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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

Landsat-7 Mission and Early Results

The Landsat-7 mission has the goal of acquiring annual data sets of reflective band digital imagery of the landmass of the Earth at a spatial resolution of 30 meters for a period of five years using the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) imager on the Landsat-7 satellite. The satellite was launched on April 15, 1999. The mission builds on the 27-year continuous archive of thematic images of the Earth from previous Landsat satellites. This paper will describe the ETM+ instrument, the spacecraft, and the ground processing system in place to accomplish the mission. Results from the first few months in orbit will be given, with emphasis on performance parameters that affect image quality, quantity, and availability. There will also be a discussion of the Landsat Data Policy and the user interface designed to make contents of the archive readily available, expedite ordering, and distribute the data quickly. Landsat-7, established by a Presidential Directive and a Public Law, is a joint program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Science Enterprise and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observing System (EROS) Data Center.

Dolan, S. Kenneth↗
NASA NTRS2001

Online Learning Flight Control for Intelligent Flight Control Systems (IFCS)

The research accomplishments for the cooperative agreement 'Online Learning Flight Control for Intelligent Flight Control Systems (IFCS)' include the following: (1) previous IFC program data collection and analysis; (2) IFC program support site (configured IFC systems support network, configured Tornado/VxWorks OS development system, made Configuration and Documentation Management Systems Internet accessible); (3) Airborne Research Test Systems (ARTS) II Hardware (developed hardware requirements specification, developing environmental testing requirements, hardware design, and hardware design development); (4) ARTS II software development laboratory unit (procurement of lab style hardware, configured lab style hardware, and designed interface module equivalent to ARTS II faceplate); (5) program support documentation (developed software development plan, configuration management plan, and software verification and validation plan); (6) LWR algorithm analysis (performed timing and profiling on algorithm); (7) pre-trained neural network analysis; (8) Dynamic Cell Structures (DCS) Neural Network Analysis (performing timing and profiling on algorithm); and (9) conducted technical interchange and quarterly meetings to define IFC research goals.

Niewoehner, Kevin R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Compact, Stiff, Remotely-Actuable Quick-Release Clamp

The present invention provides a clamp that is compact and lightweight, yet provides high holding strength and stiffness or rigidity. The clamp uses a unique double slant interface design which provides mechanical advantages to resist forces applied to the clamp member as the load increases. The clamp allows for rapid and remote-activated release of the clamp jaws by applying only a small operating force to an over-center lock/release mechanism, such as by pulling a manual tether.

Tsai, Ted W.↗
NASA NTRS1994

What to Do Until the Money Runs Out: A Refinement Framework for Cognitive Engineering in the Real World

A case study is presented to illustrate some of the problems of applying cognitive science to complex human-machine systems. Disregard for facts about human cognition often undermines the safety, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of complex systems. Yet single-point methods (for example, better user-interface design), whether rooted in computer science or in experimental psychology, fall far short of addressing systems-level problems in a timely way using realistic resources. A model-based methodology is proposed for organizing and prioritizing the cognitive engineering effort, focusing appropriate expertise on major problems first, then moving to more sophisticated refinements if time and resources permit. This case study is based on a collaborative effort between the Human Factors Division at NASA-Ames and the Spaceborne Imaging Radar SIR-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) Project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California institute of Technology. The first SIR-C/X-SAR Shuttle mission flew successfully in April, 1994. A series of such missions is planned to provide radar data to study Earth's ecosystems, climatic and geological processes, hydrologic cycle, and ocean circulation. In addition to JPL and NASA personnel, the SIR-C/X-SAR operations team included Scientists and engineers from the German and Italian space agencies.

Shafto, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRS1998

A Conceptual Framework for Predicting Error in Complex Human-Machine Environments

We present a Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection Rules-Model Human Processor (GOMS-MHP) style model-based approach to the problem of predicting human habit capture errors. Habit captures occur when the model fails to allocate limited cognitive resources to retrieve task-relevant information from memory. Lacking the unretrieved information, decision mechanisms act in accordance with implicit default assumptions, resulting in error when relied upon assumptions prove incorrect. The model helps interface designers identify situations in which such failures are especially likely.

