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Results for “Trajectory Clustering”

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.

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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

The application of optical potentials for reactive scattering - A case study

A precise method is presented for measuring decay fractions of metastable cluster ions with corrections concerning instrumental artifacts and ion trajectory of parents and daughters. Experimental data are used to derive the Gspann parameter and heat capacity of clusters as described in Klots' evaporative ensemble model. The model is applied to obtain binding energies of ammonia cluster ions. The deduced binding energy values are in very good agreement with both thermochemical data and Engelking's (1986) modified statistical theory.

Neuhauser, Daniel↗
NASA NTRS2012

The First in situ Observation of Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves at High-Latitude Magnetopause during Strongly Dawnward Interplanetary Magnetic Field Conditions

We report the first in situ observation of high-latitude magnetopause (near the northern duskward cusp) Kelvin-Helmholtz waves (KHW) by Cluster on January 12, 2003, under strongly dawnward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. The fluctuations unstable to Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) are found to propagate mostly tailward, i.e., along the direction almost 90 deg. to both the magnetosheath and geomagnetic fields, which lowers the threshold of the KHI. The magnetic configuration across the boundary layer near the northern duskward cusp region during dawnward IMF is similar to that in the low-latitude boundary layer under northward IMF, in that (1) both magnetosheath and magnetospheric fields across the local boundary layer constitute the lowest magnetic shear and (2) the tailward propagation of the KHW is perpendicular to both fields. Approximately 3-hour-long periods of the KHW during dawnward IMF are followed by the rapid expansion of the dayside magnetosphere associated with the passage of an IMF discontinuity that characterizes an abrupt change in IMF cone angle, Phi = acos (B(sub x) / absolute value of Beta), from approx. 90 to approx. 10. Cluster, which was on its outbound trajectory, continued observing the boundary waves at the northern evening-side magnetopause during sunward IMF conditions following the passage of the IMF discontinuity. By comparing the signatures of boundary fluctuations before and after the IMF discontinuity, we report that the frequencies of the most unstable KH modes increased after the discontinuity passed. This result demonstrates that differences in IMF orientations (especially in f) are associated with the properties of KHW at the high-latitude magnetopause due to variations in thickness of the boundary layer, and/or width of the KH-unstable band on the surface of the dayside magnetopause.

solar wind↗
NASA NTRS1984

Numerical experiments on galaxy clustering in open universes

Numerical studies were performed on the dynamical effects on the evolution of clumps, filaments, voids, and galaxy clusters by various final Omega values. The final Omega values examined ranged from 0.03-1, and attention was given to defining observations of superclusters which would aid in determining an actual value for Omega. The numerical trials consisted of n-body integration programs governed by the total expansion and final Omega value and included comparisons between results for open and closed universes. All runs started from the same initial conditions. The dispersion trajectories of particles and the final galactic cluster forms were found to be equivalent, regardless of the final Omega value. The possibility of deriving a value for Omega from velocity data on galaxies which have not yet joined clusters is discussed.

Miller, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1971

The pointing errors of geosynchronous satellites

A study of the correlation between cloud motion and wind field was initiated. Cloud heights and displacements were being obtained from a ceilometer and movie pictures, while winds were measured from pilot balloon observations on a near-simultaneous basis. Cloud motion vectors were obtained from time-lapse cloud pictures, using the WINDCO program, for 27, 28 July, 1969, in the Atlantic. The relationship between observed features of cloud clusters and the ambient wind field derived from cloud trajectories on a wide range of space and time scales is discussed.

Sikdar, D. N.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Space shuttle booster multi-engine base flow analysis

A comprehensive review of currently available techniques pertinent to several prominent aspects of the base thermal problem of the space shuttle booster is given along with a brief review of experimental results. A tractable engineering analysis, capable of predicting the power-on base pressure, base heating, and other base thermal environmental conditions, such as base gas temperature, is presented and used for an analysis of various space shuttle booster configurations. The analysis consists of a rational combination of theoretical treatments of the prominent flow interaction phenomena in the base region. These theories consider jet mixing, plume flow, axisymmetric flow effects, base injection, recirculating flow dynamics, and various modes of heat transfer. Such effects as initial boundary layer expansion at the nozzle lip, reattachment, recompression, choked vent flow, and nonisoenergetic mixing processes are included in the analysis. A unified method was developed and programmed to numerically obtain compatible solutions for the various flow field components in both flight and ground test conditions. Preliminary prediction for a 12-engine space shuttle booster base thermal environment was obtained for a typical trajectory history. Theoretical predictions were also obtained for some clustered-engine experimental conditions. Results indicate good agreement between the data and theoretical predicitons.

