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NASA NTRS2011

Extravehicular Activity Systems Education and Public Outreach in Support of NASA's STEM Initiatives in Fiscal Year 2011

NASA's goals to send humans beyond low Earth orbit will involve the need for a strong engineering workforce. Research indicates that student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas is on the decline. According to the Department of Education, the United States President has mandated that 100,000 educators be trained in STEM over the next decade to reduce this trend. NASA has aligned its Education and Public Outreach (EPO) initiatives to include emphasis in promoting STEM. The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Systems Project Office at the NASA Johnson Space Center actively supports this NASA initiative by providing subject matter experts and hands-on, interactive presentations to educate students, educators, and the general public about the design challenges encountered as NASA develops EVA hardware for exploration missions. This paper summarizes the EVA Systems EPO efforts and metrics from fiscal year 2011.

Paul, Heather L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

ISS Has an Attitude! Determining ISS Attitude at the ISS Window Observational Research Facility (WORF) Using Landmarks

Universities and secondary schools can help solve a real issue for remote sensing from the ISS WORF through hands-on engineering and activities. Remote sensing technology is providing scientists with higher resolution, higher sensitivity sensors. Where is it pointing? - To take full advantage of these improved sensors, space platforms must provide commensurate improvements in attitude determination

Runco, Susan K.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Spontaneous Raman Scattering Diagnostics: Applications in Practical Combustion Systems

In this chapter, the recent advancements and practical aspects of laser SRS diagnostics have been reviewed wi til regards to applications in practical combustion systems. Clearly, SRS represents a theoretically and experimentally mature diagnostic technology that has become an essential tool for multiscalar measurements in turbulent combustion at elevated pressures. Today, time-, space-, spectrally, and even polarization-resolved S RS diagnostics is at hand, with aid from recent innovations in theoretical and technological developments on electro-optical or electromechanical devices. Whilst a linear increase in SRS signals can be expected in high-pressure systems (this is perhaps one of the most important advantages for using SRS in high-pressure systems), there are practical (often severe) restrictions associated with pressurized vessels, due mainly to the limited degree of optical access. This narrows ti,e available choice of diagnostics that can be employed at any given time. Point-wise SRS diagnostics provides the highest accuracy on the chemical species and temperature measurements, and will continue to remain a vital approach for the study in such harsh environments. The practical design considerations and hands-on set-up guide for SRS diagnostics provided in this chapter are rarely presented elsewhere. Although the second-harmonic Nd:YAG pulsed laser (532 nm), combined with pulse-stretching optics or the recently introduced White Cell-based laser, seems to be the most favored excitation source of choice by the research community, UV excitation will undoubtedly continue to be used on many occasions, and especially in sooting flames. Detection methods may be divided into ICCD-based nanosecond-gate detection or a rotary-chopper electromechanical shutter-based CCD array detection, and the levels of background flame emission in individual cases would determine this critical design choice. Here, a process of Raman signal calibration based on ti,e crosstalk matrix formalism was explained step-by-step. As tI,is process may be very time-consuming and expensive, a well-planned experimental approach (01' building a transferable calibration database or library (at least with in a user's own facility over a series of different testing and runs) is vitally important. Hands on advice on the design and construction of flow control systems for high pressure burner facilities were also presented.

Kojima, Jun↗
NASA NTRS2012

Extravehicular Activity Systems Education and Public Outreach in Support of NASA's STEM Initiatives in Fiscal Year 2011

NASA's goals to send humans beyond low Earth orbit will involve the need for a strong engineering workforce. Research indicates that student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas is on the decline. According to the Department of Education, the United States President has mandated that 100,000 educators be trained in STEM over the next decade to reduce this trend. NASA has aligned its Education and Public Outreach (EPO) initiatives to include emphasis in promoting STEM. The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Systems Project Office at the NASA Johnson Space Center actively supports this NASA initiative by providing subject matter experts and hands-on, interactive presentations to educate students, educators, and the general public about the design challenges encountered as NASA develops EVA hardware for exploration missions. This paper summarizes the EVA Systems EPO efforts and metrics from fiscal year 2011.

