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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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NASA NTRS2008

Wind-Based Navigation of a Hot-air Balloon on Titan: A Feasibility Study

Current analysis of data streamed back to Earth by the Cassini spacecraft features Titan as one of the most exciting places in the solar system. NASA centers and universities around the US, as well as the European Space Agency, are studying the possibility of sending, as part of the next mission to this giant moon of Saturn, a hot-air balloon (Montgolfier-type) for further and more in-depth exploration. The basic idea would be to design a reliable, semi-autonomous, and yet cheap Montgolfier capable of using continuous flow of waste heat from a power source to lift the balloon and sustain its altitude in the Titan environment. In this paper we study the problem of locally navigating a hot-air balloon in the nitrogen-based Titan atmosphere. The basic idea is to define a strategy (i.e. design of a suitable guidance system) that allows autonomous and semi-autonomous navigation of the balloon using the available (and partial) knowledge of the wind structure blowing on the saturnian satellite surface. Starting from first principles we determined the appropriate thermal and dynamical models describing (a) the vertical dynamics of the balloon and (b) the dynamics of the balloon moving on a vertical plane (2-D motion). Next, various non-linear fuzzy-based control strategies have been evaluated, analyzed and implemented in MATLAB to numerically simulate the capability of the system to simultaneously maintain altitude, as well as a scientifically desirable trajectory. We also looked at the ability of the balloon to perform station keeping. The results of the simulation are encouraging and show the effectiveness of such a system to cheaply and effectively perform semiautonomous exploration of Titan.

balloon dynamics↗
NASA NTRS2019

In-Flight Line-Of-Sight Pointing Performance for the GOES-16 and GOES-17 Spacecraft

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R program (GOES-R) has launched two of the next generation geostationary weather satellites, both of which are now fully operational. GOES-16 launched in November 2016, and GOES-17 launched in March 2017. In this paper, we present the pointing and pointing stability results of the two spacecraft, with specific focus on aspects of the design related to mitigating jitter. The flight instrument suite includes 6 seismic accelerometers sampled at approximately 2 kilohertz, allowing in-flight verification of pointing stability and comparison back to simulation predictions. This paper compares the observed flight results with the simulation predictions for acceleration and shock response spectrum (SRS) for various operational scenarios and instrument observation modes. Passive isolation of both the reaction wheels and the payload deck have proved to be effective in reducing jitter responses. Active Vibration Damping (AVD) of flexible-body modes attenuates the low frequency motion of the vehicle appendages, improving the low-frequency pointing performance. Knowledge of the instrument scan mirror motion is fed forward to the reaction wheel control, reducing disturbances on the spacecraft bus. Attitude knowledge and rate data are provided to the primary Earth-observing instrument with an accuracy defined by the Integrated Rate Error (IRE) requirements. The data are used to adjust instrument scanning. As we show in this paper, the in-flight performance of the GN&C (Guidance, Navigation and Control) design provides the necessary capabilities to achieve the demanding GOES-R mission objectives while its robustness enabled the simultaneous operation of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) prime and redundant cryocoolers (CCs) to resolve an in-flight cooling anomaly on GOES-17.

Line-of-Sight↗
NASA NTRS1986

Use of flight simulation to develop terminal instrument procedures for transport category aircraft

In a collaborative effort between the FAA and NASA, a simulation was conducted to look at the issues involved with flying a large, widebody aircraft in the terminal area using MLS-RNAV procedures. A variety of approach paths, departure paths, and holding patterns were investigated during the course of the study, which included the participation of subject pilots. The simulation made use of paths designed by the FAA Office of Aviation Standards and employed Langley's Visual Motion Simulator (VMS) for their execution. Data obtained from this simulation will be used to support the joint FAA/USAF MLS flight test and demonstration project. This paper describes the flight simulation facility adapted to model terminal area maneuvers for jet transport aircraft using the Microwave Landing System (MLS). A description of the overall project will be presented first, along with a discussion of the guidance schemes used, followed by a description of the simulation hardware and software. A sample of the resulting data will also be presented.

