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NASA NTRS2018

NASA: 60 Years and Counting...

Sputnik launched on 4 Oct 1057. On July 29, 1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, the creation of NASA. The Soviets launched the first human into orbit, Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961. On 5 May 1961, Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 Mercury capsule lifted off at 9:34 a.m. from Launch Complex 5 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and flew a suborbital trajectory lasting 15 minutes and 22 seconds, America's first man in space. On 25 May 1961, Kennedy delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress. In that speech, he stated "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." The rest, as they say, is history. Project Mercury, the first U.S. program to put humans in space, made 25 flights, six of which carried astronauts between 1961 and 1963. The Gemini program primarily tested equipment and mission procedures and trained astronauts and ground crews for future Apollo missions to the Moon. Exactly eight years, one month and 26 days after President Kennedy challenged Americans to reach for the Moon, Project Apollo landed the first humans on the lunar surface and returned them safely to Earth. In 1973, Skylab expeditions paved the way for the International Space Station. Over 30 years, NASA's space shuttle fleet, ”Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour,” flew 135 missions and carried 355 different people to space. The space shuttle carried people into orbit repeatedly; launched, recovered and repaired satellites; conducted cutting-edge research; and built the largest structure in space, the International Space Station. Tragically, NASA lost two crews of seven in the 1986 Challenger accident and the 2003 Columbia accident. The International Space Station is a model for global cooperation and scientific advancements that is enabling growth of private industry in low-Earth orbit and development of new technologies to advance human space exploration. Built between 1998 and 2011, the space station has housed humans continuously since Nov. 2, 2000. NASA has contracted with commercial companies SpaceX, Orbital ATK, and Sierra Nevada Corporation to deliver science investigations, cargo, and supplies to the crews living in space, and soon Boeing and SpaceX will transport astronauts to and from the station. Today, NASA is working on many fronts to advance man's presence in space. NASA's Exploration Campaign will establish U.S. preeminence in cislunar space through the operations and the deployment of a U.S.-led Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOPG). Together with the Orion and SLS Programs, the LOPG is central to advancing and sustaining human space exploration goals, and is the unifying single stepping off point for human cislunar operations, lunar surface access and missions to Mars. As one might expect, EMC for all this activity is challenging, to say the least. In the next half-hour or so, I will talk about some of those challenges and how the different programs are meeting them.

Scully, Bob↗
NASA NTRS1971

Gemini experiment S026

The results of the reduction and analysis of data obtained from the S026 experiment from Gemini 10 and 11 flights are presented. The electron and ion sensors were continuously operative throughout both missions from shroud removal (about 6 minutes after Agena liftoff to power-down conditions one week later). Data on ion and electron currents, electron temperature, and vehicle potential were obtained at a sample rate of 32 times per second on positive ions for each of two ion sensors and once every 1.067 seconds for the electron sensor. Only the data reduction of the Gemini plasma wake measurements comprising roughly twenty minutes of data for six maneuvers programed for wake measurements are considered. The intermediate depletion zone, between 1 and 10 vehicle radii downstream from the object, is emphasized. The smallest characteristic radius of interest is 1.34 feet and the largest is 5 feet. This implies a separation span extending from approximately 1.5 feet at the closest approach to at least 50 feet into the far field.

Medved, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Biomedical Support of U.S. Extravehicular Activity

The world's first extravehicular activity (EVA) was performed by A. A. Leonov on March 18, 1965 during the Russian Voskhod-2 mission. The first US EVA was executed by Gemini IV astronaut Ed White on June 3, 1965, with an umbilical tether that included communications and an oxygen supply. A hand-held maneuvering unit (HHMU) also was used to test maneuverability during the brief EVA; however the somewhat stiff umbilical limited controlled movement. That constraint, plus difficulty returning through the vehicle hatch, highlighted the need for increased thermal control and improved EVA ergonomics. Clearly, requirements for a useful EVA were interrelated with the vehicle design. The early Gemini EVAs generated requirements for suits providing micro-meteor protection, adequate visual field and eye protection from solar visual and infrared radiation, gloves optimized for dexterity while pressurized, and thermal systems capable of protecting the astronaut while rejecting metabolic heat during high workloads. Subsequent Gemini EVAs built upon this early experience and included development of a portable environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS) and an astronaut maneuvering unit. The ECLSS provided a pressure vessel and controller with functional control over suit pressure, oxygen flow, carbon dioxide removal, humidity, and temperature control. Gemini EVA experience also identified the usefulness of underwater neutral buoyancy and altitude chamber task training, and the importance of developing reliable task timelines. Improved thermal management and carbon dioxide control also were required for high workload tasks. With the Apollo project, EVA activity was primarily on the lunar surface; and suit durability, integrated liquid cooling garments, and low suit operating pressures (3.75 pounds per square inch absolute [psia] or 25.8 kilopascal [kPa],) were required to facilitate longer EVAs with ambulation and significant physical workloads with average metabolic rates of 1000 BTU/hr and peaks of up to 2200 BTU/hr. Mobility was further augmented with the Lunar Roving Vehicle. The Apollo extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) was made up of over 15 components, ranging from a biomedical belt for capturing and transmitting biomedical data, urine and fecal containment systems, a liquid cooling garment, communications cap, a modular portable life support system (PLSS), a boot system, thermal overgloves, and a bubble helmet with eye protection. Apollo lunar astronauts performed successful EVAs on the lunar surface from a 5 psia (34.4 kPa) 100% oxygen environment in the Lunar Lander. A maximum of three EVAs were performed on any mission. For Skylab a modified A7LB suit, used for Apollo 15, was selected. The Skylab astronaut life support assembly (ALSA) provided umbilical support through the life support umbilical (LSU) and used open loop oxygen flow, rather than closed-loop as in Apollo missions. Thermal control was provided by liquid water circulated by spacecraft pumps and electrical power also was provided from the spacecraft via the umbilical. The cabin atmosphere of 5 psia (34.4 kPa), 70% oxygen, provided a normoxic atmosphere and because of the very low nitrogen partial pressures, no special protocols were required to protect against decompression sickness (DCS) as was the case with the Apollo spacecraft with a 5 psi, 100% oxygen environment.