Paul, Heather↗
NASA NTRS2011

Post-Fragmentation Whole Genome Amplification-Based Method

This innovation is derived from a proprietary amplification scheme that is based upon random fragmentation of the genome into a series of short, overlapping templates. The resulting shorter DNA strands (<400 bp) constitute a library of DNA fragments with defined 3 and 5 termini. Specific primers to these termini are then used to isothermally amplify this library into potentially unlimited quantities that can be used immediately for multiple downstream applications including gel eletrophoresis, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR), comparative genomic hybridization microarray, SNP analysis, and sequencing. The standard reaction can be performed with minimal hands-on time, and can produce amplified DNA in as little as three hours. Post-fragmentation whole genome amplification-based technology provides a robust and accurate method of amplifying femtogram levels of starting material into microgram yields with no detectable allele bias. The amplified DNA also facilitates the preservation of samples (spacecraft samples) by amplifying scarce amounts of template DNA into microgram concentrations in just a few hours. Based on further optimization of this technology, this could be a feasible technology to use in sample preservation for potential future sample return missions. The research and technology development described here can be pivotal in dealing with backward/forward biological contamination from planetary missions. Such efforts rely heavily on an increasing understanding of the burden and diversity of microorganisms present on spacecraft surfaces throughout assembly and testing. The development and implementation of these technologies could significantly improve the comprehensiveness and resolving power of spacecraft-associated microbial population censuses, and are important to the continued evolution and advancement of planetary protection capabilities. Current molecular procedures for assaying spacecraft-associated microbial burden and diversity have inherent sample loss issues at practically every step, particularly nucleic acid extraction. In engineering a molecular means of amplifying nucleic acids directly from single cells in their native state within the sample matrix, this innovation has circumvented entirely the need for DNA extraction regimes in the sample processing scheme.

Benardini, James↗
NASA NTRS2012

Materials and Process Activities for NASA's Composite Crew Module

In January 2007, the NASA Administrator and Associate Administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate chartered the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) to design, build, and test a full-scale Composite Crew Module (CCM). The overall goal of the CCM project was to develop a team from the NASA family with hands-on experience in composite design, manufacturing, and testing in anticipation of future space exploration systems being made of composite materials. The CCM project was planned to run concurrently with the Orion project s baseline metallic design within the Constellation Program so that features could be compared and discussed without inducing risk to the overall Program. The materials and process activities were prioritized based on a rapid prototype approach. This approach focused developmental activities on design details with greater risk and uncertainty, such as out-of-autoclave joining, over some of the more traditional lamina and laminate building block levels. While process development and associated building block testing were performed, several anomalies were still observed at the full-scale level due to interactions between process robustness and manufacturing scale-up. This paper describes the process anomalies that were encountered during the CCM development and the subsequent root cause investigations that led to the final design solutions. These investigations highlight the importance of full-scale developmental work early in the schedule of a complex composite design/build project.

Polis, Daniel L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Integrating Efficiency of Industry Processes and Practices Alongside Technology Effectiveness in Space Transportation Cost Modeling and Analysis

This paper presents past and current work in dealing with indirect industry and NASA costs when providing cost estimation or analysis for NASA projects and programs. Indirect costs, when defined as those costs in a project removed from the actual hardware or software hands-on labor; makes up most of the costs of today's complex large scale NASA space/industry projects. This appears to be the case across phases from research into development into production and into the operation of the system. Space transportation is the case of interest here. Modeling and cost estimation as a process rather than a product will be emphasized. Analysis as a series of belief systems in play among decision makers and decision factors will also be emphasized to provide context.

Zapata, Edgar↗
NASA NTRS2012

Design and Implementation of a Lunar Communications Satellite and Server for the 2012 SISO Smackdown

Last year, the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) inaugurated the now annual High Level Architecture (HLA) Smackdown at the Spring Simulation Interoperability Workshop (SIW). A primary objective of the Smackdown event is to provide college students with hands-on experience in the High Level Architecture (HLA). The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAHuntsville) fielded teams in 2011 and 2012. Both the 2011 and 2012 smackdown scenarios were a lunar resupply mission. The 2012 UAHuntsville fielded four federates: a communications network Federate called Lunar Communications and Navigation Satellite Service (LCANServ) for sending and receiving messages, a Lunar Satellite Constellation (LCANSat) to put in place radios needed by the communications network for Line-Of-Sight communication calculations, and 3D graphical displays of the orbiting satellites and a 3D visualization of the lunar surface activities. This paper concentrates on the first two federates by describing the functions, algorithms, the modular FOM, experiences, lessons learned and recommendations for future Smackdown events.

