Space navigation guidance and control, volume 1
Guidance, control, and navigation for Apollo manned lunar landing mission - basic problems, onboard computation, safety aspects, and instrumentation
MANNED SPACE FLIGHT↗
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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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Functional requirements for spaceborne computers on advanced manned missions
Functional requirements for spacecraft computers on advanced manned flyby missions
COMPUTER↗
Space for small computers.
Multipurpose satellite computer for data processing
SATELLITE INSTRUMENTATION↗
The Instrument Function of a Wide Angle Michelson Interferometer Spectrometer
Wide angle Michelson interferometer spectrometer instrument function derived by computing phase difference between beams
Johnston, William D., III↗
A cost and utility analysis of NIM/CAMAC standards and equipment for shuttle payload data acquisition and control systems. Volume 3: Tasks 3 and 4
The modifications for the Nuclear Instrumentation Modular (NIM) and Computer Automated Measurement Control (CAMAC) equipment, designed for ground based laboratory use, that would be required to permit its use in the Spacelab environments were determined. The cost of these modifications were estimated and the most cost effective approach to implementing them were identified. A shared equipment implementation in which the various Spacelab users draw their required complement of standard NIM and CAMAC equipment for a given flight from a common equipment pool was considered. The alternative approach studied was a dedicated equipment implementation in which each of the users is responsible for procuring either their own NIM/CAMAC equipment or its custom built equivalent.
Source record↗
Real time mass flow computer for Arc Jet Wind Tunnel
Experiments at the Arc Jet Tunnel at Ames Research Center have typical run times of 5-10 sec during which the test model is subjected to an environment simulating reentry into Jupiter. Previous real-time determination of mass flow required off-line manual computations from taped or strip chart data. The present paper describes a computer which provides personnel with real-time computations of mass flow. Using an 8-bit microprocessor and standard TTL interface circuitry, the unit interrogates temperature and pressure instruments with other parameters to compute mass flow.
Vidal, J.↗
Preprototype vapor compression distillation subsystem
A three-person capacity preprototype vapor compression distillation subsystem for recovering potable water from wastewater aboard spacecraft was designed, assembled, and tested. The major components of the subsystem are: (1) a distillation unit which includes a compressor, centrifuge, central shaft, and outer shell; (2) a purge pump; (3) a liquids pump; (4) a post-treat cartridge; (5) a recycle/filter tank; (6) an evaporator high liquid level sensor; and (7) the product water conductivity monitor. A computer based control monitor instrumentation carries out operating mode change sequences, monitors and displays subsystem parameters, maintains intramode controls, and stores and displays fault detection information. The mechanical hardware occupies 0.467 m3, requires 171 W of electrical power, and has a dry weight of 143 kg. The subsystem recovers potable water at a rate of 1.59 kg/hr, which is equivalent to a duty cycle of approximately 30% for a crew of three. The product water has no foul taste or odor. Continued development of the subsystem is recommended for reclaiming water for human consumption as well as for flash evaporator heat rejection, urinal flushing, washing, and other on-board water requirements.
Ellis, G. S.↗
Principal normal curvature of surfaces
Certain principal normal curvatures of differential geometry were developed for use in curvature matrices associated with the asymptotic solution of electromagnetic diffraction problems. The effort is directed toward microwave antenna simulations and high speed digital computer analysis of radiometric instruments used to obtain soil moisture, sea state, salinity and temperature data. It is shown that the methods used to develop the principal normal curvatures for paraboloid, hyperboloid, ellipsoid, sphere, and cone can be applied to other radiometer geometries such as the parabolic torus, even though the surface parameterizations are different. It is concluded that deployable offset geometries, distorted by rotational forces and solar loads may be analyzed by similar means given a suitable surface description.
Schmidt, R. F.↗
Opportunities for research in aerothermodynamics
"Aerothermodynamics' involves the disciplines of chemistry, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer which have collaborative importance in propulsion systems. There are growing opportunities for the further application of these disciplines to improve the methodology for the design of advanced gas turbines; particularly, the combustor and turbine. Design procedures follow empirical or cut and try guidelines. The tremendous advances in computational analysis and in instrumentation techniques hold promise for research answers to complex physical processes that are currently not well understood. The transfer of basic research understanding to engineering design should result in shorter, less expensive development commitments for engines. The status and anticipated opportunities in research topics relevant to combustors and turbines is reviewed.
