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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 1,801 records · Page 100

The Joint Analyses of Single- and Dual-Frequency/Experimental Dual-Polarization SIR-C and X-SAR Measurements in Precipitation

Progress, future plans and publications regarding the following objectives are presented: (1) Determine the vertical and horizontal spatial distribution of hydrometeors in precipitating clouds; (2) Measure the spatial distribution of liquid water and ice in the clouds; and (3) Measure and determine the limits of measurement of the polarization characteristics related to the shapes and orientations of hydrometeors in precipitating clouds.

Jameson, Arthur R.↗

A Comprehensive Orbit Reconstruction for the Galileo Prime Mission in the J2000 System

The Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter in December of 1995 to begin an orbital tour of the Jovian system. The objective of the tour was up close study of the planet, its satellites, and its magnetosphere. The spacecraft completed its 11 orbit prime mission in November of 1997 having had 16 successful close encounters with the Galilean satellites (including two prior to Jupiter orbit insertion). Galileo continues to operate and will have made an additional 10 orbits of Jupiter by the date of this Conference. Earlier papers discuss the determination of the spacecraft orbit in support of mission operations from arrival at Jupiter through the first 9 orbits. In this paper we re-examine those earlier orbits and extend the analysis through orbit 12, the first orbit of the Galileo Europa Mission (GEM). The objective of our work is the reconstruction of the spacecraft trajectory together with the development of a consistent set of ephemerides for the Galilean satellites. As a necessary byproduct of the reconstruction we determine improved values for the Jovian system gravitational parameters and for the Jupiter pole orientation angles. Our preliminary analyses have already led to many of the results reported in the scientific literature. Unlike the Galileo Navigation Team which operates in the EME-1950 coordinate system, we elected to work in the (J2000) International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF), the reference frame of the current JPL planetary and satellite ephemerides as well as the standard frame of the international astronomical and planetary science community. Use of this frame permits more precise modelling of the spacecraft and satellite observations. Moreover, it is the frame of choice for all other operational JPL missions and will probably be the frame for future missions for some time. Consequently, our adoption of the ICRF will facilitate the combination of our results with any obtained from future missions (e.g. the proposed Europa Orbiter mission). In addition, our results may be used by the science community, without need of a reference frame conversion.

Jacobson, Robert A.↗

Laser-Directed Ranging System Implementing Single Camera System for Telerobotics Applications

The invention relates generally to systems for determining the range of an object from a reference point and, in one embodiment, to laser-directed ranging systems useful in telerobotics applications. Digital processing techniques are employed which minimize the complexity and cost of the hardware and software for processing range calculations, thereby enhancing the commercial attractiveness of the system for use in relatively low-cost robotic systems. The system includes a video camera for generating images of the target, image digitizing circuitry, and an associated frame grabber circuit. The circuit first captures one of the pairs of stereo video images of the target, and then captures a second video image of the target as it is partly illuminated by the light beam, suitably generated by a laser. The two video images, taken sufficiently close together in time to minimize camera and scene motion, are converted to digital images and then compared. Common pixels are eliminated, leaving only a digital image of the laser-illuminated spot on the target. Mw centroid of the laser illuminated spot is dm obtained and compared with a predetermined reference point, predetermined by design or calibration, which represents the coordinate at the focal plane of the laser illumination at infinite range. Preferably, the laser and camera are mounted on a servo-driven platform which can be oriented to direct the camera and the laser toward the target. In one embodiment the platform is positioned in response to movement of the operator's head. Position and orientation sensors are used to monitor head movement. The disparity between the digital image of the laser spot and the reference point is calculated for determining range to the target. Commercial applications for the system relate to active range-determination systems, such as those used with robotic systems in which it is necessary to determine the, range to a workpiece or object to be grasped or acted upon by a robot arm end-effector in response to commands generated by an operator. In one embodiment, the system provides a real-time image of the target for the operator as the robot approaches the object. The system is also adapted for use in virtual reality systems in which a remote object or workpiece is to be acted upon by a remote robot arm or other mechanism controlled by an operator.

