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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 55 records · Page 3

Remote sensing utility in a disaster struck urban environment

A project to determine the ways in which remote sensing can contribute to solutions of urban public health problems in time of natural disaster is discussed. The objectives of the project are to determine and describe remote sensing standard operating procedures for public health assistance during disaster relief operations which will aid the agencies and organizations involved in disaster intervention. Proposed tests to determine the validity of the remote sensing system are reported.

Rush, M.↗

The Influence of Viability, Independence, and Self-Governance on Trust and Public Acceptance of Uncrewed Air Vehicle Operations

Trust is expected to be a critical construct that drives successful use of advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies. As yet, though, the role of trust in human-autonomy interaction is underexplored. Kaber (2018) argues that autonomy requires the highest level of three independent dimensions -- viability, independence, and self-governance. The present study examined whether trust varies across the three dimensions of autonomy under varying levels of risk. Participants in the high-risk group read a series of vignettes on a drone that delivers medical supplies over a city where the current study was conducted. Participants in the low-risk group read a series of vignettes on a drone that delivers fast food over a fictitious city. Each vignette described a drone that is either autonomous (i.e., possesses all dimensions) or automated (i.e., one of the dimensions is compromised). Results imply that the three dimensions of autonomy do not equally influence human-technology trust and behavior.

Advanced Air Mobility↗

Small Satellites for NASA Earth Science

NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) seeks to develop a scientific understanding of Earth and its response to natural and human-induced changes. Earth is a system comprised of diverse components interacting in complex ways. Understanding Earth’s atmosphere, surface and interior, oceans and surface water, ice and snow, and life as a single connected system is necessary in order to improve our predictions of climate, weather, and natural hazards. The ESD’s Flight Program consists of a coordinated series of satellite and airborne systems providing long and short-term, global and regional observations. In addition, the Flight Program provides infrastructure for operating these missions, processing their scientific data, and distributing them on a free and open basis to researchers, operational users, and the public. The Flight Program currently has 24 operating Earth observing space missions and instruments. There are 18 more missions and instruments planned for launch over the next five years. These comprise missions recommended by the National Academies 2017 Earth Science Decadal Survey, missions and selected instruments to ensure availability of key climate data sets, operational missions to sustain the land imaging provided by the Landsat system, and small-sized competitively selected orbital and instrument missions of opportunity belonging to the Earth Venture (EV) program. The Earth Science Decadal Survey, released in early 2018, recommended four new Flight Program elements in addition to the above activities that comprise the Program of Record (POR). Small satellites (~500 kg or less) are essential components of these activities. Presently, there is an increasing use of micro and nanosatellites (or CubeSats) in constellations to support NASA ESD’s scientific objectives. These include the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) for observing tropical cyclone intensification and genesis factors, the Timed-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission, and the Polar Radiant Energy in the Far InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) CubeSat mission. ESD small satellite initiatives like the Small Satellite Constellation Data Buy and Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS) are also underway. The Earth Science Technology Office’s (ESTO) In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST) and the Venture Technology program elements have launched seven 3U and 6U CubeSat missions to validate advanced instruments and related technologies. An equivalent number of InVEST and other technology demonstration CubeSats are being prepared for launch in the next year. An overview of plans and current status including topics related to small satellite enabling activities will be presented.

Neeck, Steven P.↗

Public Trust and Acceptance for Concepts of Remotely Operated Urban Air Mobility Transportation

There is building interest within industry and government to enable Urban Air Mobility (i.e., air-taxies). One concept envisions remotely piloted aircraft, yet it is unclear how this will impact public trust and acceptance. Method: Two hundred participants read vignettes describing remotely-piloted UAM operations and then responded to a series of questionnaires. The study employed a one-way between-subjects design manipulating five levels of Pilot-in-Command Distance: Onboard Pilot; Remote Control Pilot; Dedicated Remote Operator; Remote Operator; System Manager. Results: The Remote Control Pilot group indicated they would be less likely than the Onboard Pilot Group to use UAM, based on the mediating effect of trust in the automation. The Remote Control Pilot and Remote Operator groups indicated they would be less likely to use UAM than the Onboard Pilot group, based on the mediating effect of trust in the remote pilot/operator. Conclusion: Trust in UAM automation and remote pilots/operators will likely affect public acceptance of UAM.