Branstetter, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

An electromagnetic noncontacting sensor for thickness measurement in a dispersive medium

This paper describes a general purpose imaging technology developed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) that, when fully implemented, will solve the general problem of 'seeing into the earth.' A first-generation radar coal thickness sensor, the RCTS-1, has been developed and field-tested in both underground and highwall mines. The noncontacting electromagnetic technique uses spatial modulation created by moving a simple sensor antenna in a direction along each axis to be measured while the complex reflection coefficient is measured at multiple frequencies over a two-to-one bandwidth. The antenna motion imparts spatial modulation to the data that enables signal processing to solve the problems of media, target, and antenna dispersion. Knowledge of the dielectric constant of the media is not necessary because the electrical properties of the media are determined automatically along with the distance to the target and thickness of each layer of the target. The sensor was developed as a navigation guidance sensor to accurately detect the coal/noncoal interface required for the USBM computer-assisted mining machine program. Other mining applications include the location of rock fractures, water-filled voids, and abandoned gas wells. These hazards can be detected in advance of the mining operation. This initiating technology is being expanded into a full three-dimensional (3-D) imaging system that will have applications in both the underground and surface environment.

Chufo, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Piloted Simulator Evaluation Results of Flight Physics Based Stall Recovery Guidance

In recent studies, it has been observed that loss of control in flight is the most frequent primary cause of accidents. A significant share of accidents in this category can be remedied by upset prevention if possible, and by upset recovery if necessary, in this order of priorities. One of the most important upsets to be recovered from is stall. Recent accidents have shown that a correct stall recovery maneuver remains a big challenge in civil aviation, partly due to a lack of pilot training. A possible strategy to support the flight crew in this demanding context is calculating a recovery guidance signal, and showing this signal in an intuitive way on one of the cockpit displays, for example by means of the flight director. Different methods for calculating the recovery signal, one based on fast model predictive control and another using an energy based approach, have been evaluated in four relevant operational scenarios by experienced commercial as well as test pilots in the Vertical Motion Simulator at NASA Ames Research Center. Evaluation results show that this approach could be able to assist the pilots in executing a correct stall recovery maneuver.

Lombaerts, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS1997

Near-Optimal Re-Entry Trajectories for Reusable Launch Vehicles

A near-optimal guidance law for the descent trajectory for earth orbit re-entry of a fully reusable single-stage-to-orbit pure rocket launch vehicle is derived. A methodology is developed to investigate using both bank angle and altitude as control variables and selecting parameters that maximize various performance functions. The method is based on the energy-state model of the aircraft equations of motion. The major task of this paper is to obtain optimal re-entry trajectories under a variety of performance goals: minimum time, minimum surface temperature, minimum heating, and maximum heading change; four classes of trajectories were investigated: no banking, optimal left turn banking, optimal right turn banking, and optimal bank chattering. The cost function is in general a weighted sum of all performance goals. In particular, the trade-off between minimizing heat load into the vehicle and maximizing cross range distance is investigated. The results show that the optimization methodology can be used to derive a wide variety of near-optimal trajectories.

Chou, H.-C.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Proceedings of the 20th International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics

Topics include: Measuring Image Navigation and Registration Performance at the 3-Sigma Level Using Platinum Quality Landmarks; Flight Dynamics Performances of the MetOp A Satellite during the First Months of Operations; Visual Navigation - SARE Mission; Determining a Method of Enabling and Disabling the Integral Torque in the SDO Science and Inertial Mode Controllers; Guaranteeing Pointing Performance of the SDO Sun-Pointing Controllers in Light of Nonlinear Effects; SDO Delta H Mode Design and Analysis; Observing Mode Attitude Controller for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; Broken-Plane Maneuver Applications for Earth to Mars Trajectories; ExoMars Mission Analysis and Design - Launch, Cruise and Arrival Analyses; Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Aerobraking Daily Operations and Collision Avoidance; Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Interplanetary Cruise Navigation; Motion Parameters Determination of the SC and Phobos in the Project Phobos-Grunt; GRAS NRT Precise Orbit Determination: Operational Experience; Orbit Determination of LEO Satellites for a Single Pass through a Radar: Comparison of Methods; Orbit Determination System for Low Earth Orbit Satellites; Precise Orbit Determination for ALOS; Anti-Collision Function Design and Performances of the CNES Formation Flying Experiment on the PRISMA Mission; CNES Approaching Guidance Experiment within FFIORD; Maneuver Recovery Analysis for the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission; SIMBOL-X: A Formation Flying Mission on HEO for Exploring the Universe; Spaceborne Autonomous and Ground Based Relative Orbit Control for the TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X Formation; First In-Orbit Experience of TerraSAR-X Flight Dynamics Operations; Automated Target Planning for FUSE Using the SOVA Algorithm; Space Technology 5 Post-Launch Ground Attitude Estimation Experience; Standardizing Navigation Data: A Status Update; and A Study into the Method of Precise Orbit Determination of a HEO Orbiter by GPS and Accelerometer.

