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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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NASA NTRS1990

AOIPS 3 user's guide. Volume 2: Program descriptions

The Atmospheric and Oceanographic Information Processing System (AOIPS) 3 is the version of the AOIPS software as of April 1989. The AOIPS software was developed jointly by the Goddard Space Flight Center and General Sciences Corporation. A detailed description of very AOIPS program is presented. It is intended to serve as a reference for such items as program functionality, program operational instructions, and input/output variable descriptions. Program descriptions are derived from the on-line help information. Each program description is divided into two sections. The functional description section describes the purpose of the program and contains any pertinent operational information. The program description sections lists the program variables as they appear on-line, and describes them in detail.

Schotz, Steve S.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Graphical programming and the use of simulation for space-based manipulators

Robotic manipulators are difficult to program even without the special requirements of a zero-gravity environment. While attention should be paid to investigating the usefulness of industrial application programming methods to space manipulators, new methods with potential application to both environments need to be invented. These methods should allow various levels of autonomy and human-in-the-loop interaction and simple, rapid switching among them. For all methods simulation must be integrated to provide reliability and safety. Graphical programming of manipulators is a candidate for an effective robot programming method despite current limitations in input devices and displays. A research project in task-level robot programming has built an innovative interface to a state-of-the-art commercial simulation and robot programming platform. The prototype demonstrates simple augmented methods for graphical programming and simulation which may be of particular interest to those concerned with Space Station applications; its development has also raised important issues for the development of more sophisticated robot programming tools. Both aspects of the project are discussed.

Mcgrath, Debra S.↗
NASA NTRS1989

A successful intervention program for high ability minority students

Among professional occupations in the United States, non-Asian minorities are least represented in science and engineering fields. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that over the next decade, civilian employment of scientists and engineers has the potential to grow by 40 percent. Furthermore, projections for the year 2000 indicate that 100,000 fewer B.S. and B.A. degrees will be awarded than were awarded in 1984. The latter projection takes into consideration the overall declining proportion of all 18 year old college students. Within this shrinking pool of 18 year old potential college students will be an increasing proportion of Blacks and Hispanics. In order to change the educational patterns for minority youth, an intense look at the factors that affect the science and mathematics performance of minorities. Furthermore, the work of programs that are successful at producing minority scientists and engineers must be examined and documented with the intent of replicating these programs. The fundamental concern at this time appears to be the quality of precollege experience because research has shown that lack of precollege preparation is the single most important cause of underrepresentation of minorities in science and engineering careers. For many years, intervention programs have attempted to improve the quality of the minority precollege experience by latter year intervention in grades eleven and twelve. Later efforts, such as this one, have concentrated on earlier years. The effectiveness of intervention programs is widely accepted but not rigorously documented. The mechanisms these programs have developed need to be identified and their potential for broader use evaluated. The ultimate goal of such studies would be to provide the different educational communities with a set of proven cost-effective state of the art mechanisms designed to increase participation and success of minority students in science and mathematics-related courses. One such intervention program is the Saturday Academy program for high ability minority students in the Washington, D.C. area. A description of the Saturday Academy is provided with the intent of making it available to personnel who are considering the development of similar projects. The effect of participation in the program on high school graduate rates, college enrollment, and choice of quantitative major is examined.

Coleman, Winson R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Advanced Launch Development Program status

The Advanced Launch System is a joint NASA - Air Force program originally directed to define the concept for a modular family of launch vehicles, to continue development programs and preliminary design activities focused primarily on low cost to orbit, and to offer maturing technologies to existing systems. The program was restructed in the spring of 1990 as a result of funding reductions and renamed the Advanced Launch Development Program. This paper addresses the program's status following that restructuring and as NASA and the Air Force commence a period of deliberation over future space launch needs and the budgetary resources available to meet those needs. The program is currently poised to protect a full-scale development decision in the mid-1990's through the appropriate application of program resources. These resources are concentrated upon maintaining the phase II system contractor teams, continuing the Space Transportation Engine development activity, and refocusing the Advanced Development Program demonstrated activities.

