Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “program”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 541 records · Page 30

Orbital Space Plane (OSP) Program at Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin has been an active participant in NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) programs over the past several years. SLI, part of NASA's Integrated Space Transportation Plan (ISTP), was restructured in November 2002 to focus the overall theme of safer, more affordable space transportation along two paths the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) and the Next Generation Launch Technology programs. The Orbital Space Plane program has the goal of providing rescue capability from the International Space Station by 2008 or earlier and transfer capability for crew (and contingency cargo) by 2012. The Next Generation Launch Technology program is combining research and development efforts from the 2d Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (2GRLV) program with cutting-edge, advanced space transportation programs (previously designated 31d Generation) into one program aimed at enabling safe, reliable, cost-effective reusable launch systems by the middle of the next decade. Lockheed Martin is one of three prime contractors working to bring Orbital Space Plane system concepts to a system design level of maturity by December 2003. This paper and presentation will update the aerospace community on the progress of the OSP program, from an industry perspective, and provide insights into Lockheed Martin's role in enabling the vision of a safer, more affordable means of taking people to and from space.

Ford, Robert↗

The Many Dimensions of Program Management

For the purposes of this paper, program refers to a collection of activities or projects which must be performed according to a plan or schedule. The Space Exploration Initiative within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an example. Dimensionality refers to both the various perspectives of a program and to the components within that perspective. It is, thus, appropriate to think of dimensions of dimensionality. For example, one dimension or perspective of a program is the projects which perform the program. Within the project dimension, the individual projects are the components of that dimensionality. The number of projects defines the spatial dimensionality of the project dimension. Thus, each perspective or dimension has a dimensionality of its own. The structure and associated values of all the various perspectives of a program define the program. A project refers to the collection of activities required to conceive, sell, design, develop, evaluate, produce, operate, support, evolve, and retire a given system. A project thus effects the life cycle of given system. A project is, thus, the system to conceive, sell, design, develop, evaluate, produce, operate, support, evolve, and retire a system. A program, thus, effects the life cycle of the collection of projects required to effect the collection of systems required to implement the program.

Dean, Edwin B.↗

Lewis' Educational and Research Collaborative Internship Program

The Lewis Educational and Research Collaborative Internship Program (LERCIP) is a collaborative undertaking by the Office of Educational Programs at NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field (formerly NASA Lewis Research Center) and the Ohio Aerospace Institute. This program provides 10-week internships in addition to summer and winter extensions if funding is available and/or is requested by mentor (no less than 1 week no more than 4 weeks) for undergraduate/graduate students and secondary school teachers. Students who meet the travel reimbursement criteria receive up to $500 for travel expenses. Approximately 178 interns are selected to participate in this program each year and begin arriving the fourth week in May. The internships provide students with introductory professional experiences to complement their academic programs. The interns are given assignments on research and development projects under the personal guidance of NASA professional staff members. Each intern is assigned a NASA mentor who facilitates a research assignment. In addition to the research assignment, the summer program includes a strong educational component that enhances the professional stature of the participants. The educational activities include a research symposium and a variety of workshops, and lectures. An important aspect of the program is that it includes students with diverse social, cultural and economic backgrounds. The purpose of this report is to document the program accomplishments for 2004.

Heyward, Ann↗

An Examination of the Indiana State University Aerospace Administration Program

Declining enrollments in the Indiana State University (ISU) aerospace administration program prompted this case study. which evaluates the program in comparison with parallel programs at other universities, industry standards, and an independent audit. Survey instruments were administered to graduates, faculty, and employers for their views on competencies of an excellent aerospace administration program Results show the deficiency of the ISU program. Graduates, faculty, and employers rated all competencies-from moderate to considerable importance-similarly for an excellent program. Recommendations for program improvement were made, and suggestions for further research include studies to evaluate the effectiveness of a revised aerospace administration program.