Wells, Dennis L.↗

Deployment Readiness Framework Subtask 1.1 (Literature Review)

Island and remote coastal communities face some of the most challenging environments for building, operating, and maintaining energy infrastructure, as well as the highest costs for electricity, fuels, and other essential energy sources. As sea-levels rise and storms become more intense and frequent, these communities and the energy infrastructure that supports coastal lives and livelihoods are also at increasing risk from natural hazards. To address these challenges, many coastal communities are envisioning energy solutions that will support the triple bottom line goals of the blue economy: economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social equity. Yet, island and remote coastal communities often face limited resources and capacity to tackle complex energy and coastal resilience issues. To support community-driven energy transitions in island and remote communities, and to better understand relationships between energy, community, and ecosystem resilience, the Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) has initiated the development of a Deployment Readiness Framework (DRF). The objective of the work is to co-produce and test practical tools and approaches that assess the readiness of coastal communities for marine energy demonstration, deployment, and operation. The DRF aims to build on and support the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Program (ETIPP) and other community-oriented energy transition programs. This project is jointly led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The development of the DRF includes three main phases: 1) a learning phase involving stakeholder engagement and literature review to synthesize metrics of community readiness to advance through an energy transition and to understand the state of the research and practice of participatory science-policy processes in various sectors, 2) a design phase to define readiness approaches and tools that will be developed as part of the DRF, and 3) an implementation phase to create the applications and interfaces for WPTO and the national laboratories to interact with the DRF. All three phases include close collaboration with communities and end-users of the framework, first to identify gaps in the science and tools needed to achieve community-driven energy transition goals and second, to test and improve the framework iteratively. Through technical assistance programs like ETIPP and utilizing the completed DRF to understand the influencing factors which motivate or deter energy transitions, WPTO hopes to engage a number of near-term marine energy demonstration opportunities. Here we report on the results from the literature review (Subtask 1.1) to inform the stakeholder engagement (Subtask 1.2) and design phase (Task 2) of the project.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Planetary operations for the Pioneer Venus Orbiter mission

The Pioneer Venus Orbiter was inserted into Venus orbit on December 4, 1974 and is expected to operate until 1992. This paper discusses the scientific objectives of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter Project components, i.e., the Orbiter spacecraft, the atmosphere entry Probes, and the probe Bus, together with the design and operation characteristics of the Orbiter. Consideration is also given to the science instruments of the Orbiter, to their requirements with respect to pointing, orientation, and timing, and to the ground operations system. The Probes, the Bus, and the Orbiter were selected to study Venus in complementary ways: the Probes by sounding through most of the atmosphere at four locations, the probe Bus by sounding through the upper atmosphere during entry, and the Orbiter by in situ planet-wide observations of the ionosphere and the extreme upper atmosphere, and by examining the surface and interior remotely. In addition, the Orbiter also observes the interactions of Venus with the solar environment.

Jackson, Robert W.↗

Parallel algorithm for determining motion vectors in ice floe images by matching edge features

A parallel algorithm is described to determine motion vectors of ice floes using time sequences of images of the Arctic ocean obtained from the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument flown on-board the SEASAT spacecraft. Researchers describe a parallel algorithm which is implemented on the MPP for locating corresponding objects based on their translationally and rotationally invariant features. The algorithm first approximates the edges in the images by polygons or sets of connected straight-line segments. Each such edge structure is then reduced to a seed point. Associated with each seed point are the descriptions (lengths, orientations and sequence numbers) of the lines constituting the corresponding edge structure. A parallel matching algorithm is used to match packed arrays of such descriptions to identify corresponding seed points in the two images. The matching algorithm is designed such that fragmentation and merging of ice floes are taken into account by accepting partial matches. The technique has been demonstrated to work on synthetic test patterns and real image pairs from SEASAT in times ranging from .5 to 0.7 seconds for 128 x 128 images.

