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At least 397 records · Page 22

Huntsville Operations Support Center

Information is given in viewgraph form on the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC). The HOSC is a multi-mission control and support facility designed to provide simultaneous support to several diverse missions, using a common set of processing equipment and facilities. Information is given on the missions supported by the HOSC; facility layout; generic system goals; HOSC existing computer architecture; current mission requirements; currently employed hardware and software; front end processing; central processing; peripheral processors; audio and video communications; and upgrading plans.

Bailey, Darrell G.↗

Ocean topography experiment (TOPEX/Poseidon): Emergency support

The DSN (Deep Space Network) mission support requirements for the Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX/Poseidon) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) demonstration are summarized. The TOPEX mission consists of a single spacecraft which will be placed in a high earth circular orbit, with an altitude of 1334 km and a 63-deg inclination. The TOPEX mission objectives are outlined and the DSN support requirements are defined through the presentation of tables and narratives describing the spacecraft flight profile; DSN support coverage; frequency assignments; and tracking support responsibility.

Stiver, R. A.↗

Cyclone: A close air support aircraft for tomorrow

To meet the threat of the battlefield of the future, the U.S. ground forces will require reliable air support. To provide this support, future aircrews demand a versatile close air support aircraft capable of delivering ordinance during the day, night, or in adverse weather with pin-point accuracy. The Cyclone aircraft meets these requirements, packing the 'punch' necessary to clear the way for effective ground operations. Possessing anti-armor, missile, and precision bombing capability, the Cyclone will counter the threat into the 21st Century. Here, it is shown that the Cyclone is a realistic, economical answer to the demand for a capable close air support aircraft.

Cox, George↗

Space mission support by NASA Space Network

Normal NASA operational considerations and Phase 1 of Space Network (SN) interoperability foresees S band cross support between user spacecraft and space networks or partnering agencies. A typical interoperable scenario for an S band user spacecraft of a partner space agency with the NASA SN is presented. ESA's Hermes Manned Spaceplane exemplifies a typical interoperable user. In order to demonstrate the support potential of the NASA SN, the internal and external interfaces of the TDRSS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System), ATDRSS (Advanced TDRSS), and supporting elements are examined. Communications and operational requirements for a typical mission supported by the NASA SN are discussed.

Godfrey, Robert↗

Design of internal support structures for an inflatable lunar habitat

NASA has a long range goal of constructing a fully equipped, manned lunar outpost on the near side of the moon by the year 2015. The proposed outpost includes an inflatable lunar habitat to support crews during missions longer that 12 months. A design for the internal support structures of the inflatable habitat is presented. The design solution includes material selection, substructure design, assembly plan development, and concept scale model construction. Alternate designs and design solutions for each component of the design are discussed. Alternate materials include aluminum, titanium, and reinforced polymers. Vertical support alternates include column systems, truss systems, suspension systems, and lunar lander supports. Horizontal alternates include beams, trusses, floor/truss systems, and expandable trusses. Feasibility studies on each alternate showed that truss systems and expandable trusses were the most feasible candidates for conceptual design. The team based the designs on the properties of 7075 T73 aluminum. The substructure assembly plan, minimizes assembly time and allows crews to construct the habitat without the use of EVA suits. In addition to the design solutions, the report gives conclusions and recommendations for further study of the inflatable habitat design.

Cameron, Elizabeth A.↗

The 12-foot pressure wind tunnel restoration project model support systems

The 12 Foot Pressure Wind Tunnel is a variable density, low turbulence wind tunnel that operates at subsonic speeds, and up to six atmospheres total pressure. The restoration of this facility is of critical importance to the future of the U.S. aerospace industry. As part of this project, several state of the art model support systems are furnished to provide an optimal balance between aerodynamic and operational efficiency parameters. Two model support systems, the Rear Strut Model Support, and the High Angle of Attack Model Support are discussed. This paper covers design parameters, constraints, development, description, and component selection.

Sasaki, Glen E.↗

Human support issues and systems for the space exploration initiative: Results from Project Outreach

The analyses and evaluations of the Human Support panel are discussed. The Human Support panel is one of eight panels created by RAND to screen and analyze submissions to the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) Outreach Program. Submissions to the Human Support panel were in the following areas: radiation protection; microgravity; life support systems; medical care; and human factors (behavior and performance).

