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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 577 records · Page 32
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NASA NTRS2008

Enhanced Flight Termination System (EFTS): Flight Demonstration and Results

The Enhanced Flight Termination System (EFTS) program was initiated and propelled due to the inadvertent terminations of Global Hawk and the Strategic Target System and the NASA Inspector General's assessment letter and recommendations regarding the exploration of low-cost, lightweight space COMSEC for FTS. Additionally, the standard analog and high alphabet systems most commonly used in FTS are secure, but not encrypted. A study group was initiated to select and document a robust, affordable, reliable technology that provides encrypted FTS capability. A flight demonstration was conducted to gain experience using EFTS in an operational environment, provide confidence in the use of the EFTS components, integrate EFTS into an existing range infrastructure to demonstrate the scalability of system components, to provide a command controller that generated the EFTS waveform using an existing range infrastructure, and to provide a report documenting the results of the demonstration. The primary goal of the demonstration was to obtain operational experience with EFTS. Areas of operational experience include: mission planning, pre-flight configuration and testing, mission monitoring and recording, vehicle termination, developing mission procedures. and post mission data reduction and other post mission activities. An Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) was selected to support the EFTS demonstration due to interest in future use of EFTS by the AMRAAM program, familiarity of EFTS by range personnel, and the availability of existing operational environment to support EFTS testing with available program funding. For demonstration purposes, the AMRAAM was successfully terminated using an EFTS receiver and successfully demonstrating EFTS. The EFTS monitoring software with spectrum analyzer and digital graphical display of aircraft, missile, and target were also demonstrated.

Tow, David↗
NASA NTRS2010

NASA Flight Operations of Ikhana and Global Hawk

This slide presentation reviews the flight operations for NASA's Ikhana and Globalhawk unmanned aerial vehicles. It includes information on the ground support systems, vehicle specifications, payloads, mission planning and the 2007 Western States Fire Mission Objectives.

Posada, Herman↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Impact Outputs for A Representative Extended Duration Artemis Mission

BACKGROUND: As NASA and private industry begin preparation for long-duration spaceflight, quantifying the impact that potential human health and performance capabilities have on crew health outcomes is imperative for medical risk mitigation. NASA’s Informing Mission Planning via Analysis of Complex Tradespaces tool (IMPACT) applies Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) methodology to estimate these outcomes. OVERVIEW: As NASA prepares to return to the Moon, medical system planning has already begun for extended Artemis missions, which will see humans spending months at a time in cis-lunar space and on the surface of the Moon. The Long Duration Lunar Orbital and Lunar Surface (LDLOLS) design reference mission (DRM) lasts 9 months, including 3 months on the lunar surface, and involves 2 male and 2 female crewmembers. LDLOLS assumes no extravehicular activities (EVAs) in orbit, but, while on the lunar surface, involves 2-4 EVAs/month in a pressurized rover and 2-4 EVAs/month in an unpressurized rover or on foot. This DRM assumes a physician level Crew Medical Officer with commensurate knowledge, skills, and abilities. The IMPACT tool was utilized to estimate in-flight medical risk for this mission. More specifically, 100,000 simulations of this DRM were modeled, and overall estimates for loss of crew life (LOCL), need for evacuation (RTDC; return to definitive care), and crew task time lost (TTL; a measure of disability) were calculated. A recommended medical capability set, with appropriate mass and volume constraints, was also generated. DISCUSSION: This abstract reviews the IMPACT-derived risk for these mission outcomes with and without treatment, a macroscopic look at the total mass and volume necessary for full diagnostic and treatment capability, and how these change with input mission parameters.