Colgrove, Roger↗
NASA NTRS1990

The U.S. Space Grant College and Fellowship Program

The U.S. NASA Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, congressionally mandated in 1987, consists of two phases. Phase I consisted of the designation of 21 university consortia as 'Space Grant Colleges/Consortia' which received support from NASA to conduct programs to achieve, maintain, and advance a balanced program of research capability, curriculum, and public service. Program descriptions for phase II are given. This phase is designed to broaden participation in the Space Grant Program by targeting states that currently are not as involved in NASA programs as are the states for which phase I was constructed. Under phase II, states will compete in either the Programs Grants or the Capability Enhancement Grants category. Only one proposal per state will be accepted with the state determining in which category it will compete. The amount of total award, $150,000, is the same in both categories and includes funds for university-administered fellowship programs.

Dasch, E. Julius↗
NASA NTRS1982

Particle trajectory computer program for icing analysis of axisymmetric bodies

General aviation aircraft and helicopters exposed to an icing environment can accumulate ice resulting in a sharp increase in drag and reduction of maximum lift causing hazardous flight conditions. NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) is conducting a program to examine, with the aid of high-speed computer facilities, how the trajectories of particles contribute to the ice accumulation on airfoils and engine inlets. This study, as part of the NASA/LeRC research program, develops a computer program for the calculation of icing particle trajectories and impingement limits relative to axisymmetric bodies in the leeward-windward symmetry plane. The methodology employed in the current particle trajectory calculation is to integrate the governing equations of particle motion in a flow field computed by the Douglas axisymmetric potential flow program. The three-degrees-of-freedom (horizontal, vertical, and pitch) motion of the particle is considered. The particle is assumed to be acted upon by aerodynamic lift and drag forces, gravitational forces, and for nonspherical particles, aerodynamic moments. The particle momentum equation is integrated to determine the particle trajectory. Derivation of the governing equations and the method of their solution are described in Section 2.0. General features, as well as input/output instructions for the particle trajectory computer program, are described in Section 3.0. The details of the computer program are described in Section 4.0. Examples of the calculation of particle trajectories demonstrating application of the trajectory program to given axisymmetric inlet test cases are presented in Section 5.0. For the examples presented, the particles are treated as spherical water droplets. In Section 6.0, limitations of the program relative to excessive computer time and recommendations in this regard are discussed.

Frost, Walter↗
NASA NTRS1992

NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program: An Update

The major objective of the NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program is to provide NASA with the policy and posture to increase and ensure the safety, performance, and reliability of batteries for space power systems. The program was initiated in 1985 to address battery problems experienced by NASA and other space battery users over the previous ten years. The original program plan was approved in May 1986 and modified in 1990 to reflect changes in the agency's approach to battery related problems that are affecting flight programs. The NASA Battery Workshop is supported by the NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program. The main objective of the discussions is to aid in defining the direction which the agency should head with respect to aerospace battery issues. Presently, primary attention in the Battery Program is being devoted to issues revolving around the future availability of nickel-cadmium batteries as a result of the proposed OSHA standards with respect to allowable cadmium levels in the workplace. The decision of whether or not to pursue the development of an advanced nickel-cadmium cell design and the qualification of vendors to produce cells for flight programs hinges on the impact of the OSHA ruling. As part of a unified Battery Program, the evaluation of a nickel-hydrogen cell design options and primary cell issues are also being pursued to provide high performance NASA Standards and space qualified state-of-the-art cells. The resolution of issues is being addressed with the full participation of the aerospace battery community.

