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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 361 records · Page 20

Shock Tunnel Studies of Scramjet Phenomena 1994

Reports by the research staff and graduate students of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Queensland are collected and presented. These reports cover various studies related to the advancement of scramjet technology and the operation of advanced hypervelocity shock-expansion tubes. The report topics include the experimental studies of mixing and combustion in a scramjet flow path, the measurement of integrated thrust and skin friction, and the development of a free-piston-driven expansion tunnel capable of delivering a test gas at superorbital velocities.

Morgan, R. G.↗

Transitioning NASA Space Operations to Commercial Services

Major considerations associated with "Transitioning NASA Space Operations to Commercial Services" are presented in viewgraph form. Specific topics include: 1) Government use of commercial frequencies vs. commercial use of commercial frequencies for government use; 2) Commercial use of government frequencies; 3) Government vs commercial: Access techniques, data formats, and modulation and coding; 4) Government need for multiple sources: backup and competition; 5) Government in perceived competition with commercial service providers if TDRSS is used for commercial purposes; and 6) Coordination required among plans for CSOC, NSCP, and satellite industry.

Gilbert, Charlene E.↗

Reusable First Stage Evolutionary Shuttle Upgrade

A Reusable First Stage Evolutionary Shuttle Upgrade is presented in viewgraph form. The Reusable First Stage (RFS) is a first stage reusable booster with a Liquid Propulsion System that replaces the Shuttle Solid Rocket Motors. Both Boeing and Lockheed Martin configurations are presented. Topics include RFS key characteristics; improved safety and reliability; flight operations; flight regimes; improved performance capability; and Booster Main Engine candidates.

Hamilton, Tom↗

Studies of Florida Thunderstorms Using LDAR, LLP, and Single Doppler Radar Data

The paper summarizes results from research conducted on thunderstorms in the vicinity of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Florida, between 1993 and 1998. The focus of the research was to identify procedures that would assist weather forecasters at the Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) in real-time detection and forecasting of the lightning threat to launches and daily ground operations at KSC/CCAS sites. The research was divided into three topics: (1) studies aimed at improving the forecasting of the initial cloud-ground (CG) lightning threat, (2) studies aimed at improving the forecasting of the end-of-storm termination of the CG lightning threat, and (3) studies of the location of CG strikes relative to the thunderstorm radar echo and to lightning discharges aloft. Only the first two topics are covered in this preprint.

Forbes, Gregory S.↗

Operations and Range Technology Development

The Operations and Range Technology Project is responsible for the development of key technologies as part of the KSC Spaceport Technology Center Initiative to substantially reduce vehicle launch and processing operations costs and improve the systems safety and reliability. The topics include: 1) Spaceport Technology Areas; 2) Umbilical Systems Development; 3) Automated Payload Handling Systems; 4) Command, Control and Monitor Systems; 5) Intelligent Synthesis Environment; 6) Low TRL Development; 7) Second Generation Project Organization; and 8) ASTP (3rd Generation) Project Organization. This paper is presented in viewgraph form.

Taylor, Dave↗

Journal of Air Transportation, Volume 12, No. 1

Topics discussed include: a) Data Mining Methods Applied to Flight Operations Quality Assurance Data: A Comparison to Standard Statistical Methods; b) Financial Comparisons across Different Business Models in the Canadian Airline Industry; c) Carving a Niche for the "No-Frills" Carrier, Air Arabia, in Oil-Rich Skies; d) Situational Leadership in Air Traffic Control; and e) The Very Light Jet Arrives: Stakeholders and Their Perceptions.

Bowers, Brent D.↗

Visual Impairment and Intracranial Hypertension: An Emerging Spaceflight Risk

During recent long duration missions to the International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers have reported changes in visual acuity or visual field defects. Exams in the postflight period revealed changes to the visual system and elevated intracranial pressures. As a result, NASA Space Medicine has added a number of tests to be performed in the preflight, inflight and postflight periods for ISS and shuttle missions with the goal of determining the processes at work and any potential mitigation strategies. This discussion will acquaint you with the changes that NASA has made to its medical requirements in order to address the microgravity induced intracranial hypertension and associated visual changes. Key personnel have been assembled to provide you information on this topic. Educational Objectives: Provide an overview of the current Medical Operations requirements and the mitigation steps taken to operationally address the issue.

Taddeo, Terrance A.↗

Briefing to University of Porto on NASA Airborne Science Program and Ames UAVs

NASA Ames is exploring a partnership with the University of Portugal to jointly develop and test new autonomous vehicle technologies. As part of the discussions I will be briefing the University of Portugal faculty on the NASA Airborne Science Program (ASP) and associated activities at NASA Ames Research Center. The presentation will communicate the requirements that drive the program, the assets available to NASA researchers, and discuss research projects that have used unmanned aircraft systems including MIZOPEX, Surprise Valley, and Florida Keys Coral Reef assessment. Other topics will include the SIERRA and Dragon Eye UAV projects operated at Ames.