MTurk↗

Desert RATS 2011: Near-Earth Asteroid Human Exploration Operations

The Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) 2011 field test involved the planning and execution of a series of exploration scenarios under operational conditions similar to those that would be expected during a human exploration mission to a near-Earth asteroid (NEA). The focus was on understanding the operations tempo during simulated NEA exploration and the implications of communications latency and limited data bandwidth. Anchoring technologies and sampling techniques were not evaluated due to the immaturity of those technologies and the inability to meaningfully test them at D-RATS. Reduced gravity analogs and simulations are being used to fully evaluate Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV) and extravehicular (EVA) operations and interactions in near-weightlessness at a NEA as part of NASA s integrated analogs program. Hypotheses were tested by planning and performing a series of 1-day simulated exploration excursions comparing test conditions all of which involved a single Deep Space Habitat (DSH) and either zero, one, or two MMSEVs; three or four crewmembers; one of two different communications bandwidths; and a 100-second roundtrip communications latency between the field site and Houston. Excursions were executed at the Black Point Lava Flow test site with a Mission Control Center and Science Support Room at Johnson Space Center (JSC) being operated with 100-second roundtrip communication latency to the field. Crews were composed of astronauts and professional field geologists and teams of Mission Operations, Science, and Education & Public Outreach (EPO) experts also supported the mission simulations each day. Data were collected separately from the Crew, Mission Operations, Science, and EPO teams to assess the test conditions from multiple perspectives. For the operations tested, data indicates practically significant benefits may be realized by including at least one MMSEV and by including 4 versus 3 crewmembers in the NEA exploration architecture as measured by increased Scientific Data Quality, EVA Exploration Time, Capability Assessment Ratings, and Overall Acceptability ratings by Crew, Mission Operations, Science, and Education & Public Outreach teams. A combination of text and voice was used to effectively communicate over the 100-second roundtrip communications latency and increased communication bandwidth yielded a small but practically significant improvement in Overall Acceptability as rated by the Science team, although the impact of bandwidth on scientific strategic planning was not assessed. No effect of increased bandwidth was observed with respect to Crew, Mission Operations, or EPO team ratings of Overall Acceptability.

Abercromby, Andrew↗

The University of Colorado OSO-8 spectrometer experiment. IV - Mission operations

The remote operation of two high-resolution ultraviolet spectrometers on the OSO-8 satellite is discussed. Mission operations enabled scientific observers to plan observations based on current solar data, interact with the observing program using real- or near real-time data and commands, evaluate quick-look instrument data, and analyze the observations for publication. During routine operations, experiments were planned a day prior to their execution, and the data from these experiments received a day later. When a shorter turnaround was required, a real-time mode was available. Here, the real-time data and command links into the remote control center were used to evaluate experiment operation and make satellite pointing or instrument configuration changes with a 1-90 minute turnaround.

Hansen, E. R.↗

Upping the TEMPO on Air Pollution Observations from Space for Enhanced Science Applications

