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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 451 records · Page 25

Remote-area health care delivery through space technology - STARPAHC

A joint NASA/HEW project called Space Technology Applied to Rural Papage Advanced Health Care (STARPAHC) has been developed to deliver quality health care to inhabitants of remote geographical areas. The system consists of a hospital-based support control center, a fixed clinic, a mobile clinic, and a referral center with access to specialists via television links to the control center. A strategically located relay station routes television, voice, and data transmissions between system elements. A model system has been installed on the Papage Indian Reservation in Arizona, and is undergoing a 2-year evaluation. The system has been shown to be both effective and cost-efficient, and applications of the concept are planned for future manned spacecraft flights.

Belasco, N.↗

Health and safety: Preliminary comparative assessment of the Satellite Power System (SPS) and other energy alternatives

Data readily available from the literature were used to make an initial comparison of the health and safety risks of a fission power system with fuel reprocessing; a combined-cycle coal power system with a low-Btu gasifier and open-cycle gas turbine; a central-station, terrestrial, solar photovoltaic power system; the satellite power system; and a first-generation fusion system. The assessment approach consists of the identification of health and safety issues in each phase of the energy cycle from raw material extraction through electrical generation, waste disposal, and system deactivation; quantitative or qualitative evaluation of impact severity; and the rating of each issue with regard to known or potential impact level and level of uncertainty.

Habegger, L. J.↗

Health and safety evaluation of a modified tunnel borer design for application to single entry coal mine development

A health and safety analysis of a single entry coal tunnel borer system is given. The results of the health analysis indicated that while the tunnel borer design offered improvements in dust control through the use of water sprays, a higher face ventilation rule, and the application of spalling rather than the conventional grinding process, it interjected an additional mutagen and toxic compound into the environment through the use of shotcrete. The tunnel borer system easily conformed with the prescribed fatality limit, but exceeded the required limits for disabling and overall injuries. It also exhibited projected disabling and overall injury rates considerably higher than existing continuous mining injury rates. Consequently, the tunnel borer system was not considered an advanced system.

Zimmerman, W. F.↗

Comparative health and safety assessment of the SPS and alternative electrical generation systems

A comparative analysis of health and safety risks is presented for the Satellite Power System and five alternative baseload electrical generation systems: a low-Btu coal gasification system with an open-cycle gas turbine combined with a steam topping cycle; a light water fission reactor system without fuel reprocessing; a liquid metal fast breeder fission reactor system; a central station terrestrial photovoltaic system; and a first generation fusion system with magnetic confinement. For comparison, risk from a decentralized roof-top photovoltaic system with battery storage is also evaluated. Quantified estimates of public and occupational risks within ranges of uncertainty were developed for each phase of the energy system. The potential significance of related major health and safety issues that remain unquantitied are also discussed.

Habegger, L. J.↗

Nonauditory-system response to noise and effects on health

Continued exposure to noise in real life can be a source of physiological stress possibly capable of causing health disorders beyond that of direct damage to the auditory receptor system. Some theorists hold that some of these effects occur because of innate, reflexive responses to noise that cannot be prevented or, when suppressed, that require some effort that may itself become somewhat debilitting in time. An alternative theory is that the truly nonhabituating reflexive responses to noise are not sufficient in character to cause any ill health, and that those responses to noise that are or could be significant in this regard are not directly the result of exposure to noise but are responses to the emotional meanings conveyed by the sounds. Obviously, the degree to which noise can lead to harm to nonauditory physiological systems of the body are questions of utmost importance for the assessment of the need for noise control.

Source record↗

Concepts for NASA longitudinal health studies

Clinical data collected from a 15-year study of the homogenous group of pre-Shuttle astronauts have revealed no significant long-term effects from spaceflight. The current hypothesis suggests that repeated exposures to the space environment in the Shuttle era will similarly have no long-term health effects. However, a much more heterogenous group of astronauts and non-astronaut scientists will fly in Shuttle, and data on this group's adaptation to the space environment and readaptation to earth are currently sparse. In addition, very little information is available concerning the short- and long-term medical consequences of long duration exposure to space and subsequent readaptation to the earth environment. In this paper, retrospective clinical information on astronauts is reviewed and concepts for conducting epidemiological studies examining long-term health effects of spaceflight on humans, including associated occupational risks factors, are presented.

