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At least 577 records · Page 32

Video Guidance Sensor for Surface Mobility Operations

Robotic systems and surface mobility will play an increased role in future exploration missions. Unlike the LRV during Apollo era which was an astronaut piloted vehicle future systems will include teleoperated and semi-autonomous operations. The tasks given to these vehicles will run the range from infrastructure maintenance, ISRU, and construction to name a few. A common task that may be performed would be the retrieval and deployment of trailer mounted equipment. Operational scenarios may require these operations to be performed remotely via a teleoperated mode,or semi-autonomously. This presentation describes the on-going project to adapt the Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C) sensor developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center for use in an automated trailer pick-up and deployment operation. The sensor which has been successfully demonstrated on-orbit has been mounted on an iRobot/John Deere RGATOR autonomous vehicle for this demonstration which will be completed in the March 2008 time-frame.

Fernandez, Kenneth R.↗

NASA Dryden's UAS Service Capabilities

The vision of NASA s Dryden Flight Research Center is to "fly what others only imagine." Its mission is to advance technology and science through flight. Objectives supporting the mission include performing flight research and technology integration to revolutionize aviation and pioneer aerospace technology, validating space exploration concepts, conducting airborne remote sensing and science missions, and supporting operations of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. A significant focus of effort in recent years has been on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), both in support of the Airborne Science Program and as research vehicles to advance the state of the art in UAS. Additionally, the Center has used its piloted aircraft in support of UAS technology development. In order to facilitate greater access to the UAS expertise that exists at the Center, that expertise has been organized around three major capabilities. The first is access to high-altitude, long-endurance UAS. The second is the establishment of a test range for small UAS. The third is safety case assessment support.

Bauer, Jeff↗

Seasat data applications by commercial users

The Seasat Program was initiated as a proof-of-concept mission to evaluate the effectiveness of a study of remotely sensed oceanographic phenomena from a satellite platform. From its inception the Seasat Program has been user-oriented. The user comprised three major segments of the ocean community, including academic users, users within various government agencies, and commercial users. Commercial users represent a broad spectrum of commercial marine industries. The commercial users proposed to NASA to carry out a pilot demonstration to assess the utility of Seasat data in the private sector. The commercial users' program is considered along with case studies that utilize Seasat data, and aspects of real-time system operation. Attention is given to the potential value of an employment of synthetic aperture radar, the altimeter, the scatterometer, and the scanning multichannel microwave radiometer.

Montgomery, D. R.↗

Application of remote sensing for California irrigated lands assessment

Recognizing the need for land use data as an input to State water planning, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and its predecessor agencies have conducted land use surveys since the late 1940's. In 1957 the California Water Plan was established. A statewide assessment is compiled every four to five years to review overall water resource conditions. Satellite remote sensing imagery, such as available from Landsat, has been recognized by DWR as a potential source of land use data. Analysis of Landsat imagery in connection with 'calibrating' data from low altitude photography and/or field checks can provide an economical means for providing a large scale, single year base inventory of general land use. The purpose of the Applications Pilot Test is to develop and document the use of Landsat for such an inventory. Towards the overall goal of developing an operational methodology that DWR could cost effectively implement four tasks have been specified.

Tinney, L.↗

Visually guided control of movement in the context of multimodal stimulation

Flight simulation has been almost exclusively concerned with simulating the motions of the aircraft. Physically distinct subsystems are often combined to simulate the varieties of aircraft motion. Visual display systems simulate the motion of the aircraft relative to remote objects and surfaces (e.g., other aircraft and the terrain). 'Motion platform' simulators recreate aircraft motion relative to the gravitoinertial vector (i.e., correlated rotation and tilt as opposed to the 'coordinated turn' in flight). 'Control loaders' attempt to simulate the resistance of the aerodynamic medium to aircraft motion. However, there are few operational systems that attempt to simulate the motion of the pilot relative to the aircraft and the gravitoinertial vector. The design and use of all simulators is limited by poor understanding of postural control in the aircraft and its effect on the perception and control of flight. Analysis of the perception and control of flight (real or simulated) must consider that: (1) the pilot is not rigidly attached to the aircraft; and (2) the pilot actively monitors and adjusts body orientation and configuration in the aircraft. It is argued that this more complete approach to flight simulation requires that multimodal perception be considered as the rule rather than the exception. Moreover, the necessity of multimodal perception is revealed by emphasizing the complementarity rather than the redundancy among perceptual systems. Finally, an outline is presented for an experiment to be conducted at NASA ARC. The experiment explicitly considers possible consequences of coordination between postural and vehicular control.

Riccio, Gary E.↗

STS-34: Galileo TCDT

Live footage shows the crewmembers of STS-34, Commander Donald E. Williams, Pilot Michael J. McCulley, and Mission Specialists Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Shannon W. Lucid, and Ellen S. Baker, participating in Terminal Countdown and Demonstration Tests. The crew is seen arriving in the T-38 aircraft, driving the M113 vehicle. Upon arrival at Kennedy Space Center, Williams addresses the waiting audience. The Crew discusses some of the experiments for their mission. They mention Remote Sensing, Recrystallization and Ozone experiments.