Graham, R. W.↗
Lightweight Regulated Power Supply
Power-supply circuit regulates output voltage by adjusting frequency of chopper circuit according to variations. Currently installed in battery charger for electric wheelchair, circuit is well suited to other uses in which light weight is important - for example, in portable computers, radios, and test instruments.
Mclyman, C. W.↗
Aircraft liftmeter
A display for aiding the pilot of an aircraft in anomalous wind environments is described. Wind velocity components are measured by an instrument, processed by a computer and a vector generator, and then displayed as a vector. The display utilizes the measurements of ground speed and of wind velocity in three mutually perpendicular directions. This display will also show changes in lift of an aircraft.
Millen, E. W.↗
Preliminary In-Flight Boundary Layer Transition Measurements on a 45 Deg Swept Wing at Mach Numbers Between 0.9 and 1.8
A preliminary flight experiment was flown to generate a full-scale supersonic data base to aid the assessment of computational codes, to improve instrumentation for measuring boundary layer transition at supersonic speeds, and to provide preliminary information for the definition of follow-on programs. The experiment was conducted using an F-15 aircraft modified with a small cleanup test section on the right wing. Results are presented for Mach (M) numbers from 0.9 to 1.8 at altitudes from 25,000 to 55,000 ft. At M greater than or = 1.2, transition occurred near or at the leading edge for the clean configuration. The furthest aft that transition was measured was 20 percent chord at M = 0.9 and M = 0.97. No change in transition location was observed after the addition of a notch-bump on the leading edge of the inboard side of the test section which was intended to minimize attachment line transition problems. Some flow visualization was attempted during the flight experiment with both subliming chemicals and liquid crystals. However, difficulties arose from the limited time the test aircraft was able to hold test conditions and the difficulty of positioning the photo chase aircraft during supersonic test points. Therefore, no supersonic transition results were obtained.
Johnson, J. Blair↗
Time-Resolved Measurements Of Laser Far-Field Patterns
Computer-controlled scanning photometric instrumentation system measures intensity pattern in far field of pulsed laser as function of time during each pulse (provided that pulse is at least 1 ns long). Such measurements important in studying dynamics of laser operation: they reveal such previously unobservable phenomena as oscillations of undesired spatial modes of radiation pattern during pulse, steering of beam during pulse, and instability of intensity of laser beam. Principal advantages of system are its relatively low cost and its ability to function under normal lighting conditions without incurring damage.
Forrest, Kathrine↗
Dynamic file-access characteristics of a production parallel scientific workload
Multiprocessors have permitted astounding increases in computational performance, but many cannot meet the intense I/O requirements of some scientific applications. An important component of any solution to this I/O bottleneck is a parallel file system that can provide high-bandwidth access to tremendous amounts of data in parallel to hundreds or thousands of processors. Most successful systems are based on a solid understanding of the expected workload, but thus far there have been no comprehensive workload characterizations of multiprocessor file systems. This paper presents the results of a three week tracing study in which all file-related activity on a massively parallel computer was recorded. Our instrumentation differs from previous efforts in that it collects information about every I/O request and about the mix of jobs running in a production environment. We also present the results of a trace-driven caching simulation and recommendations for designers of multiprocessor file systems.
Kotz, David↗
A Unique Test Facility to Measure Liner Performance with a Summary of Initial Test Results
A very ambitious study was initiated to obtain detailed acoustic and flow data with and without a liner in a duct containing a mean flow so that available theoretical models of duct liners can be validated. A unique flow-duct facility equipped with a sound source, liner box, flush-walled microphones, traversable microphones and traversable pressure and temperature probes was built. A unique set of instrumentation boxes equipped with computer controlled traverses were designed and built that allowed measurements of Mach number, temperature, SPLs and phases in two planes upstream of a liner section and two planes downstream at a large number of measurement points. Each pair of planes provided acoustic pressure gradients for use in estimating the particle velocities. Specially-built microphone probes were employed to make measurements in the presence of the flow. A microphone traverse was also designed to measure the distribution of SPLs and phases from the beginning of the liner to its end along the duct axis. All measurements were made with the help of cross-correlation techniques to reject flow noise and/or other obtrusive noise, if any. The facility was designed for future use at temperatures as high as 1500 F. In order to validate 2-D models in the presence of mean flow, the flow duct was equipped with a device to modify boundary layer flow on the smaller sides of a rectangular duct to simulate 2-D flow. A massive amount of data was acquired for use in validating duct liner models and will be provided to NASA in an electronic form. It was found that the sound in the plane-wave regime is well behaved within the duct and the results are repeatable from one run to another. At the higher frequencies corresponding to the higher-order modes, the SPLs within a duct are not repeatable from run to run. In fact, when two or more modes have the same frequency (i.e., for the degenerate modes), the SPLs in the duct varied between 2 dB to 12 dB from run to run. This made the calibration of the microphone probes extremely difficult at the higher frequencies.