Nicogossian, A. E.↗

Health care delivery system for long duration manned space operations

Specific requirements for medical support of a long-duration manned facility in a low earth orbit derive from inflight medical experience, projected medical scenarios, mission related spacecraft and environmental hazards, health maintenance, and preventive medicine. A sequential buildup of medical capabilities tailored to increasing mission complexity is proposed. The space station health maintenance facility must provide preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic medical support as immediate rescue capability may not exist.

Logan, J. S.↗

Impatience versus achievement strivings in the Type A pattern: Differential effects on students' health and academic achievement

Psychometric analyses of college students' responses to the Jenkins Activity Survey, a self-report measure of the Type A behavior pattern, revealed the presence of two relatively independent factors. Based on these analyses, two scales, labeled Achievement Strivings (AS) and Impatience and Irritability (II), were developed. In two samples of male and female college students, scores on AS but not on II were found to be significantly correlated with grade point average. Responses to a health survey, on the other hand, indicated that frequency of physical complaints was significantly correlated with II but not with AS. These results suggest that there are two relatively independent factors in the Type A pattern that have differential effects on performance and health. Future research on the personality factors related to coronary heart disease and other disorders might more profitably focus on the syndrome reflected in the II scale than on the Type A pattern.

Spence, Janet T.↗

Psychiatric Components of a Health Maintenance Facility (HMF) on Space Station

The operational psychiatric requirements for a comprehensive Health Maintenance Facility (HMF) on a permanently manned Space Station are examined. Consideration is given to the psychological health maintenance program designed for the diagnosis of mental distress in astronauts during flight and for prevention of mental breakdown. The types of mental disorders that can possibly affect the astronauts in flight are discussed, including various organic, psychotic, and affective mental disorders, as well as anxiety, adjustment, and somatoform/dissociative disorders. Special attention is given to therapeutic considerations for psychiatric operations on Space Station, such as restraints, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, and psychosocial support.

Patricia A Santy↗

Health maintenance on Space Station

Medical support for extended manned missions aboard such spacecraft as the NASA Space Shuttle must encompass prevention, diagnosis, and therapy capabilities in the preflight and postflight as well as actual mission phases. An evaluation is presently made of the technological and management challenges that must be met in order to furnish an adequate inflight health care delivery system that possesses adequate inflight health care, real-time environmental monitoring, physiological countermeasures, and medical rescue/recovery facilities for ill or injured crew members.

Logan, J. S.↗

Framework for a space shuttle main engine health monitoring system

A framework developed for a health management system (HMS) which is directed at improving the safety of operation of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) is summarized. An emphasis was placed on near term technology through requirements to use existing SSME instrumentation and to demonstrate the HMS during SSME ground tests within five years. The HMS framework was developed through an analysis of SSME failure modes, fault detection algorithms, sensor technologies, and hardware architectures. A key feature of the HMS framework design is that a clear path from the ground test system to a flight HMS was maintained. Fault detection techniques based on time series, nonlinear regression, and clustering algorithms were developed and demonstrated on data from SSME ground test failures. The fault detection algorithms exhibited 100 percent detection of faults, had an extremely low false alarm rate, and were robust to sensor loss. These algorithms were incorporated into a hierarchical decision making strategy for overall assessment of SSME health. A preliminary design for a hardware architecture capable of supporting real time operation of the HMS functions was developed. Utilizing modular, commercial off-the-shelf components produced a reliable low cost design with the flexibility to incorporate advances in algorithm and sensor technology as they become available.

Hawman, Michael W.↗

Reusable rocket engine turbopump health monitoring system, part 3

Degradation mechanisms and sensor identification/selection resulted in a list of degradation modes and a list of sensors that are utilized in the diagnosis of these degradation modes. The sensor list is divided into primary and secondary indicators of the corresponding degradation modes. The signal conditioning requirements are discussed, describing the methods of producing the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) post-hot-fire test data to be utilized by the Health Monitoring System. Development of the diagnostic logic and algorithms is also presented. The knowledge engineering approach, as utilized, includes the knowledge acquisition effort, characterization of the expert's problem solving strategy, conceptually defining the form of the applicable knowledge base, and rule base, and identifying an appropriate inferencing mechanism for the problem domain. The resulting logic flow graphs detail the diagnosis/prognosis procedure as followed by the experts. The nature and content of required support data and databases is also presented. The distinction between deep and shallow types of knowledge is identified. Computer coding of the Health Monitoring System is shown to follow the logical inferencing of the logic flow graphs/algorithms.