Woodard, Mark↗
NASA NTRS1985

A helicopter terrain following system for terminal area operations

This paper discusses the terminal area guidance and terrain following system developed for the USAF HH-60A Night Hawk Search and Rescue Helicopter. A Multi-Mode Radar and three-cue Flight Path Vector Director provide a terrain following capability at all airspeeds, allowing a decelerating approach to a hover over varying terrain to a designated point. Properties of the terrain following design are discussed. Simulation results using the NASA Ames piloted Vertical Motion Simulator are presented.

Kilmer, F. G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A High-Fidelity Batch Simulation Environment for Integrated Batch and Piloted Air Combat Simulation Analysis

A batch air combat simulation environment known as the Tactical Maneuvering Simulator (TMS) is presented. The TMS serves as a tool for developing and evaluating tactical maneuvering logics. The environment can also be used to evaluate the tactical implications of perturbations to aircraft performance or supporting systems. The TMS is capable of simulating air combat between any number of engagement participants, with practical limits imposed by computer memory and processing power. Aircraft are modeled using equations of motion, control laws, aerodynamics and propulsive characteristics equivalent to those used in high-fidelity piloted simulation. Databases representative of a modern high-performance aircraft with and without thrust-vectoring capability are included. To simplify the task of developing and implementing maneuvering logics in the TMS, an outer-loop control system known as the Tactical Autopilot (TA) is implemented in the aircraft simulation model. The TA converts guidance commands issued by computerized maneuvering logics in the form of desired angle-of-attack and wind axis-bank angle into inputs to the inner-loop control augmentation system of the aircraft. This report describes the capabilities and operation of the TMS.

Goodrich, Kenneth H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Inadequacy of single-impulse transfers for path constrained rendezvous

The use of single-impulse techniques to maneuver from point to point about a large space structure (LSS) with an arbitrary geometrical configuration and spin is examined. Particular consideration is given to transfers with both endpoints on the forbidden zone surface. Clohessy-Wiltshire equations of relative motion are employed to solve path constrained rendezvous problems. External and internal transfers between arbitrary points are analyzed in terms of tangential departure and arrival conditions. It is observed that single-impulse techniques are inadequate for transferring about the exterior of any LSS; however, single-impulse transfers are applicable for transfers in the interior of LSSs. It is concluded that single-impulse transducers are not applicable for path constrained rendezvous guidance.

Stern, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Guidance, Navigation, and Control Performance for the GOES-R Spacecraft

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R) is the first of the next generation geostationary weather satellites, scheduled for delivery in late 2015 and launch in early 2016. Relative to the current generation of GOES satellites, GOES-R represents a dramatic increase in Earth and solar weather observation capabilities, with 4 times the resolution, 5 times the observation rate, and 3 times the number of spectral bands for Earth observations. GOES-R will also provide unprecedented availability, with less than 120 minutes per year of lost observation time. The Guidance Navigation & Control (GN&C) design requirements to achieve these expanded capabilities are extremely demanding. This paper first presents the pointing control, pointing stability, attitude knowledge, and orbit knowledge requirements necessary to realize the ambitious Image Navigation and Registration (INR) objectives of GOES-R. Because the GOES-R suite of instruments is sensitive to disturbances over a broad spectral range, a high fidelity simulation of the vehicle has been created with modal content over 500 Hz to assess the pointing stability requirements. Simulation results are presented showing acceleration, shock response spectrum (SRS), and line of sight responses for various disturbances from 0 Hz to 512 Hz. These disturbances include gimbal motion, reaction wheel disturbances, thruster firings for station keeping and momentum management, and internal instrument disturbances. Simulation results demonstrate excellent performance relative to the pointing and pointing stability requirements, with line of sight jitter of the isolated instrument platform of approximately 1 micro-rad. Low frequency motion of the isolated instrument platform is internally compensated within the primary instrument. Attitude knowledge and rate are provided directly to the instrument with an accuracy defined by the Integrated Rate Error (IRE) requirements. The allowable IRE ranges from 1 to 18.5 micro-rad, depending upon the time window of interest. The final piece of the INR performance is orbit knowledge. Extremely accurate orbital position is achieved by GPS navigation at Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO). Performance results are shown demonstrating compliance with the 50 to 75 m orbit position accuracy requirements of GOES-R, including during station-keeping and momentum management maneuvers. As shown in this paper, the GN&C performance for the GOES-R series of spacecraft supports the challenging mission objectives of the next generation GEO Earth-observation satellites.

