Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Test Track”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2006

NASA Critical Facilities Maintenance Assessment

Critical Facilities Maintenance Assessment (CFMA) was first implemented by NASA following the March 2000 overtest of the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) spacecraft. A sine burst dynamic test using a 40 year old shaker failed. Mechanical binding/slippage of the slip table imparted 10 times the planned force to the test article. There was major structural damage to HESSI. The mechanical "health" of the shaker had not been assessed and tracked to assure the test equipment was in good working order. Similar incidents have occurred at NASA facilities due to inadequate maintenance (e.g., rainwater from a leaky roof contaminated an assembly facility that housed a spacecraft). The HESSI incident alerted NASA to the urgent need to identify inadequacies in ground facility readiness and maintenance practices. The consequences of failures of ground facilities that service these NASA systems are severe due to the high unit value of NASA products.

maintenance↗
NASA NTRS2014

Comparing On-Orbit and Ground Performance for an S-Band Software-Defined Radio

NASA's Space Communications and Navigation Testbed was installed on an external truss of the International Space Station in 2012. The testbed contains several software-defined radios (SDRs), including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) SDR, which underwent performance testing throughout 2013 with NASAs Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). On-orbit testing of the JPL SDR was conducted at S-band with the Glenn Goddard TDRSS waveform and compared against an extensive dataset collected on the ground prior to launch. This paper will focus on the development of a waveform power estimator on the ground post-launch and discuss the performance challenges associated with operating the power estimator in space.

International Space Station↗
NASA NTRS1993

Robust tracking control of a magnetically suspended rigid body

This study is an application of H-infinity and microsynthesis for designing robust tracking controllers for the Large Angle Magnetic Suspension Test Facility. The modeling, design, analysis, simulation, and testing of a control law that guarantees tracking performance under external disturbances and model uncertainties is investigated. The type of uncertainties considered and the tracking performance metric used is discussed. This study demonstrates the tradeoff between tracking performance at low frequencies and robustness at high frequencies. Two sets of controllers were designed and tested. The first set emphasized performance over robustness, while the second set traded off performance for robustness. Comparisons of simulation and test results are also included. Current simulation and experimental results indicate that reasonably good robust tracking performance can be attained for this system, using multivariable robust control approach.

Lim, Kyong B.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Robust tracking control of a magnetically suspended rigid body

This study is an application of H-infinity and micro-synthesis for designing robust tracking controllers for the Large Angle Magnetic Suspension Test Facility. The modeling, design, analysis, simulation, and testing of a control law that guarantees tracking performance under external disturbances and model uncertainties is investigated. The type of uncertainties considered and the tracking performance metric used is discussed. This study demonstrates the tradeoff between tracking performance at low frequencies and robustness at high frequencies. Two sets of controllers were designed and tested. The first set emphasized performance over robustness, while the second set traded off performance for robustness. Comparisons of simulation and test results are also included. Current simulation and experimental results indicate that reasonably good robust tracking performance can be attained for this system using multivariable robust control approach.

Lim, Kyong B.↗
NASA NTRS1998

The X-33 range Operations Control Center

This paper describes the capabilities and features of the X-33 Range Operations Center at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. All the unprocessed data will be collected and transmitted over fiber optic lines to the Lockheed Operations Control Center for real-time flight monitoring of the X-33 vehicle. By using the existing capabilities of the Western Aeronautical Test Range, the Range Operations Center will provide the ability to monitor all down-range tracking sites for the Extended Test Range systems. In addition to radar tracking and aircraft telemetry data, the Telemetry and Radar Acquisition and Processing System is being enhanced to acquire vehicle command data, differential Global Positioning System corrections and telemetry receiver signal level status. The Telemetry and Radar Acquisition Processing System provides the flexibility to satisfy all X-33 data processing requirements quickly and efficiently. Additionally, the Telemetry and Radar Acquisition Processing System will run a real-time link margin analysis program. The results of this model will be compared in real-time with actual flight data. The hardware and software concepts presented in this paper describe a method of merging all types of data into a common database for real-time display in the Range Operations Center in support of the X-33 program. All types of data will be processed for real-time analysis and display of the range system status to ensure public safety.