Schwab, Gregory L.↗

MOBI and FEANICS Programming in Labview

The flight software engineering branch provides design and development of embedded real-time software applications for flight and supporting ground systems to support the NASA Aeronautics and Space Programs. In addition, this branch evaluates, develops and implements new technologies for embedded real-time systems, and maintains a laboratory for applications of embedded technology. This branch supports other divisions and is involved with many other projects. My mentor Rochelle and I are involved in the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) project, the MOBI project, and the FEANICS project. The Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) will occupy two powered racks on the International Space Station (ISS). It will be a permanent modular, multiuser facility to accommodate microgravity science experiments onboard the ISS's U.S. Laboratory Module. FCF will support NASA Human Exploration and Development of Space program objectives requiring sustained, systematic research in the disciplines of fluid physics and combustion science. The fluids experiment is called FIR and the combustion experiment is called CIR. The MOBI Experiment is an experiment that is performed to understand the physics of bubble segregation and resuspension in an inertia, monodisperse gas-liquid suspension, and to understand how bubble pressure resists segregation in suspensions with continuous phase inertia. The main focus of FEANICS and the solid combustion experiments will be to conduct basic and applied scientific investigations in fire-safety to support NASA's Bioastronautics Initiative. Based on data obtained in microgravity and experience gained from the beginning of the U.S. manned space program, these normal gravity flammability assessments have been assumed to be conservative with respect to flammability in all environments. However, some of the complex interactions that govern ignition and flame growth can only be evaluated in the long durations of microgravity available on the ISS. Before any of these projects actually go to the ISS, they are going to be tested on NASA's KC-135 Low-G airplane, the KC-135 Low-G Flight Research aircraft (a predecessor of the Boeing 707) is used to fly parabolas to create 20-25 seconds of weightlessness so that the astronauts can experience and researchers can investigate the effects of zero gravity. My mentor and I have been working with Labview to write the programs that are going to acquire, analyze and present the data acquired from these Test flights on the KC-135. We have been working closely with electrical, and mechanical engineers to make sure the program and the hardware can communicate and perform the operations necessary for the flight test. LabVIEW delivers a powerful graphical development environment for signal acquisition, measurement analysis, and data presentation, giving you the flexibility of a programming language without the complexity of traditional development tools. The programming of the control panel and the code are both done in GUIs which allow for flexibility in the code and the program.

Rios, Jeffrey N.↗

(abstract) JPL Cryocooler Development and Test Program Overview

Many near-term and future space-instrument programs within NASA and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) depend on the successful development of long-life, low-vibration space cryocoolers. The most demanding near-term programs include a number of science instruments selected for NASA's Earth Observing System (Eos) program, and a number of space reconnaissance instruments associated with the BMDO's Brilliant Eyes program; both of these programs require delivery of similar types of flight coolers in the next few years. To help ensure the success of these cooler commitments, JPL has implemented an extensive cryocooler program in support of the NASA/JPL AIRS project, the Air Force Phillips Laboratory (AFPL), and the Air Force Space and Missiles Systems Division (SMC). This program is directed at assisting industry in developing advanced cryocoolers that successfully address the broad array of complex performance requirements needed for NASA and BMDO long-life space instruments. The JPL cryocooler program includes extensive characterization and life testing of industry-developed cryocoolers, development and flight testing of advanced sorption cooler systems for detector cooling to 10 K , development of mechanical cryocooler enhancement technologies, and flight tests of advanced low-vibration Stirling-cooler systems.

