frequent opportunities for highly focused and relatively inexpensive space science missions. The SMEX program has produced five satellites, three of which have been successfully launched. The remaining two spacecraft are scheduled for launch within the coming year. NASA has recently developed a prototype for the next generation Small Explorer spacecraft (SMEX-Lite). This paper describes the object-oriented design (OOD) of the SMEX-Lite Attitude Control System (ACS) software. The SMEX-Lite ACS is three-axis controlled and is capable of performing sub-arc-minute pointing. This paper first describes high level requirements governing the SMEX-Lite ACS software architecture. Next, the context in which the software resides is explained. The paper describes the principles of encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism with respect to the implementation of an ACS software system. This paper will also discuss the design of several ACS software components. Specifically, object-oriented designs are presented for sensor data processing, attitude determination, attitude control, and failure detection. Finally, this paper will address the establishment of the ACS Foundation Class (AFC) Library. The AFC is a large software repository, requiring a minimal amount of code modifications to produce ACS software for future projects.

Reid, W. Mark

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

The Implementation of Satellite Control System Software Using Object Oriented Design

NASA established the Small Explorer (SMEX) program in 1988 to provide frequent opportunities for highly focused and relatively inexpensive space science missions that can be launched into low earth orbit by small expendable vehicles. The development schedule for each SMEX spacecraft was three years from start to launch. The SMEX program has produced five satellites; Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX), Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST), Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS), Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) and Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE). SAMPEX and FAST are on-orbit, TRACE is scheduled to be launched in April of 1998, WIRE is scheduled to be launched in September of 1998, and SWAS is scheduled to be launched in January of 1999. In each of these missions, the Attitude Control System (ACS) software was written using a modular procedural design. Current program goals require complete spacecraft development within 18 months. This requirement has increased pressure to write reusable flight software. Object-Oriented Design (OOD) offers the constructs for developing an application that only needs modification for mission unique requirements. This paper describes the OOD that was used to develop the SMEX-Lite ACS software. The SMEX-Lite ACS is three-axis controlled, momentum stabilized, and is capable of performing sub-arc-minute pointing. The paper first describes the high level requirements which governed the architecture of the SMEX-Lite ACS software. Next, the context in which the software resides is explained. The paper describes the benefits of encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism with respect to the implementation of an ACS software system. This paper will discuss the design of several software components that comprise the ACS software. Specifically, Object-Oriented designs are presented for sensor data processing, attitude control, attitude determination and failure detection. The paper addresses the benefits of the OOD versus a conventional procedural design. The final discussion in this paper will address the establishment of the ACS Foundation Class (AFC) Library. The AFC is a large software repository, requiring a minimal amount of code modifications to produce ACS software for future projects, saving production time and costs.

Anderson, Mark O.

Multi-Mission Power Analysis Tool (MMPAT) Version 3

The Multi-Mission Power Analysis Tool (MMPAT) simulates a spacecraft power subsystem including the power source (solar array and/or radioisotope thermoelectric generator), bus-voltage control, secondary battery (lithium-ion or nickel-hydrogen), thermostatic heaters, and power-consuming equipment. It handles multiple mission types including heliocentric orbiters, planetary orbiters, and surface operations. Being parametrically driven along with its user-programmable features can reduce or even eliminate any need for software modifications when configuring it for a particular spacecraft. It provides multiple levels of fidelity, thereby fulfilling the vast majority of a project s power simulation needs throughout the lifecycle. It can operate in a stand-alone mode with a graphical user interface, in batch mode, or as a library linked with other tools. This software can simulate all major aspects of a spacecraft power subsystem. It is parametrically driven to reduce or eliminate the need for a programmer. Added flexibility is provided through user-designed state models and table-driven parameters. MMPAT is designed to be used by a variety of users, such as power subsystem engineers for sizing power subsystem components; mission planners for adjusting mission scenarios using power profiles generated by the model; system engineers for performing system- level trade studies using the results of the model during the early design phases of a spacecraft; and operations personnel for high-fidelity modeling of the essential power aspect of the planning picture.