Shy, Karla S.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Viking extended mission support

The status of the Viking Deep Space Network Mark 3 '77 data subsystem implementation project and related testing at DSS 42/43 from 1 September through 31 October 1977 are reported. The Viking DSN discrepancy reporting system, Viking command support, tracking support, and periodic tests conducted with the Viking spacecraft are also discussed.

Howe, T. W.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electron Beam Irradiation for Water Treatment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used but are now considered a water contamination risk. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory’s IARC group has demonstrated that passing water through electron beam radiation can destroy PFAS. This project aims to develop a process to scale the system for bulk water treatment. The key is efficient radiation usage, ensuring that all water receives only the minimum dose. Software was developed for this purpose, consisting of a computational fluid dynamics model (CFD) in COMSOL, which calculates particle trajectories through the radiation area. A MATLAB script integrates the radiation dose of these particles, and statistical analysis is performed to evaluate the radiation utilization efficiency. These models are validated with a flow test where colored dye is injected and optically tracked. Radiation dose is measured by testing under an e-beam to measure the degradation of a PFAS analog.

Mueller, Scott [Northern Illinois U.]↗
NASA NTRS2024

Evaluation of Intranasal Scopolamine for the Prevention of Wave Motion Induced Motion Sickness While Maintaining Performance on Operationally Relevant Tasks

Motion sickness represents one of the greatest clinical challenges impacting crew activities during and following g-transitions. Our overall goal is to characterize the effectiveness of motion sickness countermeasures during controlled laboratory experiments using capsule wave motion simulation and during field testing in operational environments. This laboratory study focused on prevention of motion sickness using intranasal scopolamine using a double-blinded repeated measures design in 30 subjects (19M, 11F). Intranasal scopolamine was provided by Defender Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (DPI-386 Nasal Gel, referred to as Inscop) self-administered by a nasal pump (Aptar Pharma) that delivers 0.4 mg dose (0.2 mg / nostril). During each session, subjects were exposed to complex wave motion on a six degree-of-freedom platform that included pitch, roll and heave at provocative stimulus frequencies (0.1-0.25 Hz) while seated in an illuminated cabin deprived of external visual cues. Motion sickness symptoms were compared across treatment and placebo control sessions counterbalanced across subjects and separated by at least one week. The time-to-motion sickness endpoint was based on severe malaise, defined as symptom score of ≥8 points using the Pensacola Diagnostic Index [1]. The bioavailability of scopolamine for each session was estimated from plasma concentrations obtained every 15 min[2]. Side effects during the treatment session were minimal, and performance was not impaired on a test battery including motion perception tracking, tablet-based eye-hand coordination and psychomotor vigilance testing. The plasma concentration remained near-peak levels throughout the 45 min motion sickness testing for most subjects. The percentile ranking on the Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire [MSSQ, 3]was moderately correlated with the motion sickness time-to-endpoint during the placebo control session (rho = –0.3, p=0.056). Seventeen subjects did not reach an endpoint during their placebo session and were eliminated from subsequent analysis. Another subject was excluded due to insufficient plasma concentration during the treatment session. For the remaining 12 subjects, the change in time-to-motion sickness endpoint between placebo and treatment sessions was moderately correlated with plasma concentration (rho =0.48, p = 0.056), improving on average 4.4 ± 18.4 min, mean ± std with Inscop versus placebo. Our results are consistent with previous findings that intranasal delivery of scopolamine can be effective at reducing motion sickness symptoms with minimal cognitive or sedative side effects. Future work is needed to optimize the delivery of Inscop for rescue (treatment) of symptoms following g-transitions as one of the key advantages of this formulation is self-administration in a suited environment. We will also explore how the combination of Inscop with non-pharmaceutical sensory aids, e.g., vibrotactile feedback of Earth vertical, may further mitigate motion sickness and improve task performance.