development design testing↗

The Glory Program: Global Science from a Unique Spacecraft Integration

The Glory program is an Earth and Solar science mission designed to broaden science community knowledge of the environment. The causes and effects of global warming have become a concern in recent years and Glory aims to contribute to the knowledge base of the science community. Glory is designed for two functions: one is solar viewing to monitor the total solar irradiance and the other is observing the Earth s atmosphere for aerosol composition. The former is done with an active cavity radiometer, while the latter is accomplished with an aerosol polarimeter sensor to discern atmospheric particles. The Glory program is managed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) with Orbital Sciences in Dulles, VA as the prime contractor for the spacecraft bus, mission operations, and ground system. This paper will describe some of the more unique features of the Glory program including the integration and testing of the satellite and instruments as well as the science data processing. The spacecraft integration and test approach requires extensive analysis and additional planning to ensure existing components are successfully functioning with the new Glory components. The science mission data analysis requires development of mission unique processing systems and algorithms. Science data analysis and distribution will utilize our national assets at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). The Satellite was originally designed and built for the Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) mission, which was terminated in the middle of integration and testing due to payload development issues. The bus was then placed in secure storage in 2001 and removed from an environmentally controlled container in late 2003 to be refurbished to meet the Glory program requirements. Functional testing of all the components was done as a system at the start of the program, very different from a traditional program. The plan for Glory is to minimize any changes to the spacecraft in order to meet the Glory requirements. This means that the instrument designs must adhere to the existing interfaces and capabilities as much as possible. Given Glory's unique history and the potential science return, the program is one of significant value to both the science community and the world. The findings Glory promises will improve our understanding of the drivers for global climate change for a minimal investment. The program hopes to show that reuse of existing government assets can result in a lower cost, and fully successful mission.

Bajpayee Jaya↗

NASA/GE Highly-Loaded Turbine Research Program

An overview of the NASA/GE Highly-Loaded Turbine Research Program at the NASA Glenn Research Center is presented. The program is sponsored by the Subsonic Fixed Wing Project of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program. The goals of the turbine research program are presented along with their relationship to the higher-level program goals. Two turbine research programs are described; the highly-loaded, single-stage high pressure turbine (HPT) and the highly loaded low pressure turbine (LPT). The HPT program is centered on an extremely high pressure ratio single-stage turbine with an engine stage pressure ratio of 5.5. It was designed with a 33% increase in stage loading. It has shown performance levels 2 points better than current engines operating at the higher work level. Some advantages of the turbine include reduced weight and parts count. Optimization of the blade shape to reduce shock losses is described. The LPT program utilizes a four-stage low pressure turbine with an integral first stage vane/transition duct strut; counter-rotation; low-solidity blading; fully optimized flowpath including vanes, blades, and endwalls; and a fluidically controlled turbine vane frame/exit guide vane. The implementation of the LPT into GE s and NASA s test facilities is described. A description of NASA's Single Spool Turbine Facility that is currently under renovation is given. Facility limits on pressures, temperatures, flow rates, rotational speeds, and power absorption are described. The current renovation status is given.

Giel, Paul W.↗

NASA/GE Highly-Loaded Turbine Research Program

An overview of the NASA/GE Highly-Loaded Turbine Research Program at the NASA Glenn Research Center is presented. The program is sponsored by the Subsonic Fixed Wing Project of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program. The goals of the turbine research program are presented along with their relationship to the higher-level program goals. Two turbine research programs are described; the highly-loaded, single-stage high pressure turbine (HPT) and the highly loaded low pressure turbine (LPT). The HPT program is centered on an extremely high pressure ratio single-stage turbine with an engine stage pressure ratio of 5.5. It was designed with a 33% increase in stage loading. It has shown performance levels 2 points better than current engines operating at the higher work level. Some advantages of the turbine include reduced weight and parts count. Optimization of the blade shape to reduce shock losses is described. The LPT program utilizes a four-stage low pressure turbine with an integral first stage vane/transition duct strut; counterrotation; low-solidity blading; fully optimized flowpath including vanes, blades, and endwalls; and a fluidically controlled turbine vane frame/exit guide vane. The implementation of the LPT into GE s and NASA s test facilities is described. A description of NASA s Single Spool Turbine Facility that is currently under renovation is given. The new, upgraded facility is compared to its predecessor. Renovation design requirements are outlined. Facility limits on pressures, temperatures, flow rates, rotational speeds, and power absorption are described. The current renovation status is given.