Freed, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2006

Human Factors Lessons Learned on the International Space Station

Experience on International Space Station (ISS) provides many important lessons for future space flight. NASA human factors engineers have been systematically collecting lessons learned from crew debriefs, as well as working with ground support teams to continuously improve crew operations. This paper describes the methods for collecting data from debriefs, lessons learned through that process, and an example of a technology development task funded through the Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) program element in response to an identified operational need. Each ISS increment crew spends many hours after the flight answering questions from the various subsystem leads. The Flight Crew Integration subsystem lead asks questions specific to human factors and habitability issues. In addition, crew comments on many other subsystems provide insight into interface designs, operability and maintainability. The debrief comments are unique to each crew, and must be categorized to provide operational lessons learned. Personal identifiers are removed and comments aggregated to separate consistent issues from personal preferences. Examples will be given, and the procedure for incorporating the lessons into requirements and guidelines for the next human space vehicle will be described. In flight, very few astronauts are medical doctors. Written medical procedures during flight need to be easy to follow and quick to understand. The problem was analyzed as part of a SHFE task. Organization was analyzed and reorganizations were created and tested. Results will be reported. The ISS is a very important analog for planning future long-term missions. Collection of data from debriefs, studying the lessons learned and focusing on requirements for future missions are examples of the accomplishments through the SHFE program.

Woolford, Barbara↗
NASA NTRS2006

ISHM Decision Analysis Tool: Operations Concept

The state-of-the-practice Shuttle caution and warning system warns the crew of conditions that may create a hazard to orbiter operations and/or crew. Depending on the severity of the alarm, the crew is alerted with a combination of sirens, tones, annunciator lights, or fault messages. The combination of anomalies (and hence alarms) indicates the problem. Even with much training, determining what problem a particular combination represents is not trivial. In many situations, an automated diagnosis system can help the crew more easily determine an underlying root cause. Due to limitations of diagnosis systems,however, it is not always possible to explain a set of alarms with a single root cause. Rather, the system generates a set of hypotheses that the crew can select from. The ISHM Decision Analysis Tool (IDAT) assists with this task. It presents the crew relevant information that could help them resolve the ambiguity of multiple root causes and determine a method for mitigating the problem. IDAT follows graphical user interface design guidelines and incorporates a decision analysis system. I describe both of these aspects.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2006

Lunar Extravehicular Activity Program

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) has proven an invaluable tool for space exploration since the inception of the space program. There are situations in which the best means to evaluate, observe, explore and potentially troubleshoot space systems are accomplished by direct human intervention. EVA provides this unique capability. There are many aspects of the technology required to enable a "miniature spaceship" to support individuals in a hostile environment in order to accomplish these tasks. This includes not only the space suit assembly itself, but the tools, design interfaces of equipment on which EVA must work and the specific vehicles required to support transfer of humans between habitation areas and the external world. This lunar mission program will require EVA support in three primary areas. The first of these areas include Orbital stage EVA or micro-gravity EVA which includes both Low Earth Orbit (LEO), transfer and Lunar Orbit EVA. The second area is Lunar Lander EVA capability, which is lunar surface EVA and carries slightly different requirements from micro-gravity EVA. The third and final area is Lunar Habitat based surface EVA, which is the final system supporting a long-term presence on the moon.

Heartsill, Amy Ellison↗
NASA NTRS2008

Development and Application of an Integrated Approach toward NASA Airspace Systems Research

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Airspace Systems Program is contributing air traffic management research in support of the 2025 Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Contributions support research and development needs provided by the interagency Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO). These needs generally call for integrated technical solutions that improve system-level performance and work effectively across multiple domains and planning time horizons. In response, the Airspace Systems Program is pursuing an integrated research approach and has adapted systems engineering best practices for application in a research environment. Systems engineering methods aim to enable researchers to methodically compare different technical approaches, consider system-level performance, and develop compatible solutions. Systems engineering activities are performed iteratively as the research matures. Products of this approach include a demand and needs analysis, system-level descriptions focusing on NASA research contributions, system assessment and design studies, and common systemlevel metrics, scenarios, and assumptions. Results from the first systems engineering iteration include a preliminary demand and needs analysis; a functional modeling tool; and initial system-level metrics, scenario characteristics, and assumptions. Demand and needs analysis results suggest that several advanced concepts can mitigate demand/capacity imbalances for NextGen, but fall short of enabling three-times current-day capacity at the nation s busiest airports and airspace. Current activities are focusing on standardizing metrics, scenarios, and assumptions, conducting system-level performance assessments of integrated research solutions, and exploring key system design interfaces.