S J Wood↗
NASA NTRS2003

Comparison of On-Orbit and Ground Based Hollow Cathode Operation

The Plasma Contactor Unit (PCU) was developed by the Rocketdyne division of Boeing to control charging of the International Space Station (ISS). Each PCU contains a Hollow Cathode Assembly (HCA), which emits the charge control electrons. The HCAs were designed and fabricated at NASA's Glenn Research Center (GRC). GRC's HCA development program included manufacture of engineering, qualification, and flight model HCAs as well as wear tests and qualification tests. GRC is currently tracking the on-orbit data for the flight HCAs. This data will be discussed with comparison to operating parameters verified by ground based HCA tests. The flight HCAs continue to operate flawlessly. The first unit has accumulated more than 3650 hours of on-orbit operation and the second unit has accumulated over 5550 hours.

Burke, Tom↗
NASA NTRS1973

Simultaneous processing of vibration test data

Data from record tracks of all accelerometers is injected simultaneously into electronic circuits which convert inputs into single, composite graphical representation. Three adequate methods of processing data: peak acceleration at a frequency, average of all channels, and quad-mean of all channels.

Reddeman, E. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Breadboard stellar tracker system test report, volume 2

Complete data from a test program designed to evaluate the performance of a star tracker, a breadboard tracker system, is presented in tabular form. All data presented was normalized to the pixel dimension of 20 micrometers. Data from determination of maximum spatial noise as it applies to the coarse and fine acquisition modes is presented. Pointing accuracy test data, raw pixel data for the track cycle, and data from equipment related tests is also presented.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1991

Six-Degree-of-Freedom Test Facility

Shuttle to Space station docking has become an important issue in the last few years. Docking sensors have been proposed that will provide high precision measurements required for the fuel efficient rendezvous and docking of space vehicles. These sensors will also be used for satellite servicing and orbital assembly. The performance of the docking sensors must be tested before they are implemented in a space environment. A Six-Degree-of-Freedom (6-DOF) Test Facility has been developed at the Tracking & Communications Section, Johnson Space Center to test the static and dynamic accuracies of docking sensors. A candidate sensor is evaluated by comparing the sensor's static position and velocity measurements to the more accurate 6-DOF system. The 6-DOF Test Facility's hardware is fully integrated. Software has been developed in-house to support system operation. The system has been tested statically and the operational parameters verified. System accuracies remain to be determined. Dynamic testing of the facility is expected to begin shortly. Several companies such as McDonnell Douglas, Autonomous Technologies, and General Dynamics are scheduled to test sensors in the next few months. The 6-DOF facility will be available for use in November 1991. This presentation describes the subcomponents, operation, and capabilities of the 6-DOF Test Facility. Discussions will be held on system accuracies. Additional applications of the 6-DOF system will also be addressed.

Bittel, Michelle A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Acquisition, tracking, and pointing; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 3, 4, 1986

The present conference discusses the effect of target signatures on active tracking, the high resolution obtainable with a two-degrees-of-freedom angle sensor having a high update rate, solar object tracking for the Hubble Space Telescope, scaled experiments for the assessment of precise active tracking, and large aperture high-accuracy satellite laser tracking. Also discussed are laboratory test results for the Spaceborne Geodynamic Ranging System's high speed optical tracking system, jitter stabilization for precise optical pointing, scan stabilization and jitter control for an airborne telescope, a simulation of the Solar Optical Telescope's pointing performance, a microprocessor-based dual-speed angle converter, and image localization for alignment by means of adaptive preprocessing.