Bulgatz, Dennis↗
NASA NTRS2012

Three Dimensional Computer Graphics Federates for the 2012 Smackdown Simulation

The Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Smackdown is a two-year old annual event held at the 2012 Spring Simulation Interoperability Workshop (SIW). A primary objective of the Smackdown event is to provide college students with hands-on experience in developing distributed simulations using High Level Architecture (HLA). Participating for the second time, the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAHuntsville) deployed four federates, two federates simulated a communications server and a lunar communications satellite with a radio. The other two federates generated 3D computer graphics displays for the communication satellite constellation and for the surface based lunar resupply mission. Using the Light-Weight Java Graphics Library, the satellite display federate presented a lunar-texture mapped sphere of the moon and four Telemetry Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), which received object attributes from the lunar communications satellite federate to drive their motion. The surface mission display federate was an enhanced version of the federate developed by ForwardSim, Inc. for the 2011 Smackdown simulation. Enhancements included a dead-reckoning algorithm and a visual indication of which communication satellite was in line of sight of Hadley Rille. This paper concentrates on these two federates by describing the functions, algorithms, HLA object attributes received from other federates, development experiences and recommendations for future, participating Smackdown teams.

Fordyce, Crystal↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA Resources for Educators and Public

A variety of NASA Classroom Activities, Educator Guides, Lithographs, Posters and more are available to Pre ]service and In ]service Educators through Professional Development Workshops. We are here for you to engage, demonstrate, and facilitate the use of educational technologies, the NASA Website, NASA Education Homepage and more! We are here for you to inspire you by providing in-service and pre- service training utilizing NASA curriculum support products. We are here for you to partner with your local, state, and regional educational organizations to better educate ALL! NASA AESP specialists are experienced professional educators, current on education issues and familiar with the curriculum frameworks, educational standards, and systemic architecture of the states they service. These specialists provide engaging and inspiring student presentations and teacher training right at YOUR school at no cost to you! Experience free out-of-this-world interactive learning with NASA's Digital Learning Network. Students of all ages can participate in LIVE events with NASA Experts and Education Specialists. The Exploration Station provides NASA educational programs that introduce the application of Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics, to students. Students participate in a variety of hands-on activities that compliment related topics taught by the classroom teacher. NASA KSC ERC can create Professional Development Workshops for teachers in groups of fifteen or more. Education/Information Specialists also assist educators in developing lessons to meet Sunshine State and national curriculum standards.

Morales, Lester↗
NASA NTRS2012

Gravity-Assist Mechanical Simulator for Outreach

There is no convenient way to demonstrate mechanically, as an outreach (or inreach) topic, the angular momentum trade-offs and the conservation of angular momentum associated with gravityassist interplanetary trajectories. The mechanical concepts that underlie gravity assist are often misunderstood or confused, possibly because there is no mechanical analog to it in everyday experience. The Gravity Assist Mech - anical Simulator is a hands-on solution to this longstanding technical communications challenge. Users intuitively grasp the concepts, meeting specific educational objectives. A manually spun wheel with high angular mass and low-friction bearings supplies momentum to an attached spherical neodymium magnet that represents a planet orbiting the Sun. A steel bearing ball following a trajectory across a glass plate above the wheel and magnet undergoes an elastic collision with the revolving magnet, illustrating the gravitational elastic collision between spacecraft and planet on a gravity-assist interplanetary trajectory. Manually supplying the angular momentum for the elastic collision, rather than observing an animation, intuitively conveys the concepts, meeting nine specific educational objectives. Many NASA and JPL interplanetary missions are enabled by the gravity-assist technique.