J G Steller↗
NASA NTRS2011

Onboard Short Term Plan Viewer

Onboard Short Term Plan Viewer (OSTPV) is a computer program for electronic display of mission plans and timelines, both aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and in ISS ground control stations located in several countries. OSTPV was specifically designed both (1) for use within the limited ISS computing environment and (2) to be compatible with computers used in ground control stations. OSTPV supplants a prior system in which, aboard the ISS, timelines were printed on paper and incorporated into files that also contained other paper documents. Hence, the introduction of OSTPV has both reduced the consumption of resources and saved time in updating plans and timelines. OSTPV accepts, as input, the mission timeline output of a legacy, print-oriented, UNIX-based program called "Consolidated Planning System" and converts the timeline information for display in an interactive, dynamic, Windows Web-based graphical user interface that is used by both the ISS crew and ground control teams in real time. OSTPV enables the ISS crew to electronically indicate execution of timeline steps, launch electronic procedures, and efficiently report to ground control teams on the statuses of ISS activities, all by use of laptop computers aboard the ISS.

Hall, Tim↗
NASA NTRS2023

A Pilot Project for Quantifying the Effect of Medical Provider Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities on Outcomes for Spaceflight Using a Probabilistic Risk Assessment Tool

In order to enable the future of long-duration deep space exploration we must confront the uncertainty in medical risk. Limitations of communication, resupply, and evacuation in deep space will require a high degree of crew autonomy and accurate risk assessment will be critical to ensure adequate crew training and medical system design. To address this, NASA’s Human Research Program Exploration Medical Capability Element has developed the Informing Mission Planning via Analysis of Complex Tradespaces Tool (IMPACT). IMPACT is a suite of tools that can provide evidence-based, data-driven trade space assessments between available medical resources in the mass- and volume-constrained environment of a deep space exploration vehicle. In the current model, medical conditions either can or cannot be treated based on the availability of medical system resources and equipment. However, medical outcomes often depend just as much on the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) of the provider operating the system. This paper presents a method for modeling and quantifying the effect of medical officer KSA on medically relevant mission risk outcomes during spaceflight.

capabilities↗
NASA NTRS1967

Onboard operations for rendezvous

An overall plan for onboard rendezvous operations for the Gemini missions was developed in parallel with the mission plan. The purpose of this plan was to make optimum use of crew time in orbit to maximize the probability of a successful rendezvous. The evolution of the plan began with a preliminary time line of events based upon the known guidance-equipment requirements and upon the estimated crew timing. A preliminary set of flight charts was developed to aid the crew with primary and backup procedures and to establish a backup guidance capability. These charts, which consisted of a few simple graphs and tabulation sheets, enabled the crew to calculate accurate solutions for the terminal maneuvers even with an inoperative guidance-equipment component. As such, the charts significantly contributed to the probability of mission success. Following the development of the charts, an engineering evaluation was conducted on a realistic man-in-the-loop simulation. During this evaluation, the procedures and charts were subjected to the expected equipment errors and trajectory dispersions, and revisions were made as necessary to improve effectiveness. The resulting plan was presented to the flight crew; the charts were evaluated during a period of training on the simulator. The crew spent several weeks training on both the primary procedures and on the various failure modes.

structural integrity↗
NASA NTRS1982

Status of joint US/USSR experiments planned for the Cosmos '83 biosatellite mission

The plans and status of the fourth joint US/USSR biosatellite experiment, scheduled to be conducted in the last half of 1983, are discussed. These experiments will be conducted on board an unmanned Soviet spacecraft and will involve two restrained Rhesus monkeys and 10 pregnant rats, as well as a variety of small plant and radiation biology experiments. Three of the joint studies will use the monkeys for studies of biorhythms, calcium homeostasis, and the cardiovascular system. The fourth experiment will study rodent embryogenesis and neonatal behavior and development following in utero exposure to spaceflight. Specialized sensors and battery powered hardware have been designed, fabricated, and qualified for flight.

