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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Decentralized and Asynchronous Planning for Cooperative Practices in High Altitude Digitally Enabled Operations

Cooperative practices will likely be foundational to future digitally enabled airspace operations characterized by decentralized and asynchronous decision-making. This paper explores the implementation of cooperative practices in high-altitude airspace. The digitally enabled operations framework, under exploratory investigation by NASA as a potential new operating mode, which is enabled and dependent on digital technologies and information sharing, may create new operational possibilities for a wide range of vehicle types and missions. An essential element of the operating mode framework under investigation, cooperative practices, could empower operators to manage critical functions such as deconfliction, equitable airspace usage, and demand-capacity balancing. The use of cooperative practices would involve asynchronous flight information sharing and decentralized conflict management by operators, representing a major change from traditional air traffic services that use synchronous surveillance information to support centralized decision-making by air traffic controllers. This paper details three key components for implementing cooperative practices for decentralized, digitally enabled operations: (a) intent modeling and sharing, (b) conflict detection, and (c) cooperative deconfliction.

cooperative operating practics↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mission Design & Operations Approach for the HelioSwarm Mission

HelioSwarm: The Nature of Turbulence in Space Plasmas is a transformational mission to explore the dynamic three-dimensional mechanisms controlling the physics of plasma turbulence, a ubiquitous process occurring in the heliosphere and plasmas throughout the universe. Turbulence is the process by which energy contained in fluctuating magnetic fields and plasma motion cascades from large to smaller spatial scales. HelioSwarm achieves its science goals by making simultaneous measurements across a wide range of measurement baselines, spanning magnetohydrodynamic scales (1000’s of km) to sub-ion heating scales (10’s of km), using a novel nine-spacecraft swarm. The swarm operates in a high-altitude lunar resonant Earth orbit (two-week period, ~63 RE apogee, ~13 RE perigee), giving it access to both the pristine solar wind and regions of strongly driven turbulence (specifically the magnetosphere and foreshock), and utilizes customized relative orbital motion of the swarm members to produce the range of measurement baselines and configurations. The swarm comprises eight “node” spacecraft, manufactured by Blue Canyon Technologies, and a “hub” spacecraft produced by Northrop Grumman Corp. The hub serves as a communications relay, with all communications between the ground and the nodes flowing through it. Mission operations are conducted within the Multi-Mission Operations Center at the NASA Ames Research Center and science operations at the University of New Hampshire, Durham. HelioSwarm was selected in 2022 as one of NASA’s newest Heliophysics Explorer missions to proceed from mission concept into mission implementation, with a target launch in 2029. This paper provides an overview of the mission’s science goals and objectives, the mission design, and the concept of operations, with an emphasis on how the swarm aspects of the mission both enable the science measurements and present unique operational challenges. The paper then describes the proposed development approach for the mission operations system and ground data system which relies on a selective combination of scaling strategies to meet the challenges.

HelioSwarm↗
DOE OSTI2025

Operation of helium sub-atmospheric multistage cryogenic centrifugal compressor trains: Part 1 – Steady state modeling and speed ratio selection

Helium cryogenic systems which can provide cooling below the normal boiling point of helium (approximately 4.2 K) are often required by superconducting radio-frequency niobium resonators utilized in modern high-energy particle accelerators. Achieving temperatures below 4.2 K generally involves operating a cryogenic vessel with liquid helium under sub-atmospheric conditions, thereby lowering the saturation pressure and corresponding saturation temperature. Over the last several decades, multi-stage cryogenic centrifugal compressor trains (CC’s) have been operated efficiently and reliably within large-scale cryogenic systems to continuously evacuate helium vapor generated by a device within the vessel, maintaining sub-atmospheric conditions in the vessel while pressurizing the return vapor to above atmospheric conditions. Traditionally, these CC systems have been operated using empirically derived control philosophies and insight gathered from previous operational experience. Recent efforts at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) have been aimed at the development of a theoretical basis to characterize the operation of multi-stage cryogenic centrifugal compressor train and utilizing predictive model results to generate control parameters. The objective of this research was identifying operational points which adequately balance cryogenic system efficiency, stability, and overall ease of operation. Furthermore, this manuscript provides an overview of the predictive model development, characterization of the FRIB cryogenic centrifugal compressors and implementation of the predicted performance results during steady-state system operation.

