Applications of systems analysis models - A survey
Application of NASA mathematical management models and systems analyses in private industry and economy
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Application of NASA mathematical management models and systems analyses in private industry and economy
A survey of wind tunnel research facilities in the United States is presented. The inventory includes all subsonic, transonic, and hypersonic wind tunnels operated by governmental and private organizations. Each wind tunnel is described with respect to size, mechanical operation, construction, testing capabilities, and operating costs. Facility performance data are presented in charts and tables.
Multi-level parameters relating to perceived life quality in an isolated research and residence quarters were measured using a variety of tests. The habitat under study, emplaced beneath the sea off the coast of St. John's Island as a part of the Tektite II program, was being used for marine research. The crew for each of the 10 missions consisted of one engineer and 4 scientists. One mission had an all-female crew. Mission length was either 14 or 20 days, and 4 engineers, in covering 6 missions, stayed in the habitat for periods of 30 days each. A personality test was taken before confinement in the habitat. Two attitude tests were filled out by the aquanauts while they were still in the habitat. Daily moods were monitored during all missions. Special observations were made of leisure time use. Standardized private debriefings were administered at the end of each mission to each aquanaut. Other behavioral observations made by another research team were intercorrelated with the other measures described above.
Cryogenics is especially interesting when viewed from the perspective of technology transfer. Its recent rapid growth has been due to demands of both industry and aerospace. This environment provides an unusual opportunity to identify some of the forces active during a period of broad technological change and at the same time further the understanding of the technology transfer process. That process is specifically defined here as the ways in which technology, generated in NASA programs, contributes to technological change. In addition to presenting a brief overview of the cryogenics field and describing certain representative examples of the transfer of NASA-generated technology to the private sector, this presentation explores a singular relationship between NASA and another federal agency, the National Bureau of Standards. The relationship has operated both to generate and disseminate information fundamental to the broad growth of the cryogenics field.
This environment has not only attracted people and increased payrolls, but has also created a broader base for the local economy. The activity of the center was a catalyst to private enterprise and has led to sizeable residential and commercial developments. Adequate treatment of domestic and industrial waste water was maintained. A feasibility study is now being conducted to establish a plan for a coordinated, centerwide plan for advanced treatment of domestic and industrial waste water.
The development of commercial manufacturing and research activities in space is discussed. The capability is to be installed in space stations in order to exploit the extended free fall which makes many novel manipulations of materials possible and alters the behavior of certain chemical and physical processes. The broad objectives are: (1) to develop technical basis required for commercial use of manned space facilities, (2) to provide indirect economic benefits by exploiting advantages of space laboratory facilities to solve critical experimental problems, and (3) to initiate manufacturing operations in space by private enterprise for commercial purposes and by agencies of the Government for public purposes.
An Agency which would act as a responsible technological ombudsman is proposed for inclusion in the technology assessment mechanism. The agency would be charged solely with the function and responsibility to probe and identify the negative factors and present them to Congress and the public. It is felt that in the development of technology in private sectors there are assessments and controls exerted by the public. However, in governmental technology, the agencies involved tend to emphasize the useful and beneficial aspects, and it is pointed out that the administrative agencies also tend to develop unwholesome affinities to the industries they regulate. It is also felt that scientific and engineering experts have a bias in favor of accomplishing what they think can be accomplished. The proposed devil's advocate agency would investigate the areas of hazards and potential hazards, and would subject Congress to the pressures of public opinion.
Decision makers within Governmental agencies and Congress must evaluate competing (and sometimes conflicting) proposals which seek funding and implementation. Present value analysis can be an effective decision making tool by enabling the formal evaluation of the effects of competing proposals on efficient national resource utilization. A project's costs are not only its direct disbursements, but its social costs as well. How much does it cost to have those funds diverted from their use and economic benefit by the private sector to the public project? Comparisons of competing projects' social costs allow decision makers to expand their decision bases by quantifying the projects' impacts upon the economy and the efficient utilization of the country's limited national resources. A conceptual model is established for the choosing of the appropriate discount rate to be used in evaluation decisions through the technique.
The feasibility of a program to effect transfer of aerospace professional people from the ranks of the unemployed into gainful employment in the small business community was investigated. The effectiveness of accomplishing transfer of technology from the aerospace effort into the private sector through migration of people rather than products or hardware alone was also studied. Two basic methodologies were developed. One involves the matching of ex-aerospace professionals and small companies according to their mutual needs. A training and indoctrination program is aimed at familiarizing the professional with the small company environment, and a program of follow-up counseling is defined. The second methodology incorporates efforts to inform and arouse interest among the nonaerospace business community toward affirmative action programs that will serve mutual self-interests of the individuals, companies, and communities involved.