Souza, K. A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessment of Crew Time for Maintenance and Repair Activities for Lunar Surface Missions

NASA is currently evaluating different methods to predict how much time crewmembers will spend conducting repair and maintenance activities on future space missions. As mission scope and spacecraft architectures change, understanding how crew repair and maintenance timelines are impacted by mission operations and technology changes is vital for future mission planning. Past work has been done using historical International Space Station (ISS) data to accurately predict crew habitation and operation timelines, resulting in the development of NASA’s Exploration Crew Time Model (ECTM). However, understanding crew maintenance and repair requirements has posed a unique challenge due to the complexity of available datasets, the probabilistic nature of sub-system failures, and the impacts of reliability growth on failure rates. This paper presents a methodology to collect and condition empirical repair and maintenance time data from available datasets, to extrapolate from that data to estimate projected maintenance and repair times for a lunar Surface Habitat (SH), and to assess how uncertainty in repair time could impact utilization time on the lunar surface. NASA ISS maintenance and crew time data are logged into two central databases: the Maintenance Data Collection (MDC) and the Operations Planning Timeline Integration System (OPTimIS). Separately, each of these two datasets capture only portions of the complete set of data required to generate an accurate assessment of crew time spent on maintenance activities at a sub-system level. To create a more useful crew time estimate for maintenance timelines, the authors developed a methodology to capture relevant data from each set and combine and utilize that data by linking crew time requirements to specific components. The authors compare the failure logs in the MDC to crew activity logs pulled from OPTimIS and then process the data to estimate required repair time for each failure and repair event. The entire maintenance activity dataset is then categorized based on the class of failed component to ensure a significant sample size for each class and accurate crew time estimates for any components lacking relevant data. This resultant component repair time data can be used in the future to generate Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) estimates and confidence intervals for each class of component based on a probabilistic distribution of documented maintenance events. These improved MTTR values can then be applied to candidate element sub-system architectures, along with component Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) data to generate distributions for potential required system crew repair time estimates for a given mission. The authors applied these modeling methods to a case study of a crewed mission to the planned SH and produced expected corrective maintenance crew time distributions. The results produced an expected corrective maintenance crew time at over 24 hours per mission, and a maintenance crew time distribution that reflects the importance of planning for sufficient maintenance requirements each mission. Repair time distributions can then be used to develop more accurate crew schedules and to assess potential available utilization time.

Crew Time↗
NASA NTRS2002

Electrical Performance of the International Space Station U.S. Photovoltaic Array During Bifacial Illumination

With the first United States (U.S.) photovoltaic array (PVA) activated on International Space Station (ISS) in December 2000, on-orbit data can now be compared to analytical predictions. Due to ISS operational constraints, it is not always possible to point the front side of the arrays at the Sun. Thus, in many cases, sunlight directly illuminates the backside of the PVA as well as albedo illumination on either the front or the back. During this time, appreciable power is produced since the solar cells are mounted on a thin, solar transparent substrate. It is important to present accurate predictions for both front and backside power generation for mission planning, certification of flight readiness for a given mission, and on-orbit mission support. To provide a more detailed assessment of the ISS power production capability, the authors developed a PVA electrical performance model applicable to generalized bifacial illumination conditions. On-orbit PVA performance data were also collected and analyzed. This paper describes the ISS PVA performance model, and the methods used to reduce orbital performance data. Analyses were performed using SPACE. a NASA-GRC developed computer code for the ISS program office. Results showed a excellent comparison of on-orbit performance data and analytical results.

Delleur, Ann M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mercury Trek: A New Online NASA Visualization and Analysis Portal

In its investigations of the planet Mercury, NASA’s MESSENGER returned an immense amount of data detailing the dynamic surface of our solar system’s innermost planet. As the European and Japanese space agencies prepared for the launch of BepiColombo, the next mission to explore Mercury, BepiColombo’s project science team asked NASA to produce a new portal within the Solar System Treks suite (https://trek.nasa.gov) featuring data returned by MESSENGER from Mercury. This new portal would be used both for mission planning and for public outreach by the BepiColombo mission. While initially populated with Messenger data, the portal is also being designed to facilitate visualization, analysis, and dissemination of data from BepiColombo after it commences science operations in orbit around Mercury. The initial release of the Mercury Trek in 2019 shortly followed the launch of BepiColombo on its journey to Mercury.