Manohar, M.↗

A walk through the planned CS building

Using the architectural plan views of our future computer science building as test objects, we have completed the first stage of a Building walkthrough system. The inputs to our system are AutoCAD files. An AutoCAD converter translates the geometrical information in these files into a format suitable for 3D rendering. Major model errors, such as incorrect polygon intersections and random face orientations, are detected and fixed automatically. Interactive viewing and editing tools are provided to view the results, to modify and clean the model and to change surface attributes. Our display system provides a simple-to-use user interface for interactive exploration of buildings. Using only the mouse buttons, the user can move inside and outside the building and change floors. Several viewing and rendering options are provided, such as restricting the viewing frustum, avoiding wall collisions, and selecting different rendering algorithms. A plan view of the current floor, with the position of the eye point and viewing direction on it, is displayed at all times. The scene illumination can be manipulated, by interactively controlling intensity values for 5 light sources.

Khorramabadi, Delnaz↗

Measurement and characterization of force dynamics in high T(sub c) superconductors

Magnetic bearing implementations using more exotic superconducting phenomena have been proliferating in recent years because they have important advantages over conventional implementations. For example, the stable suspension of a six degrees-of-freedom object by superconducting means can be achieved without a control system and with the use of only a single superconductor. It follows that the construction becomes much simpler with decreased need for position sensors and stabilizers. However, it is recognized that the design of superconducting systems can be difficult because important characteristics relating to the 6 degree-of-freedom dynamics of an object suspended magnetically are not readily available and the underlying principles of superconducting phenomena are not yet completely understood. To eliminate some of the guesswork in the design process, this paper proposes a system which can resolve the mechanical properties of suspension by superconductivity and provide position and orientation dependent data about the system's damping, stiffness, and frequency response characteristics. This system employs an actively-controlled magnetically-suspended fine-motion device that can also be used as a six degree-of-freedom force sensor. By attaching the force sensor to a permanent magnet that is being levitated above a superconducting magnet, mechanical characteristics of the superconductor levitation can be extracted. Such information would prove useful for checking the validity of theoretical models and may even give insights into superconducting phenomena.

Higuchi, Toshiro↗

Growth and Characterization of Silicon-Carbide Hetero-Polytype Structures

Films discussed in this repok were deposited at NASA Glenn Research Center on on- orientation 4H-Sic substrates. Substrates were patterned in order to form mesa structures of different shapes and sizes. The nominal thickness of the 3C-Sic film was approximately 10 microns although the thickness could change considerably between defect-free and defected mesa structures. The primary objective was to identify defect structures in defect-free mesas and in particular determine the degree and mode of strain relaxation in 3C films with thickness exceeding critical thickness.

Skowronski, Marek↗

Why an Eye Limiting Display Resolution Matters

Many factors affect the suitability of an out-the-window simulator visual system. Contrast, brightness, resolution, field-of-view, update rate, scene content and a number of other criteria are common factors often used to define requirements for simulator visual systems. For the past 7 years, NASA has worked with the USAF on the Operational Based Vision Assessment Program. The purpose of this program has been to provide the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine with a scientific testing laboratory to study human vision and testing standards in an operationally relevant environment. It was determined early in the design that current commercial and military training systems wern't well suited for the available budget as well as the highly research oriented requirements. During various design review meetings, it was determined the OBVA requirements were best met by using commercial-off-the-shelf equipment to minimize technical risk and costs. In this paper we will describe how the simulator specifications were developed in order to meet the research objectives and the resulting architecture and design considerations. In particular we will discuss the image generator architecture and database developments to meet eye limited resolution.