Aroesty, J.↗

Life support systems for Mars transit

The structural elements of life-support systems are reviewed in order to assess the suitability of specific features for use during a Mars mission. Life-support requirements are estimated by means of an approximate input/output analysis, and the advantages are listed relating to the use of recycling and regeneration techniques. The technological options for regeneration are presented in categories such as CO2 reduction, organics removal, polishing, food production, and organics oxidation. These data form the basis of proposed mission requirements and constraints as well as the definition of what constitutes an adequate reserve. Regenerative physical/chemical life-support systems are championed based exclusively on the mass savings inherent in the technology. The resiliency and 'soft' failure modes of bioregenerative life-support systems are identified as areas of investigation.

Macelroy, R. D.↗

Supportability to 'Mars...and beyond'

The development of a 'front-end' Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) strategic concept and a Supportability Index Model (SIM) for incorporation into future SEI engineering efforts is discussed. The ILS objectives and support strategy are examined. The SIM mission phases, which evaluates those items determined to be the most crucial for each mission phase in terms of a measure of supportability effectiveness, are summarized and the SIM data development and initial model results are reviewed.

Thurman, Loren A.↗

SSTAC/ARTS review of the draft Integrated Technology Plan (ITP). Volume 5: Human Support

Viewgraphs of briefings from the Space Systems and Technology Advisory Committee (SSTAC)/ARTS review of the draft integrated technology plan (ITP) on human support are included. Topics covered include: human support program; human factors; life support technology; fire safety; medical support technology; advanced refrigeration technology; EVA suit system; advanced PLSS technology; and ARC-EVA systems research program.

Source record↗

Space Life Support Technology Applications to Terrestrial Environmental Problems

Many of the problems now facing the human race on Earth are, in fact, life support issues. Decline of air Quality as a result of industrial and automotive emissions, pollution of ground water by organic pesticides or solvents, and the disposal of solid wastes are all examples of environmental problems that we must solve to sustain human life. The technologies currently under development to solve the problems of supporting human life for advanced space missions are extraordinarily synergistic with these environmental problems. The development of these technologies (including both physicochemical and bioregenerative types) is increasingly focused on closing the life support loop by removing and recycling contaminants and wastes to produce the materials necessary to sustain human life. By so doing, this technology development effort also focuses automatically on reducing resupply logistics requirements and increasing crew safety through increased self-sufficiency. This paper describes several technologies that have been developed to support human life in space and illustrates the applicability of the technologies to environmental problems including environmental remediation and pollution prevention.

Schwartzkopf, Steven H.↗

1991 NASA Life Support Systems Analysis workshop

The 1991 Life Support Systems Analysis Workshop was sponsored by NASA Headquarters' Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) to foster communication among NASA, industrial, and academic specialists, and to integrate their inputs and disseminate information to them. The overall objective of systems analysis within the Life Support Technology Program of OAST is to identify, guide the development of, and verify designs which will increase the performance of the life support systems on component, subsystem, and system levels for future human space missions. The specific goals of this workshop were to report on the status of systems analysis capabilities, to integrate the chemical processing industry technologies, and to integrate recommendations for future technology developments related to systems analysis for life support systems. The workshop included technical presentations, discussions, and interactive planning, with time allocated for discussion of both technology status and time-phased technology development recommendations. Key personnel from NASA, industry, and academia delivered inputs and presentations on the status and priorities of current and future systems analysis methods and requirements.

Evanich, Peggy L.↗

Advanced life support systems in lunar and Martian environments utilizing a higher plant based engineering paradigm

The paper describes a higher-plant-based engineering paradigm for advanced life support in a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) on the surface of the moon or Mars, called the CELSS Breadboard Project, designed at John F. Kennedy Space Center. Such a higher-plant-based system would use the plants for a direct food source, gas exchange, water reclamation, and plant residuals in a complex biological resource recovery scheme. The CELSS Breadboard Project utilizes a 'breadboard' approach of developing independent systems that are evaluated autonomously and are later interconnected. Such a scheme will enable evaluation of life support system methodologies tested for their efficiency in a life support system for habitats on the moon or Mars.

Chamberland, Dennis↗

Mathematical Modeling Of Life-Support Systems

Generic hierarchical model of life-support system developed to facilitate comparisons of options in design of system. Model represents combinations of interdependent subsystems supporting microbes, plants, fish, and land animals (including humans). Generic model enables rapid configuration of variety of specific life support component models for tradeoff studies culminating in single system design. Enables rapid evaluation of effects of substituting alternate technologies and even entire groups of technologies and subsystems. Used to synthesize and analyze life-support systems ranging from relatively simple, nonregenerative units like aquariums to complex closed-loop systems aboard submarines or spacecraft. Model, called Generic Modular Flow Schematic (GMFS), coded in such chemical-process-simulation languages as Aspen Plus and expressed as three-dimensional spreadsheet.

