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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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Advanced Materials for Exploration Task Research Results

The Advanced Materials for Exploration (AME) Activity in Marshall Space Flight Center s (MSFC s) Exploration Science and Technology Directorate coordinated activities from 2001 to 2006 to support in-space propulsion technologies for future missions. Working together, materials scientists and mission planners identified materials shortfalls that are limiting the performance of long-term missions. The goal of the AME project was to deliver improved materials in targeted areas to meet technology development milestones of NASA s exploration-dedicated activities. Materials research tasks were targeted in five areas: (1) Thermal management materials, (2) propulsion materials, (3) materials characterization, (4) vehicle health monitoring materials, and (5) structural materials. Selected tasks were scheduled for completion such that these new materials could be incorporated into customer development plans.

Cook, M. B.↗

N plus 3 Advanced Concept Studies for Supersonic Commercial Transport Aircraft Entering Service in the 2030-2035 Period

Boeing, with Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, Rolls-Royce, M4 Engineering, Wyle Laboratories and Georgia Institute of Technology, conducted a study of supersonic commercial aircraft concepts and enabling technologies for the year 2030-2035 timeframe. The work defined the market and environmental/regulatory conditions that could evolve by the 2030/35 time period, from which vehicle performance goals were derived. Relevant vehicle concepts and technologies are identified that are anticipated to meet these performance and environmental goals. A series of multidisciplinary analyses trade studies considering vehicle sizing, mission performance and environmental conformity determined the appropriate concepts. Combinations of enabling technologies and the required technology performance levels needed to meet the desired goals were identified. Several high priority technologies are described in detail, including roadmaps with risk assessments that outline objectives, key technology challenges, detailed tasks and schedules and demonstrations that need to be performed. A representative configuration is provided for reference purposes, along with associated performance estimates based on these key technologies.

Welge, H. Robert↗

Leverage Points for System Health Management of Autonomous Systems

Systems Health Management (SHM) is one of three basic functionalities that constitute an autonomous capability of a system. The other two functionalities are Planning & Scheduling, and Task Execution. In an autonomous system, variable autonomy is often distinct from variable authority to sense, decide, and act. There are quantifiable Levels of Autonomy that can be achieved by tuning different portions of the Observe-Orient-Decide-Act loop to provide flexibility and control. This approach is tabulated for multiple domains such as spacecraft and aerial vehicles. Examining SHM through a Systems Thinking lens helps us understand its stocks and flows, loops, and delays. Systems thinking, and modeling, is a useful way to understand change and complexity of systems of many types. There are certain archetypes that underlie well-known autonomy architectures. And there often are leverage points - best places to intervene in a system - that can resolve or mitigate some fundamental challenges in the design and deployment of autonomous systems. I identify these levers and present the ones that have been successfully used in NASA missions.

Systems Thinking↗

Scheduling periodic jobs using imprecise results

One approach to avoid timing faults in hard, real-time systems is to make available intermediate, imprecise results produced by real-time processes. When a result of the desired quality cannot be produced in time, an imprecise result of acceptable quality produced before the deadline can be used. The problem of scheduling periodic jobs to meet deadlines on a system that provides the necessary programming language primitives and run-time support for processes to return imprecise results is discussed. Since the scheduler may choose to terminate a task before it is completed, causing it to produce an acceptable but imprecise result, the amount of processor time assigned to any task in a valid schedule can be less than the amount of time required to complete the task. A meaningful formulation of the scheduling problem must take into account the overall quality of the results. Depending on the different types of undesirable effects caused by errors, jobs are classified as type N or type C. For type N jobs, the effects of errors in results produced in different periods are not cumulative. A reasonable performance measure is the average error over all jobs. Three heuristic algorithms that lead to feasible schedules with small average errors are described. For type C jobs, the undesirable effects of errors produced in different periods are cumulative. Schedulability criteria of type C jobs are discussed.

Chung, Jen-Yao↗

Constraint based scheduling for the Goddard Space Flight Center distributed Active Archive Center's data archive and distribution system

The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) has been operational since October 1, 1993. Its mission is to support the Earth Observing System (EOS) by providing rapid access to EOS data and analysis products, and to test Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) design concepts. One of the challenges is to ensure quick and easy retrieval of any data archived within the DAAC's Data Archive and Distributed System (DADS). Over the 15-year life of EOS project, an estimated several Petabytes (10(exp 15)) of data will be permanently stored. Accessing that amount of information is a formidable task that will require innovative approaches. As a precursor of the full EOS system, the GSFC DAAC with a few Terabits of storage, has implemented a prototype of a constraint-based task and resource scheduler to improve the performance of the DADS. This Honeywell Task and Resource Scheduler (HTRS), developed by Honeywell Technology Center in cooperation the Information Science and Technology Branch/935, the Code X Operations Technology Program, and the GSFC DAAC, makes better use of limited resources, prevents backlog of data, provides information about resources bottlenecks and performance characteristics. The prototype which is developed concurrently with the GSFC Version 0 (V0) DADS, models DADS activities such as ingestion and distribution with priority, precedence, resource requirements (disk and network bandwidth) and temporal constraints. HTRS supports schedule updates, insertions, and retrieval of task information via an Application Program Interface (API). The prototype has demonstrated with a few examples, the substantial advantages of using HTRS over scheduling algorithms such as a First In First Out (FIFO) queue. The kernel scheduling engine for HTRS, called Kronos, has been successfully applied to several other domains such as space shuttle mission scheduling, demand flow manufacturing, and avionics communications scheduling.