Test Vehicles↗

International Earth Science Constellation (ESC)

This presentation will introduce topics of note for the Earth Science Constellation (ESC) Mission Operations Working Group (MOWG) meeting Gilbert AZ, December 3-5, 2019

Machado, Michael J.↗

Mars Global Surveyor: Ready for Launch in November 1996

...In this report the status of the MGS (Mars Global Surveyor) mission, three months prior to launch, will be described along with three specific topics: aerobraking, the lander to orbiter relay and the common operations project for the Mars Global Surveyor Program.

MGS↗

An Integrated Approach to Thermal Management of International Space Station Logistics Flights, Improving the Efficiency

The efficiency of re-useable aerospace systems requires a focus on the total operations process rather than just orbital performance. For the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module this activity included special attention to terrestrial conditions both pre-launch and post-landing and how they inter-relate to the mission profile. Several of the efficiencies implemented for the MPLM Mission Engineering were NASA firsts and all served to improve the overall operations activities. This paper will provide an explanation of how various issues were addressed and the resulting solutions. Topics range from statistical analysis of over 30 years of atmospheric data at the launch and landing site to a new approach for operations with the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. In each situation the goal was to "tune" the thermal management of the overall flight system for minimizing requirement risk while optimizing power and energy performance.

Holladay, Jon↗

Challenges and opportunities of machine learning control in building operations

Machine learning control (MLC) is a highly flexible and adaptable method that enables the design, modeling, tuning, and maintenance of building controllers to be more accurate, automated, flexible, and adaptable. The research topic of MLC in building energy systems is developing rapidly, but to our knowledge, no review has been published that specifically and systematically focuses on MLC for building energy systems. Here this paper provides a systematic review of MLC in building energy systems. We review technical papers in two major categories of applications of machine learning in building control: (1) building system and component modeling for control, and (2) control process learning. We identify MLC topics that have been well-studied and those that need further research in the field of building operation control. We also identify the gaps between the present and future application of MLC and predict future trends and opportunities.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Manned Spacecraft Landing and Recovery

As recent history has tragically demonstrated, a successful space mission is not complete until the crew has safely returned to earth and has been successfully recovered. It is noted that a safe return to earth does not guarantee a successful recovery. The focus of this presentation will be a discussion of the ground operation assets involved in a successful recovery. The author's experience in land and water-based recovery of crewed vehicles and flight hardware at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Edwards Air Force Base, international landing sites, and the Atlantic Ocean provides for some unique insight into this topic. He has participated in many aspects of Space Shuttle landing and recovery operations including activation of Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAL) sites and Emergency Landing Sites (ELS) as an Operations Test Director, execution of post landing convoy operations as an Orbiter Move Director, Operations Test Director, and Landing and Recovery Director, and recovery of solid rocket boosters, frustum and their parachutes 140 miles offshore in a wide range of sea states as a Retrieval Diver/Engineer. The recovery operations for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo were similar from a landing and recovery perspective in th t they all were capsules with limited "flying" capability and had a planned End of Mission (EOM) in an ocean with a descent slowed by parachutes. The general process was to deploy swim teams via helicopters to prepare the capsule for recovery and assist with crew extraction when required. The capsule was then hoisted onto the deck of a naval vessel. This approach required the extensive use and deployment of military assets to support the primary landing zone as well as alternate and contingency locations. The Russian Soyuz capsule also has limited "flying" capability; however, the planned EOM is terrestrial. In addition to use of parachutes to slow the reentry descent, soft-landing rockets on the bottom of the vehicle are employed to cushion the landing. The recovery forces are deployed via helicopters and the capsule is transported by a specialized all-terrain vehicle. The Space Shuttle Orbiter landing and recovery process is considerably different. The added lift capability and maneuverability allow the Orbiter to land at an exact location/runway for a nominal EOM. This allows for a timely response of recovery/contingency rescue forces, centralized staging of personnel and equipment, and assured access by ground vehicles. The well defined landing zone also provides for far more options when selecting landing sites for EOM and emergency returns and the relatively large cross-range capability increases the number of landing opportunities at the preferred sites.

Hammel, Don↗

Sample Return Primer and Handbook

This three-part Sample Return Primer and Handbook provides a road map for conducting the terminal phase of a sample return mission. The main chapters describe element-by-element analyses and trade studies, as well as required operations plans, procedures, contingencies, interfaces, and corresponding documentation. Based on the experiences of the lead Stardust engineers, the topics include systems engineering (in particular range safety compliance), mission design and navigation, spacecraft hardware and entry, descent, and landing certification, flight and recovery operations, mission assurance and system safety, test and training, and the very important interactions with external support organizations (non-NASA tracking assets, landing site support, and science curation).