Compressor train control↗
DOE OSTI2025

Enhanced Collisional Losses from a Magnetic Mirror Using the Lenard-Bernstein Collision Operator

Collisions are crucial in governing particle and energy transport in plasmas confined in a magnetic mirror trap. Modern gyrokinetic codes model transport in magnetic mirrors, but some utilize approximate model collision operators. This study focuses on a Pastukhov-style method of images calculation of particle and energy confinement times using a Lenard-Bernstein model collision operator. Prior work on parallel particle and energy balances used a different Fokker-Planck plasma collision operator. The method must be extended in non-trivial ways to study the Lenard-Bernstein operator. To assess the effectiveness of our approach, we compare our results with a modern finite element solver. Our findings reveal that the particle confinement time scales like a exp( a 2 ) using the Lenard-Bernstein operator, in contrast to the more accurate scaling that the Coulomb collision operator would yield a 2 exp( a 2 ), where a 2 is approximately proportional to the ambipolar potential. We propose that codes solving for collisional losses in magnetic mirrors utilizing the Lenard-Bernstein or Dougherty collision operator scale their collision frequency of any electrostatically confined species. This study illuminates the collision operator’s intricate role in the Pastukhov-style method of images calculation of collisional confinement.

fusion plasma↗
DOE OSTI2024

WEST full tungsten operation with an ITER grade divertor

The mission of WEST (tungsten-W Environment in Steady-state Tokamak) is to explore long pulse operation in a full tungsten (W) environment for preparing next-step fusion devices (ITER and DEMO) with a focus on testing the ITER actively cooled W divertor in tokamak conditions. Following the successful completion of phase 1 (2016-2021), phase 2 started in December 2022 with the lower divertor made entirely of actively cooled ITER-grade tungsten mono-blocks. A boronization prior the first plasma attempt allowed for a smooth startup with the new divertor. Despite the reduced operating window due to tungsten, rapid progress has been made in long pulse operation, resulting in discharges with a pulse length of 100 s and an injected energy of around 300 MJ per discharge. Plasma startup studies were carried out with equatorial boron nitride limiters to compare them with tungsten limiters, while Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating assisted startup was attempted. High fluence operation in attached regime, which was the main thrust of the first campaigns, already showed the progressive build up of deposits and appearance of dust, impacting the plasma operation as the plasma fluence increased. In total, the cumulated injected energy during the first campaigns reached 43 GJ and the cumulated plasma time exceeded 5 h. Demonstration of controlled X-Point Radiator regime is also reported, opening a promising route for investigating plasma exhaust and plasma-wall interaction issues in more detached regime. This paper summarises the lessons learned from the manufacturing and the first operation of the ITER-grade divertor, describing the progress achieved in optimising operation in a full W environment with a focus on long pulse operation and plasma wall interaction.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Krylov winding and emergent coherence in operator growth dynamics

The operator wavefunction provides a fine-grained description of quantum chaos and of the irreversible growth of simple operators into increasingly complex ones. Remarkably, at finite temperature this wavefunction can acquire a phase that increases linearly with the operator’s size, a phenomenon called . Although size winding occurs naturally in a holographic setting, the emergence of a coherent phase in a scrambled operator remains mysterious from the standpoint of a thermalizing quantum many-body system. Here, in this article, we elucidate this phenomenon by introducing the related concept of , whereby the operator wavefunction acquires a phase which winds linearly with the Krylov index. We show that Krylov winding is a generic feature of quantum chaotic systems and is a direct consequence of the universal operator growth bound hypothesis. It gives rise to size winding under two additional conditions: (i) a low-rank mapping between the Krylov and size bases, which ensures phase alignment among operators of the same size, and (ii) the saturation of the "chaos-operator growth" bound 𝜆 𝐿 ≤ 2⁢𝛼 (with 𝜆 𝐿 the Lyapunov exponent and 𝛼 the growth rate), which ensures a linear phase dependence on size. For systems which do not saturate this bound, with ℎ = 𝜆 𝐿 /2⁢𝛼 < 1, the winding with Pauli size ℓ becomes superliner, behaving as ℓ 1/ℎ . We illustrate these results with two classes of microscopic models: the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model and its variants, and a disordered 𝑘-local spin model.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Transmission Operator Workflows for Real-Time Reliability Studies: A Review of Control Room Practices and Naturalistic Decision Making