Manzo, Michelle A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Gamma ray astrophysics to the year 2000. Report of the NASA Gamma Ray Program Working Group

Important developments in gamma-ray astrophysics up to energies of 100 GeV during the last decade are reviewed. Also, the report seeks to define the major current scientific goals of the field and proposes a vigorous program to pursue them, extending to the year 2000. The goals of gamma-ray astronomy include the study of gamma rays which provide the most direct means of studying many important problems in high energy astrophysics including explosive nucleosynthesis, accelerated particle interactions and sources, and high-energy processes around compact objects. The current research program in gamma-ray astronomy in the U.S. including the space program, balloon program and foreign programs in gamma-ray astronomy is described. The high priority recommendations for future study include an Explorer-class high resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy mission and a Get Away Special cannister (GAS-can) or Scout class multiwavelength experiment for the study of gamma-ray bursts. Continuing programs include an extended Gamma Ray Observatory mission, continuation of the vigorous program of balloon observations of the nearby Supernova 1987A, augmentation of the balloon program to provide for new instruments and rapid scientific results, and continuation of support for theoretical research. Long term recommendations include new space missions using advanced detectors to better study gamma-ray sources, the development of these detectors, continued study for the assembly of large detectors in space, collaboration with the gamma-ray astronomy missions initiated by other countries, and consideration of the Space Station attached payloads for gamma-ray experiments.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

Creating a foundation for a synergistic approach to program management

In order to accelerate the movement of humans into space within reasonable budgetary constraints, NASA must develop an organizational structure that will allow the agency to efficiently use all the resources it has available for the development of any program the nation decides to undertake. This work considers the entire set of tasks involved in the successful development of any program. Areas that hold the greatest promise of accelerating programmatic development and/or increasing the efficiency of the use of available resources by being dealt with in a centralized manner rather than being handled by each program individually are identified. Using this information, an agency organizational structure is developed that will allow NASA to promote interprogram synergisms. In order for NASA to efficiently manage its programs in a manner that will allow programs to benefit from one another and thereby accelerate the movement of humans into space, several steps must be taken. First, NASA must develop an organizational structure that will allow potential interprogram synergisms to be identified and promoted. Key features of the organizational structure are recommended in this paper. Second, NASA must begin to develop the requirements for a program in a manner that will promote overall space program goals rather than achieving only the goals that apply to the program for which the requirements are being developed. Finally, NASA must consider organizing the agency around the functions required to support NASA's goals and objectives rather than around geographic locations.

Knoll, Karyn T.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Minimum Hamiltonian ascent trajectory evaluation (MASTRE) program (update to automatic flight trajectory design, performance prediction, and vehicle sizing for support of shuttle and shuttle derived vehicles) users manual

Documentation for the User Interface Program for the Minimum Hamiltonian Ascent Trajectory Evaluation (MASTRE) is provided. The User Interface Program is a separate software package designed to ease the user input requirements when using the MASTRE Trajectory Program. This document supplements documentation on the MASTRE Program that consists of the MASTRE Engineering Manual and the MASTRE Programmers Guide. The User Interface Program provides a series of menus and tables using the VAX Screen Management Guideline (SMG) software. These menus and tables allow the user to modify the MASTRE Program input without the need for learning the various program dependent mnemonics. In addition, the User Interface Program allows the user to modify and/or review additional input Namelist and data files, to build and review command files, to formulate and calculate mass properties related data, and to have a plotting capability.

Lyons, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

NASA's commercial space program

This paper will review the goals, status and progress of NASA's commercial space development program administered by the Office of Commercial Programs (OCP). The technologies and flight programs underway by NASA's Centers for Commercial Development (CCDS), NASA's field centers, and the NASA/Industry Joint Endeavor Programs will be summarized. A summary of completed and upcoming commercial payload activities on Shuttle, suborbital rockets, and orbital ELV's will be provided. The new commercial infrastructure and transportation initiatives will be discussed including the Wake Shield Facility, Consort and Joust suborbital rocket programs, the COMET orbital and recovery program, and the Commercial Middeck Accommodation Module Program with Spacehab Inc. Finally, the Commercial Space Station Freedom Program planned by OCP will be reviewed.