B. H. Day↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Exploring Multimodal Interactions in Human-Autonomy Teaming Using a Natural User Interface

The creation of a multimodal, natural user interface to facilitate multi-agent interaction is essential to establishing trust among human and machine teammates in multi-agent systems. Trust is being researched, along with trustworthiness, as a path to certification of autonomous systems by the Autonomy Teaming and TRAjectories for Complex Trusted Operational Reliability (ATTRACTOR) project at NASA. The Autonomous Mission Experimental Logistics Interactive Assistant (AMELIA) is a natural user interface that enables multimodal interaction and is designed for rapid mission planning. AMELIA is an intelligent system that considers the user’s preferred communication strategies, as well as the time-critical aspect of the multi-agent system decision-making process. Twenty-four participants planned a multi-agent search and rescue mission, with the aid of an intelligent assistant. The results show that while the combined use of touch and speech was faster than speech alone, the single modality, touch, was still the most efficient. Future research should investigate additional input technologies.

Lisa R Le Vie↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Exploring Multimodal Interactions in Human-Autonomy Teaming Using a Natural User Interface

The creation of a multimodal, natural user interface to facilitate multi-agent interaction is essential to establishing trust among human and machine teammates in multi-agent systems. Trust is being researched, along with trustworthiness, as a path to certification of autonomous systems by the Autonomy Teaming and TRAjectories for Complex Trusted Operational Reliability (ATTRACTOR) project at NASA. The Autonomous Mission Experimental Logistics Interactive Assistant (AMELIA) is a natural user interface that enables multimodal interaction and is designed for rapid mission planning. AMELIA is an intelligent system that considers the user’s preferred communication strategies, as well as the time-critical aspect of the multi-agent system decision-making process. Twenty-four participants planned a multi-agent search and rescue mission, with the aid of an intelligent assistant. The results show that while the combined use of touch and speech was faster than speech alone, the single modality, touch, was still the most efficient. Future research should investigate additional input technologies.

Lisa Renee Le Vie↗
NASA NTRS2002

Science Planning for Multi-Spacecraft Coordinated Observations

Fulfilling the promise of an era of great observatories, NASA now has more than three space-based astronomical telescopes operating in different wavebands. This situation provides astronomers with a unique opportunity to simultaneously observe with multiple observatories. Yet scheduling multiple observatories simultaneously is highly inefficient when compared to single observatory observations. Thus, programs using multiple observatories are limited not due to scientific restrictions, but due to operational inefficiencies. Each year, a number of proposals are accepted by a space-based observatory for conduction of astronomical observations and gathering of science data for the study of galactic events. Since each space-based observatory uses a set of instruments designed to operate in specific energy regions, most such studies are conducted by submitting observation proposals to multiple observatories, with requests to coordinate among themselves. To assure that the proposed observations can be scheduled, each observatory's staff has to check that the observations are valid and meet all the constraints for their own observatory; in addition, they have to verify that the observations satisfy the constraints of the other observatories. Thus, coordinated observations require painstaking manual collaboration among the observatory staff at each observatory. In order to exploit new paradigms for observatory operation, the Goddard Space Flight Center's Advanced Architectures and Automation Branch has developed a prototype tool called the Visual Observation Layout Tool (VOLT). The main objective of VOLT is to provide a visual tool to automate the science planning of coordinated observations for multiple spacecraft, as well as to increase the scheduling probability of observations. However, VOLT is also useful for single observatory planning to optimize observatory control. Three space-based missions are interested in using VOLT (the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer). The VOLT team members have collaborated with these missions to gather requirements and obtain feedback on their mission planning processes. VOLT has been developed as a cross-platform Java client application for use by scientists and observatory science planning staff to visualize scheduling options and constraints. It also supports a lightweight graphical user interface for remote viewing via a Web front end. Additionally, it uniquely supports the ability to interact with multiple, diverse scheduling packages in order to determine windows of opportunity for observations and visually portray the constraints of each observation request. VOLT enables science data capture scenarios which are currently either impossible, or which require extensive time and manpower to coordinate amongst multiple observatories. it supports early detection of planning conflicts by generating coordinated solutions based on observatory schedulability and constraints. The project development approach has included frequent prototype demonstrations to our interested missions to obtain feedback after each release of the software. We will present an overview of our lessons learned in infusing the VOLT tool into the operations of the missions we have collaborated with and a brief demonstration of the software.

Maks, Lori↗