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Comparison of In-Situ, Model and Ground Based In-Flight Icing Severity

As an aircraft flies through supercooled liquid water, the liquid freezes instantaneously to the airframe thus altering its lift, drag, and weight characteristics. In-flight icing is a contributing factor to many aviation accidents, and the reliable detection of this hazard is a fundamental concern to aviation safety. The scientific community has recently developed products to provide in-flight icing warnings. NASA's Icing Remote Sensing System (NIRSS) deploys a vertically--pointing Ka--band radar, a laser ceilometer, and a profiling multi-channel microwave radiometer for the diagnosis of terminal area in-flight icing hazards with high spatial and temporal resolution. NCAR s Current Icing Product (CIP) combines several meteorological inputs to produce a gridded, three-dimensional depiction of icing severity on an hourly basis. Pilot reports are the best and only source of information on in-situ icing conditions encountered by an aircraft. The goal of this analysis was to ascertain how the testbed NIRSS icing severity product and the operational CIP severity product compare to pilot reports of icing severity, and how NIRSS and CIP compare to each other. This study revealed that the icing severity product from the ground-based NASA testbed system compared very favorably with the operational model-based product and pilot reported in-situ icing.

Johnston, Christopher J.↗

STS-108 Crew Training Clip

This video shows the crew of STS-108, Commander Dominic Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly, and Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Daniel Tani, during various parts of their training, including T-38 operations at Ellington, bail-out training (with the Expedition 4 crew: Commander Yuri Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Daniel Bursch) in CCT2, extravehicular activity (EVA) preparations, Space Station Mockup and Test/Training Facility (SSMTF) transfer and hands-on familiarization (also with E4), Remote Manipulator System training, EVA training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, and in a payload training class.

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Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) System for Ownership and Traffic Situational Awareness

The present invention proposes an automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) architecture and process, in which priority aircraft and ADS-B IN traffic information are included in the transmission of data through the telemetry communications to a remote ground control station. The present invention further proposes methods for displaying general aviation traffic information in three and/or four dimension trajectories using an industry standard Earth browser for increased situation awareness and enhanced visual acquisition of traffic for conflict detection. The present invention enable the applications of enhanced visual acquisition of traffic, traffic alerts, and en-route and terminal surveillance used to augment pilot situational awareness through ADS-B IN display and information in three or four dimensions for self-separation awareness.

Arteaga, Ricardo A.↗

Increasing Cognitive Reserve with Software - Pilot (ICARUS-Pilot)

The ICARUS-Pilot study sought to quantify and assess the potential benefit of using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) cognitive training software to improve cognitive performance in an astronaut-like terrestrial population. Five volunteer research subjects were recruited from the JSC employee population to mimic characteristics of the NASA astronaut population (age, education/discipline). Subject cognitive performance was assessed before and after executing eighteen sessions of remote cognitive training using six exercises within an adaptive app-based COTS software package (BrainHQ, Posit Science) on study-provided tablets. Pre- and post-training cognitive performance was measured using internal BrainHQ assessments as well as Cognition Test Battery (CTB), an independent software test developed specifically for NASA and used currently in research studies on astronauts. BrainHQ exercises were posited to map well or partially to several CTB sub-tests. Subjects provided feedback on their study experience formally via survey at the conclusion of testing and informally throughout the study if they encountered issues.

cognitive training↗

STS-111 Crew Interviews: Paul Lockhart, Pilot

STS-111 Pilot Paul Lockhart is seen during this preflight interview, where he gives a quick overview of the mission before answering questions about his inspiration to become an astronaut and his career path. He discusses the following mission goals: the crew transfer activities (the Expedition 5 crew is replacing the Expedition 4 crew on the International Space Station (ISS)), the delivery of the payloads which includes the Mobile Remote Servicer Base System (MBS), and the planned extravehicular activities (EVAs) which include attaching the MBS to the ISS and repairing the station's robot arm. He describes in-flight procedures for launch, reentry and docking with the ISS. He ends with his thoughts on the role of international cooperation in building and maintaining ISS.

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The Use of GIS and Remotely Sensed Data in Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT): The HELIX-Atlanta Experience

As part of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (EPHTN), the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is leading a project in collaboration with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA/MSFC) called Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange (HELIX-Atlanta). HELIX-Atlanta's goal is to examine the feasibility of building an integrated electronic health and environmental data network in five counties of metropolitan Atlanta, GA. Under HELIX-Atlanta, pilot projects are being conducted to develop methods to characterize exposure; link health and environmental data; analyze the relationship between health and environmental factors; and communicate findings. There is evidence in the research literature that asthmatic persons are at increased risk of developing asthma exacerbations with exposure to environmental factors, including PM(sub 2.5). Thus, HELIX-Atlanta is focusing on methods for characterizing population exposure to PM(sub 2.5) for the Atlanta metropolitan area that could be used in ongoing surveillance. NASA/MSFC is working with CDC to combine NASA earth science satellite observations related to air quality and environmental monitoring data to model surface estimates of fine particulate matter (PM(sub 2.5)) concentrations in a Geographic Information System (GIS) that can be linked with clinic visits for asthma on the aggregated grid level as well as the individual level at the geographic locations of the patients' residences.

