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NASA NTRS2004

Information Technology Support in the 8000 Directorate

My summer internship was spent supporting various projects within the Environmental Management Office and Glenn Safety Office. Mentored by Eli Abumeri, I was trained in areas of Information Technology such as: Servers, printers, scanners, CAD systems, Web, Programming, and Database Management, ODIN (networking, computers, and phones). I worked closely with the Chemical Sampling and Analysis Team (CSAT) to redesign a database to more efficiently manage and maintain data collected for the Drinking Water Program. This Program has been established for over fifteen years here at the Glenn Research Center. It involves the continued testing and retesting of all drinking water dispensers. The quality of the drinking water is of great importance and is determined by comparing the concentration of contaminants in the water with specifications set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and its 1986 and 1991 amendments. The Drinking Water Program consists of periodic testing of all drinking water fountains and sinks. Each is tested at least once every 2 years for contaminants and naturally occurring species. The EPA's protocol is to collect an initial and a 5 minute draw from each dispenser. The 5 minute draw is what is used for the maximum contaminant level. However, the CS&AT has added a 30 second draw since most individuals do not run the water 5 minutes prior to drinking. This data is then entered into a relational Microsoft Access database. The database allows for the quick retrieval of any test@) done on any dispenser. The data can be queried by building number, date or test type, and test results are documented in an analytical report for employees to read. To aid with the tracking of recycled materials within the lab, my help was enlisted to create a database that could make this process less cumbersome and more efficient. The date of pickup, type of material, weight received, and unit cost per recyclable. This information could then calculate the dollar amount generated by the recycling of certain materials. This database will ultimately prove useful in determining the amounts of materials consumed by the lab and will help serve as an indicator potential overuse.

FROM↗

NASA NTRS2017

Capsulation Satellite or CapSat: A Low-Cost, Reliable, Rapid-Response Spacecraft Platform

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard's Rideshare Office estimates that between 2013 and 2022, NASA launches of primary satellites will have left unused more than 20,371 kilograms of excess capacity. This equates to hundreds of millions of dollars in launch-vehicle costs going unutilized. To fill this void with a standard CubeSat or SmallSat spacecraft platform, which when required to be more reliable, still will cost in the neighborhood of $1M a kilogram, making it prohibitively expensive. A newly proposed solution, which NASA is pursuing, is called the Capsulation Satellite or CapSat. CapSat is a modularized, pressurized, thermally controlled spacecraft designed to host ruggedized commercially available instrumentation in a terrestrial like environment on orbit. Using a technique that is under review for a patent, CapSat actively manages internal air temperatures in a manner similar to a household thermostat. This gives CapSat high-thermal stability, which, in turn, provides component longevity. CapSat was specifically designed to take advantage of the United States Air Force (USAF) Rideshare Program and the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adaptor, or ESPA ring. The ESPA ring comes in two sizes: standard and Grande. CapSat primarily will take advantage of the ESPA Grande to provide a 300-kilogram payload capability per attachment point, with up to four attachment points per ring. This approach combines a high-mass capability with a proven Rideshare mechanical interface and secondary payload management infrastructure. Opportunities for ESPA based co-manifests are continuing to expand. The CapSat program is currently funded to design and build a limited prototype and perform thermal-vacuum testing. CapSat is currently in the concept/study phase for both single missions and constellation of earth- and space-observing missions. One of these studies includes land imaging using state-of-the-art advanced infrared detector technology. This paper will report on the current status of the CapSat hardware design, testing, and results as well as any openly available advanced concept study results. The CapSat solution is intended to be a game-changing paradigm shift. CapSat will repurpose currently available, already-proven technology to reduce spaceflight hardware costs to less than $50,000 per kilogram.

Burt, Joe↗

NASA NTRS2019

Lunar Glovebox Balance with Wireless Technology

The most important equipment required for processing lunar samples is a high-quality mass balance for maintaining accurate weight inventory, security, and scientific study. After careful review, a Curation Office memo by Michael Duke in 1978 chose the Mettler PL200 to be used for sample weight measurements inside the gloveboxes (Fig. 3). These commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) balances did not meet the strict accepted material requirements in the Lunar lab. As a result, each balance housing, weighing pan, and wiring was custom retrofitted to meet Lunar Operating Procedure (LOP) 54 requirements [for material construction restrictions]. The original design drawings for the custom housings, readout support stands, and wiring were done by the JSC engineering directorate. The 1977- 1978 schematics, drawings, and files are now housed in the curation Data Center. Per the design specifications, the housing was fabricated from aluminum grade 6061 T6, seamless welds, and anodized per MIL-A-8625 type I, class I. The balance feet were TFE Teflon and any required joints were sealed with Viton A gaskets. The readout display and support stands outside the glovebox were fabricated from 300 series stainless steel with #4 finish and mounted to the glovebox with welded bolts. Wire harnesses that linked the balance with the outside display and power were encapsulated with TFE Teflon and transported through custom Deutsch wire bulk head pass-through systems from inside to outside the glovebox. These Deutsch connectors were custom fabricated with 316L stainless steel bodies, Viton A O-rings, aluminum 6061 with electroless nickel plating, Teflon (replacing the silicone), and gold crimp connectors (no soldering). Many of the Deutsch connectors may have been used in the Apollo program high vacuum complex in building 37 and date to about 1968 to 1970.