The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) mission was launched into Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) to 91°W longitude on April 7, 2023, and had a successful First Light period from July 31 – August 2 where the first hourly daytime scans across the TEMPO Field of Regard (FoR) covering greater North America were performed. First light images of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were released to the public on August 24. In addition to NO2, TEMPO will provide hourly daytime observations of formaldehyde (HCHO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), bromine (BrO), water vapor (H2O), and aerosols, at high spatial resolution (~2.0 x 4.75 km2) across the FoR. The hyperspectral ultraviolet-to-visible measurements from the TEMPO imaging grating spectrometer will permit an ozone profile retrieval capable of monitoring the diurnal evolution of ozone in the planetary boundary layer. The non-standard or special scan operations of TEMPO at sub-hourly frequency (e.g., 2-10 minutes) over selected slices of the FoR will further enhance monitoring capabilities during air quality disasters (e.g., wildfires, volcanic eruptions, dust storms, industrial accidents), research studies, and field campaign operations. A large diversity of stakeholders and end-users have been engaged in the TEMPO Early Adopters Program, supported by the NASA Applied Sciences Program, which aims to enhance health and air quality applications and maximize the societal benefit of TEMPO data when operational data becomes publicly available in the spring of 2024. Key outcomes from the Early Adopters Program include the pre-launch use of TEMPO proxy data to prepare the community for operational data, tailoring the data dissemination and visualization tools for the mission based on user needs, and enhancing the TEMPO special operations component of the mission through early adopter studies. This presentation will provide the latest TEMPO mission and Early Adopters Program updates, initiatives from the TEMPO special operations, and early demonstrations of science applications enabled through TEMPO data, while also showcasing the First Light imagery.

Air Quality↗

Discovering Research Areas in Dataset Applications Through Knowledge Graphs and Large Language Models

Scientific datasets are increasingly cited in peer-reviewed journal publications, facilitating easy access to research utilizing those datasets. Datasets undergo a life cycle where older versions of datasets are replaced by newer versions often due to improvements in data resolution, algorithms, and other factors. Unlike peer reviewed documents registered with a single Digital Unique Identifier (DOI), datasets can be updated over time and the newer version of the datasets are registered with a new DOI which is not necessarily linked to the previous version of the dataset. It is challenging when publications citing a dataset need to be traced over the entire life cycle of that dataset. We provide an innovative approach to link the dataset versions and publications using a knowledge graph (KG). KG can help to trace the dataset cited in publications over the entire dataset life cycle and shed light into dataset usage in various applied research areas. We fine-tuned the pretrained NASA IMPACTINDUS Large Language Model (LLM) on a set of labeled publications abstracts. Our results showed that 87% of the publications were classified into one of twenty applied research areas, while the remaining 13% were classified into non-applied research areas. By linking datasets to applied research areas through the KG and employing Global Change Master Directory(GCMD), a well-established controlled vocabulary of scientific keywords describing Earth science datasets, we contribute to a transparent and advanced search and discovery mechanism for datasets across the Earth data ecosystem. The integrated KG and LLM approach is now incorporated and operational in dataset publication management at one of NASA’s Earth science data archival centers.

data provenance↗

An Interim Set of TNT Curves for LOX/LNG Explosions

Space launch companies are actively developing, or in some cases have already developed, new vehicles that use large quantities of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid natural gas (LNG) propellants. This propellant mixture currently lacks sound/verified explosive safety standards for use in explosive siting and flight safety analysis. In the U.S., multiple government and commercial organizations have conducted limited testing, or are preparing to conduct tests, intended to provide a sound technical basis for LOX/LNG explosive standards applicable to space launch vehicle ground and flight operations. The limited testing and analysis conducted so far indicates the potential to produce extremely energetic explosions due to the miscibility of LOX/LNG (methane), a unique feature relative to previously used propellant mixtures such as hydrogen/oxygen or kerosene/oxygen. MOX is a homogenous mixture of methane and oxygen that is possible because of methane’s 100% miscibility in LOX. Preliminary testing by N2L, Inc. described in this paper shows that it is possible to form MOX with a variety of mixing methods, and that MOX is a sensitive high explosive capable of producing overpressures greater than comparable masses of C-4. The limited amount and quality of large-scale LOX/LNG explosive test data, and the potential formation of high-explosive MOX, create significant unknowns in the determination of hazard areas (cleared of the public) for ground operations (such as a static fire test) and flights of launch vehicles with LOX/LNG propellant. This paper will review the methods used by NASA to develop and validate the LOX/LH2 blast model using large-scale explosive test programs such as Project PYRO, the Hydrogen-Oxygen Vertical Impact (HOVI), and the Large-Scale Hydrogen-Oxygen Explosion (LSHOE) tests. This paper will describe how the same process was used to prepare an interim LOX/LNG blast model that applies to various LV failure scenarios and conservatively accounts for potential MOX formation. This paper also summarizes past and future testing and modeling efforts funded by a consortium of NASA, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the US Space Force (USSF). These test programs should be concluded within the next 3 years and are intended to provide empirical data for model verification and validation.