Doody, David F.↗
NASA NTRS2008

ESMD Space Grant Faculty Report

The strength of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate ESMD Faculty Project lies in its ability to meet National Aeronautics Space Administration NASA's Strategic Educational Outcome 1 by developing a sustainable and long-term integration of student involvement at academic institutions with all NASA Centers. This outcome is achieved by a three-fold approach: 1) by collecting Senior Design projects pertaining to Constellation work performed at each of the ten NASA Centers, 2) by engaging students at Minority Serving Institutions in the art of systems engineering and systems design of technologies required for space exploration, and 3) by identifying potential internships at each Center relative to exploration that provide students who are supported by their institutional Space Grant to engage in on-going mission-level and explorative systems designs. The objectives of the ESMD Faculty Project are to: 1. Aid the Centers (both Education Offices and associated technical organizations) in providing relevant opportunities for the ESMD Space Grant Program to support student and faculty in Senior Design projects 2. Enable better matches between the ESMD work required and what the Space Grant Consortia can do to effectively contribute to NASA programs 3. Provide the Space Grant Consortia an opportunity to strengthen relations with the NASA Centers 4. Develop better collective understanding of the U.S. Space Exploration Policy by the Center, Space Grant, faculty, Education Office, and students 5. Enable Space Grant institution faculty to better prepare their students to meet current and future NASA needs 6. Enable the Center Education Offices to strengthen their ties to their technical organizations and Space Grant Consortia 7. Aid KSC in gaining a greater and more detailed understanding of each of the Center activities Senior Design projects are intended to stimulate undergraduate students on current NASA activities related to lunar, Mars, and other planetary missions and to bring out innovative and novel ideas that can be used to complement those currently under development at respective NASA Centers. Additionally, such academic involvement would better the prospects for graduating seniors to pursue graduate studies and to seek careers in the space industry with a strong sense for systems engineering and understanding of design concepts. Internships, on the other hand, are intended to provide hands-on experience to students by engaging them in diverse state-of-the-art technology development, prototype bread-boarding, computer modeling and simulations, hardware and software testing, and other activities that provide students a strong perspective of NASA's vision and mission in enhancing the knowledge of Earth and space planetary sciences. Ten faculty members, each from a Space Grant Consortium-affiliated university, worked at ten NASA Centers for five weeks between June 2 and July 3, 2008. The project objectives listed above were achieved. In addition to collecting data on Senior Design ideas and identifying possible internships that would benefit NASA/ESMD, the faculty fellows promoted and collected data when required for other ESMD-funded programs and helped the Center's Education Office, as,needed. 4

Guo, Jiang↗
NASA NTRS2012

JPL Innovation Foundry

NASA supports the community of mission principal investigators by helping them ideate, mature, and propose concepts for new missions. As NASA's Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), JPL is a primary resource for providing this service. The environmental context for the formulation lifecycle evolves continuously. Contemporary trends include: more competitors; more-complex mission ideas; scarcer formulation resources; and higher standards for technical evaluation. Derived requirements for formulation support include: stable, clear, reliable methods tailored for each stage of the formulation lifecycle; on-demand access to standout technical and programmatic subject-matter experts; optimized, outfitted facilities; smart access to learning embodied in a vast oeuvre of prior formulation work; hands-on method coaching. JPL has retooled its provision of integrated formulation lifecycle support to PIs, teams, and program offices in response to this need. This mission formulation enterprise is the JPL Innovation Foundry.

foundry↗
NASA NTRS2007

C++ Programming Language

C++ Programming Language: The C++ seminar covers the fundamentals of C++ programming language. The C++ fundamentals are grouped into three parts where each part includes both concept and programming examples aimed at for hands-on practice. The first part covers the functional aspect of C++ programming language with emphasis on function parameters and efficient memory utilization. The second part covers the essential framework of C++ programming language, the object-oriented aspects. Information necessary to evaluate various features of object-oriented programming; including encapsulation, polymorphism and inheritance will be discussed. The last part of the seminar covers template and generic programming. Examples include both user defined and standard templates.