Ahuja, K. K.↗
Computer Controlled Magnetotransport Setup for the Characterization of Semiconductor Thin Films
We have considered a computer controlled magnetotransport setup using LabWindows environment. It allows for measurements of resistivity, Hall resistance, carrier concentration and charge mobility in semiconductor thin films using a van der Pauw configuration. The setup features an electromagnet (B = 0.7 Tesla) a 80486-DX 33 computer with a National Instrument AT-MIO 16 AD/DA and a GPIB interface board. A Keithely 224 current source and a Keithley 196 digital voltmeter were also used in the setup. Plans for the addition of capabilities to allow for magnetic field sweeping and the performance of measurements as a function of temperature will be presented.
Ducoudray, G. O.↗
The Dynamics of Disorder-Order Transition in Hard Sphere Colloidal Dispersions
The Physics of Hard Spheres Experiment (PHaSE) seeks a complete understanding of the entropically driven disorder-order transition in hard sphere colloidal dispersions. The light scattering instrument designed for flight collects Bragg and low angle light scattering in the forward direction via a CCD camera and performs conventional static and dynamic light scattering at 10-160 deg. through fiber optic cables. Here we report on the kinetics of nucleation and growth extracted from time-resolved Bragg images and measurements of the elastic modulus of crystalline phases obtained by monitoring resonant responses to sinusoidal forcing through dynamic light scattering. Preliminary analysis of the former indicates a significant difference from measurements on the ground, while the latter confirms nicely laboratory experiments with the same instrument and predictions from computer simulations.
Chaikin, Paul M.↗
Development of X-33/X-34 Aerothermodynamic Data Bases: Lessons Learned and Future Enhancements
A synoptic of programmatic and technical lessons learned in the development of aerothermodynamic data bases for the X-33 and X-34 programs is presented in general terms and from the perspective of the NASA Langley Research Center Aerothermodynamics Branch. The format used is that of the "aerothermodynamic chain," the links of which are personnel, facilities, models/test articles, instrumentation, test techniques, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Because the aerodynamic data bases upon which the X-33 and X-34 vehicles will fly are almost exclusively from wind tunnel testing, as opposed to CFD, the primary focus of the lessons learned is on ground-based testing. The period corresponding to the development of X-33 and X-34 aerothermodynamic data bases was challenging, since a number of other such programs (e.g., X-38, X-43) competed for resources at a time of downsizing of personnel, facilities, etc., outsourcing, and role changes as NASA Centers served as subcontractors to industry. The impact of this changing environment is embedded in the lessons learned. From a technical perspective, the relatively long times to design and fabricate metallic force and moment models, delays in delivery of models, and a lack of quality assurance to determine the fidelity of model outer mold lines (OML) prior to wind tunnel testing had a major negative impact on the programs. On the positive side, the application of phosphor thermography to obtain global, quantitative heating distributions on rapidly fabricated ceramic models revolutionized the aerothermodynamic optimization of vehicle OMLs, control surfaces, etc. Vehicle designers were provided with aeroheating information prior to, or in conjunction with, aerodynamic information early in the program, thereby allowing trades to be made with both sets of input; in the past only aerodynamic data were available as input. Programmatically, failure to include transonic aerodynamic wind tunnel tests early in the assessment phase led to delays in the optimization phase, as OMLs required modification to provide adequate transonic aerodynamic performance without sacrificing subsonic and hypersonic performance. Funding schedules for industry, based on technical milestones, also presented challenges to aerothermodynamics seeking optimum flying characteristics across the subsonic to hypersonic speed regimes and minimum aeroheating. This paper is concluded with a brief discussion of enhancements in ground-based testing/CFD capabilities necessary to partially/fully satisfy future requirements.
Miller, C. G.↗