Zeigler, Ryan A.↗

NASA NTRS2014

NASA's Optical Measurement Program 2014

The Optical Measurements Group (OMG) within the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) addresses U.S. National Space Policy goals by monitoring and characterizing debris. Since 2001, the OMG has used the Michigan Orbital Debris Survey Telescope (MODEST) at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile for general orbital debris surveys. The 0.6-m Schmidt MODEST provides calibrated astronomical data of GEO targets, both catalogued and uncatalogued debris, with excellent image quality. The data are utilized by the ODPO modeling group and are included in the Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) v. 3.0. MODEST and the CTIO/SMARTS (Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System) 0.9 m are both employed to acquire filter photometry data as well as synchronously observe targets in selected optical filters. Obtaining data synchronously yields data for material composition studies as well as longer orbital arc data on the same target without time delay or bias from a rotating, tumbling, or spinning target. Observations of GEO orbital debris using the twin 6.5-m Magellan telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile for deep imaging (Baade) and spectroscopic data (Clay) began in 2011. Through the data acquired on Baade, debris has been detected that reaches approx. 3 magnitudes fainter than detections with MODEST, while the spectral data from Clay provide better resolved information used in material characterization analyses. To better characterize and model optical data, the Optical Measurements Center (OMC) at NASA/JSC has been in operation since 2005, resulting in a database of comparison laboratory data. The OMC is designed to emulate illumination conditions in space using equipment and techniques that parallel telescopic observations and sourcetarget- sensor orientations. Lastly, the OMG is building the Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) at Ascension Island. The 1.3-m telescope is designed to observe GEO and LEO targets, using a modified Ritchey-Chrétien configuration on a double horseshoe equatorial mount to allow tracking objects at LEO rates through the dome's keyhole at zenith. Through the data collection techniques employed at these unique facilities, NASA's ODPO has developed a multifaceted approach to characterize the orbital debris risk to satellites in various altitudes and provide insight leading toward material characterization of debris via photometric and spectroscopic measurements. Ultimately, the data are used in conjunction with in-situ and radar measurements to provide accurate data for models of our space environment and for facilitating spacecraft risk assessment.

Cowardin, H.↗

NASA NTRS2014

NASA's Optical Measurement Program 2014

The Optical Measurements Group (OMG) within the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) addresses U.S. National Space Policy goals by monitoring and characterizing debris. Since 2001, the OMG has used the Michigan Orbital Debris Survey Telescope (MODEST) at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile for general orbital debris survey. The 0.6-m Schmidt MODEST provides calibrated astronomical data of GEO targets, both catalogued and uncatalogued debris, with excellent image quality. The data are utilized by the ODPO modeling group and are included in the Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) v. 3.0. MODEST and the CTIO/SMARTS (Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System) 0.9 m both acquire filter photometric data, as well as synchronously observing targets in selected optical filters. This information provides data used in material composition studies as well as longer orbital arc data on the same target, without time delay or bias from a rotating, tumbling, or spinning target. NASA, in collaboration with the University of Michigan, began using the twin 6.5-m Magellan telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile for deep imaging (Baade) and spectroscopic data (Clay) in 2011. Through the data acquired on Baade, debris have been detected that are ~3 magnitudes fainter than detections with MODEST, while the data from Clay provide better resolved information used in material characterization analyses via selected bandpasses. To better characterize and model optical data, the Optical Measurements Center (OMC) at NASA/JSC has been in operation since 2005, resulting in a database of comparison laboratory data. The OMC is designed to emulate illumination conditions in space using equipment and techniques that parallel telescopic observations and source-target-sensor orientations. Lastly, the OMG is building the Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) at Ascension Island. The 1.3-m telescope is designed to observe GEO and LEO targets, using a modified Ritchey-Chrétien configuration on a double horseshoe equatorial mount to allow tracking objects at LEO rates through the dome's keyhole at zenith. Through the data collection techniques employed at these unique facilities, NASA's ODPO has developed a multi-faceted approach to characterize the orbital debris risk to satellites in various altitudes and provide material characterization of debris via photometric and spectroscopic measurements. Ultimately, the data are used in conjunction with in-situ and radar measurements to provide accurate data for models of our space environment and service spacecraft risk assessment.