Giel, Paul W.↗

NASA's Discovery Program: Moving Toward the Edge (of the Solar System)

NASA's Planetary Science , Division sponsors a competitive program of small spacecraft missions with the goal of performing focused science investigations that complement NASA's larger planetary science explorations at relatively low cost. The goal of the Discovery program is to launch many smaller missions with fast development times to increase our understanding of the solar system by exploring the planets, dwarf planets, their moons, and small bodies such as comets and asteroids. Discovery missions are solicited from the broad planetary science community approximately every 2 years. Active missions within the Discovery program include several with direct scientific or engineering connections to potential future missions to the edge of the solar system and beyond. In addition to those in the Discovery program are the missions of the New Frontiers program. The first New Frontiers mission. is the New Horizons mission to Pluto, which will explore this 38-AU distant dwarf planet and potentially some Kuiper Belt objects beyond. The Discovery program's Dawn mission, when launched in mid-2007, will use ion drive as its primary propulsion system. Ion propulsion is one of only two technologies that appear feasible for early interstellar precursor missions with practical flight times. The Kepler mission will explore the structure and diversity of extrasolar planetary systems, with an emphasis on the detection of Earth-size planets around other stars. Kepler will survey nearby solar systems searching for planets that may fall within the habitable zone,' a region surrounding a star within which liquid water may exist on a planet's surface - an essential ingredient for life as we know it. With its open and competitive approach to mission selections, the Discovery program affords scientists the opportunity to propose missions to virtually any solar system destination. With its emphasis on science and proven openness to the use of new technologies such as ion propulsion, missions flown as part of the program will test out technologies needed for future very deep-space exploration and potentially take us to these difficult and distant destinations.

Johnson, Les↗

SPOT Program

A Spacecraft Position Optimal Tracking (SPOT) program was developed to process Global Positioning System (GPS) data, sent via telemetry from a spacecraft, to generate accurate navigation estimates of the vehicle position and velocity (state vector) using a Kalman filter. This program uses the GPS onboard receiver measurements to sequentially calculate the vehicle state vectors and provide this information to ground flight controllers. It is the first real-time ground-based shuttle navigation application using onboard sensors. The program is compact, portable, self-contained, and can run on a variety of UNIX or Linux computers. The program has a modular objec-toriented design that supports application-specific plugins such as data corruption remediation pre-processing and remote graphics display. The Kalman filter is extensible to additional sensor types or force models. The Kalman filter design is also strong against data dropouts because it uses physical models from state and covariance propagation in the absence of data. The design of this program separates the functionalities of SPOT into six different executable processes. This allows for the individual processes to be connected in an a la carte manner, making the feature set and executable complexity of SPOT adaptable to the needs of the user. Also, these processes need not be executed on the same workstation. This allows for communications between SPOT processes executing on the same Local Area Network (LAN). Thus, SPOT can be executed in a distributed sense with the capability for a team of flight controllers to efficiently share the same trajectory information currently being computed by the program. SPOT is used in the Mission Control Center (MCC) for Space Shuttle Program (SSP) and International Space Station Program (ISSP) operations, and can also be used as a post -flight analysis tool. It is primarily used for situational awareness, and for contingency situations.