Short, Nick, Jr.↗

Schedule Risk Assessment

Schedule risk assessments determine the likelihood of finishing on time. Each task in a schedule has a varying degree of probability of being finished on time. A schedule risk assessment quantifies these probabilities by assigning values to each task. This viewgraph presentation contains a flow chart for conducting a schedule risk assessment, and profiles applicable several methods of data analysis.

Smith, Greg↗

ISS Expedition 1 Crew Interviews: Sergei K. Krikalev

Live footage of a preflight interview with Flight Engineer Sergei K. Krikalev is seen. The interview addresses many different questions including why Krikalev became a cosmonaut, the events that led to his interest, the transition from being an engineer to being selected as a Russian cosmonaut. Other interesting information that this one-on-one interview discusses are the main goals of the first Expedition Crew, their scheduled docking with the International Space Station (ISS), making the ISS ready for human inhabitance, and all the specifics that will make his living arrangements difficult. Krikalev mentions his responsibilities during the much-anticipated two-day flight to the ISS, as well as the possibility of his space-walk. Krikalev also discusses the crew's first tasks upon entrance including other scheduled tasks for the first week, docking from cargo ships, and spacecraft delivering equipment or performing Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA). He explains his opinion of the implications of having human beings in space.

Source record↗

ISS Expedition 1 Crew Interviews: Yuri P. Gidzenko

Live footage of a preflight interview with Soyuz Commander Yuri P. Gidzenko is seen. The interview addresses many different questions including why Gidzenko became interested in the space program, the events that led to his interest, the transition from being a military pilot to being selected as a Russian cosmonaut. Other interesting information that this one-on-one interview discusses are the main goals of the first Expedition Crew, their scheduled docking with the International Space Station (ISS), making the ISS ready for human inhabitance, and all the specifics that will make his living arrangements difficult. Gidzenko mentions his responsibilities during the much-anticipated two-day flight to the ISS on the Soyuz spacecraft, as well as the possibility of his space-walk. Gidzenko also discusses the crew's first tasks upon entrance including other scheduled tasks for the first week, docking from cargo ships, and spacecraft delivering equipment or performing Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA). He explains his opinion of the implications of having human beings in space.

Source record↗

Evaluation of scheduling techniques for payload activity planning

Two tasks related to payload activity planning and scheduling were performed. The first task involved making a comparison of space mission activity scheduling problems with production scheduling problems. The second task consisted of a statistical analysis of the output of runs of the Experiment Scheduling Program (ESP). Details of the work which was performed on these two tasks are presented.

Bullington, Stanley F.↗

Anti-reflection Coatings on Large Area Glass Sheets

The first quarter of a one-year program designed to research and perfect a method of producing antireflective coatings on large glass sheets through the use of sodium silicate hardened by exposure to acid is reported. The requirements for a linear motion device used to produce uniform sodium silicate films were determined. A search for a commercially available device is underway. Sodium silicate solutions of varying concentrations were prepared. Determinations of the physical properties relevant to film thickness are in progress. In addition, material costs are being recorded for later use in a cost analysis of the method. All tasks of the project are proceeding according to schedule. Of the tasks, only the sodium silicate solution preparation is complete.

Pastirik, E.↗

Schedule Risk Assessment

Schedule Risk Assessment needs to determine the probability of finishing on or before a given point in time. Task in a schedule should reflect the "most likely" duration for each task. IN reality, each task is different and has a varying degree of probability of finishing within or after the duration specified. Schedule risk assessment attempt to quantify these probabilities by assigning values to each task. Bridges the gap between CPM scheduling and the project's need to know the likelihood of "when".

Smith, Greg↗

Exploring Self-Scheduling Strategies and Heuristics in Novice Schedulers

Missions beyond low Earth orbit will require crews to act with greater autonomy. Increasing communication delays will require crews to take on tasks currently supported by Mission Control, including the involved process of scheduling and rescheduling their own complex spaceflight timelines to fit a variety of restrictions and constraints. Astronauts, unlike Mission Control, are not expert planners, however, and determining simple strategies and heuristics that enable them to schedule successfully can increase the range of problems they can solve successfully. In two human-in-the-loop scheduling experiments, we analyzed 1) common strategies among novice schedules, and 2) the development of self-scheduling heuristics. We find that, even when participants are instructed to follow a given strategy, they rapidly develop their own self-scheduling heuristics as they learn to successfully complete the scheduling task. Participants conducting naturally learn to schedule activities with the most constraints first, while participants vary in heuristics in the rescheduling task.