Cowardin, H.↗

NASA NTRS2004

The GOES-R Lightning Mapper Sensor

The Lightning Mapper Sensor on GOES-R builds on previous measurements of lightning from low earth orbit by the OTD (Optical Transient Detector) and LIS (Lightning Imaging Sensor) sensors. Unlike observations from low earth orbit, the GOES-R platform will allow continuous monitoring of lightning activity over the Continental United States and southern Canada, Central and South America, and portions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The LMS will detect total (cloud-to-ground and intracloud) lightning at storm scale resolution (approx. 8 km) using a highly sensitive Charge Coupled Device (CCD) detector array. Discrimination between lightning optical transients and a bright sunlit background scene is accomplished by employing spectral, spatial, and temporal filtering along with a background subtraction technique. The result is 24 hour detection capability of total lightning. These total lightning observations can be made available to users within about 20 seconds. Research indicates a number of ways that total lightning observations from LMS could benefit operational activities, including 1) potential increases in lead times and reduced false alarms for severe thunderstorm and tornado Warnings, 2) improved routing of &rail around thunderstorms, 3) support for spacecraft launches and landings, 4) improved ability to monitor tropical cyclone intensity, 5) ability to monitor thunderstorm intensification/weakening during radar outages or where radar coverage is poor, 6) better identification of deep convection for the initialization of numerical prediction models, 7) improved forest fire forecasts, 8) identification of convective initiation, 9) identification of heavy convective snowfall, and 10) enhanced temporal resolution of storm evolution (1 minute) than is available from radar observations. Total lightning data has been used in an operational environment since July 2003 at the Huntsville, Alabama National Weather Service office. Total lightning measurements are obtained by the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) and have successfully been used in warning decisions. Every 2 minutes, total lightning counts in 2 km by 2 km horizontal, 1 km vertical grids are available to forecasters on an AWIPS (Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System) workstation. Experience with the LMA total lightning data is used to illustrate the potential use of LMS data that would be available to forecasters across the US. This abstract is for submission as a presentation to the National Weather Association Annual Meeting to be held 16-21 October 2004 in Portland, OR. This abstract will be published in the conference proceedings.

Buechler, Dennis↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lessons Learned From the Construction of a Portable Cleanroom for NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission Deintegration

NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Infrastructure and Astromaterials Acquisition & Curation Office completed construction and commissioning of the OSIRIS-REx (OREx) Deintegration portable cleanroom at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The new portable cleanroom was designed to receive the OREx sample return capsule from the landing point on the range to an ISO7 environment. Scientists used the portable clean-room to deintegrate the sample canister from the sample return capsule. Once separated, the sample canister was put in a container under nitrogen purge for transportation to B31 at the Johnson Space Center for astromaterial sample extraction, preliminary analysis, and long-term curation. The portable cleanroom was built by a subcontractor at their facility and then deconstructed to be transported to the remote location at UTTR. Since construction was completed in a remote location all tools and materials had to be transported from contractor site in Dallas, TX. The cleanroom was constructed within an existing facility, which provided conditioned air, electric power, and protection from the elements. Careful coordination was required between the host facility, cleanroom contractor, mission scientists, and JSC facilities and curation personnel. An existing anteroom at JSC was transported to UTTR and added to the portable cleanroom after there was concern about contamination without one for personnel entry/exit. The scientific study of organics is critical for the mission, so a stringent contamination control plan was implemented for low organics. Given these mission requirements the cleanroom construction materials were carefully selected to not hinder the scientific search for amino acids and the study of organics in the samples. The same cleanroom contractor that built the long-term astromaterial curation cleanroom back at JSC Houston, TX was selected to build the portable cleanroom and instructed to use the same materials. The cleanroom had double doors to open and allow the sample return capsule to fit into the cleanroom on its stand and be transferred to a clean stand already in the cleanroom. The portable cleanroom successfully completed its mission and the sample canister was safely deintegrated and transported to JSC under nitrogen purge.