Smith, Jason T.↗

Commercially Hosted Government Payloads: Lessons from Recent Programs

In a commercially hosted operational mode, a scientific instrument or operational device is attached to a spacecraft but operates independently from the spacecraft s primary mission. Despite the expected benefits of this arrangement, there are few examples of hosted payload programs actually being executed by government organizations. The lack of hosted payload programs is largely driven by programmatic challenges, both real and perceived, rather than by technical challenges. Partly for these reasons, NASA has not sponsored a hosted payload program, in spite of the benefits and visible community interest in doing so. In the interest of increasing the use of hosted payloads across the space community, this paper seeks to alleviate concerns about hosted payloads by identifying these programmatic challenges and presenting ways in which they can be avoided or mitigated. Despite the challenges, several recent hosted payload programs have been successfully completed or are currently in progress. This paper presents an assessment of these programs, with a focus on acquisition, costs, schedules, risks, and other programmatic aspects. The hosted payloads included in this study are the Federal Aviation Administration's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) payloads, United States Coast Guard's Automatic Identification System (AIS) demonstration payload, Department of Defense's IP Router In Space (IRIS) demonstration payload, the United States Air Force's Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP), and the Australian Defence Force's Ultra High Frequency (UHF) payload. General descriptions of each of these programs are presented along with issues that have been encountered and lessons learned from those experiences. A set of recommended approaches for future hosted payload programs is presented, with a focus on addressing risks or potential problem areas through smart and flexible contracting up front. This set of lessons and recommendations is broadly applicable to future hosted payload programs, whether they are technology demonstrations, communications systems, or operational sensors. Additionally, we present a basic cost model for commercial access to space for hosted payloads as a function of payload mass

Andraschko, Mark A.↗

MatLab Script and Functional Programming

MatLab Script and Functional Programming: MatLab is one of the most widely used very high level programming languages for scientific and engineering computations. It is very user-friendly and needs practically no formal programming knowledge. Presented here are MatLab programming aspects and not just the MatLab commands for scientists and engineers who do not have formal programming training and also have no significant time to spare for learning programming to solve their real world problems. Specifically provided are programs for visualization. The MatLab seminar covers the functional and script programming aspect of MatLab language. Specific expectations are: a) Recognize MatLab commands, script and function. b) Create, and run a MatLab function. c) Read, recognize, and describe MatLab syntax. d) Recognize decisions, loops and matrix operators. e) Evaluate scope among multiple files, and multiple functions within a file. f) Declare, define and use scalar variables, vectors and matrices.

Shaykhian, Gholam Ali↗

Supporting Multiple Programs and Projects at NASA's Kennedy Space Center

With the conclusion of the shuttle program in 2011, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had found itself at a crossroads for finding transportation of United States astronauts and experiments to space. The agency would eventually hand off the taxiing of American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) that orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) about 210 miles above the earth under the requirements of the Commercial Crew Program (CCP). By privatizing the round trip journey from Earth to the ISS, the space agency has been given the additional time to focus funding and resources to projects that operate beyond LEO; however, adding even more stress to the agency, the premature cancellation of the program that would succeed the Shuttle Program - The Constellation Program (CxP) -it would inevitably delay the goal to travel beyond LEO for a number of years. Enter the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). Currently, the SLS is under development at NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, while the Orion Capsule, built by government contractor Lockheed Martin Corporation, has been assembled and is currently under testing at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. In its current vision, SLS will take Orion and its crew to an asteroid that had been captured in an earlier mission in lunar orbit. Additionally, this vehicle and its configuration is NASA's transportation to Mars. Engineers at the Kennedy Space Center are currently working to test the ground systems that will facilitate the launch of Orion and the SLS within its Ground Services Development and Operations (GSDO) Program. Firing Room 1 in the Launch Control Center (LCC) has been refurbished and outfitted to support the SLS Program. In addition, the Spaceport Command and Control System (SCCS) is the underlying control system for monitoring and launching manned launch vehicles. As NASA finds itself at a junction, so does all of its associated centers across the US. KSC has found itself at the blunt end of change as the entire center has transitioned from an operations mindset to a development mentality. The author of this paper has had the fortunate privilege and opportunity to be part of a transforming NASA during the fall months of 2014. The following is a high level account of projects that he had the chance to work on including the Spaceport Command and Control System, the Advanced Ground System and Maintenance Program Project, Customer Avionics Development & Analysis (CAIDA) Lab and Swamp Works.