Kato, Kenji Hiroshi↗

Why an Eye Limiting Display Resolution Matters and How to Achieve It

Many factors affect the suitability of an out-the-window simulator visual system. Contrast, brightness, resolution, field-of-view, update rate, scene content and a number of other criteria are common factors often used to define requirements for simulator visual systems. Since 2008, NASA has worked with the USAF on the Operational Based Vision Assessment Program. The purpose of this program has been to provide the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine with a scientific testing laboratory to study human vision and testing standards in an operationally relevant environment. It was determined early in the design that current commercial and military training systems weren't well suited for the available budget as well as the highly research oriented requirements. During various design review meetings, it was determined the OBVA requirements were best met by using commercial-off-the-shelf equipment to minimize technical risk and costs. In this paper we will describe how the simulator specifications were developed in order to meet the research objectives and the resulting architecture and design considerations. In particular we will discuss the image generator architecture, database developments to meet eye limited resolution, and future reusablity in other projects.

flight simulator↗

The Vestibular System and Human Dynamic Space Orientation

The motion sensors of the vestibular system are studied to determine their role in human dynamic space orientation and manual vehicle control. The investigation yielded control models for the sensors, descriptions of the subsystems for eye stabilization, and demonstrations of the effects of motion cues on closed loop manual control. Experiments on the abilities of subjects to perceive a variety of linear motions provided data on the dynamic characteristics of the otoliths, the linear motion sensors. Angular acceleration threshold measurements supplemented knowledge of the semicircular canals, the angular motion sensors. Mathematical models are presented to describe the known control characteristics of the vestibular sensors, relating subjective perception of motion to objective motion of a vehicle. The vestibular system, the neck rotation proprioceptors and the visual system form part of the control system which maintains the eye stationary relative to a target or a reference. The contribution of each of these systems was identified through experiments involving head and body rotations about a vertical axis. Compensatory eye movements in response to neck rotation were demonstrated and their dynamic characteristics described by a lag-lead model. The eye motions attributable to neck rotations and vestibular stimulation obey superposition when both systems are active. Human operator compensatory tracking is investigated in simple vehicle orientation control system with stable and unstable controlled elements. Control of vehicle orientation to a reference is simulated in three modes: visual, motion and combined. Motion cues sensed by the vestibular system through tactile sensation enable the operator to generate more lead compensation than in fixed base simulation with only visual input. The tracking performance of the human in an unstable control system near the limits of controllability is shown to depend heavily upon the rate information provided by the vestibular sensors.

VESTIBULAR APPARATUS↗

Impact and mitigation of angular uncertainties in Bragg coherent x-ray diffraction imaging

Bragg coherent diffraction imaging (BCDI) is a powerful technique to explore the local strain state and morphology of microscale crystals. The method can potentially reach nanometer-scale spatial resolution thanks to the advances in synchrotron design that dramatically increase coherent flux. However, there are experimental bottlenecks that may limit the image reconstruction quality from future high signal-to-noise ratio measurements. In this work we show that angular uncertainty of the sample orientation with respect to a fixed incoming beam is one example of such a factor, and we present a method to mitigate the resulting artifacts. On the basis of an alternative formulation of the forward problem, we design a phase retrieval algorithm which enables the simultaneous reconstruction of the object and determination of the exact angular position corresponding to each diffraction pattern in the data set. We have tested the algorithm performance on simulated data for different degrees of angular uncertainty and signal-to-noise ratio.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Gyroscopic stimulation of the semicircular canals during sensory deprivation.

A static object revolving at a constant velocity is stationary with respect to that environment. When the object is rotated outside the plane of spin, a gyroscopic or cross-coupled acceleration is produced orthogonal to the two planes of rotation. In this situation, a man feels himself moving in a direction other than that which his visual or proprioceptive sensors perceive. The conflict in spatial orientation is the cross-coupled acceleration imposed on the semicircular canals. This perceptual conflict and the thresholds involved were studied by partial isolation of the physiological stimuli through sensory deprivation. Subjects weighted to neutral buoyancy were submerged in 94 F water in the dark. The subjects were then rotated while being revolved about a displaced axis. Thresholds for detection of angular acceleration were higher than those reported in the literature for detection of acceleration of a single plane. This discrepancy may be attributable to the length of time the stimuli are imposed to each of the canals and the cupular response periods.