astromaterials curation↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Portable Cleanroom for NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission Deintegration

astromaterials curation↗

NASA NTRS1992

Assured crew return vehicle post landing configuration design and test

The 1991-1992 senior Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Design class continued work on the post landing configurations for the Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) and the Emergency Egress Couch (EEC). The ACRV will be permanently docked to Space Station Freedom fulfilling NASA's commitment of Assured Crew Return Capability in the event of an accident or illness aboard Space Station Freedom. The EEC provides medical support and a transportation surface for an incapacitated crew member. The objective of the projects was to give the ACRV Project Office data to feed into their feasibility studies. Four design teams were given the task of developing models with dynamically and geometrically scaled characteristics. Groups one and two combined efforts to design a one-fifth scale model for the Apollo Command Module derivative, an on-board flotation system, and a lift attachment point system. This model was designed to test the feasibility of a rigid flotation and stabilization system and to determine the dynamics associated with lifting the vehicle during retrieval. However, due to priorities, it was not built. Group three designed a one-fifth scale model of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) benchmark configuration, the Station Crew Return Alternative Module (SCRAM) with a lift attachment point system. This model helped to determine the flotation and lifting characteristics of the SCRAM configuration. Group four designed a full scale EEC with changeable geometric and geometric and dynamic characteristics. This model provided data on the geometric characteristics of the EEC and on the placement of the CG and moment of inertia. It also gave the helicopter rescue personnel direct input to the feasibility study. Section 1 describes in detail the design of a one-fifth scale model of the Apollo Command Module Derivative (ACMD) ACRV. The objective of the ACMD Configuration Model Team was to use geometric and dynamic constraints to design a one-fifth scale working model of the Apollo Command Module Derivative (ACMD) configuration with a Lift Attachment Point (LAP) System. This model was required to incorporate a rigidly mounted flotation system and the egress system designed the previous academic year. The LAP system was to be used to determine the dynamic effects of locating the lifting points at different locations on the vehicle. The team was then to build and test the model; however, due to priorities, this did not occur. To better simulate the ACMD after a water landing, the nose cone section was removed and the deck area exposed. The areas researched during the design process were construction, center of gravity and moment of inertia, and lift attachment points.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2010

Ares I-X: First Step in a New Era of Exploration

Since 2005, NASA's Constellation Program has been designing, building, and testing the next generation of launch and space vehicles to carry humans beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). On October 28, 2009, the Ares Projects successfully launched the first suborbital development flight test of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, Ares I-X, from Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Although the final Constellation Program architecture is under review, data and lessons obtained from Ares I-X can be applied to any launch vehicle. This presentation will discuss the mission background and future impacts of the flight. Ares I is designed to carry up to four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). It also can be used with the Ares V cargo launch vehicle for a variety of missions beyond LEO. The Ares I-X development flight test was conceived in 2006 to acquire early engineering, operations, and environment data during liftoff, ascent, and first stage recovery. Engineers are using the test flight data to improve the Ares I design before its critical design review the final review before manufacturing of the flight vehicle begins. The Ares I-X flight test vehicle incorporated a mix of flight and mockup hardware, reflecting a similar length and mass to the operational vehicle. It was powered by a four-segment SRB from the Space Shuttle inventory, and was modified to include a fifth, spacer segment that made the booster approximately the same size as the five-segment SRB. The Ares I-X flight closely approximated flight conditions the Ares I will experience through Mach 4.5, performing a first stage separation at an altitude of 125,000 feet and reaching a maximum dynamic pressure ("Max Q") of approximately 850 pounds per square foot. The Ares I-X Mission Management Office (MMO) was organized functionally to address all the major test elements, including: first stage, avionics, and roll control (Marshall Space Flight Center); upper stage simulator (Glenn Research Center); crew module/launch abort system simulator (Langley Research Center); and ground systems and operations (KSC). Interfaces between vehicle elements and vehicle-ground elements, as well as environment analyses were performed by a systems engineering and integration team at Langley. Experience and lessons learned from these integrated product teams area are already being integrated into the Ares Projects to support the next generation of exploration launch vehicles.

