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At least 55 records · Page 3

A Microsoft Project-Based Planning, Tracking, and Management Tool for the National Transonic Facility's Model Changeover Process

The removal and installation of sting-mounted wind tunnel models in the National Transonic Facility (NTF) is a multi-task process having a large impact on the annual throughput of the facility. Approximately ten model removal and installation cycles occur annually at the NTF with each cycle requiring slightly over five days to complete. The various tasks of the model changeover process were modeled in Microsoft Project as a template to provide a planning, tracking, and management tool. The template can also be used as a tool to evaluate improvements to this process. This document describes the development of the template and provides step-by-step instructions on its use and as a planning and tracking tool. A secondary role of this document is to provide an overview of the model changeover process and briefly describe the tasks associated with it.

Vairo, Daniel M.↗

1D Projections Readout and Track Reconstruction for the SONTRAC Instrument

Neutron spectroscopy and imaging has improved considerably over the last decade with the advancement of modern scintillating materials and compact, low power readout devices. Though challenging to detect, fast (>0.5 MeV) neutrons are ubiquitous, contribute to the radiation exposure of astronauts and space hardware, and have been effectively used to examine physical processes both locally and within our heliosphere at large. The SOlar Neutron TRACking (SONTRAC) instrument is designed to measure neutrons between 20-200 MeV with good angular sensitivity. SONTRAC consists of orthogonally stacked scintillating fibers readout by silicon photomultipliers to detect and track the recoil protons from double scatter neutron events. Proton tracking provides high-resolution imaging of fast neutronsat energies where the bulk of solar and planetary neutrons resides. The SONTRAC readout system, algorithms for track reconstruction, and tracking performance are presented.

George Suarez↗

Biomimetic Fly Eye Sensor for Real-Time Target Tracking

The project objective is to design, build, and demonstrate a biomimetic (inspired by biology) smart sensor based on the common house fly eye for real-time target tracking in three dimensions (3-D). The sensor makes use of revolutionary optical sensor design resulting in significantly improved motion detection capabilities when compared with conventional optical sensors. The design is motivated by the parallel nature of the flys vision system and its demonstrated hyperacuity or precision of visual localization beyond the conventional resolution limit. This means that the sensor is able to accurately detect very fast motion and small changes in motion. The analog architecture of the sensor allows for real-time solution at adjustable bandwidths depending on the application. The low cost, exceptionally lightweight, small form factor, low power requirements, and low computation requirements of the sensor make it ideally suited to many aeronautics applications that have limitations on weight, power, and processing time. The sensor is modular and can be easily adapted in scale and manufactured for a wide variety of sensing applications. Advanced target tracking algorithms will be developed to allow the sensor to track a target in 3-D. These algorithms will be implemented in the smart sensors hardware to enable real-time target tracking.

wing position measurement system↗

The NASA/JPL 64-meter-diameter antenna at Goldstone, California: Project report, technical staff, tracking and data acquisition organization

The significant management and technical aspects of the JPL Project to develop and implement a 64-meter-diameter antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California, which was the first of the Advanced Antenna Systems of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Deep Space Network are described. The original need foreseen for a large-diameter antenna to accomplish communication and tracking support of NASA's solar system exploration program is reviewed, and the translation of those needs into the technical specification of an appropriate ground station antenna is described. The antenna project is delineated by phases to show the key technical and managerial skills and the technical facility resources involved. There is a brief engineering description of the antenna and its closely related facilities. Some difficult and interesting engineering problems, then at the state-of-the-art level, which were met in the accomplishment of the Project, are described. The key performance characteristics of the antenna, in relation to the original specifications and the methods of their determination, are stated.

Source record↗

Charged particle track reconstruction with SπRIT Time Projection Chamber

In this work, we present a software framework, SπRITROOT, which is capable of track reconstruction and analysis of heavy-ion collision events recorded with the SRIT time projection chamber. The track-fitting toolkit GENFIT and the vertex reconstruction toolkit RAVE are applied to a box-type detector system. A pattern recognition algorithm which performs helix track finding and handles overlapping pulses is described. The performance of the software is investigated using experimental data obtained at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Facility (RIBF) at RIKEN. This work focuses on data from 132 Sn + 124 Sn collision events with beam energy of 270 AMeV. Particle identification is established using < dE/dx >and magnetic rigidity, with pions, hydrogen isotopes, and helium isotopes.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Modular space station Phase B extension preliminary performance specification. Volume 2: Project

The four systems of the modular space station project are described, and the interfaces between this project and the shuttle project, the tracking and data relay satellite project, and an arbitrarily defined experiment project are defined. The experiment project was synthesized from internal experiments, detached research and application modules, and attached research and application modules to derive a set of interface requirements which will support multiple combinations of these elements expected during the modular space station mission. The modular space station project element defines a 6-man orbital program capable of growth to a 12-man orbital program capability. The modular space station project element specification defines the modular space station system, the premission operations support system, the mission operations support system, and the cargo module system and their interfaces.

