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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 631 records · Page 35

Sonic boom measurement test plan for Space Shuttle STS-3 reentry

The lateral area from the reentry ground track affected by sonic boom overpressure levels is determined. Four data acquisition stations are deployed laterally to the STS-3 reentry flight track. These stations provide six intermediate band FM channels of sonic boom data, universal time synchronization, and voice annotation. All measurements are correlated with the vehicle reentry flight track information along with atmospheric and vehicle operation conditions.

Henderson, H. R.↗

Press Kit: Project RCA (Satcom 1R)

To replace the RCA SATCOM 1 satellite which provided Earth communications for seven years, NASA is to launch RCA SATCOM 1R using a Delta 3924 launch vehicle. The satellite is to be placed at 139 degrees W longitude, 35,900 kilometers (23,000) miles above the equator. On the seventh apogee, the kick motor will be fired to produce a near synchronous orbit. Satellite life, with continuous full power, is designed to be 10 years. Features of the satellite and launch operations are described.

Source record↗

Wind turbine generator interaction with diesel generators on an isolated power system

The results of a dynamic interaction investigation to characterize any disturbances caused by interfacing the Mod 0A wind turbine (150 kW configuration) with the Block Island utility diesel generator grid are reported. The tests were run when only two diesel generators were on line, and attention was given to power, frequency, and voltage time profiles. The interconnected system was examined in the start-up and synchronization phase, normal shutdown and cut-out of the wind turbine, during fixed pitch generation, and during variable pitch operation. Governors were installed on the diesel generators to accommodate the presence of wind-derived electricity. The blade pitch control was set to maintain power at 150 kW or below. Power and voltage transients were insignificant during start-up and shutdown, and frequency aberrations were within the range caused by load fluctuations. It is concluded that wind turbine generation can be successfully implemented by an isolated utility, even with a significant penetration to the total grid output.

Scott, G. W.↗

International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) spacecraft battery performance update

January 26, 1987 marks the ninth inflight aniversary of the IUE spacecraft, launched into an eccentric synchronous orbit. The orbital path has subjected the spacecraft to 18 solar eclipse seasons since launch. Nine years of inflight operations culminate a major milestone for battery support to a spacecraft, which is well in excess of the initial 3 year design life. A brief outline of events, power system characteristics, and papers presented a previous battery workshops are provided. The IUE battery cell performance is excellent with the exception of the third electrode anomaly and temperature delta between batteries. Data indicates that battery depth-of-discharge (DOD) may be more critical to extend battery life than small operational temperature deltas between batteries. It is predicted that several additional years of battery life may be obtained by a reduction in operational battery DOD.

Tiller, Smith E.↗

Obtaining coincident image observations for Mission to Planet Earth science data return

One objective of the Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) program involves comparing data from various instruments on multiple spacecraft to obtain a total picture of the Earth's systems. To correlate image data from instruments on different spacecraft, these spacecraft must be able to image the same location on the Earth at approximately the same time. Depending on the orbits of the spacecraft involved, complicated operational details must be considered to obtain such observations. If the spacecraft are in similar orbits, close formation flying or synchronization techniques may be used to assure coincident observations. If the orbits are dissimilar, the launch time of the second satellite may need to be restricted in order to align its orbit with that of the first satellite launched. This paper examines strategies for obtaining coincident observations for spacecraft in both similar and dissimilar orbits. Although these calculations may be performed easily for coplanar spacecraft, the non-coplanar case involves additional considerations which are incorporated into the algorithms presented herein.

Newman, Lauri Kraft↗

Dynamic Stability Instrumentation System (DSIS): User Manual - Volume 3

The paper is an operating manual for the Dynamic Stability Instrumentation System in specific NASA Langley wind tunnels. The instrumentation system performs either a synchronous demodulation or a Fast Fourier Transform on dynamic balance strain gage signals, and ultimately computes aerodynamic coefficients. The dynamic balance converts sting motor rotation into pitch or yaw plane or roll axis oscillation, with timing information provided by a shaft encoder. Additional instruments control model attitude and balance temperature and monitor sting vibrations. Other instruments perform self-calibration and diagnostics. Procedures for conducting calibrations and wind-off and wind-on tests are listed.