Advanced Ground System Maintenance↗

Inventory of Clean Energy Education and Workforce Programs in Connecticut's I-91 Corridor

This document reports on the findings of an inventory of the educational and workforce development resources in a four-county area on the I-91 corridor in Connecticut. The overarching goal of this exercise is to help the local workforce leaders in Bridgeport, Connecticut to optimize their training programs to support the county's clean energy transition. The inventory generally finds that Fairfield County, where Bridgeport is located, lacks adequate education and training programs compared to other surrounding counties with similar populations. More than half of Fairfield County's programs occur through high school or career technical education programs, suggesting that there are minimal opportunities for workers who are not currently high school students. Much of the existing focus within Fairfield County is on general construction or plumbing and electrical skills. There is room to expand by offering more programs focusing on energy efficiency and renewable energy skills. The document outlines some potential next steps and questions for consideration for the local workforce leaders in Bridgeport. Bridgeport is a city located within Fairfield County in southwestern Connecticut. It is the largest city in Connecticut with an estimated population of 150,000. Through the Department of Energy-funded Communities LEAP program, NREL conducted an analysis of existing education and workforce development (EWD) programs located in Fairfield County that align with (or could support) the worker pipeline for occupations related to building energy efficiency (EE), renewable energy (RE), and clean energy manufacturing. The analysis also looked at EWD offerings in other counties in Connecticut as a point of comparison.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE SPACE PROGRAM

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the economic impact of the amazing space program presented in the preceding papers. My function is to view the space program objectively as an economist so as to assess its impact upon the Nation's economy as a whole and upon certain regions in particular. In order to be objective, I will not take the extreme view that our entire lives will be changed by this program overnight-we will not all be wearing air-conditioned Moonsuits in 2 years and commuting to work by individual miniaturized Rocketpacks. An attempt will be made to avoid the other extreme of thinking that the space program is the greatest boondoggle since the Pyramids; it is not merely a form of scientific leaf-raking on a gigantic scale. My definition of the space program includes the program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and some work of other agencies doing related space exploration, particularly the Department of Defense. In essence, I hope to answer the question: What will NASA's program mean to the participants in the Nation's economy?

ECONOMICS↗

Phase 1 research program overview

The Phase 1 research program was unprecedented in its scope and ambitious in its objectives. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration committed to conducting a multidisciplinary long-duration research program on a platform whose capabilities were not well known, not to mention belonging to another country. For the United States, it provided the first opportunity to conduct research in a long-duration space flight environment since the Skylab program in the 1970's. Multiple technical as well as cultural challenges were successfully overcome through the dedicated efforts of a relatively small cadre of individuals. The program developed processes to successfully plan, train for and execute research in a long-duration environment, with significant differences identified from short-duration space flight science operations. Between August 1994 and June 1998, thousands of kilograms of research hardware was prepared and launched to Mir, and thousands of kilograms of hardware and data products were returned to Earth. More than 150 Principal Investigators from eight countries were involved in the program in seven major research disciplines: Advanced Technology; Earth Sciences; Fundamental Biology; Human Life Sciences; International Space Station Risk Mitigation; Microgravity; and Space Sciences. Approximately 75 long-duration investigations were completed on Mir, with additional investigations performed on the Shuttle flights that docked with Mir. The flight phase included the participation of seven US astronauts and 20 Russian cosmonauts. The successful completion of the Phase 1 research program not only resulted in high quality science return but also in numerous lessons learned to make the ISS experience more productive. The cooperation developed during the program was instrumental in its success. c2001 AIAA. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

short duration↗

Rovers in the U.S. Mars Exploration Program

The U.S. Mars Exploration Program comprises at least on Discovery mission (Mars Pathfinder), and Mars Surveyor Program, plus sample return missions and other missions to prepare for possible human expeditions to Mars. The original themes of the Mars Surveyor Program (which are still the official program goals) are to understand Life, Climate and Resources on Mars, with these themes tied together by the common thread of Water. The ability to move about the Martian surface is key to the Mars Exploration Program. This paper addresses the overall Mars Exploration Program strategy, with an emphasis of the role of rovers in the program. Specifically, the need for improvements in rover performance is addressed.

Mars Global Surveyor MGS martian surface cost-cons↗