Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Distributed Data Management”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 397 records · Page 22

Rapid Spacecraft Payload Development: In-Orbit Demonstration of Flight Software Reuse, Scalability, and Dependability

As space mission design trends towards shared, multi-mission platforms and high-performance onboard computing architectures, the number of spacecraft launched into operation is also steadily rising. Through ridesharing, spacecraft miniaturization, and other cost-reduction measures, the barriers to space are lowering, resulting in compounded growth in the amount of flight software being deployed. To meet the needs of both the growing quantity and evolving nature of spacecraft, flight software design must accordingly adapt to support more efficient development, solutions to computational resource-sharing, and software reusability. This paper focuses on a software payload demonstrating several core technologies that improve the state-of-the-art in these identified areas. Launched into low-earth orbit in January 2022, our software payload was conceived, designed, and delivered in a span of merely two months. It was developed on top of the NASA core Flight System (cFS) framework and the Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy (DSA) Comm cFS application, which translates cFS software bus messages across a Data Distribution Service (DDS) network. The flight software, packaged in Linux container images, was deployed as one of 18 flight applications managed through the Unibap SpaceCloud Framework. The applications were run on a Unibap iX5-102 radiation-tolerant payload computer, hosted on the D-Orbit SCV-004 spacecraft as part of an ESA-sponsored in-orbit technology test. Our payload, referred to as the DSA D-Orbit software, demonstrates the reusability of the DSA Comm app in a substantially different context and purpose as its original mission. Comm’s original design goal was to reliably distribute messages between spacecraft swarms of arbitrary size and dynamic network topology. However, we leverage this same functionality to introduce redundancy and opportunistic parallel data processing in the context of a representative onboard image processing workload. This adaptive mission architecture was enabled in part by the SpaceCloud Framework’s use of container virtualization as the payload integration interface. By using a base container image with common high-level language runtimes and libraries, we were able to rapidly design, develop, and validate our image processing application without many of the technological barriers common to flight software development. We present details the goals, approach, results, and lessons learned through this technology demonstration experiment and contextualize those observations against present and future challenges in spacecraft software development.

computer programming↗

Managing Information On Costs

Cost Management Model, CMM, software tool for planning, tracking, and reporting costs and information related to costs. Capable of estimating costs, comparing estimated to actual costs, performing "what-if" analyses on estimates of costs, and providing mechanism to maintain data on costs in format oriented to management. Number of supportive cost methods built in: escalation rates, production-learning curves, activity/event schedules, unit production schedules, set of spread distributions, tables of rates and factors defined by user, and full arithmetic capability. Import/export capability possible with 20/20 Spreadsheet available on Data General equipment. Program requires AOS/VS operating system available on Data General MV series computers. Written mainly in FORTRAN 77 but uses SGU (Screen Generation Utility).

Taulbee, Zoe A.↗

Review of Remote Sensing Needs and Applications in Africa

Remote sensing data has had an important role in identifying and responding to inter-annual variations in the African environment during the past three decades. As a largely agricultural region with diverse but generally limited government capacity to acquire and distribute ground observations of rainfall, temperature and other parameters, remote sensing is sometimes the only reliable measure of crop growing conditions in Africa. Thus, developing and maintaining the technical and scientific capacity to analyze and utilize satellite remote sensing data in Africa is critical to augmenting the continent's local weather/climate observation networks as well as its agricultural and natural resource development and management. The report Review of Remote Sensing Needs and Applications in Africa' has as its central goal to recommend to the US Agency for International Development an appropriate approach to support sustainable remote sensing applications at African regional remote sensing centers. The report focuses on "RS applications" to refer to the acquisition, maintenance and archiving, dissemination, distribution, analysis, and interpretation of remote sensing data, as well as the integration of interpreted data with other spatial data products. The report focuses on three primary remote sensing centers: (1) The AGRHYMET Regional Center in Niamey, Niger, created in 1974, is a specialized institute of the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), with particular specialization in science and techniques applied to agricultural development, rural development, and natural resource management. (2) The Regional Centre for Maiming of Resources for Development (RCMRD) in Nairobi, Kenya, established in 1975 under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union), is an intergovernmental organization, with 15 member states from eastern and southern Africa. (3) The Regional Remote Sensing Unit (RRSU) in Gaborone, Botswana, began work in June 1988 and operates under the Agriculture Information Management System (AIMS), as part of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate, based at the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Secretariat.