Barhydt, Richard↗
NASA NTRS2008

NASA Tech Briefs, June 2008

Topics covered include: Charge-Control Unit for Testing Lithium-Ion Cells; Measuring Positions of Objects Using Two or More Cameras; Lidar System for Airborne Measurement of Clouds and Aerosols; Radiation-Insensitive Inverse Majority Gates; Reduced-Order Kalman Filtering for Processing Relative Measurements; Spaceborne Processor Array; Instrumentation System Diagnoses a Thermocouple; Chromatic Modulator for a High-Resolution CCD or APS; Commercial Product Activation Using RFID; Cup Cylindrical Waveguide Antenna; Aerobraking Maneuver (ABM) Report Generator; ABM Drag_Pass Report Generator; Transformation of OODT CAS to Perform Larger Tasks; Visualization Component of Vehicle Health Decision Support System; Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Uplink Analysis Tool; Problem Reporting System; G-Guidance Interface Design for Small Body Mission Simulation; DSN Scheduling Engine; Replacement Sequence of Events Generator; Force-Control Algorithm for Surface Sampling; Tool for Merging Proposals Into DSN Schedules; Micromachined Slits for Imaging Spectrometers; Fabricating Nanodots Using Lift-Off of a Nanopore Template; Making Complex Electrically Conductive Patterns on Cloth; Special Polymer/Carbon Composite Films for Detecting SO2; Nickel-Based Superalloy Resists Embrittlement by Hydrogen; Chemical Passivation of Li+-Conducting Solid Electrolytes; Organic/Inorganic Polymeric Composites for Heat-Transfer Reduction; Composite Cathodes for Dual-Rate Li-Ion Batteries; Improved Descent-Rate Limiting Mechanism; Alignment-Insensitive Lower-Cost Telescope Architecture; Micro-Resistojet for Small Satellites; Using Piezoelectric Devices to Transmit Power through Walls; Miniature Latching Valve; Apparatus for Sampling Surface Contamination; Novel Species of Non-Spore-Forming Bacteria; Chamber for Aerosol Deposition of Bioparticles; Hyperspectral Sun Photometer for Atmospheric Characterization and Vicarious Calibrations; Dynamic Stability and Gravitational Balancing of Multiple Extended Bodies; Simulation of Stochastic Processes by Coupled ODE-PDE; Cluster Inter-Spacecraft Communications; Genetic Algorithm Optimizes Q-LAW Control Parameters; Low-Impact Mating System for Docking Spacecraft; Non-Destructive Evaluation of Materials via Ultraviolet Spectroscopy; Gold-on-Polymer-Based Sensing Films for Detection of Organic and Inorganic Analytes in the Air; and Quantum-Inspired Maximizer.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2009

OTF CCSDS Mission Operations Prototype Parameter Service. Phase I: Exit Presentation

This slide presentation reviews the prototype of phase 1 of the parameter service design of the CCSDS mission operations. The project goals are to: (1) Demonstrate the use of Mission Operations standards to implement the Parameter Service (2) Demonstrate interoperability between Houston MCC and a CCSDS Mission Operations compliant mission operations center (3) Utilize Mission Operations Common Architecture. THe parameter service design, interfaces, and structures are described.

Reynolds, Walter F.↗
NASA NTRS2010

The Importance of HRA in Human Space Flight: Understanding the Risks

Human performance is critical to crew safety during space missions. Humans interact with hardware and software during ground processing, normal flight, and in response to events. Human interactions with hardware and software can cause Loss of Crew and/or Vehicle (LOCV) through improper actions, or may prevent LOCV through recovery and control actions. Humans have the ability to deal with complex situations and system interactions beyond the capability of machines. Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is a method used to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the occurrence of human failures that affect availability and reliability of complex systems. Modeling human actions with their corresponding failure probabilities in a Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) provides a more complete picture of system risks and risk contributions. A high-quality HRA can provide valuable information on potential areas for improvement, including training, procedures, human interfaces design, and the need for automation. Modeling human error has always been a challenge in part because performance data is not always readily available. For spaceflight, the challenge is amplified not only because of the small number of participants and limited amount of performance data available, but also due to the lack of definition of the unique factors influencing human performance in space. These factors, called performance shaping factors in HRA terminology, are used in HRA techniques to modify basic human error probabilities in order to capture the context of an analyzed task. Many of the human error modeling techniques were developed within the context of nuclear power plants and therefore the methodologies do not address spaceflight factors such as the effects of microgravity and longer duration missions. This presentation will describe the types of human error risks which have shown up as risk drivers in the Shuttle PRA which may be applicable to commercial space flight. As with other large PRAs of complex machines, human error in the Shuttle PRA proved to be an important contributor (~12 percent) to LOCV. An existing HRA technique was adapted for use in the Shuttle PRA, but additional guidance and improvements are needed to make the HRA task in space-related PRAs easier and more accurate. Therefore, this presentation will also outline plans for expanding current HRA methodology to more explicitly cover spaceflight performance shaping factors.