Newsom, B. D.↗

Weather assessment and forecasting

Data management program activities centered around the analyses of selected far-term Office of Applications (OA) objectives, with the intent of determining if significant data-related problems would be encountered and if so what alternative solutions would be possible. Three far-term (1985 and beyond) OA objectives selected for analyses as having potential significant data problems were large-scale weather forecasting, local weather and severe storms forecasting, and global marine weather forecasting. An overview of general weather forecasting activities and their implications upon the ground based data system is provided. Selected topics were specifically oriented to the use of satellites.

Source record↗

The project EGRET (Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope) on NASA's Gamma-Ray Observatory (GRO)

The design, predicted performance, and scientific objectives of the 20-30,000-MeV gamma-ray telescope EGRET for the NASA GRO spacecraft (scheduled for Space Shuttle launch to a 450-km 28.5-deg orbit in 1990) are reviewed. The other GRO instruments are briefly characterized, including the burst and transient-source experiment, the oriented scintillation spectrometer, and the imaging Compton telescope. EGRET comprises an anticoincidence system, a spark chamber, a triggering telescope, an NaI total-absorption spectrometer, a gas supply capable of refilling the chamber four times, and support electronics. EGRET will operate with energy resolution about 15 percent, effective area about 2000 sq cm, sensitivity about 5 x 10 to the -8th/sq cm sec, angular resolution 0.1-0.4 deg, and FOV about 40 deg FWHM. Observations of Galactic point sources, Galactic and extragalactic diffuse emission, gamma-ray bursts, and solar flares are planned.

Kanbach, G.↗

Effects of space environment on space-based radar phased-array antenna: Status and preliminary observations

The overall objective is to evaluate the effect of the space environment on Kapton films considered for the Grumman space based radar (SBR) phased-array antenna. The most striking result is the overall good condition of the Kapton antenna planes and Kapton tensile specimens. This is largely attributable to the orientation of the Kapton (parallel and flush on the space end) and the stability of the LDEF in orbit. Results on elongation and mechanical properties of the plain and fiberglass reinforced Kapton will be described. Stress-dependent permanent deformation and some reductions in strain to failure were observed. Physical property testing of the materials is in progress. Electronic data acquisition and memory systems appeared to operate correctly, but functional tests were not yet performed. An evaluation of the high voltage-plasma interaction data is underway. Some minor systems anomalies (e.g., fastener sheared during removal, strong odor inside electronics container) were noted. Other observations such as radiation, contamination, impacts, and orientation features of atomic oxygen erosion are reported.

Whiteside, J. B.↗

A strategy to rotate the Mars Observer orbit node line to advance the mapping schedule

The Mars Observer (MO) spacecraft was successfully launched on September 25, 1992 and will arrive at Mars on August 24, 1993. At Mars, the spacecraft will study the planet's surface, atmosphere, and gravitational and magnetic fields. In order to achieve these scientific objectives, MO will be placed in a 2 PM (descending node) sun-synchronous orbit. Upon arrival at Mars, however, the longitude of the descending node will be approximately 15 deg greater than the desired value. The baseline plan requires a 59 day `waiting' period for the correct solar orientation to occur. During this period, 28 days are required for scientific experimentation but the remaining 30.6 days potentially could be eliminated. The strategy developed in this study examined the possibility of using any `excess' Delta-V available at Mars arrival to rotate the node line to the desired value and thus allow mapping to begin earlier. A preliminary analysis completed prior to launch is described that examined the entire launch period including the required Delta-V to perform the needed nodal rotation. A more detailed study performed after launch is also summarized.

Pernicka, Henry J.↗

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