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Spacecraft guidance and control, propulsion, telecommunications, and systems analysis, and space science research
Research on humans conducted during spaceflight is fraught both with great opportunities and great obstacles. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the limitations to research in space in the United States with hope that an informed scientific community may lead to more rapid and efficient solution of these problems. Limitations arise because opportunities to study the same astronauts in well-controlled situations on repeated spaceflights are practically non-existent. Human research opportunities are further limited by the necessity of avoiding simultaneous mutually-interfering experiments. Environmental factors, including diet and other physiological perturbations concomitant with spaceflight, also complicate research design and interpretation. Technical limitations to research methods and opportunities further restrict the development of the knowledge base. Finally, Earth analogues of space travel all suffer from inadequacies. Though all of these obstacles will eventually be overcome, creativity, diligence, and persistence are required to further our knowledge of humans in space.
Supporting research in systems analysis, guidance and control, environmental simulation, space sciences, propulsion systems, and radio telecommunications
A full proceedings of the symposium will be issued later in the year. This synopsis consists of summations of three sessions by appointed rapporteurs. International figures in space and in politics spoke at the sessions. Themes of international cooperation and fiscal reality pervaded the conference. International speakers from Canada, the European Space Agency, Russia, Japan and China and other countries addressed the topic of the symposium. American representation included Senator Barbara Mikulski, former NASA administrator James Beggs and other speakers.
Communications, electronics, telemetry, command and control, and systems engineering for advanced space systems
Mission analysis is discussed, including the consolidation and expansion of mission equipment and experiment characteristics, and determination of simplified shuttle flight schedule. Parametric analysis of standard space hardware and preliminary shuttle/payload constraints analysis are evaluated, along with the cost impact of low cost standard hardware.
A pentaiodide resin is described which has 70 percent of its weight composed of elemental iodine, has a relatively low iodine residual, and may offer superior disinfection capability for applications on long-duration space vehicles. Such a disinfectant is crucial for use on spacecraft for long periods of time where water would be recycled through various systems. The pentaiodide resin is capable of devitalizing 1 x 10 to the 9th bacteria per ml in aqueous suspension within 10 seconds of contact with the resin bed. A number of organisms have already been tested and the resin continues to prove effective. Resin properties and composition are discussed and a detailed account of the first investigation of the pentaiodide resin as a disinfectant against the intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia is provided.
Research project summaries in propulsion, guidance and control, trajectory optimization, physics and chemistry, communications, and related space sciences
The needs, applications, user support, research, and theoretical studies of imaging radar are reviewed. The applications of radar in water resources, minerals and petroleum exploration, vegetation resources, ocean radar imaging, and cartography are discussed. The advantages of space imaging radar are presented, and it is recommended that imaging radar be placed on the space shuttle.
Adoption of an aggressive computer science research and technology program within NASA will: (1) enable new mission capabilities such as autonomous spacecraft, reliability and self-repair, and low-bandwidth intelligent Earth sensing; (2) lower manpower requirements, especially in the areas of Space Shuttle operations, by making fuller use of control center automation, technical support, and internal utilization of state-of-the-art computer techniques; (3) reduce project costs via improved software verification, software engineering, enhanced scientist/engineer productivity, and increased managerial effectiveness; and (4) significantly improve internal operations within NASA with electronic mail, managerial computer aids, an automated bureaucracy and uniform program operating plans.
The CAMAC and NIM instrumentation systems were developed originally to serve the needs of nuclear research institutions in Europe and North America. CAMAC and NIM are currently considered in several studies at the systems level conducted by NASA and ESRO groups. NIM and CAMAC studies for applications related to the space shuttle are discussed along with the advantages provided by aspects of modularization and standardization, a use of NIM and CAMAC equipment in connection with a group of astrophysics experiments, and questions of cost effectiveness.
The paper discussss the GSFC research interests and how GSFC contributes to solve some of most basic questions Humans having been asking for thousands of years. How big is universe? How old is the universe? Will Humans and industrialization of the Earth change the climate significantly? Can Humans live in space? How does the Sun affect life on Earth? Goddard s role in Earth Science is very unique. We buy and build instruments that collect data about weather around the world. By flying those instruments on spacecraft, we have a unique vantage point to observe the weather patterns on a global scale. The best example is a satellite network called GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) which produces the weather pictures and videos you see on the nightly news and weather channel. Earth Science is another area of great interest to Goddard scientists and spacecraft designers. This photo of an oil fire in Iraq taken on March 2Ist of this year shows the down range effect pollution will have on entire region. Space Weather has become extremely important in the Space business. Satellites not only can become inoperable due to the occasional high level of radiation but astronauts can be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. Space Weather is actually an issue when planning Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA). At Goddard, our operation of the Hubble Space Telescope has meant we have worked closely with several Shuttle crews over the years.
Historically, testing in the 10x10 Supersonic Wind Tunnel involved aeronautics type testing including testing of Supersonic Propulsion Components such as inlets and nozzles, Propulsion System Integration, Full-scale Jet and Rocket Engines, Aerodynamic Force and Moment testing, Sonic Boom Mitigation and the investigation of Advanced Aircraft Models. The New Space Directive(s) called for new areas of testing. Two interesting and challenging tests were proposed for the 10x10 SWT, the Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD) and the Mars Science Lab (MSL) Flexible Parachute. This presentation highlights those tests and plans for future testing in the 10x10 SWT.
The history of the Lightning Launch Commit Criteria (LLCC) used at all spaceports under the jurisdiction of the United States is provided. The formation and history of the Lightning Advisory Panel (LAP) that now advises NASA, the Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration on LLCC development and improvement is emphasized. The period covered extends from the early days of space flight through 2010. Extensive appendices provide significant detail about important aspects that are only summarized in the main text.
Dosimetric results of the various U.S. manned spaceflight programs are presented along with a description of the instrumentation, trapped radiation environments, and spacecraft shielding models. Analytical dose calculations are included and composed with actual measurements. Future requirements of the solar-terrestrial data user who will support manned spaceflight operations during the space shuttle era are outlined.
Brief review of the history of telemetering since the end of World War II, and discussion of telemetering needs and trends of the 1970's and 1980's. The shift in emphasis from quantity of flight equipments having relatively short lifetimes to quality of flight equipments having very long lifetimes is shown to characterize the main change from the 1960's to the 1970's in telemetering needs. Looking to the 1980's, the possibility is envisioned of the establishment of orbiting space stations capable of generating 1 to 10 trillion digital bits per day.
The NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Program co-manager, requested the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) to compile a body of publicly available knowledge on copper (Cu) wire bonds and perform reliability testing and analysis on these bonds, including environment tests, sample destructive physical analysis, and bond pull/shear tests during environment test intervals. The goal was to understand the risks of using Cu wire bonds for space applications and develop guidelines on Cu bond pull/shear limits for NASA applications. This document contains the results of the NESC assessment.
An ongoing project design often requires visual verification at various stages. These requirements are critically important because the subsequent phases of that project might depend on the complete verification of a particular stage. Currently, there are several software packages at JSC that provide such simulation capabilities. We present the simulation capabilities of the PLAID modeling system used in the Flight Crew Support Division for human factors analyses. We summarize some ongoing studies in kinematics, lighting, EVA activities, and discuss various applications in the mission planning of the current Space Shuttle flights and the assembly sequence of the Space Station Freedom with emphasis on the redesign effort.