Liquid Oxygen↗

An Interim Set of TNT Curves for LOX/LNG Explosions

Space launch companies are actively developing, or in some cases have already developed, new vehicles that use large quantities of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid natural gas (LNG) propellants. This propellant mixture currently lacks sound/verified LOX/LNG explosive safety standards for use in explosive siting and flight safety analysis. In the U.S., multiple government and commercial organizations have conducted limited testing, or are preparing to conduct tests, intended to provide a sound technical basis for explosive standards applicable to space launch vehicle ground and flight operations. The limited testing and analysis conducted so far indicates the potential to produce extremely energetic explosions due to the miscibility of LOX/LNG (methane), a unique feature relative to previously used propellant mixtures such as hydrogen/oxygen or kerosene/oxygen. MOX is a homogenous mixture of methane and oxygen that is possible because of methane’s 100% miscibility in LOX. Preliminary testing by N2L, Inc. described in this paper shows that it is possible to form MOX with a variety of mixing methods, and that MOX is a sensitive high explosive capable of producing overpressures greater than comparable masses of C-4. The limited amount and quality of large-scale LOX/LNG explosive test data, and the potential formation of high-explosive MOX, create significant unknowns in the determination of hazard areas (cleared of the public) for ground operations (such as a static fire test) and flights of launch vehicles with LOX/LNG propellant. This paper will review the methods used by NASA to develop and validate the LOX/LH2 blast model using large-scale explosive test programs such as Project PYRO, the Hydrogen-Oxygen Vertical Impact (HOVI), and the Large-Scale Hydrogen-Oxygen Explosion (LSHOE) tests. This paper will describe how the same process was used to prepare an interim LOX/LNG blast model that applies to various LV failure scenarios and conservatively accounts for potential MOX formation. This paper also summarizes past and future testing and modeling efforts funded by a consortium of NASA, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the US Space Force (USSF). These test programs should be concluded within the next 3 years and are intended to provide empirical data for model verification and validation.

Liquid Oxygen↗

Research progress on disease data bank and DATACON systems

Developments and specific statistics for this reporting period are presented. The administration, community activities, funding, personnel, marketing and public relations, technical operations, information systems, and technology transfer are discussed.

Source record↗

Updating and augmenting NASA spacelink electronic information system

NASA's Spacelink is a collection of NASA information and educational materials stored on a computer at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MFSC). It is provided by the NASA Education Affairs Division and is operated by the Public Services and Education Branch of the MFSC Public Affairs Office. It is designed to communicate with a wide variety of computers and modems, especially those most commonly found in classrooms and homes. The system may be accessed by the educators and the public over regular telephone lines. NASA Spacelink is free except for the cost of long distance calls. The material prepared for Spacelink was found to be widespread by teachers and others across the nation and is being used to stimulate students in their quest for excellence. A partial summary of Spacelinks usage is presented.