Davis, Stephan R.↗

NASA NTRS2019

WWAO-WSWC Workshop Report 2019 Final

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Western States Water Council (WSWC) and the NASA Western Water Applications Office (WWAO) hosted a joint workshop on technology transfer for water management in the Western U.S. The goals of the workshop were to understand how different agencies approach the technology transfer and research to operations (R2O) process, identify best practices, and discuss existing barriers to successful technology infusion into operational water resource management systems at the state and federal level. The workshop took place August 7-9, 2019 in Irvine, CA. Key outcomes of the meeting include the following:• U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano provided opening remarks for the workshop, where she highlighted the critical value of water data and the importance of collaboration between state and federal agencies in working to advance the use of water data in water management, planning and policy. • A total of 33 participants (including remote participants) were part of the workshop. They included principal investigators and project teams supported by NASA (Cyanobacteria Assessment Network, Evapotranspiration for Western States, Evaporative Stress Index, the Airborne Snow Observatory, Satellite-based Snow Water Equivalent in the Sierra Nevadas, and Fallowed Area Mapping) as well as representatives from federal (USGS, NOAA, USBR, EPA) and state (CA, WY, OR, NE) agency partners. • One main outcome of the meeting was the consensus that successful transitions of new applications and new technologies into operations require careful planning, effective communication within and across institutions, resources and considerable time investments. In addition, there was broad agreement that significant lead time is often required to allow for identification of financial and technical resources to sustain operational use of new data, information and tools.• The meeting included remarks from U.S. Rep. Napolitano and discussions during presentations and breakout groups about key opportunities to develop best practices and streamline the technology transfer process. • For example, one key set of best practices that emerged revolved around the the importance of building trust and establishing clear lines of communication between the research and operational institutions. The conversations led to defining two key components of trust-building. The first aspect is purely technical. It requires effectively demonstrating that the proposed application meets the end user’s needs in terms of accuracy, format, resolution, latency, metadata and documentation. The second aspect of building trust involves developing sustained, productive and mutually-beneficial relationships with the partner operational agency. The best practices presented here span both the technical as well as the relational aspects of cultivating trust. • This workshop served as a first step in developing a broader community discussion around R2O in western water management. Many of the best practices and lessons learned described in this report represent starting places for action within the WWAO, WSWC and our colleagues’ institutions. • Effective implementation of the best practices that emerged from this workshop will require sustained investments of time, resources and transition planning. In recognition of this, the WSWC and the WWAO proposed continuation of discussions begun at the workshop through a series of semi-annual or annual workshops.

Wilardson, Tony↗

NASA NTRS1999

I/O Parallelization for the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System (GEOS DAS)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Data Assimilation Office (DAO) at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has developed the GEOS DAS, a data assimilation system that provides production support for NASA missions and will support NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) in the coming years. The DAO's support of the EOS project along with the requirement of producing long-term reanalysis datasets with an unvarying system levy a large I/O burden on the future system. The DAO has been involved in prototyping parallel implementations of the GEOS DAS for a number of years and is now converting the production version from shared-memory parallelism to distributed-memory parallelism using the portable Message-Passing Interface (MPI). If the MPI-based GEOS DAS is to meet these production requirements, we must make I/O from the parallel system efficient. We have designed a scheme that allows efficient I/O processing while retaining portability, reducing the need for post-processing, and producing data formats that are required by our users, both internal and external. The first phase of the GEOS DAS Parallel I/O System (GPIOS) will expand upon the common method of gathering global data to a Single PE for output. Instead of using a PE also tasked with primary computation, a number of PEs will be dedicated to I/O and its related tasks. This allows the data transformations and formatting required prior to output to take place asynchronously with respect to the GEOS DAS assimilation cycle, improving performance and generating output data sets in a format convenient for our users. I/O PEs can be added as needed to handle larger data volumes or to meet user file specifications. We will show I/O performance results from a prototype MPI GCM integrated with GPIOS. Phase two of GPIOS development will examine ways of integrating new software technologies to further improve performance and build scalability into the system. The maturing of MPI-IO implementations and other supporting libraries such as parallel HDF should provide performance gains while retaining portability.

Lucchesi, R.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Models for Facilitating Government-Funded Activities in the Post-ISS LEO Ecosystem

The International Space Station National Lab (ISSNL) was established through Congressional authority in 2005 and has been managed by a nonprofit called the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) since 2011 to support research, development, education, and commercial activities in low-Earth orbit (LEO). NASA leadership is considering next steps for microgravity and orbital activities in LEO in preparation for the retirement of the International Space Station (ISS) and transition to Commercial LEO Destinations (CLDs) in the 2030 timeframe. Specifically, our study team within the NASA Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy addressed the question: What are potential models for an ISS National Lab facilitating government-funded or subsidized activities on a commercial LEO platform after the transition of the ISS to one or more private platforms? To inform the trade space of potential models, we conducted over 40 discussions with stakeholders internal and external to NASA and reviewed over 35 documents related to LEO legislation, commercialization, models, and activities. Following the extensive literature review and discussions with diverse stakeholders, we defined and evaluated six models, in addition to the current ISSNL model. We assessed each model across three possible future scenarios (dynamic, steady, and limited growth of the commercial LEO market and activities) and across five stakeholder-driven model evaluation criteria (ability to meet NASA’s needs, adaptability, opportunity for collaboration, market sustainability, and equity and accessibility). The six models in the future trade space were: • Government Research Broker: Customizable research efforts on transport vehicles and CLDs • Innovation Campus: Modern terrestrial campus with workforce focus • Anchor Tenant: Long-term, substantial agreement for leasing space on a single CLD • Fee for Service: Free market approach with NASA-sponsored grants and service/data buys • Matchmaker: Neutral third-party connecting users to platforms • Institute Network: Network of separate but related efforts to enable commercial scaling The Government Research Broker model performed best across the scenarios, followed by Innovation Campus, Anchor Tenant, and Fee for Service. While Matchmaker and Institute Network exhibited positive aspects, the two models performed most favorably in future scenarios with well-established communities and markets. The six models presented in this study are representative of the potential trade space and are illustrative examples. NASA leadership can adjust models as desired to align to their priorities more closely by using combinations of the unique model features provided in our analysis. The optimal model is likely a combination of features from multiple models. Building upon this work to best position NASA and the diverse stakeholders of LEO activities for success post-ISS, further work will explore the near-term impact of preparing for the transition of the ISS to CLDs by identifying opportunities for modifying the current ISSNL-CASIS partnership. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank the many reviewers and discussants, internal and external to NASA, that contributed to the work.