Auelmann, Richard R.↗
NASA NTRS2008

DARPA/USAF/USN J-UCAS X-45A System Demonstration Program: A Review of Flight Test Site Processes and Personnel

The Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program is a collaborative effort between the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the US Air Force (USAF) and the US Navy (USN). Together they have reviewed X-45A flight test site processes and personnel as part of a system demonstration program for the UCAV-ATD Flight Test Program. The goal was to provide a disciplined controlled process for system integration and testing and demonstration flight tests. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) acted as the project manager during this effort and was tasked with the responsibilities of range and ground safety, the provision of flight test support and infrastructure and the monitoring of technical and engineering tasks. DFRC also contributed their engineering knowledge through their contributions in the areas of autonomous ground taxi control development, structural dynamics testing and analysis and the provision of other flight test support including telemetry data, tracking radars, and communications and control support equipment. The Air Force Flight Test Center acted at the Deputy Project Manager in this effort and was responsible for the provision of system safety support and airfield management and air traffic control services, among other supporting roles. The T-33 served as a J-UCAS surrogate aircraft and demonstrated flight characteristics similar to that of the the X-45A. The surrogate served as a significant risk reduction resource providing mission planning verification, range safety mission assessment and team training, among other contributions.

Cosentino, Gary B.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Kalman Filtering and RTS Smoothing for Arc-Jet Sample Edge Tracking

Accurate and temporally consistent measurements of test-article recession are required to characterize material response during arc-jet ablation experiments. However, image-based boundary measurements are often affected by segmentation noise, brightness variations, and frame-to-frame variability. This work extends arcjetCV [1] with filtering methods for tracking the evolving boundaries of hemispherical and ISO-Q test articles. Two boundary-tracking approaches based on Kalman filtering [2] were implemented. The first applies a point-wise Kalman filter followed by a Rauch–Tung–Striebel smoother [3] to individual boundary-point locations. The second applies the same filtering and smoothing framework to a reduced set of geometry-dependent shape parameters. The point-wise method reduces local frame-to-frame fluctuations while preserving spatial details along the detected boundary. The shape-parameter method provides a compact and geometrically constrained estimate of the sample contour. Figure 1 illustrates the two approaches for a hemispherical test article. Both methods improve temporal consistency and support more robust estimation of surface recession from arc-jet imagery. The two filtering approaches provide complementary representations of boundary evolution and improve the reliability of image-based recession measurements during arc-jet experiments.

recession measurement↗
NASA NTRS1977

Use of an inertial navigation system for accurate track recovery and coastal oceanographic measurements

A data acquisition system using a Litton LTN-51 inertial navigation unit (INU) was tested and used for aircraft track recovery and for location and tracking from the air of targets at sea. The characteristic position drift of the INU is compensated for by sighting landmarks of accurately known position at discrete time intervals using a visual sighting system in the transparent nose of the Beechcraft 18 aircraft used. For an aircraft altitude of about 300 m, theoretical and experimental tests indicate that calculated aircraft and/or target positions obtained from the interpolated INU drift curve will be accurate to within 10 m for landmarks spaced approximately every 15 minutes in time. For applications in coastal oceanography, such as surface current mapping by tracking artificial targets, the system allows a broad area to be covered without use of high altitude photography and its attendant needs for large targets and clear weather.

Oliver, B. M.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Lightning Tracking Tool for Assessment of Total Cloud Lightning within AWIPS II

Total lightning (intra‐cloud and cloud‐to‐ground) has been widely researched and shown to be a valuable tool to aid real‐time warning forecasters in the assessment of severe weather potential of convective storms. The trend of total lightning has been related to the strength of a storm's updraft. Therefore a rapid increase in total lightning signifies the strengthening of the parent thunderstorm. The assessment of severe weather potential occurs in a time limited environment and therefore constrains the use of total lightning. A tool has been developed at NASA's Short‐term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center to assist in quickly analyzing the total lightning signature of multiple storms. The development of this tool comes as a direct result of forecaster feedback from numerous assessments requesting a real‐time display of the time series of total lightning. This tool also takes advantage of the new architecture available within the AWIPS II environment. SPoRT's lightning tracking tool has been tested in the Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) Spring Program and significant changes have been made based on the feedback. In addition to the updates in response to the HWT assessment, the lightning tracking tool may also be extended to incorporate other requested displays, such as the intra‐cloud to cloud‐to‐ground ratio as well as incorporate the lightning jump algorithm.

Burks, Jason E.↗