Blake, Jean A.↗

Nuclear thermal propulsion transportation systems for lunar/Mars exploration

Nuclear thermal propulsion technology development is underway at NASA and DoE for Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions to Mars, with initial near-earth flights to validate flight readiness. Several reactor concepts are being considered for these missions, and important selection criteria will be evaluated before final selection of a system. These criteria include: safety and reliability, technical risk, cost, and performance, in that order. Of the concepts evaluated to date, the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications (NERVA) derivative (NDR) is the only concept that has demonstrated full power, life, and performance in actual reactor tests. Other concepts will require significant design work and must demonstrate proof-of-concept. Technical risk, and hence, development cost should therefore be lowest for the concept, and the NDR concept is currently being considered for the initial SEI missions. As lighter weight, higher performance systems are developed and validated, including appropriate safety and astronaut-rating requirements, they will be considered to support future SEI application. A space transportation system using a modular nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) system for lunar and Mars missions is expected to result in significant life cycle cost savings. Finally, several key issues remain for NTR's, including public acceptance and operational issues. Nonetheless, NTR's are believed to be the 'next generation' of space propulsion systems - the key to space exploration.

Clark, John S.↗

Pharmacy in Space: A Session on NASA Technologies

In 1993, Vice-president Gore was charged with creation of a correctional plan for the poor findings from an efficiency study of governmental agencies. That correctional analysis was then used to support efforts to balance the budget in ways anticipated to improve the value returned per tax payer dollar spent. The final result was a broad initiative collectively termed "reinventing the government", which included major restructuring within NASA as well, termed "reinventing NASA This included substantial elimination of middle management and downsizing such that about 2 million government workers employed in 1992 has shrunk now to about 1.2 million government workers who are employed in ways that at least somewhat decrease bureaucratic and programmatic inefficiencies. Today, "reinvented NASA" has an awareness of contractual commitment to the public. NASA now operates within a so-called "strategic plan" that requires awareness and response to domestic needs. This is important to this audience because it means that NASA is committed to exploring interactions that you may wish to initiate. That is, you are urged to explore with NASA on topics of educational support, collaborative research, or commercial partnerships in drug development and application, as the pertinent examples here, in ways that can include involvement of central NASA resources and missions.

Richmond, Robert C.↗

Commercial Development Plan for the International Space Station

The long term objective is to establish the foundation for a marketplace and stimulate a national economy for space products and services in low-Earth orbit, where both demand and supply are dominated by the private sector. The short term objective is to begin the transition to private investment and offset a share of the public cost for operating the space shuttle fleet and space station through commercial enterprise in open markets.

Source record↗

Commercial Development Plan for the International Space Station

The long term objective of the development plan for the International Space Station (ISS) is to establish the foundation for a marketplace and stimulate a national economy for space products and services in low-Earth orbit, where both demand and supply are dominated by the private sector. The short term objective is to begin the transition to private investment and offset a share of the public cost for operating the space shuttle fleet and space station through commercial enterprise in open markets.

Source record↗

Practical Meteor Stream Forecasting

Inspired by the recent Leonid meteor storms, researchers have made great strides in our ability to predict enhanced meteor activity. However, the necessary calibration of the meteor stream models with Earth-based ZHRs (Zenith Hourly Rates) has placed emphasis on the terran observer and meteor activity predictions are published in such a manner to reflect this emphasis. As a consequence, many predictions are often unusable by the satellite community, which has the most at stake and the greatest interest in meteor forecasting. This paper suggests that stream modelers need to pay more attention to the needs of this community and publish not just durations and times of maxima for Earth, but everything needed to characterize the meteor stream in and out of the plane of the ecliptic, which, at a minimum, consists of the location of maximum stream density (ZHR) and the functional form of the density decay with distance from this point. It is also suggested that some of the terminology associated with meteor showers may need to be more strictly defined in order to eliminate the perception of crying wolf by meteor scientists. An outburst is especially problematic, as it usually denotes an enhancement by a factor of 2 or more to researchers, but conveys the notion of a sky filled with meteors to satellite operators and the public. Experience has also taught that predicted ZHRs often lead to public disappointment, as these values vastly overestimate what is seen.

Cooke, William J.↗