Gernhardt, Michael L.↗
NASA NTRS2022

A Detailed Analysis of the Gl 486 Planetary System

Context . The Gl 486 system consists of a very nearby, relatively bright, weakly active M3.5V star at just 8 pc with a warm transiting rocky planet of about 1.3 R ⨁ and 3.0 M ⨁ . It is ideal for both transmission and emission spectroscopy and for testing interior models of telluric planets. Aims . To prepare for future studies, we aim to thoroughly characterise the planetary system with new accurate and precise data collected with state-of-the-art photometers from space and spectrometers and interferometers from the ground. Methods . We collected light curves of seven new transits observed with the CHEOPS space mission and new radial velocities obtained with MAROON-X at the 8.1m Gemini North telescope and CARMENES at the 3.5m Calar Alto telescope, together with previously published spectroscopic and photometric data from the two spectrographs and TESS. We also performed near-infrared interferometric observations with the CHARA Array and new photometric monitoring with a suite of smaller telescopes (AstroLAB, LCOGT, OSN, TJO). This extraordinary and rich data set was the input for our comprehensive analysis. Results . From interferometry, we measure a limb-darkened disc angular size of the star Gl 486 at θ LDD = 0.390 ± 0.018 mas. Together with a corrected Gaia EDR3 parallax, we obtain a stellar radius R * = 0.339 ± 0.015 R ⨀ . We also measure a stellar rotation period at P rot = 49.9 ± 5.5 days, an upper limit to its XUV (5–920 Å) flux informed by new Hubble/STIS data, and, for the first time, a variety of element abundances (Fe, Mg, Si, V, Sr, Zr, Rb) and C/O ratio. Moreover, we imposed restrictive constraints on the presence of additional components, either stellar or sub-stellar, in the system. With the input stellar parameters and the radial-velocity and transit data, we determine the radius and mass of the planet Gl 486 b at R p = 1.343 +0.063 -0.062 R ⨀ and M p = 3.00 +0.13 -0.13 M ⨁ , with relative uncertainties of the planet radius and mass of 4.7% and 4.2%, respectively. From the planet parameters and the stellar element abundances, we infer the most probable models of planet internal structure and composition, which are consistent with a relatively small metallic core with respect to the Earth, a deep silicate mantle, and a thin volatile upper layer. With all these ingredients, we outline prospects for Gl 486 b atmospheric studies, especially with forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) observations.

Planetary systems↗
NASA NTRS1969

Apollo 7 to 11 - Medical Concerns and Results

The goal of the Apollo Program is to land men on the moon and safely return them to earth. The medical task thus outlined required confirmation of the Gemini findings and definition and solution of any problems encountered in the four Apollo flights prior to the Apollo 11 lunar landing. The medical concerns included the following: 1. The effect of decreased red blood cell mass and decreased exercise capacity and of cardiovascular de conditioning on the ability of the crew to do lunar-surface activity; 2. The capability to work effectively in one-sixth the force of gravity and the energy cost of such work; 3. The ability to get adequate rest and sleep in flight and on the lunar surface; 4. The prevention of preflight, inflight, and post-flight illness by proper preventive medicine; 5. The possible development of motion sickness of vestibular origin; 6. The conduct of a post-flight quarantine of crew and lunar samples. The results of the Apollo 7 to 11 missions, demonstrating the ability of man to handle this difficult task and the environment successfully, are discussed in detail and are related to the future of manned flight.

Berry, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Feature Detection Systems Enhance Satellite Imagery

In 1963, during the ninth orbit of the Faith 7 capsule, astronaut Gordon Cooper skipped his nap and took some photos of the Earth below using a Hasselblad camera. The sole flier on the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission, Cooper took 24 photos - never-before-seen images including the Tibetan plateau, the crinkled heights of the Himalayas, and the jagged coast of Burma. From his lofty perch over 100 miles above the Earth, Cooper noted villages, roads, rivers, and even, on occasion, individual houses. In 1965, encouraged by the effectiveness of NASA s orbital photography experiments during the Mercury and subsequent Gemini manned space flight missions, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) director William Pecora put forward a plan for a remote sensing satellite program that would collect information about the planet never before attainable. By 1972, NASA had built and launched Landsat 1, the first in a series of Landsat sensors that have combined to provide the longest continuous collection of space-based Earth imagery. The archived Landsat data - 37 years worth and counting - has provided a vast library of information allowing not only the extensive mapping of Earth s surface but also the study of its environmental changes, from receding glaciers and tropical deforestation to urban growth and crop harvests. Developed and launched by NASA with data collection operated at various times by the Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Earth Observation Satellite Company (EOSAT, a private sector partnership that became Space Imaging Corporation in 1996), and USGS, Landsat sensors have recorded flooding from Hurricane Katrina, the building boom in Dubai, and the extinction of the Aral Sea, offering scientists invaluable insights into the natural and manmade changes that shape the world. Of the seven Landsat sensors launched since 1972, Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 are still operational. Though both are in use well beyond their intended lifespans, the mid-resolution satellites, which provide the benefit of images detailed enough to reveal large features like highways while still broad enough for global coverage, continue to scan the entirety of the Earth s surface. In 2012, NASA plans to launch the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), or Landsat 8, to extend the Landsat program s contributions to cartography, water management, natural disaster relief planning, and more.

Source record↗