Tang, H. H.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Tropospheric Ozonesonde Profiles at Long-Term U.S. Monitoring Sites: 2. Links Between Trinidad Head, CA, Profile Clusters and Inland Surface Ozone Measurements

Much attention has been focused on the transport of ozone (O3) to the western U.S., particularly given the latest revision of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard to 70 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) of O3. This makes quantifying the contributions of stratosphere-to-troposphere exchange, local pollution, and pollution transport to this region essential. To evaluate free-tropospheric and surface O3 in the western U.S., we use self-organizing maps to cluster 18 years of ozonesonde profiles from Trinidad Head, CA. Three of nine O3 mixing ratio profile clusters exhibit thin laminae of high O3 above Trinidad Head. The high O3 layers are located between 1 and 6 km above mean sea level and reside above an inversion associated with a northern location of the Pacific subtropical high. Ancillary data (reanalyses, trajectories, and remotely sensed carbon monoxide) help identify the high O3 sources in one cluster, but distinguishing mixed influences on the elevated O3 in other clusters is difficult. Correlations between the elevated tropospheric O3 and surface O3 at high-altitude monitors at Lassen Volcanic and Yosemite National Parks, and Truckee, CA, are marked and long lasting. The temporal correlations likely result from a combination of transport of baseline O3 and covarying meteorological parameters. Days corresponding to the high O3 clusters exhibit hourly surface O3 anomalies of +5-10 ppbv compared to a climatology; the positive anomalies can last up to 3 days after the ozonesonde profile. The profile and surface O3 links demonstrate the importance of regular ozonesonde profiling at Trinidad Head.

STE↗
NASA NTRS1993

Interstellar matter near the Pleiades. IV - The wake of the Pleiades through the interstellar medium in Taurus

A large emission 'cavity' whose bright rims extend about 5 deg eastward from the Pleiades, and is pressurized by the soft-UV radiation of the cluster, has been revealed by a mosaic of IRAS images; the emission cavity delineates the wake of the Pleiades as it moves supersonically through the ISM. Photoelectric heating is identified as the most likely agent of the cluster-cloud interaction generating a shock wave, and prompts the hypothesis that transverse expansion of heated gas near the cluster plays a crucial role in driving the shock. The cloud trajectory can be traced back to an origin in Gould's Belt some 15 Myr ago, in a blowout of gas into the Galactic halo.

White, Richard E.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Reconfigurable Software for Controlling Formation Flying

Software for a system to control the trajectories of multiple spacecraft flying in formation is being developed to reflect underlying concepts of (1) a decentralized approach to guidance and control and (2) reconfigurability of the control system, including reconfigurability of the software and of control laws. The software is organized as a modular network of software tasks. The computational load for both determining relative trajectories and planning maneuvers is shared equally among all spacecraft in a cluster. The flexibility and robustness of the software are apparent in the fact that tasks can be added, removed, or replaced during flight. In a computational simulation of a representative formation-flying scenario, it was demonstrated that the following are among the services performed by the software: Uploading of commands from a ground station and distribution of the commands among the spacecraft, Autonomous initiation and reconfiguration of formations, Autonomous formation of teams through negotiations among the spacecraft, Working out details of high-level commands (e.g., shapes and sizes of geometrically complex formations), Implementation of a distributed guidance law providing autonomous optimization and assignment of target states, and Implementation of a decentralized, fuel-optimal, impulsive control law for planning maneuvers.