This report provides an overview of real-time reliability study tools and their use by power system operators in the control room environment. After introducing some of the nuances of the control room environment and the differences in perspectives between power system engineers and operators, the roles and responsibilities of key entities involved in RTCA workflows are introduced. These are specifically the transmission system operator (TOP) and reliability coordinator (RC), which are required to run tools such as real-time contingency analysis (RTCA) as part of a real-time reliability assessment every 30 minutes, as dictated by a series of standards issued by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). The process by which power systems operators operate the grid is discussed in terms of naturalistic decision making (NDM) and the recognition-primed decision-making (RPD) model. This cognitive model describe how experts working in high-risk, high-stress environments make safety-critical decisions under uncertainty and time pressure. For power system operators, the mental simulations involved in the traditional RPD model are supplemented by physics-based simulations using numerical tools, such as RTCA, to improve situational awareness and effectiveness of control actions. Next, a generic workflow is introduced to describe operator decision making for running RTCA tools and responding to system violations on a pre-contingent basis. The types of analysis performed and control actions chosen by power system operators are described in detail. The overall high-level workflow is then expanded in subsequent sections, with special attention given to high-voltage violations, low-voltage violations, and thermal overloads. Each type of violation is described in detail, with explanations of common causes, impacts on equipment and customers, and mitigation strategies. An additional workflow diagram is provided for each type of violation.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Resilient Operation of Networked Community Microgrids with High Solar Penetration

This project, funded by the US Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), focused on the operation of microgrids as a coordinated network. The primary objective, which was successfully achieved, was to develop both control strategies and hardware solutions to support the resilient and efficient operation of networked microgrids with high solar penetration. The work was structured around the following four main tasks: • Development of distributed and scalable optimization algorithms for AC-coupled networked microgrids. • Design and implementation of a novel DC interconnection hardware to enable precise power exchange between microgrids. • Laboratory operational validation of the developed technologies using 480 V testbeds and commercially available hardware. • Field operational validation of the complete solution in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, interconnecting two kW-scale, split-phase microgrids of Casa Pueblo’s microgrids. This project addressed multiple technical challenges across the domains of optimization, control, hardware interconnection, and protection. One of its key contributions was delivering tangible, real-world solutions for networking microgrids. In contrast to purely theoretical or simulation-based work, this project included full-scale hardware operational validation both in the lab and in the field. The work conducted as part of this project—in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; the University of Central Florida; and Casa Pueblo—has advanced the state of the art in networked microgrids. Key contributions include the development of distributed control strategies, practical solutions for real-world implementation challenges, and the introduction of a novel DC interlink approach for microgrid interconnection. The project featured both laboratory and field validation using commercial off-the-shelf components. The field deployment successfully validated that a group of microgrids can operate in a coordinated manner, enabling precise power flow between systems and mutual support during extreme events. This project resulted in 15 journal publications and 15 conference papers; 5 graduate students and 15 undergraduate students were supported. The codes of distributed optimization and forecasting were made open-source through OSTI.gov for distributed optimization and forecasting. All the publications are available in the ORNL-hosted project landing page. The DC interlink with state-of-charge balancing control was operationally validated in Adjuntas by interconnecting two real-world, 240 V split-phase microgrids. To the best knowledge of the team, this represents the first operational validation of AC microgrids interconnected via DC-interlinks. As a culmination of this project, a follow-on grant was awarded to support the technology transfer of the distributed optimization framework to a commercial microgrid controller, Stellar Edge, developed by the California-based company New Sun Road.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

From Modular ADMS to Plug-and-Play Ops: Distribution Grid Operations with Platform-Level Orchestration to Enable Ambitious App Hosting