An integrated propellant manufacturing plant and distribution system located at Kennedy Space Center is studied. The initial planned propellant and pressurant production amounted to 160 tons/day (TPD) LH2, 10 TPD GH2, 800 TPD LO2, 400 TPD LN2, and 120 TPD GN2. This was based on a shuttle launch frequency of 104 per year. During the study, developments occurred which may lower cryogen requirements. A variety of plant and processing equipment sizes and costs are considered for redundancy and supply level considerations. Steam reforming is compared to partial oxidation as a means of generating hydrogen. Electric motors, steam turbines, and gas turbines are evaluated for driving compression equipment. Various sites on and off Government property are considered to determine tradeoffs between costs and problems directly associated with the site, product delivery and storage costs, raw material costs, and energy costs. Coproduction of other products such as deuterium, methanol, and ammonia are considered. Legal questions are discussed concerning a private company's liabilities and its rights to market commercial products under Government tax and cost shelters.
The social impact scenario, a method used to trace the effects of new technological applications, is discussed. The research seeks to anticipate the secondary social impacts that arise from: (1) government or private programs that cope with major social problems like poverty, environmental pollution, or public safety; and (2) a concerted national effort to achieve a widely supported specific goal like landing a man on the moon or finding a cure for cancer.
The probable environmental impact and adverse effects of the Lewis Research Center are assessed. The Cleveland and Plum Brook facilities are briefly described. It is felt that the absence of harmful environmental impact from the Cleveland site is apparent, and the monitoring at the Plum Brook reactor facility shows the effectiveness of effluent controls. The probable adverse effects are considered for air, water, and noise pollution, and radioactive and hazardous waste storage and disposal; it is concluded that all emissions are maintained below Federal, and local standards. There are no appropriate alternatives to the operation of the Center, and no improvement in environmental quality would result from relocation. The relationship between local short-term productivity is briefly discussed. No adverse comment has been received from public agencies or private organizations or individuals.
NASA OSS Launch Vehicle and Propulsion Programs are responsible for the launch of approximately 20 automated science and applications spacecraft per year. These launches are for NASA programs and those of other U. S. government agencies, private organizations, such as the Comsat Corporation, foreign countries, and international organizations. Launches occur from Cape Kennedy, Florida; Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; Wallops Island, Virginia; and the San Marco Platform in the Indian Ocean off Kenya. Spacecraft launched by this program contribute in a variety of ways to the control of and betterment of the environment. Environmental effects caused by the launch vehicles are limited in extent, duration, and intensity and are considered insignificant.
Requirements were determined analytically for the man machine interface for a teleoperator system performing on-orbit satellite retrieval and servicing. Requirements are basically of two types; mission/system requirements, and design requirements or design criteria. Two types of teleoperator systems were considered: a free flying vehicle, and a shuttle attached manipulator. No attempt was made to evaluate the relative effectiveness or efficiency of the two system concepts. The methodology used entailed an application of the Essex Man-Systems analysis technique as well as a complete familiarization with relevant work being performed at government agencies and by private industry.
Ride quality research to determine criteria to describe vehicle performance characteristics which will insure passenger comfort is discussed. The manner in which disciplines of vehicle environmental dynamics, structural dynamics, and electromechanical measurements are combined to define passenger environments is described. The activities of many governmental and private agencies in the field of passenger comfort are examined.
Work on the dynamics of cable-connected spinning spacecraft was completed by formulating the equations of motion by both the canonical equations and Lagrange's equations and programming them for numerical solution on a digital computer. These energy-based formulations will permit future addition of the effect of cable mass. Comparative runs indicate that the canonical formulation requires less computer time. Available literature on urban mass transportation was surveyed. Areas of the private rapid transit concept of urban transportation are also studied.
Some concepts of an operational program for medical and environmental health are outlined. Medical services of this program are primarily concerned with emergency care, laboratory examinations, advice to private physician with patient permission, medical monitoring activities, and suggestions for treatment or control of the malfunction.
A high density short haul air market which by 1980 is large enough to support the introduction of an independent short haul air transportation system is discussed. This system will complement the existing air transportation system and will provide relief of noise and congestion problems at conventional airports. The study has found that new aircraft, exploiting V/STOL and quiet engine technology, can be available for implementing these new services, and they can operate from existing reliever and general aviation airports. The study has also found that the major funding requirements for implementing new short haul services could be borne by private capital, and that the government funding requirement would be minimal and/or recovered through the airline ticket tax. In addition, a suitable new short haul aircraft would have a market potential for $3.5 billion in foreign sales. The long lead times needed for aircraft and engine technology development will require timely actions by federal agencies.