Wood, Eric G.

Repository-Based Software Engineering Program: Working Program Management Plan

Repository-Based Software Engineering Program (RBSE) is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sponsored program dedicated to introducing and supporting common, effective approaches to software engineering practices. The process of conceiving, designing, building, and maintaining software systems by using existing software assets that are stored in a specialized operational reuse library or repository, accessible to system designers, is the foundation of the program. In addition to operating a software repository, RBSE promotes (1) software engineering technology transfer, (2) academic and instructional support of reuse programs, (3) the use of common software engineering standards and practices, (4) software reuse technology research, and (5) interoperability between reuse libraries. This Program Management Plan (PMP) is intended to communicate program goals and objectives, describe major work areas, and define a management report and control process. This process will assist the Program Manager, University of Houston at Clear Lake (UHCL) in tracking work progress and describing major program activities to NASA management. The goal of this PMP is to make managing the RBSE program a relatively easy process that improves the work of all team members. The PMP describes work areas addressed and work efforts being accomplished by the program; however, it is not intended as a complete description of the program. Its focus is on providing management tools and management processes for monitoring, evaluating, and administering the program; and it includes schedules for charting milestones and deliveries of program products. The PMP was developed by soliciting and obtaining guidance from appropriate program participants, analyzing program management guidance, and reviewing related program management documents.

Source record

The NASA Auralization Framework and Plugin Architecture

NASA has a long history of investigating human response to aircraft flyover noise and in recent years has developed a capability to fully auralize the noise of aircraft during their design. This capability is particularly useful for unconventional designs with noise signatures significantly different from the current fleet. To that end, a flexible software architecture has been developed to facilitate rapid integration of new simulation techniques for noise source synthesis and propagation, and to foster collaboration amongst researchers through a common releasable code base. The NASA Auralization Framework (NAF) is a skeletal framework written in C++ with basic functionalities and a plugin architecture that allows users to mix and match NAF capabilities with their own methods through the development and use of dynamically linked libraries. This paper presents the NAF software architecture and discusses several advanced auralization techniques that have been implemented as plugins to the framework.

Aumann, Aric R.

Freddie Software Security Patching

Software applications become more complicated over time as they depend on many third-party, open-source libraries. The Freddie Platform Services team actively improves software security by addressing software bugs and vulnerabilities that negatively impact software applications, especially those providing real-time operations and services for the federal partners and industries. In order to detect bugs and patch vulnerabilities in software development and maintenance cycles, an automated and systematic approach is needed. This document describes what bugs and vulnerabilities are, and how they can be detected by using static code analyzers and software composition analysis tools. Once vulnerabilities are detected, the patching approaches, such as upgrading direct and transitive dependencies and loading custom classes first, are presented together with their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, patching walkthrough, example code, lessons learned throughout the vulnerability patching process and the recommended practices are discussed.

Chok Fung Lai

Software Helps Retrieve Information Relevant to the User

The Adaptive Indexing and Retrieval Agent (ARNIE) is a code library, designed to be used by an application program, that assists human users in retrieving desired information in a hypertext setting. Using ARNIE, the program implements a computational model for interactively learning what information each human user considers relevant in context. The model, called a "relevance network," incrementally adapts retrieved information to users individual profiles on the basis of feedback from the users regarding specific queries. The model also generalizes such knowledge for subsequent derivation of relevant references for similar queries and profiles, thereby, assisting users in filtering information by relevance. ARNIE thus enables users to categorize and share information of interest in various contexts. ARNIE encodes the relevance and structure of information in a neural network dynamically configured with a genetic algorithm. ARNIE maintains an internal database, wherein it saves associations, and from which it returns associated items in response to a query. A C++ compiler for a platform on which ARNIE will be utilized is necessary for creating the ARNIE library but is not necessary for the execution of the software.

Mathe, Natalie