The core function of the distribution grid is to provide electricity to consumers affordably, reliably, and securely. In pursuing these core objectives, distribution utilities are accountable to customers, regulators, and in some cases, shareholders. Other third parties such as aggregators and microgrids can also have a stake in the smooth operation of the grid. Each of these stakeholders has economic, business, and/or governance objectives that inform their expectations of the distribution grid. This multi-objective, multi-stakeholder environment creates tension that must be reconciled to successfully design and operate the distribution grid. Innovative companies are competing to bring high-tech solutions to electric utilities and their customers that address each of these objectives. Many developers of advanced distribution management systems (ADMS) and distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) have adopted a modular architecture that allows grid operators to select functions and features according to their individual system needs. A modular platform also allows the solution provider to develop and integrate specific new product modules; however, the need to pursue multiple objectives with a fixed set of controllable devices makes integration expensive whether it is done at the product development stage or the deployment stage. This cost creates a significant barrier to adoption and can lengthen the product to market time of new solutions. To fundamentally address the complexity of system integration for distribution grid operations, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity has funded the GridAPPS-D project at PNNL, which streamlines integration by contributing to standards development, defining system architecture, applying advanced mathematics, and developing open-source software to demonstrate the concept of an open data-integration platform for distribution operations. The open data-integration platform concept enables system operators and solution providers to deploy ambitious, best-of-breed applications (or apps) without continually reengineering for integration. Ambitious apps developed by different solution providers will inevitably attempt to achieve different control objectives with the same set of controllable devices. If the open platform itself can resolve these conflicts in a way that achieves the best available outcomes for all apps, doesn’t restrict the ambitious design of apps, and ensures safe and secure operations, apps will be able to plug-and-play with the platform at the same time as other ambitious apps. In this paper, we describe a framework called App Deconfliction that empowers a platform to assign setpoints to controllable devices based on the values preferred by different apps (and even external stakeholder entities like customers or aggregators). The App Deconfliction framework is compatible with several methods for determining setpoint values. We present two methods based on game theory that provide a subtle built-in incentive structure for developers to adapt their apps to the fact that they will be operating in a moderated multi-app environment and to favor device setpoints that have the most effect on their objectives over those that have the least effect. Our simulation-based demonstrations have shown that game-theory-based deconfliction can lead to a 7% improvement in control space utilization compared to design-based methods.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1983

The measurement of operator workload in the Mark IVA DSCC monitor and control subsystem

An operator workload measurement methodology is presented which will be used in support of the Mark IVA operational test and evaluation plan. Three operator workload measures are suggested: operator ratings, primary task work measures, and information processing time measures. A method of validating the workload measures using secondary task work measures is presented. It is expected that operations testing using these measures will assist in establishing the time required to perform essential operational activities and will indicate high risk operations areas due to potential operator overload.

Lemay, M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Space Station overall management approach for operations

An Operations Management Concept developed by NASA for its Space Station Program is discussed. The operational goals, themes, and design principles established during program development are summarized. The major operations functions are described, including: space systems operations, user support operations, prelaunch/postlanding operations, logistics support operations, market research, and cost/financial management. Strategic, tactical, and execution levels of operational decision-making are defined.

Paules, G.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Interactive orbital proximity operations planning system

An interactive, graphical proximity operations planning system was developed which allows on-site design of efficient, complex, multiburn maneuvers in the dynamic multispacecraft environment about the space station. Maneuvering takes place in, as well as out of, the orbital plane. The difficulty in planning such missions results from the unusual and counterintuitive character of relative orbital motion trajectories and complex operational constraints, which are both time varying and highly dependent on the mission scenario. This difficulty is greatly overcome by visualizing the relative trajectories and the relative constraints in an easily interpretable, graphical format, which provides the operator with immediate feedback on design actions. The display shows a perspective bird's-eye view of the space station and co-orbiting spacecraft on the background of the station's orbital plane. The operator has control over two modes of operation: (1) a viewing system mode, which enables him or her to explore the spatial situation about the space station and thus choose and frame in on areas of interest; and (2) a trajectory design mode, which allows the interactive editing of a series of way-points and maneuvering burns to obtain a trajectory which complies with all operational constraints. Through a graphical interactive process, the operator will continue to modify the trajectory design until all operational constraints are met. The effectiveness of this display format in complex trajectory design is presently being evaluated in an ongoing experimental program.

Grunwald, Arthur J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Launch operations efficiency

The paper discusses launch operations from a program perspective. Launch operations cost is a significant part of program cost. New approaches to launch operations, integrated with lessons learned, have the potential to increase safety and reliability as well as reduce cost. Operational efficiency must be an initial program goal. Design technology and management philosophy must be implemented early to ensure operational cost goals. Manufacturing cost and launch cost are related to operational efficiency. True program savings can be realized through implementation of launch operations cost saving approaches which do not correspondingly increase cost in other program areas such as manufacturing and software development and maintenance. Launch rate is a key factor in the cost/flight analysis and the determination of launch operations efficiency goals.