self-scheduling↗

Towards a Measure of Situation Awareness for Space Mission Schedulers

The success of space flight missions relies on support provided to astronauts through specialist knowledge of ground-based personnel. One of the many essential tasks that ground personnel provide is the scheduling of flight crew daily activities. Future long duration exploration missions will require astronauts to assume planning and scheduling responsibilities in order to facilitate increased autonomy from ground support. Although situation awareness is critical to the scheduling task, a sufficient measure for this domain has not been developed. This paper documents the approach and process by which the authors developed a framework for measuring situation awareness in space mission schedulers and presents the measure applications’ initial results.

human factors in spaceflight↗

Towards a Measure of Situation Awareness for Space Mission Schedulers

The success of space flight missions relies on support provided to astronauts through specialist knowledge of ground-based personnel. One of the many essential tasks that ground personnel provide is the scheduling of flight crew daily activities. Future long duration exploration missions will require astronauts to assume planning and scheduling responsibilities in order to facilitate increased autonomy from ground support. Although situation awareness is critical to the scheduling task, a sufficient measure for this domain has not been developed. This paper documents the approach and process by which the authors developed a framework for measuring situation awareness in space mission schedulers and presents the measure applications’ initial results.

human factors in spaceflight↗

Scheduling real-time, periodic jobs using imprecise results

A process is called a monotone process if the accuracy of its intermediate results is non-decreasing as more time is spent to obtain the result. The result produced by a monotone process upon its normal termination is the desired result; the error in this result is zero. External events such as timeouts or crashes may cause the process to terminate prematurely. If the intermediate result produced by the process upon its premature termination is saved and made available, the application may still find the result unusable and, hence, acceptable; such a result is said to be an imprecise one. The error in an imprecise result is nonzero. The problem of scheduling periodic jobs to meet deadlines on a system that provides the necessary programming language primitives and run-time support for processes to return imprecise results is discussed. This problem differs from the traditional scheduling problems since the scheduler may choose to terminate a task before it is completed, causing it to produce an acceptable but imprecise result. Consequently, the amounts of processor time assigned to tasks in a valid schedule can be less than the amounts of time required to complete the tasks. A meaningful formulation of this problem taking into account the quality of the overall result is discussed. Three algorithms for scheduling jobs for which the effects of errors in results produced in different periods are not cumulative are described, and their relative merits are evaluated.

Liu, Jane W. S.↗

Are accidents scheduled

Two major sets of safety problems associated with project scheduling are examined. The first set involves problems resulting from the improper scheduling of the safety tasks. The second involves problems which result from inadequate attention to scheduling of those project tasks which lead to tests and operations and includes condensed schedules, modified schedules, schedule workarounds, eliminated portions of the schedules and strung out schedules.

Childs, C.↗

Addressing Load Imbalance in Bioinformatics and Biomedical Applications: Efficient Scheduling across Multiple GPUs

Computational bioinformatics and biomedical applications frequently contain heterogeneously sized units of work or tasks, for instance due to variability in the sizes of biological sequences and molecules. Variable-sized workloads lead to load imbalances in parallel implementations which detract from efficiency and performance. Many modern computing resources now have multiple graphics processing units(GPUs) per computer for acceleration. These multiple GPU resources need to be used efficiently through balancing of workloads across the GPUs. OpenMP is a portable directive-based parallel programming API used ubiquitously in bioscience applications to program CPUs; recently, the use of OpenMP directives for GPU acceleration has become possible. Here, motivated by experiences with imbalanced loads in GPU-accelerated bioinformatics applications, we address the load balancing problem using OpenMP task-to-GPU scheduling combined with OpenMP GPU offloading for multiply heterogeneous workloads – loads with both variable input sizes, and simultaneously, variable convergence rates for algorithms with a stochastic component – scheduled across multiple GPUs. We aim to develop strategies which are both easy to use and have lower overheads, and may be incorporated incrementally in existing programs which already make use of OpenMP for CPU-based threading in order to make use of multi-GPU computers. We test different combinations of input size variability and convergence rate variability, and characterize the effects of these different scenarios on the performance of scheduling strategies across multiple GPUs with OpenMP. We present several dynamic scheduling solutions for different parallel patterns, explore optimizations, and provide publicly available example computational kernels to make these strategies easy to use in programs. This work will enable application developers to efficiently and easily use multiple GPUs for imbalanced workloads found in bioinformatics and biomedical applications.

Thavappiragasam, Mathialakan↗

Priority-BF: A Task Manager for Priority-Based Scheduling

The increasing demand for computational resources, particularly in High-Performance Computing environments, necessitates to rethink how we handle job scheduling strategies. This work addresses the challenge of managing concurrent jobs with differing priorities on overloaded parallel systems, where strict QoS constraints are often difficult for users to define. Our solution relies on a qualitative description of priorities and pulls from two key approaches: the Easy-BF algorithm and the Conservative Backfilling algorithms. This solution improves the response time for high-priority jobs by 50% without affecting the overall system utilization. We show its applicability in several critical scenarios such as High-Performance Computing (HPC) resource management and in-situ computing.

Gainaru, Ana [ORNL]↗