Daniels, Taumi S.↗

Vibration Signature Analysis of a Faulted Gear Transmission System

A comprehensive procedure in predicting faults in gear transmission systems under normal operating conditions is presented. Experimental data were obtained from a spiral bevel gear fatigue test rig at NASA/Lewis. Time-synchronous-averaged vibration data were recorded throughout the test as the fault progressed from a small single pit to severe pitting over several teeth, and finally tooth fracture. A numerical procedure based on the Wigner-Ville distribution was used to examine the time-averaged vibration data. Results from the Wigner-Ville procedure are compared to results from a variety of signal analysis techniques that include time-domain analysis methods and frequency analysis methods. Using photographs of the gear tooth at various stages of damage, the limitations and accuracy of the various techniques are compared and discussed. Conclusions are drawn from the comparison of the different approaches as well as the applicability of the Wigner-Ville method in predicting gear faults.

Choy, F. K.↗

Unity power factor converter

A unity power factor converter capable of effecting either inversion (dc-to-dc) or rectification (ac-to-dc), and capable of providing bilateral power control from a DC source (or load) through an AC transmission line to a DC load (or source) for power flow in either direction, is comprised of comparators for comparing the AC current i with an AC signal i.sub.ref (or its phase inversion) derived from the AC ports to generate control signals to operate a switch control circuit for high speed switching to shape the AC current waveform to a sine waveform, and synchronize it in phase and frequency with the AC voltage at the AC ports, by selectively switching the connections to a series inductor as required to increase or decrease the current i.

Wester, Gene W.↗

3D Position and Velocity Vector Computations of Objects Jettisoned from the International Space Station Using Close-Range Photogrammetry Approach

Measurement of the jettisoned object departure trajectory and velocity vector in the International Space Station (ISS) reference frame is vitally important for prompt evaluation of the object s imminent orbit. We report on the first successful application of photogrammetric analysis of the ISS imagery for the prompt computation of the jettisoned object s position and velocity vectors. As post-EVA analyses examples, we present the Floating Potential Probe (FPP) and the Russian "Orlan" Space Suit jettisons, as well as the near-real-time (provided in several hours after the separation) computations of the Video Stanchion Support Assembly Flight Support Assembly (VSSA-FSA) and Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS) jettisons during the US astronauts space-walk. Standard close-range photogrammetry analysis was used during this EVA to analyze two on-board camera image sequences down-linked from the ISS. In this approach the ISS camera orientations were computed from known coordinates of several reference points on the ISS hardware. Then the position of the jettisoned object for each time-frame was computed from its image in each frame of the video-clips. In another, "quick-look" approach used in near-real time, orientation of the cameras was computed from their position (from the ISS CAD model) and operational data (pan and tilt) then location of the jettisoned object was calculated only for several frames of the two synchronized movies. Keywords: Photogrammetry, International Space Station, jettisons, image analysis.

Papanyan, Valeri↗

System-Level Radiation Hardening

Although system-level radiation hardening can enable the use of high-performance components and enhance the capabilities of a spacecraft, hardening techniques can be costly and can compromise the very performance designers sought from the high-performance components. Moreover, such techniques often result in a complicated design, especially if several complex commercial microcircuits are used, each posing its own hardening challenges. The latter risk is particularly acute for Commercial-Off-The-Shelf components since high-performance parts (e.g. double-data-rate synchronous dynamic random access memories - DDR SDRAMs) may require other high-performance commercial parts (e.g. processors) to support their operation. For these reasons, it is essential that system-level radiation hardening be a coordinated effort, from setting requirements through testing up to and including validation.

Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA)↗

Joint Polar Satellite System

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) is a joint NOAA/NASA mission comprised of a series of polar orbiting weather and climate monitoring satellites which will fly in a sun-synchronous orbit, with a 1330 equatorial crossing time. JPSS resulted from the decision to reconstitute the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) into two separate programs, one to be run by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the other by NOAA. This decision was reached in early 2010, after numerous development issues caused a series of unacceptable delays in launching the NPOESS system.

Trenkle, Timothy↗

Synchronous Phase-Resolving Flash Range Imaging

An apparatus, now undergoing development, for range imaging based on measurement of the round-trip phase delay of a pulsed laser beam is described. The apparatus would operate in a staring mode. A pulsed laser would illuminate a target. Laser light reflected from the target would be imaged on a verylarge- scale integrated (VLSI)-circuit image detector, each pixel of which would contain a photodetector and a phase-measuring circuit. The round-trip travel time for the reflected laser light incident on each pixel, and thus the distance to the portion of the target imaged in that pixel, would be measured in terms of the phase difference between (1) the photodetector output pulse and (2) a local-oscillator signal that would have a frequency between 10 and 20 MHz and that would be synchronized with the laser-pulse-triggering signal.