Brown, Molly E.↗

Ground support system methodology and architecture

A synergistic approach to systems test and support is explored. A building block architecture provides transportability of data, procedures, and knowledge. The synergistic approach also lowers cost and risk for life cycle of a program. The determination of design errors at the earliest phase reduces cost of vehicle ownership. Distributed scaleable architecture is based on industry standards maximizing transparency and maintainability. Autonomous control structure provides for distributed and segmented systems. Control of interfaces maximizes compatibility and reuse, reducing long term program cost. Intelligent data management architecture also reduces analysis time and cost (automation).

Schoen, P. D.↗

Technology Requirements for Information Management

This report provides the results of a panel study conducted into the technology requirements for information management in support of application domains of particular government interest, including digital libraries, mission operations, and scientific research. The panel concluded that it was desirable to have a coordinated program of R&D that pursues a science of information management focused on an environment typified by applications of government interest - highly distributed with very large amounts of data and a high degree of heterogeneity of sources, data, and users.

Graves, Sara↗

Intelligent Integrated System Health Management

Intelligent Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) is the management of data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) with the purposeful objective of determining the health of a system (Management: storage, distribution, sharing, maintenance, processing, reasoning, and presentation). Presentation discusses: (1) ISHM Capability Development. (1a) ISHM Knowledge Model. (1b) Standards for ISHM Implementation. (1c) ISHM Domain Models (ISHM-DM's). (1d) Intelligent Sensors and Components. (2) ISHM in Systems Design, Engineering, and Integration. (3) Intelligent Control for ISHM-Enabled Systems

Figueroa, Fernando↗

Description of a MIL-STD-1553B Data Bus Ada Driver for the LeRC EPS Testbed

This document describes the software designed to provide communication between control computers in the NASA Lewis Research Center Electrical Power System Testbed using MIL-STD-1553B. The software drivers are coded in the Ada programming language and were developed on a MSDOS-based computer workstation. The Electrical Power System (EPS) Testbed is a reduced-scale prototype space station electrical power system. The power system manages and distributes electrical power from the sources (batteries or photovoltaic arrays) to the end-user loads. The electrical system primary operates at 120 volts DC, and the secondary system operates at 28 volts DC. The devices which direct the flow of electrical power are controlled by a network of six control computers. Data and control messages are passed between the computers using the MIL-STD-1553B network. One of the computers, the Power Management Controller (PMC), controls the primary power distribution and another, the Load Management Controller (LMC), controls the secondary power distribution. Each of these computers communicates with two other computers which act as subsidiary controllers. These subsidiary controllers are, in turn, connected to the devices which directly control the flow of electrical power.

Mackin, Michael A.↗

Approach to Managing MeaSURES Data at the GSFC Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)

A major need stated by the NASA Earth science research strategy is to develop long-term, consistent, and calibrated data and products that are valid across multiple missions and satellite sensors. (NASA Solicitation for Making Earth System data records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) 2006-2010) Selected projects create long term records of a given parameter, called Earth Science Data Records (ESDRs), based on mature algorithms that bring together continuous multi-sensor data. ESDRs, associated algorithms, vetted by the appropriate community, are archived at a NASA affiliated data center for archive, stewardship, and distribution. See http://measures-projects.gsfc.nasa.gov/ for more details. This presentation describes the NASA GSFC Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) approach to managing the MEaSUREs ESDR datasets assigned to GES DISC. (Energy/water cycle related and atmospheric composition ESDRs) GES DISC will utilize its experience to integrate existing and proven reusable data management components to accommodate the new ESDRs. Components include a data archive system (S4PA), a data discovery and access system (Mirador), and various web services for data access. In addition, if determined to be useful to the user community, the Giovanni data exploration tool will be made available to ESDRs. The GES DISC data integration methodology to be used for the MEaSUREs datasets is presented. The goals of this presentation are to share an approach to ESDR integration, and initiate discussions amongst the data centers, data managers and data providers for the purpose of gaining efficiencies in data management for MEaSUREs projects.