Guidance↗
NASA NTRS1979

Lightning as an indication of storm severity

There is a substantial case for the theory that cloud electrification is related primarily to strong convection and the sizeable relative air motion that it implies; therefore, the electrification and subsequent discharge rates can be related to the air motion environment of thunderstorms. The isoceraunic contour map used by the WMO for observing and measuring thunderstorm occurrence contains no information on flash rates, flash density, flash relationship to storm severity, or flash variation with meteorological environment. A constant-view geosynchronous lightning mapper would permit simultaneous studies of the lightning discharge patterns and the meteorological environment of storms, thus establishing whether or not there is a reliable enough relationship to use the observed flash rates and characteristics as supplemental guidance for storm forecast refinement.

Dodge, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Probabilistic Motion Planning of Balloons in Strong, Uncertain Wind Fields

This paper introduces a new algorithm for probabilistic motion planning in arbitrary, uncertain vector fields, with emphasis on high-level planning for Montgolfiere balloons in the atmosphere of Titan. The goal of the algorithm is to determine what altitude--and what horizontal actuation, if any is available on the vehicle--to use to reach a goal location in the fastest expected time. The winds can vary greatly at different altitudes and are strong relative to any feasible horizontal actuation, so the incorporation of the winds is critical for guidance plans. This paper focuses on how to integrate the uncertainty of the wind field into the wind model and how to reach a goal location through the uncertain wind field, using a Markov decision process (MDP). The resulting probabilistic solutions enable more robust guidance plans and more thorough analysis of potential paths than existing methods.

Wolf, Michael T.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Enhanced Formation Flying for the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) New Millennium Mission

With scientific objectives for Earth observation programs becoming more ambitious and spacecraft becoming more autonomous, the need for new technical approaches on the feasibility of achieving and maintaining formations of spacecraft has come to the forefront. The trend to develop small low cost spacecraft has led many scientists to recognize the advantage of flying several spacecraft in formation, an example of which is shown in the figure below, to achieve the correlated instrument measurements formerly possible only by flying many instruments on a single large platform. Yet, formation flying imposes additional complications on orbit maintenance, especially when each spacecraft has its own orbit requirements. However, advances in automation proposed by GSFC Codes 550 and 712 allow more of the burden in maneuver planning and execution to be placed onboard the spacecraft, mitigating some of the associated operational concerns. The purpose of this analysis is to develop the fundamentals of formation flying mechanics, concepts for understanding the relative motion of free flying spacecraft, and an operational control theory for formation maintenance of the Earth Observing-1 (EO-l) spacecraft that is part of the New Millennium. Results of this development can be used to determine the appropriateness of formation flying for a particular case as well as the operational impacts. Applications to the Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) Earth Observing System (EOS) and New Millennium (NM) were highly considered in analysis and applications. This paper presents the proposed methods for the guidance and control of the EO-1 spacecraft to formation fly with the Landsat-7 spacecraft using an autonomous closed loop three axis navigation control, GPS, and Cross link navigation support. Simulation results using various fidelity levels of modeling, algorithms developed and implemented in MATLAB, and autonomous 'fuzzy logic' control using AutoCon will be presented. The results of these analysis on the ability to meet mission and formation flying requirements will be presented.

Folta, David↗
NASA NTRS2016

Trajectory Design Employing Convex Optimization for Landing on Irregularly Shaped Asteroids

Mission proposals that land on asteroids are becoming popular. However, in order to have a successful mission the spacecraft must reliably and softly land at the intended landing site. The problem under investigation is how to design a fuel-optimal powered descent trajectory that can be quickly computed on- board the spacecraft, without interaction from ground control. An optimal trajectory designed immediately prior to the descent burn has many advantages. These advantages include the ability to use the actual vehicle starting state as the initial condition in the trajectory design and the ease of updating the landing target site if the original landing site is no longer viable. For long trajectories, the trajectory can be updated periodically by a redesign of the optimal trajectory based on current vehicle conditions to improve the guidance performance. One of the key drivers for being completely autonomous is the infrequent and delayed communication between ground control and the vehicle. Challenges that arise from designing an asteroid powered descent trajectory include complicated nonlinear gravity fields, small rotating bodies and low thrust vehicles. There are two previous studies that form the background to the current investigation. The first set looked in-depth at applying convex optimization to a powered descent trajectory on Mars with promising results.1, 2 This showed that the powered descent equations of motion can be relaxed and formed into a convex optimization problem and that the optimal solution of the relaxed problem is indeed a feasible solution to the original problem. This analysis used a constant gravity field. The second area applied a successive solution process to formulate a second order cone program that designs rendezvous and proximity operations trajectories.3, 4 These trajectories included a Newtonian gravity model. The equivalence of the solutions between the relaxed and the original problem is theoretically established. The proposed solution for designing the asteroid powered descent trajectory is to use convex optimization, a gravity model with higher fidelity than Newtonian, and an iterative solution process to design the fuel optimal trajectory. The solution to the convex optimization problem is the thrust profile, magnitude and direction, that will yield the minimum fuel trajectory for a soft landing at the target site, subject to various mission and operational constraints. The equations of motion are formulated in a rotating coordinate system and includes a high fidelity gravity model. The vehicle's thrust magnitude can vary between maximum and minimum bounds during the burn. Also, constraints are included to ensure that the vehicle does not run out of propellant, or go below the asteroid's surface, and any vehicle pointing requirements. The equations of motion are discretized and propagated with the trapezoidal rule in order to produce equality constraints for the optimization problem. These equality constraints allow the optimization algorithm to solve the entire problem, without including a propagator inside the optimization algorithm.