Mueller, Joseph B.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Asymmetric Electrostatic Radiation Shielding for Spacecraft

A paper describes the types, sources, and adverse effects of energetic-particle radiation in interplanetary space, and explores a concept of using asymmetric electrostatic shielding to reduce the amount of such radiation impinging on spacecraft. Typically, such shielding would include a system of multiple inflatable, electrically conductive spheres deployed in clusters in the vicinity of a spacecraft on lightweight structures that would maintain the spheres in a predetermined multipole geometry. High-voltage generators would maintain the spheres at potential differences chosen in conjunction with the multipole geometry so that the resulting multipole field would gradually divert approaching energetic atomic nuclei from a central region occupied by the spacecraft. The spheres nearest the center would be the most positive, so as to repel the positively charged impinging nuclei from the center. At the same time, the monopole potential of the overall spacecraft-and-shielding system would be made negative so as to repel thermal electrons. The paper presents results of computational simulations of energetic-particle trajectories and shield efficiency for a trial system of 21 spheres arranged in three clusters in an overall linear quadrupole configuration. Further development would be necessary to make this shielding concept practical.

Metzger, Philip T.↗
NASA NTRS2014

In-Situ and Remote-Sensing Data Fusion Using Machine Learning Techniques to Infer Urban and Fire Related Pollution Plumes

Airmass type characterization is key in understanding the relative contribution of various emission sources to atmospheric composition and air quality and can be useful in bottom-up model validation and emission inventories. However, classification of pollution plumes from space is often not trivial. Sub-orbital campaigns, such as SEAC4RS (Studies of Emissions, Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys) give us a unique opportunity to study atmospheric composition in detail, by using a vast suite of in-situ instruments for the detection of trace gases and aerosols. These measurements allow identification of spatial and temporal atmospheric composition changes due to various pollution plumes resulting from urban, biogenic and smoke emissions. Nevertheless, to transfer the knowledge gathered from such campaigns into a global spatial and temporal context, there is a need to develop workflow that can be applicable to measurements from space. In this work we rely on sub-orbital in-situ and total column remote sensing measurements of various pollution plumes taken aboard the NASA DC-8 during 2013 SEAC4RS campaign, linking them through a neural-network (NN) algorithm to allow inference of pollution plume types by input of columnar aerosol and trace-gas measurements. In particular, we use the 4STAR (Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research) airborne measurements of wavelength dependent aerosol optical depth (AOD), particle size proxies, O3, NO2 and water vapor to classify different pollution plumes. Our method relies on assigning a-priori ground-truth labeling to the various plumes, which include urban pollution, different fire types (i.e. forest and agriculture) and fire stage (i.e. fresh and aged) using cluster analysis of aerosol and trace-gases in-situ and auxiliary (e.g. trajectory) data and the training of a NN scheme to fit the best prediction parameters using 4STAR measurements as input. We explore our misclassification rates as related to our ground-truth labels, and with multi-layered pollution plume cases. The next step in our analysis is to optimize parameter selection for a scheme that can be applied to space-borne aerosol and trace-gas observation platforms such as OMI, and future geostationary satellites such as TEMPO and GEO-CAPE.

Neural-network↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Novel Bone Marrow Single Cell Atlas of Mechanotransduction in Microgravity, Normal Gravity, Exercise, and Hindlimb Unloading for WT and CDKN1A-Null Regenerative Mice

Mechanical loading of adult stem cell progenitors is a key factor in modulating their proliferation, differentiation, and tissue regenerative potential, with loading generally promoting tissue formation and unloading mediating tissue loss. To address the role of mechanotransduction in maintaining stem cell-based tissue regenerative health, we generated a single cell transcriptomic atlas mapping responses of femur bone marrow mesenchymal and hematopoietic lineages to a range of altered mechanical loading conditions, both in WT B1629SF2/J mice as well as the p21/CDKN1A-null regenerative mice. We selected the femur marrow compartment as a model because of the diversity and high numbers of stem cell progenitor stages present, and because it undergoes static and cyclic hydrostatic pressure loading associated with weight-bearing and ambulation. Our study included normally loaded mice at 1g, unloading in microgravity during spaceflight as well as tail suspension hindlimb unloading, and voluntary running wheel exercise. Basal, one-year natural aging, and habitat controls were also conducted. Overall, the atlas encompasses 18 different experimental conditions with N=3 mice per condition and includes more than 500,000 single cell expressomes. Key specific findings include: increased mature reticulocyte populations in aging and unloading mice compared to active mice; greater hematopoietic and mesenchymal differentiating progenitors cluster identification in CDKN1A-null samples, especially the exercise model; distinct pseudotime cell trajectory shifts in the hematopoietic lineage for spaceflight and unloaded mice; and shifts in monocytic cell populations toward osteoclastic bone degenerative lineages in unloading and spaceflight samples. Overall mechanical loading shows increased marrow progenitor population differentiation while unloading is associated with increased CDKN1A expression and maintenance of marrow population stemness. Deletion of CDKN1A appears to remove a negative check on progenitor lineages commitment to differentiation. Finally, the Bone Marrow Mechanotransduction Single Cell Atlas will serve as a reference tool for studying marrow regenerative responses across a range of mechanical environments as they relate to CDKN1A status.