Perry, John G.↗

Space Station Environmental Health System water quality monitoring

One of the unique aspects of the Space Station is that it will be a totally encapsulated environment and the air and water supplies will be reclaimed for reuse. The Environmental Health System, a subsystem of CHeCS (Crew Health Care System), must monitor the air and water on board the Space Station Freedom to verify that the quality is adequate for crew safety. Specifically, the Water Quality Subsystem will analyze the potable and hygiene water supplies regularly for organic, inorganic, particulate, and microbial contamination. The equipment selected to perform these analyses will be commercially available instruments which will be converted for use on board the Space Station Freedom. Therefore, the commercial hardware will be analyzed to identify the gravity dependent functions and modified to eliminate them. The selection, analysis, and conversion of the off-the-shelf equipment for monitoring the Space Station reclaimed water creates a challenging project for the Water Quality engineers and scientists.

Vincze, Johanna E.↗

SHARP: Automated monitoring of spacecraft health and status

Briefly discussed here are the spacecraft and ground systems monitoring process at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Some of the difficulties associated with the existing technology used in mission operations are highlighted. A new automated system based on artificial intelligence technology is described which seeks to overcome many of these limitations. The system, called the Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP), is designed to automate health and status analysis for multi-mission spacecraft and ground data systems operations. The system has proved to be effective for detecting and analyzing potential spacecraft and ground systems problems by performing real-time analysis of spacecraft and ground data systems engineering telemetry. Telecommunications link analysis of the Voyager 2 spacecraft was the initial focus for evaluation of the system in real-time operations during the Voyager spacecraft encounter with Neptune in August 1989.

Atkinson, David J.↗

Radiation health research, 1986 - 1990

A collection of 225 abstracts of radiation research sponsored by NASA during the period 1986 through 1990 is reported. Each abstract was categorized within one of four discipline areas: physics, biology, risk assessment, and microgravity. Topic areas within each discipline were assigned as follows: Physics - atomic physics, nuclear science, space radiation, radiation transport and shielding, and instrumentation; Biology - molecular biology, cellular radiation biology, tissue, organs and organisms, radioprotectants, and plants; Risk assessment - radiation health and epidemiology, space flight radiation health physics, inter- and intraspecies extrapolation, and radiation limits and standards; and Microgravity. When applicable subareas were assigned for selected topic areas. Keywords and author indices are provided.

Source record↗

Real-time in-flight engine performance and health monitoring techniques for flight research application

Procedures for real time evaluation of the inflight health and performance of gas turbine engines and related systems were developed to enhance flight test safety and productivity. These techniques include the monitoring of the engine, the engine control system, thrust vectoring control system health, and the detection of engine stalls. Real time performance techniques were developed for the determination and display of inflight thrust and for aeroperformance drag polars. These new methods were successfully shown on various research aircraft at NASA-Dryden. The capability of NASA's Western Aeronautical Test Range and the advanced data acquisition systems were key factors for implementation and real time display of these methods.

Ray, Ronald J.↗

Annual Health Monitoring Conference for Space Propulsion Systems, 2nd, Cincinnati, OH, Nov. 14, 15, 1990, Proceedings

This conference discusses health management systems for liquid rocket engines, signal processing of spectroscopic data for engine diagnostic applications, real-time diagnostics of the reusable rocket engine using on-line system identification, and nonlinear parameter estimation for rocket engine health monitoring. Plume diagnostics are considered including discussion on preliminary plume diagnostics on the SSME using video digitization techniques and baseline plume emmissions. The development of a Fabry-Perot Interferometer for rocket engine plumes is also considered. The topic of computational modeling is also discussed, addressing such topics as probabalistic dynamics of material loss in the SSME turbomachinery, state-variable modelling of fluid-dynamics processes, and a model for the SSME high pressure oxidizer turbopump shaft seal system. A discussion of sensor development includes the topics of sensor development for the rocket engine condition monitoring system and the heat flux measurements in SSME turbine blade tester.

Source record↗

SHARP - Automated monitoring of spacecraft health and status

Briefly discussed here are the spacecraft and ground systems monitoring process at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Some of the difficulties associated with the existing technology used in mission operations are highlighted. A new automated system based on artificial intelligence technology is described which seeks to overcome many of these limitations. The system, called the Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP), is designed to automate health and status analysis for multi-mission spacecraft and ground data systems operations. The system has proved to be effective for detecting and analyzing potential spacecraft and ground systems problems by performing real-time analysis of spacecraft and ground data systems engineering telemetry. Telecommunications link analysis of the Voyager 2 spacecraft was the initial focus for evaluation of the system in real-time operations during the Voyager spacecraft encounter with Neptune in August 1989.

Atkinson, David J.↗