Diloreto, Clem↗
NASA NTRS1990

An in-flight investigation of symbology drive law improvements to an operational attack helicopter

A display drive-law design technique developed at Ames Research Center was applied to the design of the pilot-controlled symbol on a display used in an operational helicopter. A comparison of the newly designed laws and of one documented version of the operational laws was then performed using an in-flight simulation of the helicopter on the NASA/Army CH-47B. Flight-test results indicated that the Ames-developed drive laws were superior to this version of the operational drive laws in terms of task performance and pilot workload. Subsequent postflight-test information suggested that the documentation of the operational drive laws may have been incomplete or in error, even though pilot opinion had corroborated the correctness of the documented operational display in flight. Accordingly, based on additional information, another version of the operational display laws was developed and analyzed, although not flight tested. The revised operational version was compared analytically with the two versions tested in flight. This analysis corroborated that the Ames-developed laws would be superior to this revised version of the operational laws also. A conclusion is that close attention should be paid to the future specification, analysis, and documentation of displayed command-element dynamics, since they have an important effect on task performance and pilot workload.

Schroeder, Jeffery A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Ground-tended payload operations of Space Station Freedom

The concepts and capabilities that supported ground-tended Space Station Freedom (SSF) utilization and operations are described. On-board computer control support capabilities are required, and potential approaches for computer sequencing are discussed. An integrated process which links the planning processes with the implementation and execution of the operations is required to perform continuous, long-term utilization of SSF. Payload designs that make accommodations for ground-tended operation can be supported by the operations infrastructure. The payload operations integration center and Space Station Control Center are to support continuous operations of payloads that are designed to be operated from the ground. An overall process of ground-tended payload operations which links the weekly planning and continuous ground-tended execution functions is defined.

Noneman, Steven R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Operations analysis for a large lunar telescope

Consideration is given to a study of the operations and assembly of a 16-m large lunar telescope (LLT), which deals with the operations and assembly of the telescope from LEO to the lunar surface for assembly. The study of LLT operations and assembly is broken down into three divisions to allow easier operations analysis: earth to orbit operations, LEO operations (transfer to lunar surface operations), and lunar surface operations. The following guidelines were set down to ensure a reasonable starting point for a large, lunar, untended installation: the existence of a lunar base, a space transportation system from LEO to the lunar surface, continuous manning of the lunar base during the assembly period, and availability/capability to perform lunar assembly with the lunar base crew. The launch/vehicle packaging options, lunar site selection and assembly options, and assembly crew assumptions are discussed.

Thyen, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS1993

SPOT satellite family: Past, present, and future of the operations in the mission and control center

SPOT sun-synchronous remote sensing satellites are operated by CNES since February 1986. Today, the SPOT mission and control center (CCM) operates SPOT1, SPOT2, and is ready to operate SPOT3. During these seven years, the way to operate changed and the CCM, initially designed for the control of one satellite, has been modified and upgraded to support these new operating modes. All these events have shown the performances and the limits of the system. A new generation of satellite (SPOT4) will continue the remote sensing mission during the second half of the 90's. Its design takes into account the experience of the first generation and supports several improvements. A new generation of control center (CMP) has been developed and improves the efficiency, quality, and reliability of the operations. The CMP is designed for operating two satellites at the same time during launching, in-orbit testing, and operating phases. It supports several automatic procedures and improves data retrieval and reporting.

Philippe, Pacholczyk↗
NASA NTRS1994

Interactive orbital proximity operations planning system instruction and training guide

This guide instructs users in the operation of a Proximity Operations Planning System. This system uses an interactive graphical method for planning fuel-efficient rendezvous trajectories in the multi-spacecraft environment of the space station and allows the operator to compose a multi-burn transfer trajectory between orbit initial chaser and target trajectories. The available task time (window) of the mission is predetermined and the maneuver is subject to various operational constraints, such as departure, arrival, spatial, plume impingement, and en route passage constraints. The maneuvers are described in terms of the relative motion experienced in a space station centered coordinate system. Both in-orbital plane as well as out-of-orbital plane maneuvering is considered. A number of visual optimization aids are used for assisting the operator in reaching fuel-efficient solutions. These optimization aids are based on the Primer Vector theory. The visual feedback of trajectory shapes, operational constraints, and optimization functions, provided by user-transparent and continuously active background computations, allows the operator to make fast, iterative design changes that rapidly converge to fuel-efficient solutions. The planning tool is an example of operator-assisted optimization of nonlinear cost functions.

Grunwald, Arthur J.↗