single-cell↗
NASA NTRS2005

Decentralized Formation Flying Control in a Multiple-Team Hierarchy

This paper presents the prototype of a system that addresses these objectives-a decentralized guidance and control system that is distributed across spacecraft using a multiple-team framework. The objective is to divide large clusters into teams of manageable size, so that the communication and computational demands driven by N decentralized units are related to the number of satellites in a team rather than the entire cluster. The system is designed to provide a high-level of autonomy, to support clusters with large numbers of satellites, to enable the number of spacecraft in the cluster to change post-launch, and to provide for on-orbit software modification. The distributed guidance and control system will be implemented in an object-oriented style using MANTA (Messaging Architecture for Networking and Threaded Applications). In this architecture, tasks may be remotely added, removed or replaced post-launch to increase mission flexibility and robustness. This built-in adaptability will allow software modifications to be made on-orbit in a robust manner. The prototype system, which is implemented in MATLAB, emulates the object-oriented and message-passing features of the MANTA software. In this paper, the multiple-team organization of the cluster is described, and the modular software architecture is presented. The relative dynamics in eccentric reference orbits is reviewed, and families of periodic, relative trajectories are identified, expressed as sets of static geometric parameters. The guidance law design is presented, and an example reconfiguration scenario is used to illustrate the distributed process of assigning geometric goals to the cluster. Next, a decentralized maneuver planning approach is presented that utilizes linear-programming methods to enact reconfiguration and coarse formation keeping maneuvers. Finally, a method for performing online collision avoidance is discussed, and an example is provided to gauge its performance.

Mueller, Joseph .↗
NASA NTRS2019

Seasonal- and Beta-Angle-Dependent Latitude Bias Variations in Natural Decays

Prior work has demonstrated pronounced statistical clustering of natural decays of medium-to-high-inclination orbital objects peaking approximately 30 degrees in Argument of Latitude ahead of nodal crossings. This effect is caused by the physical bulge in the Earth and the overlying atmosphere, that cyclically modifies effective altitude (and therefore density) faster than the trajectory's decay itself. While prior work has averaged seasonal and RAAN effects over all non-uniform atmosphere possibilities to support long-term characterization of the clustering of final entries in generating a pre-mission Expectation of Casualty, the current study characterizes seasonal and beta angle effects as potential influences on the near-term statistical risks of specific tactical decay scenarios, relative to the average. Such effects on the density profile along an orbit may be important considerations in any scenario where small orbital adjustments are used to optimize the timing and location of final entry trajectories. I.E., two identical spacecraft entering in different seasons and/or beta angles may have different minimum-risk scenarios for identical control capabilities and space weather conditions. Further, the early heating history of shallow trajectories is explored, examining the influence of dramatically different density profiles over the final orbit as the spacecraft either skims over or dives into the atmosphere.

Bacon, John B.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Transport in the Subtropical Lowermost Stratosphere during the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment

We use in situ measurements of water vapor (H2O), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), and total reactive nitrogen (NOy) obtained during the CRYSTAL-FACE campaign in July 2002 to study summertime transport in the subtropical lowermost stratosphere. We use an objective methodology to distinguish the latitudinal origin of the sampled air masses despite the influence of convection, and we calculate backward trajectories to elucidate their recent geographical history. The methodology consists of exploring the statistical behavior of the data by performing multivariate clustering and agglomerative hierarchical clustering calculations and projecting cluster groups onto principal component space to identify air masses of like composition and hence presumed origin. The statistically derived cluster groups are then examined in physical space using tracer-tracer correlation plots. Interpretation of the principal component analysis suggests that the variability in the data is accounted for primarily by the mean age of air in the stratosphere, followed by the age of the convective influence, and last by the extent of convective influence, potentially related to the latitude of convective injection (Dessler and Sherwood, 2004). We find that high-latitude stratospheric air is the dominant source region during the beginning of the campaign while tropical air is the dominant source region during the rest of the campaign. Influence of convection from both local and nonlocal events is frequently observed. The identification of air mass origin is confirmed with backward trajectories, and the behavior of the trajectories is associated with the North American monsoon circulation.