Pinson, Robin M.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Implementation of Pin Point Landing Vision Components in an FPGA System

Pin-point landing is required to enable missions to land close, typically within 10 meters, to scientifically important targets in generally hazardous terrain. In Pin Point Landing both high accuracy and high speed estimation of position and orientation is needed to provide input to the control system to safely choose and navigate to a safe landing site. A proposed algorithm called VISion aided Inertial NAVigation (VISINAV) has shown that the accuracy requirements can be met. [2][3] VISINAV was shown in software only, and was expected to use FPGA enhancements in the future to improve the computational speed needed for pin point landing during Entry Descent and Landing (EDL). Homography, feature detection and spatial correlation are computationally intensive parts of VISINAV. Homography aligns the map image with the descent image so that small correlation windows can be used, and feature detection provides regions that spatial correlation can track from frame to frame in order to estimate vehicle motion. On MER the image Homography, Feature Detection and Correlation would take approximately 650ms tracking 75 features between frames. We implemented Homography, Feature detection and Correlation on a Virtex 4 LX160 FPGA to run in under 25ms while tracking 500 features to improve algorithm reliability and throughput.

aircraft landing guidance↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Volumetric Limits for Carry in a Spacesuit

Though there is a plethora of ergonomic guidelines for manual material handling, including maximum weight limits, there is not much guidance for the largest size of an object that a person can carry. Moreover, given the new Artemis space program’s intent to reestablish and maintain human presence on the Moon, there is a need to set manual material handling requirements for the partial gravity environment. Lunar surface carry limits while wearing a pressurized spacesuit is chief among them. Specifically, volumetric limits are required to determine the maximum dimensions of an item that a crewmember will be able to carry on the lunar surface. This study will assess spacesuit motion data to determine acceptable locations where the hand can be positioned for carrying an object, as hand position will vary with the crewmember anthropometry, spacesuits constraints and mechanism. Maximum volume limits will be derived from clearances between the suit and the gloved hand. The mobility of the suit and task contexts (e.g., terrain types, ground clearance) will also be taken into consideration to ensure that the volume being carried does not interfere with suit hardware or impart any mobility restrictions. The specific analysis methods and outcomes will be detailed in the final proceeding. The outcome of this study is expected to provide guidelines for maximum volumes that can be carried both two-handed and one-handed while wearing a spacesuit.

Y. Hernandez↗
NASA NTRS1997

On Use of Global Positioning Technology for Solution of Wake Vortex Problem

Improved precision of the flight paths used by aircraft to approach and depart airports is becoming available when the Global Positioning System (GPS) is implemented at airports. An overview will be given of published information on how GPS precision guidance at airports can be used to avoid encounters with the lift-generated vortices shed by preceding aircraft during landing. It is pointed out that GPS provides two needed services to bring about improved avoidance capability. Firstly, GPS pseudolites are being built and installed at airports so that, when coupled with autopilot systems currently available on subsonic transport aircraft, the aircraft can make precision approaches for zero visibility landings. The same equipment can also be used for precision approaches for wake-vortex avoidance. Secondly, regular monitoring of atmospheric motions along the approach corridor can be obtained by use of GPS equipment on board aircraft that are in the flight corridors. That is, wind velocity is determined by use of GPS equipment to measure the ground speed of the aircraft and then combined with onboard instrumentation to measure the airspeed of the aircraft. The difference between the two measurements yields the wind velocity. When the measured wind velocities are transmitted to an airport ground station they are used to monitor whether air motions adverse for safety in the flight corridor are present. If any parts of the corridor are unsafe, the spacing of the aircraft, or the location of the flight corridor being used, is modified. It is estimated that the spacings between any combination of aircraft can then be safely reduced to a uniform 3 n. mi. Information to be presented is contained in an article published in the AIAA Journal of Aircraft, May-June 1996.

Rossow, Vernon J.↗