Shaykhian, Gholam Ali↗
NASA NTRS2012

RESOLVE Project

The RESOLVE project is a lunar prospecting mission whose primary goal is to characterize water and other volatiles in lunar regolith. The Lunar Advanced Volatiles Analysis (LAVA) subsystem is comprised of a fluid subsystem that transports flow to the gas chromatograph- mass spectrometer (GC-MS) instruments that characterize volatiles and the Water Droplet Demonstration (WDD) that will capture and display water condensation in the gas stream. The LAVA Engineering Test Unit (ETU) is undergoing risk reduction testing this summer and fall within a vacuum chamber to understand and characterize C!Jmponent and integrated system performance. Ray will be assisting with component testing of line heaters, printed circuit heaters, pressure transducers, temperature sensors, regulators, and valves in atmospheric and vacuum environments. He will be developing procedures to guide these tests and test reports to analyze and draw conclusions from the data. In addition, he will gain experience with preparing a vacuum chamber with fluid and electrical connections. Further testing will include integrated testing of the fluid subsystem with the gas supply system, near-infrared spectrometer, WDD, Sample Delivery System, and GC-MS in the vacuum chamber. This testing will provide hands-on exposure to a flight forward spaceflight subsystem, the processes associated with testing equipment in a vacuum chamber, and experience working in a laboratory setting. Examples of specific analysis Ray will conduct include: pneumatic analysis to calculate the WOO's efficiency at extracting water vapor from the gas stream to form condensation; thermal analysis of the conduction and radiation along a line connecting two thermal masses; and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) heater control analysis. In this Research and Technology environment, Ray will be asked to problem solve real-time as issues arise. Since LAVA is a scientific subsystem, Ray will be utilizing his chemical engineering background to operate the near-infrared spectrometer and GC-MS instruments during ETU testing. Ray will be working with Modified Commercial off the Shelf (MCOTS) instruments and characterizing their analytical behavior for optimization. Ray will be offered the opportunity to suggest testing modifications or configuration changes at any time to improve the experimental effectiveness. He will gain many skills needed for working in a technical team setting requiring flexibility and critical thinking.

Parker, Ray O.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Mobile and Web Game Development: Using Videogames as an Educational and Outreach Tool

Few tools reach out to capture the imagination and interests of children like video games do. As such, the development of educational applications that foster young minds' interest in science and technology become of the utmost importance. To this end, I spent my summer internship developing outreach and educational applications in conjunction with JPL's Space Place team. This small, but dedicated, team of people manages three NASA websites that focus on presenting science and technology information in such a manner that young children can understand it and develop an interest in the subjects. Besides the websites, with their plethora of educational content presented through hands-on activities, games and informative articles, the team also creates and coordinates the distribution of printed material to museums, astronomy clubs and a huge network of educators.

NASA's Space Place↗
NASA NTRS2008

Bridging the Generation Gap: A Rapid Early Career Hire Training Program

This paper describes a training program to provide Early Career Hires (ECHs) in the aerospace industry with real, rapid, hands-on exposure to multiple phases and multiple disciplines of flight project development. Such a program has become necessary to close the Generation Gap and ensure that aerospace organizations maintain a highly skilled workforce as experienced personnel begin to retire. This paper discusses the specific motivations for and implementation of such a program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. However, the essential features are widely applicable to other NASA centers and organizations delivering large llight systems. This paper details the overall program concept, stages of participation by an ECH, oversight and mentoring, program assessment, training project selection, and facilities requirements.

Workforce↗
NASA NTRS2008

Designing the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage Element and Integrating the Stack at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

Fielding an integrated launch vehicle system entails many challenges, not the least of which is the fact that it has been over 30 years since the United States has developed a human-rated vehicle - the venerable Space Shuttle. Over time, whole generations of rocket scientists have passed through the aerospace community without the opportunity to perform such exacting, demanding, and rewarding work. However, with almost 50 years of experience leading the design, development, and end-to-end systems engineering and integration of complex launch vehicles, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Marshall Space Flight Center offers the in-house talent - both junior- and senior-level personnel - to shape a new national asset to meet the requirements for safe, reliable, and affordable space exploration solutions. The technical personnel are housed primarily in Marshall's Engineering Directorate and are matrixed into the programs and projects that reside at the rocket center. Fortunately, many Apollo-era and Shuttle engineers, as well as those who gained valuable hands-on experience in the 1990s by conducting technology demonstrator projects such as the Delta-Clipper Experimental Advanced, X-33, X-34, and X-37, as well as the short-lived Orbital Space Plane, work closely with industry partners to advance the nation's strategic capability for human access to space. The Ares Projects Office, resident at Marshall, is managing the design and development of America's new space fleet, including the Ares I, which will loft the Orion crew capsule for its first test flight in the 2013 timeframe, as well as the heavy-lift Ares V, which will round out the capability to leave low-Earth orbit once again, when it delivers the Altair lunar lander to orbit late next decade. This paper provides information about the approach to integrating the Ares I stack and designing the upper stage in house, using unique facilities and an expert workforce to revitalize the nation's space exploration resources.

Otte, Neil E.↗