Hamlin, Teri↗
NASA NTRS2013

JWST Integrated Science Instrument Module Alignment Optimization Tool

During cryogenic vacuum testing of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM), the global alignment of the ISIM with respect to the designed interface of the JWST optical telescope element (OTE) will be measured through a series of optical characterization tests. These tests will determine the locations and orientations of the JWST science instrument projected focal surfaces and entrance pupils with respect to their corresponding OTE optical interfaces. If any optical performance non-compliances are identified, the ISIM will be adjusted to improve its performance. In order to understand how to manipulate the ISIM's degrees of freedom properly and to prepare for the ISIM flight model testing, a series of optical-mechanical analyses have been completed to develop and identify the best approaches for bringing a non-compliant ISIM element into compliance. In order for JWST to meet its observatory-level optical requirements and ambitious science goals, the ISIM element has to meet approximately 150 separate optical requirements. Successfully achieving many of those optical requirements depends on the proper alignment of the ISIM element with respect to the OTE. To verify that the ISIM element will meet its optical requirements, a series of cryogenic vacuum tests will be conducted with an OTE Simulator (OSIM). An optical Ray Trace and Geometry Model tool was developed to help solve the multi-dimensional alignment problem. The tool allows the user to determine how best to adjust the alignment of the JWST ISIM with respect to the ideal telescope interfaces so that the approximately 150 ISIM optical performance requirements can be satisfied. This capability has not existed previously.

Bos, Brent↗
NASA NTRS2011

Interfacing with an EVA Suit

A NASA spacesuit under the EVA Technology Domain consists of a suit system; a PLSS; and a Power, Avionics, and Software (PAS) system. Ross described the basic functions, components, and interfaces of the PLSS, which consists of oxygen, ventilation, and thermal control subsystems; electronics; and interfaces. Design challenges were reviewed from a packaging perspective. Ross also discussed the development of the PLSS over the last two decades.

Ross, Amy↗
NASA NTRS2017

'Fly Like This': Natural Language Interface for UAV Mission Planning

With the increasing presence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in everyday environments, the user base of these powerful and potentially intelligent machines is expanding beyond exclusively highly trained vehicle operators to include non-expert system users. Scientists seeking to augment costly and often inflexible methods of data collection historically used are turning towards lower cost and reconfigurable UAVs. These new users require more intuitive and natural methods for UAV mission planning. This paper explores two natural language interfaces - gesture and speech - for UAV flight path generation through individual user studies. Subjects who participated in the user studies also used a mouse-based interface for a baseline comparison. Each interface allowed the user to build flight paths from a library of twelve individual trajectory segments. Individual user studies evaluated performance, efficacy, and ease-of-use of each interface using background surveys, subjective questionnaires, and observations on time and correctness. Analysis indicates that natural language interfaces are promising alternatives to traditional interfaces. The user study data collected on the efficacy and potential of each interface will be used to inform future intuitive UAV interface design for non-expert users.

Chandarana, Meghan↗
NASA NTRS2015

Pressurized Payloads Interface Requirements Document: International Space Station Program

This Interface Requirements Document (IRD) is the principle source for interface design requirements for all National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) developed payloads operating in the pressurized volume of the ISS, and for ESA and JAXA payloads operated in the USOS (all non-Russian modules except JEM and Columbus). Payload developers must verify the applicable requirements in this document to ensure the safety of the ISS crew, transport vehicles, on-orbit ISS systems hardware, and neighboring payloads. This document also provides design guidance that ensures the basic operation of the payload and affects the payload's mission success. It is the responsibility of the payload developer (PD) to design in accordance with the design guidance.

Nelson, George C.↗
NASA NTRS2014

The X-15 3-65 Accident: An Aircraft Systems and Flight Control Perspective

Despite the NASA X-15 program's outstanding success in developing and operating the first manned hypersonic research platform, the program suffered a fatal accident on November 15, 1967, when X-15-3, the only aircraft outfitted with advanced pilot displays and an adaptive flight control system, was lost after entering uncontrolled flight at an altitude of 230,000 feet and a velocity near Mach 5. The pilot, Major Michael J. Adams, was incapacitated by the aircraft accelerations and was killed either during the ensuing breakup or upon ground impact. In light of mitigating risk to current and emerging manned aerospace vehicles, a comprehensive systems level analysis of the accident is presented with a focus on the electrical power, flight control, and instrumentation failures that affected not only the vehicle dynamics but substantially impacted the pilot decisions that led to an inevitable loss of control. Insights based on reconstructed flight data as well as analysis and simulation of the X-15's unique adaptive control system, yield new conclusions about the reasons for the control systems anomalous behavior and the system-level interactions and human-machine interface design oversights that led to the accident.

Accident Investigation↗
NASA NTRS2017

Hybrid CMOS System-on-Chip / InP MMIC Systems for Deep-Space Planetary Exploration at mm-Wave and THz

This paper discusses the applicability of hybrid CMOS/InP-MMIC mm-Wave systems to remote sensing instrumentation for space exploration in Earth and Planetary science. We review the need for lower power and lighter weight instruments to accommodate the limited payload resources of exploration spacecraft, and then demonstrate how hybrid systems can address these challenges. An example hybrid CMOS-InP radiometer operating at 100 GHz is discoursed in detail including circuit & system design, interfacing and packaging techniques. Measurements are presented showing that the hybrid approach does not compromise instrument sensitivity.

Tang, Adrian↗