Seshan, Panchalam K.↗

Data management for interdisciplinary field experiments: OTTER project support

The ability of investigators of an interdisciplinary science project to properly manage the data that are collected during the experiment is critical to the effective conduct of science. When the project becomes large, possibly including several scenes of large-format remotely sensed imagery shared by many investigators requiring several services, the data management effort can involve extensive staff and computerized data inventories. The OTTER (Oregon Transect Ecosystem Research) project was supported by the PLDS (Pilot Land Data System) with several data management services, such as data inventory, certification, and publication. After a brief description of these services, experiences in providing them are compared with earlier data management efforts and some conclusions regarding data management in support of interdisciplinary science are discussed. In addition to providing these services, a major goal of this data management capability was to adopt characteristics of a pro-active attitude, such as flexibility and responsiveness, believed to be crucial for the effective conduct of active, interdisciplinary science. These are also itemized and compared with previous data management support activities. Identifying and improving these services and characteristics can lead to the design and implementation of optimal data management support capabilities, which can result in higher quality science and data products from future interdisciplinary field experiments.

Angelici, Gary↗

Commonality of flight control systems for support of European telecommunications missions

This paper is concerned with the presentation of mission-independent software systems that provide a common software platform to ground data systems for mission operations. The objectives of such common software platforms are to reduce the cost of the development of mission-dedicated software systems and to increase the level of reliability of the ground data systems for mission operations. In accordance with this objective, the Multi-Satellite Support System (MSSS) was developed at the European Space Operations Center (ESOC). Between 1975 and 1992, the MSSS provided support to 16 European Space Agency (ESA) missions, among them very demanding science missions such as GEOS, EXOSAT, and Giotto. The successful support of these missions proved the validity of the MSSS concept with its extended mission-independent platform. This paper describes the MSSS concept and focuses on the wide use of MSSS as a flight control system for geosynchronous telecommunications satellites. Reference is made to more than 15 telecommunications missions that are operated from Western Europe using flight control systems with an underlying MSSS concept, demonstrating the benefits of a commonly used software platform. Finally, the paper outlines the design of the new generation of flight control systems, which is being developed at ESOC for this decade, following a period of more than 15 years of MSSS support.

Debatin, Kurt↗

Filter parameter tuning analysis for operational orbit determination support

The use of an extended Kalman filter (EKF) for operational orbit determination support is being considered by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Flight Dynamics Division (FDD). To support that investigation, analysis was performed to determine how an EKF can be tuned for operational support of a set of earth-orbiting spacecraft. The objectives of this analysis were to design and test a general purpose scheme for filter tuning, evaluate the solution accuracies, and develop practical methods to test the consistency of the EKF solutions in an operational environment. The filter was found to be easily tuned to produce estimates that were consistent, agreed with results from batch estimation, and compared well among the common parameters estimated for several spacecraft. The analysis indicates that there is not a sharply defined 'best' tunable parameter set, especially when considering only the position estimates over the data arc. The comparison of the EKF estimates for the user spacecraft showed that the filter is capable of high-accuracy results and can easily meet the current accuracy requirements for the spacecraft included in the investigation. The conclusion is that the EKF is a viable option for FDD operational support.

Dunham, J.↗

Operations and support cost modeling of conceptual space vehicles

The University of Dayton is pleased to submit this annual report to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center which documents the development of an operations and support (O&S) cost model as part of a larger life cycle cost (LCC) structure. It is intended for use during the conceptual design of new launch vehicles and spacecraft. This research is being conducted under NASA Research Grant NAG-1-1327. This research effort changes the focus from that of the first two years in which a reliability and maintainability model was developed to the initial development of an operations and support life cycle cost model. Cost categories were initially patterned after NASA's three axis work breakdown structure consisting of a configuration axis (vehicle), a function axis, and a cost axis. A revised cost element structure (CES), which is currently under study by NASA, was used to established the basic cost elements used in the model. While the focus of the effort was on operations and maintenance costs and other recurring costs, the computerized model allowed for other cost categories such as RDT&E and production costs to be addressed. Secondary tasks performed concurrent with the development of the costing model included support and upgrades to the reliability and maintainability (R&M) model. The primary result of the current research has been a methodology and a computer implementation of the methodology to provide for timely operations and support cost analysis during the conceptual design activities.

Ebeling, Charles↗