Vollmer, Bruce↗

Distributed Prognostics and Health Management with a Wireless Network Architecture

A heterogeneous set of system components monitored by a varied suite of sensors and a particle-filtering (PF) framework, with the power and the flexibility to adapt to the different diagnostic and prognostic needs, has been developed. Both the diagnostic and prognostic tasks are formulated as a particle-filtering problem in order to explicitly represent and manage uncertainties in state estimation and remaining life estimation. Current state-of-the-art prognostic health management (PHM) systems are mostly centralized in nature, where all the processing is reliant on a single processor. This can lead to a loss in functionality in case of a crash of the central processor or monitor. Furthermore, with increases in the volume of sensor data as well as the complexity of algorithms, traditional centralized systems become for a number of reasons somewhat ungainly for successful deployment, and efficient distributed architectures can be more beneficial. The distributed health management architecture is comprised of a network of smart sensor devices. These devices monitor the health of various subsystems or modules. They perform diagnostics operations and trigger prognostics operations based on user-defined thresholds and rules. The sensor devices, called computing elements (CEs), consist of a sensor, or set of sensors, and a communication device (i.e., a wireless transceiver beside an embedded processing element). The CE runs in either a diagnostic or prognostic operating mode. The diagnostic mode is the default mode where a CE monitors a given subsystem or component through a low-weight diagnostic algorithm. If a CE detects a critical condition during monitoring, it raises a flag. Depending on availability of resources, a networked local cluster of CEs is formed that then carries out prognostics and fault mitigation by efficient distribution of the tasks. It should be noted that the CEs are expected not to suspend their previous tasks in the prognostic mode. When the prognostics task is over, and after appropriate actions have been taken, all CEs return to their original default configuration. Wireless technology-based implementation would ensure more flexibility in terms of sensor placement. It would also allow more sensors to be deployed because the overhead related to weights of wired systems is not present. Distributed architectures are furthermore generally robust with regard to recovery from node failures.

Goebel, Kai↗

Terminal area energy management regime investigations utilizing an 0.030-scale model (47-0) of the space shuttle vehicle orbiter configuration 140A/B/C/R in the Ames Research Center 11 x 11 foot transonic wind tunnel (0A148), volume 1

Data obtained in wind tunnel tests are presented. The objectives of the tests were to: (1) obtain pressure distributions, forces and moments over the vehicle 5 Orbiter in the terminal area energy management (TAEM) and approach phases of flight; (2) obtain elevon and rudder hinge moments in the TAEM and approach phases of flight; (3) obtain body flap and elevon loads for verification of loads balancing with integrated pressure distributions; and (4) obtain pressure distributions near the short OMS pods in the high subsonic, transonic and low supersonic Mach number regimes. Testing was conducted over a Mach number range from 0.6 to 1.4 with Reynolds number variations from 4.57 million to 2.74 million per foot. Model angle-of-attack was varied from -4 to 16 degrees and angles of side slip ranged from -8 to 8 degrees.

Hawthorne, P. J.↗

Sensor Systems for Space Life Sciences

Sensors 2000! (S2K!) is a NASA Ames Research Center engineering initiative designed to provide biosensor and bio-instrumentation systems technology expertise to NASA's life sciences spaceflight programs. S2K! covers the full spectrum of sensor technology applications, ranging from spaceflight hardware design and fabrication to advanced technology development, transfer and commercialization. S2K! is currently developing sensor systems for space biomedical applications on BION (a Russian biosatellite focused on Rhesus Monkey physiology) and NEUROLAB (a Space Shuttle flight devoted to neuroscience). It's Advanced Technology Development-Biosensors (ATD-B) project focuses efforts in five principle areas: biotelemetry Systems, chemical and biological sensors, physiological sensors, advanced instrumentation architectures, and data and information management. Technologies already developed and tested included, application-specific sensors, preamplifier hybrids, modular programmable signal conditioners, power conditioning and distribution systems, and a fully implantable dual channel biotelemeter. Systems currently under development include a portable receiver system compatible with an off-the-shelf analog biotelemeter, a 4 channel digital biotelemetry system which monitors pH, a multichannel, g-processor based PCM biotelemetry system, and hand-held personal monitoring systems. S2K! technology easily lends itself to telescience and telemedicine applications as a front-end measurement and data acquisition device, suitable for obtaining and configuring physiological information, and processing that information under control from a remote location.

Somps, Chris J.↗

Application of future remote sensing systems to irrigation

Area estimates of irrigated crops and knowledge of crop type are required for modeling water consumption to assist farmers, rangers, and agricultural consultants in scheduling irrigation for distributed management of crop yields. Information on canopy physiology and soil moisture status on a spatial basis is potentially available from remote sensors, so the questions to be addressed relate to: (1) timing (data frequency, instantaneous and integrated measurement); and scheduling (widely distributed spatial demands); (2) spatial resolution; (3) radiometric and geometric accuracy and geoencoding; and (4) information/data distribution. This latter should be overnight, with no central storage, onsite capture, and low cost.