Erica Rodgers↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Application of Earth Observation Data for Improved Environmental and Disaster Monitoring in Central America

Since its establishment in 1991, the Central American Integration System (SICA, in Spanish) has served as a force for integrating the eight countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic, and in recent years, SICA’s General Secretariat and its various technical secretariats have focused on integrating Earth observations into various regional and national processes. In 2019, for instance, a joint statement was signed between SICA’s General Secretariat and NASA, toward strengthening the region’s use of Earth observations. SICA has also pursued cooperation with the Group on Earth Observations’ AmeriGEO regional initiative, the Japanese Aerospace Agency (JAXA), the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and the Copernicus program, among others. Just in the framework of the NASA-SICA Joint Statement, and towards the goal of strengthening the region’s use of Earth observations across sectors, a large number of training webinars has been conducted, particularly benefiting national institutions, non-governmental organizations, and universities. Additionally, targeted support has been provided in the areas of environmental monitoring and disaster management. From 2019 through 2021, for instance, a number of feasibility studies were implemented by NASA’s DEVELOP program in collaboration with SICA technical secretariats. In 2020, in response to devastating Hurricanes Eta and Iota, the SERVIR program also provided support for extending the HYDRAFloods algorithm which had been originally developed for the Mekong to Central America. Support is also being provided toward monitoring land cover change across the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. In the framework of the “observing the Earth for the benefit of all” theme, this presentation will also focus on how Central America can serve as a case study for the development of Earth observation capacity, applicable to other regions of the world.

applied sciences↗

NASA NTRS2012

An Overview of the NASA Ames Millimeter-Wave Thermal Launch System

The Millimeter-Wave Thermal Launch System (MTLS) is a beamed-energy propulsion concept being designed at NASA Ames Research Center. This effort is in response to the NASA Office of the Chief Technologist s announcement of the Ride the Light program. Our objective is to produce a design that goes beyond the feasibility analysis level of previous studies and provides a solid foundation for low cost access to space. The MTLS is designed to place a 500 lb payload into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) two times a day. This frequent launch, small payload niche is well suited for the particular advantages and constraints of beamed-energy propulsion, and has the potential to drastically increase access to space by reducing the cost per kilogram of placing payloads into LEO. This paper summarizes the findings of the MTLS study. The chemical rocket engine is in principle a simple device. It acts by releasing the chemical energy stored in propellants such as hydrogen and oxygen through combustion, then converting that thermal energy into kinetic energy by expansion through a nozzle. As such, it is fundamentally limited by the energy released in combustion reactions and the molecular weight of the products of those reactions. The highest performing conventional propellant combination, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, can produce vacuum specific impulses of around 450 seconds. The design space of current launch vehicles (which tend to be large, multi-stage, and expendable) are defined by these limitations. An entirely new approach may be necessary in order to enable future launch vehicles of radically improved capabilities. Beamed-energy propulsion (BEP) is an alternative approach that bypasses the energy limitations of chemical propulsion. Instead of relying on a chemical reaction as the energy source, it is supplied externally via a beam of electromagnetic energy produced on the ground. In the concept examined in the MTLS, this energy is absorbed by a heat exchanger which then transfers the energy to the propellant. This decouples the energy source from the working fluid, vastly expanding the design space. For example, a launch vehicle could use only water as propellant, making it very safe and easy to handle. However, the most commonly proposed way to take advantage of this decoupling is to use pure hydrogen as the working fluid, which enables specific impulses of around 800 seconds1 if the heat exchanger material can operate at 2200 K. With such a significantly increased Isp, it may be possible to build single-stage to orbit vehicles, with enough mass margins left over to permit lower cost fabrication techniques.