Pittman, Jasna V.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Transport in the Subtropical Lowermost Stratosphere during CRYSTAL-FACE

We use in situ measurements of water vapor (H2O), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), and total reactive nitrogen (NO(y)) obtained during the CRYSTAL-FACE campaign in July 2002 to study summertime transport in the subtropical lowermost stratosphere. We use an objective methodology to distinguish the latitudinal origin of the sampled air masses despite the influence of convection, and we calculate backward trajectories to elucidate their recent geographical history. The methodology consists of exploring the statistical behavior of the data by performing multivariate clustering and agglomerative hierarchical clustering calculations, and projecting cluster groups onto principal component space to identify air masses of like composition and hence presumed origin. The statistically derived cluster groups are then examined in physical space using tracer-tracer correlation plots. Interpretation of the principal component analysis suggests that the variability in the data is accounted for primarily by the mean age of air in the stratosphere, followed by the age of the convective influence, and lastly by the extent of convective influence, potentially related to the latitude of convective injection [Dessler and Sherwuud, 2004]. We find that high-latitude stratospheric air is the dominant source region during the beginning of the campaign while tropical air is the dominant source region during the rest of the campaign. Influence of convection from both local and non-local events is frequently observed. The identification of air mass origin is confirmed with backward trajectories, and the behavior of the trajectories is associated with the North American monsoon circulation.

Pittman, Jasna V.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Global, Multi-Objective Trajectory Optimization With Parametric Spreading

Mission design problems are often characterized by multiple, competing trajectory optimization objectives. Recent multi-objective trajectory optimization formulations enable generation of globally-optimal, Pareto solutions via a multi-objective genetic algorithm. A byproduct of these formulations is that clustering in design space can occur in evolving the population towards the Pareto front. This clustering can be a drawback, however, if parametric evaluations of design variables are desired. This effort addresses clustering by incorporating operators that encourage a uniform spread over specified design variables while maintaining Pareto front representation. The algorithm is demonstrated on a Neptune orbiter mission, and enhanced multidimensional visualization strategies are presented.

trajectory design↗
NASA NTRS1973

Scale dependence of the 200-mb divergence inferred from EOLE data.

The EOLE experiment with 480 constant-volume balloons distributed over the Southern Hemisphere approximately at the 200-mb level, has provided a unique, highly accurate set of tracer trajectories in the general westerly circulation. The trajectories of neighboring balloons are analyzed to estimate the horizontal divergence from the Lagrangian derivative of the area of one cluster. The variance of the divergence estimates results from two almost comparable effects: the true divergence of the horizontal flow and eddy diffusion due to small-scale, two-dimensional turbulence. Taking this into account, the rms divergence is found to be of the order of 0.00001 per sec and decreases logarithmically with cluster size. This scale dependence is shown to be consistent with the quasi-geostrophic turbulence model of the general circulation in midlatitudes.

Morel, P.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Failure detection and isolation methods for redundant gimballed inertial measurement units.

Skewed alignment of two redundant conventional inertial measuring units permits nonambiguous detection and isolation of hard and soft failures in real time by an airborne computer. Accelerometer outputs and gimbal readouts are monitored periodically, and attitude rate and velocity error vectors are computed from these data. Magnitudes of these vectors provide failure detection, and projection of these error vectors onto the coordinate axes of the two clusters permits isolation. A detailed Monte Carlo simulation of one version of the mechanization as applied to Space Shuttle boost trajectories demonstrates effectiveness down to very low levels of inertial instrument performance failures. The results indicate that worst case overall navigation performance occurs when accelerometer failures are of the order of 20 sigma and gyro failures are about 100 sigma for conventional state-of-the-art IMU instruments.

Solov, E. G.↗