Source record↗

Robot tracking system improvements and visual calibration of orbiter position for radiator inspection

The following separate topics are addressed: (1) improving a robotic tracking system; and (2) providing insights into orbiter position calibration for radiator inspection. The objective of the tracking system project was to provide the capability to track moving targets more accurately by adjusting parameters in the control system and implementing a predictive algorithm. A computer model was developed to emulate the tracking system. Using this model as a test bed, a self-tuning algorithm was developed to tune the system gains. The model yielded important findings concerning factors that affect the gains. The self-tuning algorithms will provide the concepts to write a program to automatically tune the gains in the real system. The section concerning orbiter position calibration provides a comparison to previous work that had been performed for plant growth. It provided the conceptualized routines required to visually determine the orbiter position and orientation. Furthermore, it identified the types of information which are required to flow between the robot controller and the vision system.

Tonkay, Gregory↗

Project Echo: Satellite-Tracking Radar

The radar employed at the Bell Telephone Laboratories' Holmdel, New Jersey site for tracking the Echo I satellite was originally designed for the sole purpose of antenna pointing. Recently, however, it has also been employed to measure earth-balloon-earth path loss at regular intervals of time in order to ascertain the balloon's condition. The performance of the system and some of the data obtained are discussed.

DeLange, O. E.↗

New tracking implementation in the Deep Space Network

As part of the Network Simplification Project, the tracking system of the Deep Space Network is being upgraded. This upgrade replaces the discrete logic sequential ranging system with a system that is based on commercial Digital Signal Processor boards. The new implementation allows both sequential and pseudo-noise types of ranging. The other major change is a modernization of the data formatting. Previously, there were several types of interfaces, delivering both intermediate data and processed data (called 'observables'). All of these interfaces were bit-packed blocks, which do not allow for easy expansion, and many of these interfaces required knowledge of the specific hardware implementations. The new interface supports four classes of data: raw (direct from the measuring equipment), derived (the observable data), interferometric (multiple antenna measurements), and filtered (data whose values depend on multiple measurements). All of the measurements are reported at the sky frequency or phase level, so that no knowledge of the actual hardware is required. The data is formatted into Standard Formatted Data Units, as defined by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems, so that expansion and cross-center usage is greatly enhanced.

ranging↗

The Deep Space Network

This report presents DSN progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition (TDA) research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations. Each issue presents material in some, but not all, of the following categories in the order indicated. - Description of the DSN - Mission Support Ongoing Planetary/Interplanetary Flight Projects Advanced Flight Projects - Radio Science - Special Projects - Supporting Research and Technology Tracking and Ground-Based Navigation Communications--Spacecraft/Ground Station Control and Operations Technology Network Control and Data Processing - Network and Facility Engineering and Implementation Network Network Operations Control Center Ground Communications Deep Space Stations - Operations Network Operations Network Operations Control Center Ground Communications Deep Space Stations - Program Planning TDA Planning Quality Assurance In each issue, the part entitled "Description of the DSN" describes the functions and facilities of the DSN and may report the current configuration of one of the five DSN systems (Tracking, Telemetry, Command, Monitor & Control, and Test & Training). The work described in this report series is either performed or managed by the Tracking and Data Acquisition organization of JPL for NASA.

Tracking and Data Acquisition organization↗

An evolving Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 7 (CMIP7) and Fast Track in support of future climate assessment

The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) coordinates community-based efforts to answer key and timely climate science questions, facilitate delivery of relevant multi-model simulations through shared infrastructure, and support national and international climate assessments. Generations of CMIP have evolved through extensive community engagement from punctuated phasing into more continuous support for the design of experimental protocols, infrastructure for data publication and access, and public delivery of climate information. We identify four fundamental research questions motivating a seventh phase of coupled model intercomparison relating to patterns of sea surface temperature change, changing weather, the water–carbon–climate nexus, and tipping points. Key CMIP7 advances include an expansion of baseline experiments, a focus on CO 2 -emissions-driven experiments, sustained support for community MIPs, periodic updating of historical forcings and diagnostics requests, and a collection of prioritized experiments, or the “Assessment Fast Track”, drawn from community MIPs to support climate research, assessment, and service goals across prediction and projection, characterization, attribution, and process understanding.

Environmental sciences↗

Projecting manpower to attain quality

The resulting model is useful as a projection tool but must be validated in order to be used as an on-going software cost engineering tool. A procedure is developed to facilitate the tracking of model projections and actual data to allow the model to be tuned. Finally, since the model must be used in an environment of overlapping development activities on a progression of software elements in development and maintenance, a manpower allocation model is developed for use in a steady state development/maintenance environment. In these days of soaring software costs it becomes increasingly important to properly manage a software development project. One element of the management task is the projection and tracking of manpower required to perform the task. In addition, since the total cost of the task is directly related to the initial quality built into the software, it becomes a necessity to project the development manpower in a way to attain that quality. An approach to projecting and tracking manpower with quality in mind is described.

Rone, K. Y.↗