Miller, L. D.↗

Proceedings of the First NASA Ada Users' Symposium

Ada has the potential to be a part of the most significant change in software engineering technology within NASA in the last twenty years. Thus, it is particularly important that all NASA centers be aware of Ada experience and plans at other centers. Ada activity across NASA are covered, with presenters representing five of the nine major NASA centers and the Space Station Freedom Program Office. Projects discussed included - Space Station Freedom Program Office: the implications of Ada on training, reuse, management and the software support environment; Johnson Space Center (JSC): early experience with the use of Ada, software engineering and Ada training and the evaluation of Ada compilers; Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC): university research with Ada and the application of Ada to Space Station Freedom, the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle, the Aero-Assist Flight Experiment and the Secure Shuttle Data System; Lewis Research Center (LeRC): the evolution of Ada software to support the Space Station Power Management and Distribution System; Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL): the creation of a centralized Ada development laboratory and current applications of Ada including the Real-time Weather Processor for the FAA; and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC): experiences with Ada in the Flight Dynamics Division and the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) project and the implications of GSFC experience for Ada use in NASA. Despite the diversity of the presentations, several common themes emerged from the program: Methodology - NASA experience in general indicates that the effective use of Ada requires modern software engineering methodologies; Training - It is the software engineering principles and methods that surround Ada, rather than Ada itself, which requires the major training effort; Reuse - Due to training and transition costs, the use of Ada may initially actually decrease productivity, as was clearly found at GSFC; and real-time work at LeRC, JPL and GSFC shows that it is possible to use Ada for real-time applications.

Source record↗

RoMPS concept review automatic control of space robot, volume 2

Topics related to robot operated materials processing in space (RoMPS) are presented in view graph form and include: (1) system concept; (2) Hitchhiker Interface Requirements; (3) robot axis control concepts; (4) Autonomous Experiment Management System; (5) Zymate Robot Controller; (6) Southwest SC-4 Computer; (7) oven control housekeeping data; and (8) power distribution.

Dobbs, M. E.↗

Whale Identification

R:BASE for DOS, a computer program developed under NASA contract, has been adapted by the National Marine Mammal Laboratory and the College of the Atlantic to provide and advanced computerized photo matching technique for identification of humpback whales. The program compares photos with stored digitized descriptions, enabling researchers to track and determine distribution and migration patterns. R:BASE is a spinoff of RIM (Relational Information Manager), which was used to store data for analyzing heat shielding tiles on the Space Shuttle Orbiter. It is now the world's second largest selling line of microcomputer database management software.

Source record↗

Plan for the Characterization of HIRF Effects on a Fault-Tolerant Computer Communication System

This report presents the plan for the characterization of the effects of high intensity radiated fields on a prototype implementation of a fault-tolerant data communication system. Various configurations of the communication system will be tested. The prototype system is implemented using off-the-shelf devices. The system will be tested in a closed-loop configuration with extensive real-time monitoring. This test is intended to generate data suitable for the design of avionics health management systems, as well as redundancy management mechanisms and policies for robust distributed processing architectures.

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo↗

Integrated Systems Health Management for Intelligent Systems

The implementation of an integrated system health management (ISHM) capability is fundamentally linked to the management of data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) with the purposeful objective of determining the health of a system. Management implies storage, distribution, sharing, maintenance, processing, reasoning, and presentation. ISHM is akin to having a team of experts who are all individually and collectively observing and analyzing a complex system, and communicating effectively with each other in order to arrive at an accurate and reliable assessment of its health. In this chapter, concepts, procedures, and approaches are presented as a foundation for implementing an ISHM capability relevant to intelligent systems. The capability stresses integration of DIaK from all elements of a system, emphasizing an advance toward an on-board, autonomous capability. Both ground-based and on-board ISHM capabilities are addressed. The information presented is the result of many years of research, development, and maturation of technologies, and of prototype implementations in operational systems.

Figueroa, Fernando↗

Earth resources data processor

The recent development of manned and unmanned space vehicles has brought about an almost unprecedented advance in studies concerned with remotely sensed earth observations. With this advance comes an unprecedented amount of data. The problem arises of how to efficiently analyze and compress unmanageable amounts of data into manageable amounts of useful information. A recently developed computer program is proposed as a partial solution to the above problem. The computer program is designed to determine the ground scene location and distribution of features extracted from remotely sensed earth observation data without human involvement in the data processing or a priori knowledge of ground truth. Human involvement and judgement are reserved for identification of the features presented in the compressed data.

Phillips, M. R.↗