Ott, Richard H.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Safety, reliability, maintainability and quality provisions for the Space Shuttle program

This publication establishes common safety, reliability, maintainability and quality provisions for the Space Shuttle Program. NASA Centers shall use this publication both as the basis for negotiating safety, reliability, maintainability and quality requirements with Shuttle Program contractors and as the guideline for conduct of program safety, reliability, maintainability and quality activities at the Centers. Centers shall assure that applicable provisions of the publication are imposed in lower tier contracts. Centers shall give due regard to other Space Shuttle Program planning in order to provide an integrated total Space Shuttle Program activity. In the implementation of safety, reliability, maintainability and quality activities, consideration shall be given to hardware complexity, supplier experience, state of hardware development, unit cost, and hardware use. The approach and methods for contractor implementation shall be described in the contractors safety, reliability, maintainability and quality plans. This publication incorporates provisions of NASA documents: NHB 1700.1 'NASA Safety Manual, Vol. 1'; NHB 5300.4(IA), 'Reliability Program Provisions for Aeronautical and Space System Contractors'; and NHB 5300.4(1B), 'Quality Program Provisions for Aeronautical and Space System Contractors'. It has been tailored from the above documents based on experience in other programs. It is intended that this publication be reviewed and revised, as appropriate, to reflect new experience and to assure continuing viability.

M S Malkin↗
NASA NTRS1993

Computer program for thermal and transport properties of parahydrogen from 20 to 10,000 K

A computer program was recently developed to provide thermal and transport properties for parahydrogen across a wide temperature and pressure range. The program, NBS+/-pH2, matches the most recent parahydrogen property data from the National Bureau of Standards up to 3000 K and property data from the NASA Lewis Research Center's Chemical Equilibrium Computer Program up to 10,000 K. The pressure range of NBS+/-pH2 is from 1 x 10(exp 4) to 1.6 x 10(exp 7) Pa. The program was developed to meet the need for accurate parahydrogen properties from liquid to dissociated conditions as required by propulsion simulation programs being developed under the Space Exploration Initiative. NBS+/-pH2 is a machine-independent, standard Fortran 77 program which provides density, thermal conductivity, viscosity, Prandtl number, entropy, specific heats, and speed of sound given pressure and either temperature or enthalpy. This program is described and a comparison to programs previously available is provided.

Walton, James T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A new programming metaphor for image processing procedures

Most image processing systems, besides an Application Program Interface (API) which lets users write their own image processing programs, also feature a higher level of programmability. Traditionally, this is a command or macro language, which can be used to build large procedures (scripts) out of simple programs or commands. This approach, a legacy of the teletypewriter has serious drawbacks. A command language is clumsy when (and if! it attempts to utilize the capabilities of a multitasking or multiprocessor environment, it is but adequate for real-time data acquisition and processing, it has a fairly steep learning curve, and the user interface is very inefficient,. especially when compared to a graphical user interface (GUI) that systems running under Xll or Windows should otherwise be able to provide. ll these difficulties stem from one basic problem: a command language is not a natural metaphor for an image processing procedure. A more natural metaphor - an image processing factory is described in detail. A factory is a set of programs (applications) that execute separate operations on images, connected by pipes that carry data (images and parameters) between them. The programs function concurrently, processing images as they arrive along pipes, and querying the user for whatever other input they need. From the user's point of view, programming (constructing) factories is a lot like playing with LEGO blocks - much more intuitive than writing scripts. Focus is on some of the difficulties of implementing factory support, most notably the design of an appropriate API. It also shows that factories retain all the functionality of a command language (including loops and conditional branches), while suffering from none of the drawbacks outlined above. Other benefits of factory programming include self-tuning factories and the process of encapsulation, which lets a factory take the shape of a standard application both from the system and the user's point of view, and thus be used as a component of other factories. A bare-bones prototype of factory programming was implemented under the PcIPS image processing system, and a complete version (on a multitasking platform) is under development.