Al-Hamdan, Mohammad Z.↗

V/STOL propulsion control technology

Results of a NASA sponsored study of V/STOL Propulsion Control Analysis are presented. The study involved propulsion control requirements, design concepts and procedures, and control designs for supersonic V/STOL. A variable cycle engine with a remote augmented lift system was used as a basis for establishing typical operating requirements and control concepts, and a nonlinear engine model was developed for control development as a precursor to a real-time simulation capability. A simplified aircraft model was also used to investigate transition requirements, and a long-range technology plan was developed to define subsequent program requirements for achieving a real-time piloted simulation capability.

Brown, H.↗

STS-114 Flight Day 4 Highlights

Video coverage of Day 4 continues the Return to Flight mission of STS-114. The crew of Space Shuttle Discovery (Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot James Kelly, Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Stephen Robinson, Andrew Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, and Charles Camarda) and the Expedition 11 crew (Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA ISS Science Officer and Flight Engineer John Phillips) of the International Space Station (ISS) cooperated on several activities. These were the installation of the Raffaello Multipurpose Logistics Module onto the Common Bearthing Mechanism of the Unity module of the ISS by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, an interview of Collins and Thomas, primarily focusing on foam shedding and shuttle safety, and use of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System by the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System to follow up on ground-based inspection of the thermal protection beneath Discovery.

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STS-85 Day 07 Highlights

On this seventh day of the STS-85 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Curtis L. Brown, Jr., Pilot Kent V. Rominger, Payload Cmdr. N. Jan Davis (Ph.D.), Mission Specialists Robert L. Curbeam, Jr. and Stephen K. Robinson (Ph.D.), and Payload Specialist Bjarni V. Tryggvason continue to test the Manipulator Flight Demonstration experiment, or Small Fine Arm, supplied by the National Space Development Agency of Japan, which was powered up for a final day of operations. The tests today, however, center on the ability of the arm to be remotely operated from the ground instead of onboard by the crew. The ground-commanded maneuvers of the arm demonstrated the usefulness of conducting work in space even while the crew is asleep or busy with other tasks.

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The Pennsylvania defoliation application pilot test

Satellite imagery for the State of Pennsylvania was digitally mosaicked to provide the seed data base for monitoring defoliation of hardwood trees by the gypsy moth. Two separate mosaics for the state were prepared, one before defoliation and one after defoliation, to determine the extent, direction, and impact of gypsy moth activity in the state. The digital mosaic technology used to construct the data base was transferred to Pennsylvania State University to permit periodic updates to the data base and to assist in planning and abatement activities. Participating agencies or institutions included Goddard Space Flight Center and the Pennsylvania State University Office for Remote Sensing of Earth Resources.

Mcleod, R. G.↗

Integration of an Autopilot for a Micro Air Vehicle

Two autopilots providing autonomous flight capabilities are presented herein. The first is the Pico-Pilot, demonstrated for the 12-inch size class of micro air vehicles. The second is the MicroPilot MP2028(sup g), where its integration into a 36-inch Zagi airframe (tailless, elevons only configuration) is investigated and is the main focus of the report. Analytical methods, which include the use of the Advanced Aircraft Analysis software from DARCorp, were used to determine the stability and control derivatives, which were then validated through wind tunnel experiments. From the aerodynamic data, the linear, perturbed equations of motion from steady-state flight conditions may be cast in terms of these derivatives. Using these linear equations, transfer functions for the control and navigation systems were developed and feedback control laws based on Proportional, Integral, and Derivative (PID) control design were developed to control the aircraft. The PID gains may then be programmed into the autopilot software and uploaded to the microprocessor of the autopilot. The Pico-Pilot system was flight tested and shown to be successful in navigating a 12-inch MAV through a course defined by a number of waypoints with a high degree of accuracy, and in 20 mph winds. The system, though, showed problems with control authority in the roll and pitch motion of the aircraft: causing oscillations in these directions, but the aircraft maintained its heading while following the prescribed course. Flight tests were performed in remote control mode to evaluate handling, adjust trim, and test data logging for the Zagi with integrated MP2028(sup g). Ground testing was performed to test GPS acquisition, data logging, and control response in autonomous mode. Technical difficulties and integration limitations with the autopilot prevented fully autonomous flight from taking place, but the integration methodologies developed for this autopilot are, in general, applicable for unmanned air vehicles within the 36-inch size class or larger that use a PID control based autopilot.

Platanitis, George↗

Southern ocean sea-ice morphology and kinematics

A pilot satellite experiment is described which would employ shuttle imaging radar (SIR) to determine the applicability of imaging radar for the description of sea ice type and movement. The experimental objectives, design, and anticipated results are discussed. The results are expected to constitute an important contribution to the understanding of the role of sea ice in air-sea interactions in polar regions. It is proposed that shuttle photography, thematic mapper imagery, and SIR data be utilized in this remote sensing project.

Carsey, F.↗