Stardust↗

Predicting nonequilibrium Green’s function dynamics and photoemission spectra via nonlinear integral operator learning

Understanding the dynamics of nonequilibrium quantum many-body systems is an important research topic in a wide range of fields across condensed matter physics, quantum optics, and high-energy physics. However, numerical studies of large-scale nonequilibrium phenomena in realistic materials face serious challenges due to intrinsic high-dimensionality of quantum many-body problems and the absence of time-invariance. The nonequilibrium properties of many-body systems can be described by the dynamics of the correlator, or the Green's function of the system, whose time evolution is given by a high-dimensional system of integro-differential equations, known as the Kadanoff–Baym equations (KBEs). The time-convolution term in KBEs, which needs to be recalculated at each time step, makes it difficult to perform long-time numerical simulation. In this paper, we develop an operator-learning framework based on recurrent neural networks (RNNs) to address this challenge. We utilize RNNs to learn the nonlinear mapping between Green's functions and convolution integrals in KBEs. By using the learned operators as a surrogate model in the KBE solver, we obtain a general machine-learning scheme for predicting the dynamics of nonequilibrium Green's functions. Besides significant savings per each time step, the new methodology reduces the temporal computational complexity from $O(N_t^3)$ to $O(N_t)$ where N t is the number of steps taken in a simulation, thereby making it possible to study large many-body problems which are currently infeasible with conventional KBE solvers. Through various numerical examples, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the operator-learning based approach in providing accurate predictions of physical observables such as the reduced density matrix and time-resolved photoemission spectra. Moreover, our framework exhibits clear numerical convergence and can be easily parallelized, thereby facilitating many possible further developments and applications.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Resilient Propulsion Control Research for the NASA Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) Project

Gas turbine engines are designed to provide sufficient safety margins to guarantee robust operation with an exceptionally long life. However, engine performance requirements may be drastically altered during abnormal flight conditions or emergency maneuvers. In some situations, the conservative design of the engine control system may not be in the best interest of overall aircraft safety; it may be advantageous to "sacrifice" the engine to "save" the aircraft. Motivated by this opportunity, the NASA Aviation Safety Program is conducting resilient propulsion research aimed at developing adaptive engine control methodologies to operate the engine beyond the normal domain for emergency operations to maximize the possibility of safely landing the damaged aircraft. Previous research studies and field incident reports show that the propulsion system can be an effective tool to help control and eventually land a damaged aircraft. Building upon the flight-proven Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA) experience, this area of research will focus on how engine control systems can improve aircraft safe-landing probabilities under adverse conditions. This paper describes the proposed research topics in Engine System Requirements, Engine Modeling and Simulation, Engine Enhancement Research, Operational Risk Analysis and Modeling, and Integrated Flight and Propulsion Controller Designs that support the overall goal.

Guo, Ten-Huei↗

Refinement of Selection of a Campaign of Analog Subjects for NASA Human Exploration Research Analog

The NASA Research Operations and Integration (ROI) Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) is a 650-square foot habitat that supports isolation and confinement research topics including behavioral health and performance, team dynamics, and autonomy studies. Campaign 6 (C6), a complement of fifteen science experiments and operational tasks was a simulated mission to the Mars moon Phobos. For Campaign 7 (C7), the most recent HERA campaign, a complement of eighteen science experiments and operational tasks were completed by four crew members over a 45-day simulated mission to Mars. Prior to each mission, a crew of 4 primary crew members and 2 alternates are selected from a pool of candidates. Applicants must meet astronaut-like criteria and be composed of an equal gender ratio. After a comprehensive screening and interview process the crew and alternates are selected.

M J Maciejewski↗

Impact of Environmental Issues on the High-Speed Civil Transport

This paper provides an overview of the impact of environmental issues on the design and operation of the proposed High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). This proposal for a new generation commercial supersonic transport is being pursued by NASA and its US industry partners in the NASA High-Speed Research (HSR) Program. A second related paper describes the overall HSR Program, including a history of supersonic transport development that led to the present program, and a brief outline of the structure of the two-phase program and its management structure. The specific objectives are to address the four major barrier environmental issues and show their impact on the design of the airplane and potentially, its mode of operation. A brief historical perspective shows how HSR Phase I addressed these environmental topics and, with the successful completion of that program, led to the successful advocacy for the Phase II effort that followed. The Phase II program elements were discussed in the earlier paper and addressed technology programs to enhance the economic viability of the HSCT. Since many of the regulations that may effect the certification and operation of the HSCT are either not in place or well documented, a brief treatise is provided to address the status of the rules and the potential impact on the viability of the HSCT.

Whitehead, Allen H., Jr.↗