Smirnov, O. M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program. 1994 research reports

This document is a collection of technical reports on research conducted by the participants in the 1994 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This was the tenth year that a NASA/ASEE program has been conducted at KSC. The 1994 program was administered by the University of Central Florida in cooperation with KSC. The program was operated under the auspices of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) with sponsorship and funding from the Office of Educational Affairs, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. The KSC Program was one of nine such Aeronautics and Space Research Programs funded by NASA Headquarters in 1994. The NASA/ASEE program is intended to be a two-year program to allow in-depth research by the University faculty member. The editors of this document were responsible for selecting appropriately qualified faculty to address some of the many problems of current interest to NASA/KSC.

Anderson, Loren A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Program control in NASA: Needs and opportunities

NASA has successfully managed some of this country's most complex technology and development programs. These successes have included the application of sound program control processes. The impetus for this study arose from the NASA Management Study Group findings that over time, some program control tools and disciplined procedures and processes had weakened. The Study Group recommended that steps be taken to establish a comprehensive training approach in program management, and specifically, in program control functions. This study looks at program control processes within NASA currently in use, defines a 'model' of program control functions, and provides recommendations on program control training needs and opportunities.

Lilly, William E.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Using program visualization to enhance maintainability and promote reuse

Our intuition is that comprehension of visual representations is often quicker than of equivalent text. In the work described in this paper, we explore the application of this intuition to programming languages. The goal of this project is to create visual representation of segments of computer programs that improve the maintenance and reusability of this code. We describe a software tool, a program browser, that provides a visual representation of the function call graph of any C program. This tool is the first in a series of tools that aids program comprehension, making reuse of existing programs more likely. The development of the program browser is itself an example of code reuse as described in the section on implementation. Although our intuition is that some visual display of programs aid understandability, we are looking for experimental verification. Several human factors experiments in this area have contradicted this intuition. We describe reasons for these contradictions, and potential solutions to overcome them.

Ames, Chuck↗
NASA NTRS1995

Naval Research Laboratory's programs in advanced indium phosphide solar cell development

The Naval Research Laboratory has been involved in developing InP solar cell technology since 1988. The purpose of these programs was to produce advanced cells for use in very high radiation environments, either as a result of operating satellites in the Van Allen belts or for very long duration missions in other orbits. Richard Statler was technical representative on the first program, with Spire Corporation as the contractor, which eventually produced several hundred, high efficiency 2 x 2 sq cm single crystal InP cells. The shallow homojunction technology which was developed in this program enabled cells to be made with AMO, one sun efficiencies greater than 19%. Many of these cells have been flown on space experiments, including PASP Plus, which have confirmed the high radiation resistance of InP cells. NRL has also published widely on the radiation response of these cells and also on radiation-induced defect levels detected by DLTS, especially the work of Rob Walters and Scott Messenger. In 1990 NRL began another Navy-sponsored program with Tim Coutts and Mark Wanlass at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), to develop a one sun, two terminal space version of the InP-InGaAs tandem junction cell being investigated at NREL for terrestrial applications. These cells were grown on InP substrates. Several cells with AM0, one sun efficiencies greater than 22% were produced. Two 2 x 2 sq cm cells were incorporated on the STRV lA/B solar cell experiment. These were the only two junction, tandem cells on the STRV experiment. The high cost and relative brittleness of InP wafers meant that if InP cell technology were to become a viable space power source, the superior radiation resistance of InP would have to be combined with a cheaper and more robust substrate. The main technical challenge was to overcome the effect of the dislocations produced by the lattice mismatch at the interface of the two materials. Over the last few years, NRL and Steve Wojtczuk at Spire have been developing a single junction InP on Si cell, in an ONR-sponsored SBIR program. Both cell polarities were investigated and the best efficiencies to date (approximately 13% on a 2 x 4 sq cm cell) were achieved with n/p cells. Earlier this year NRL began a program with ASEC to develop a two terminal InP-InGaAs tandem cell on a Ge substrate. RTI and NREL are subcontractors on this program. The results of an ONR-sponsored study of the potential market for InP/Si cells will be discussed. Also the technical status of both the InP/Si and the InP-InGaAs/Ge programs will be given. The technical challenges still remaining will be briefly described.

Summers, Geoffrey P.↗