Murakami, David↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar Search & Rescue Applications of Lunar GNSS

Accurate lunar navigation and timing knowledge provides for the development of safety-critical services in the cislunar and lunar surface domain. Currently under development, the Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC) Search and Rescue Mission Office is investigating and integrating search and rescue (SAR) capability into planned and future lunar communication and navigation interfaces. Lunar Search and Rescue (LunaSAR) development has a stated end-goal for assured, reliable, and timely indication of distress events for a wide variety of lunar surface users, including government-sponsored, commercial, and international users. LunaSAR performance requirements are modelled after the current terrestrial Cospas-Sarsat distress notification system, leveraging an internationally robust global navigation satellite system (GNSS) ecosystem as a core element of survivor locating capability. This presentation will discuss NASA’s work to develop user-focused distress messaging capabilities including infusion of example sensor data for triggering of automated distress alerts coupled with location-tagging. Additionally, the presentation will examine overall message structures, rotating fields for use in bi-directional distress messaging, and specific use cases based on NASA’s lunar exploration and lunar communication relay architectures. Modelling and simulation of LunaSAR use by individual lunar explorers will be discussed, based on notional industry and government design reference missions and mission considerations. Results from GSFC-funded Internal Research and Development (IRAD) efforts will be detailed, including successful distress message formulation simulating the ingestion of example legacy space suit telemetry fields. Hardware-in-the-loop testing using high-reliability software defined radio (SDR) modules serve as an example of IRAD successes and the framework for technical requirements. Architectural development and technical evolution from 2020 to 2021 included alignment of LunaSAR distress waveforms with ongoing NASA LunaNet interoperability development, as well as engagement with NASA Lunar Spectrum authorities for allocation of UHF-band distress frequencies on the lunar surface. S-Band and UHF-band transmission characteristics will be detailed, along with band-specific applications of each emission type. Additionally, examples of ingestion and formatting of GNSS signals (using historical terrestrial National Marine Electronics Association-formatted GNSS data) will be detailed, underscoring lunar user needs for a common lunar GNSS receiver output message framework. Maturity and ability to support evolving lunar exploration goals has been demonstrated and will be detailed, with maturity gaps such as position, navigation, and timing (PNT) and lunar reference frames identified within the context of distress message generation. Provision of LunaSAR services for lunar surface users represents a new era of ensured safety for lunar explorers and builds off of forty years of the Cospas-Sarsat program, underscoring the importance of lunar GNSS for safety-critical applications and growing interest in safe, reliable lunar surface operations. Enabled by new GNSS systems being developed by government and industry partners, NASA will continue to evolve and integrate lunar GNSS types into distress message generation, with a focus on compact and efficient message transmission over various lunar communication links. When fielded, LunaSAR will be the first dedicated search and rescue notification system employed on another celestial body. Robust lunar navigation and timing services form the core of LunaSAR capabilities, allowing for system syncing with time-dominant sensors, and high-accuracy location of those in distress while engaged in lunar surface activities.

Search and Rescue↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluation of Markerless Motion Capture for Monitoring Sensorimotor Performance

BACKGROUND Astronauts returning from long-duration exposure to microgravity frequently exhibit alterations in sensorimotor function leading to postural imbalance, impaired locomotion, and operational challenges to manual control. Mission duration and individual responses often influence both the severity of performance decrements and the variability in adaptation timelines. Postflight disruptions during functional tasks are often detected through body-worn inertial measurement unit (IMU) devices. While IMU sensors are relatively compact, the long-term wear may lead to discomfort, displacement of the sensors on the body, and restrictions in movement or crew behavior. Although IMU data offers valuable insights from a research standpoint, interpreting changes in pre- and post-flight measures can be difficult for crew support personnel beyond the research domain, which can hinder the application for medical assessments and rehabilitation. Finally, the availability of inertial sensors in-flight is limited. There is a need for unobtrusive monitoring tools to improve our ability to monitor adaptation following gravitational transitions in various postflight evaluations and rehabilitation settings. Markerless motion capture (MMC) is an evolving unobtrusive technology that builds upon decades of research with marker-based motion capture systems to provide 3D human pose estimation from multiple synchronized 2D camera views using deep learning algorithms. Markerless technology can revolutionize how data is captured pre- and post-flight and potentially in-flight during intravehicular activity by enabling pose estimation of multiple crew members from onboard camera hardware. METHODS The following presents the initial evaluation of a state-of-the-art commercial-off-the-shelf MMC system, Theia Markerless, compared to IMU devices during various ground-based functional tasks and environmental conditions. The featured functional tasks include assessments from Human Research Program (HRP) funded studies such as Sensorimotor Standard Measures and Sensorimotor Assessments. Synchronous data collected using both motion capture and IMUs are analyzed for six male and female subjects of varying anthropometry. The analysis includes limited assessments of clothing, capture volume configurations, and the tool's sensitivity to detecting performance changes after a spaceflight analog centrifuge exposure. The development of visualization tools to enhance the application of the pose estimation output is also presented. RESULTS Initial results demonstrate comparable root mean square error (RMSE) to existing literature evaluating markerless and marker-based motion capture systems. Considering the relative functional range of motion of the cervical spine, normalized error values for the markerless system’s accuracy of the head was 0.032 in pitch, 0.025 in roll, and 0.018 in yaw plane of motion across a subset of functional tasks. The raw RMSE values were 3.49, 2.25, and 2.81 degrees respectively. For the torso, results suggest normalized errors of 0.469 in pitch, 0.191 in roll, and 0.307 in yaw planes of motion and raw RMSE values of 3.52, 1.53, and 3.07 degrees respectively. The data suggests the functional demands of a particular task influences the estimation accuracy of the MMC system where more dynamic motion and cases where subjects are not upright may introduce diminished tracking accuracy. DISCUSSION The following work lays the foundation for future implementations leveraging markerless motion capture to assess the time course of recovery and provide insight for rehabilitation protocols to enhance crew readiness for the resumption of daily activities. These tools offer effective methods for anonymizing sensitive crew data, facilitating numerous applications across research, medical, and rehabilitation groups. Collaborations with the Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility will provide further comparisons of the Markerless system to a marker-based system. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT</ This work is supported by NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Mars Campaign Office Crew Health Countermeasures.

Hannah M. Weiss↗

NASA NTRS2012

Remediation Technologies Eliminate Contaminants

All research and development has a story behind it, says Jacqueline Quinn, environmental engineer at Kennedy Space Center. For Quinn, one such story begins with the Saturn 1B launch stand at Kennedy and ends with a unique solution to a challenging environmental problem. Used in a number of Apollo missions and during the Skylab program, the Saturn 1B launch stand was dismantled following the transition to the Space Shuttle Program and stored in an open field at Kennedy. Decades later, the Center s Environmental Program Office discovered evidence of chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the field s soil. The findings were puzzling since PCBs a toxin classified as a probable carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been banned in the United States since 1979. Before the ban, PCBs were commonly used in transformer oils that leached into the ground when the oils were changed out and dumped near transformer sites, but there were no electrical transformers near the dismantled stand. It soon became apparent that the source of the PCBs was the launch stand itself. Prior to the ban, PCBs were used extensively in paints to add elasticity and other desirable characteristics. The PCB-laden paint on the Saturn 1B launch stand was flaking off into the field s soil. Nobody knew there were PCBs in the paint, says Quinn, noting that the ingredient was not monitored carefully when it was in use in 1960s. In fact, she says, the U.S. EPA was not even established until 1970, a year after Neil Armstrong first set foot on the Moon. Nobody knew any better at the time, Quinn says, but today, we have the responsibility to return any natural environmental media to as close to pristine a condition as possible. Quinn, fellow engineer Kathleen Loftin, and other Kennedy colleagues already had experience developing unprecedented solutions for environmental contamination; the team invented the emulsified zero-valent iron (EZVI) technology to safely treat groundwater tainted by chlorinated solvents once used to clean rocket engine components. The award-winning innovation (Spinoff 2010) is now NASA s most licensed technology to date. PCBs in paint presented a new challenge. Removing the launch stand for recycling proved a difficult operation; the toxic paint had to be fully stripped from the steel structure, a lengthy and costly process that required the stripped paint to be treated before disposal. Noting the lack of efficient, environmentally friendly options for dealing with PCBs, Quinn and her colleagues developed the Activated Metal Treatment System (AMTS). AMTS is a paste consisting of a solvent solution containing microscale particles of activated zero-valent metal. When applied to a painted surface, the paste extracts and degrades the PCBs into benign byproducts while leaving the paint on the structure. This provides a superior alternative to other methods for PCB remediation, such as stripping the paint or incinerating the structure, which prevents reuse and can release volatized PCBs into the air. Since its development, AMTS has proven to be a valuable solution for removing PCBs from paint, caulking, and various insulation and filler materials in older buildings, naval ships, and former munitions facilities where the presence of PCBs interferes with methods for removing trace explosive materials. Miles of potentially toxic caulking join sections of runways at airports. Any of these materials installed before 1979 potentially contain PCBs, Quinn says. "This is not just a NASA problem," she says. "It s a global problem."

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