Pain, Bedabrata↗

The VLBA correlator: Real-time in the distributed era

The correlator is the signal processing engine of the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). Radio signals are recorded on special wideband (128 Mb/s) digital recorders at the 10 telescopes, with sampling times controlled by hydrogen maser clocks. The magnetic tapes are shipped to the Array Operations Center in Socorro, New Mexico, where they are played back simultaneously into the correlator. Real-time software and firmware controls the playback drives to achieve synchronization, compute models of the wavefront delay, control the numerous modules of the correlator, and record FITS files of the fringe visibilities at the back-end of the correlator. In addition to the more than 3000 custom VLSI chips which handle the massive data flow of the signal processing, the correlator contains a total of more than 100 programmable computers, 8-, 16- and 32-bit CPUs. Code is downloaded into front-end CPU's dependent on operating mode. Low-level code is assembly language, high-level code is C running under a RT OS. We use VxWorks on Motorola MVME147 CPU's. Code development is on a complex of SPARC workstations connected to the RT CPU's by Ethernet. The overall management of the correlation process is dependent on a database management system. We use Ingres running on a Sparcstation-2. We transfer logging information from the database of the VLBA Monitor and Control System to our database using Ingres/NET. Job scripts are computed and are transferred to the real-time computers using NFS, and correlation job execution logs and status flow back by the route. Operator status and control displays use windows on workstations, interfaced to the real-time processes by network protocols. The extensive network protocol support provided by VxWorks is invaluable. The VLBA Correlator's dependence on network protocols is an example of the radical transformation of the real-time world over the past five years. Real-time is becoming more like conventional computing. Paradoxically, 'conventional' computing is also adopting practices from the real-time world: semaphores, shared memory, light-weight threads, and concurrency. This appears to be a convergence of thinking.

Wells, D. C.↗

Rotor instability due to loose rotating part

Loosening of a rotating part from its fixed position on the shaft or a part of the stator which comes loose and begins to turn with the rotor very frequently represents machinery malfunction. The loose part becomes involved in rotative motion mostly due to dry or fluid friction, and thus its motion is very erratic. The loose part can also move axially along the shaft. Detachment of the rotating part causes changes in the rotor balance state. Most often this results in higher unbalance. During steady-state operation the effect of a loose rotating part can manifest itself through heat vibration. It can be diagnosed by observing periodic changes of amplitude and phase of the synchronous response. During start-up (or shutdown) a loose rotating part carrying some amount of unbalance may manifest its dynamic action in the form of subsynchronous vibrations, very similar to those of other instabilities. The objective of this demonstration is to observe the effect of a loose rotating part (fixed, however, in the axial direction) under both steady-state (rotor constant speed) and transient (rotor start-up or shutdown) operation. The dynamic response depends very much on the amount of damping in the system: lubrication of the loose part/shaft surfaces and addition/elimination of aerodynamic drag blades, mounted on the loose disk, significantly change the rotor response.

Muszynska, A.↗

Motion Parameters Determination of the SC and Phobos in the Project Phobos-Grunt

The SC "Phobos-Grunt" flight is planned to 2009 in Russia with the purpose to deliver to the Earth the soil samples of the Mars satellite Phobos. The mission will pass under the following scheme [1-4]: the SC flight from the Earth to the Mars, the SC transit on the Mars satellite orbit, the motion round the Mars on the observation orbit and on the quasi-synchronous one [5], landing on Phobos, taking of a ground and start in the direction to the Earth. The implementation of complicated dynamical operations in the Phobos vicinity is foreseen by the project. The SC will be in a disturbance sphere of gravitational fields from the Sun, the Mars and the Phobos. The SC orbit determination is carried out on a totality of trajectory measurements executed from ground tracking stations and measurements of autonomous systems onboard space vehicle relatively the Phobos. As ground measurements the radio engineering measurements of range and range rate are used. There are possible as onboard optical observations of the Phobos by a television system and ranges from the SC up to the Phobos surface by laser locator. As soon as the Phobos orbit accuracy is insufficient for a solution of a problem of landing its orbit determination will be carried out together with determination of the SC orbit. Therefore the algorithms for joint improving of initial conditions of the SC and the Phobos are necessary to determine parameters of the SC relative the Phobos motion within a single dynamical motion model. After putting on the martial satellite orbit, on the Phobos observation orbit, on the quasi-synchronous orbit in the Phobos vicinity the equipment guidance and the following process of the SC orbit determination relatively Phobos requires a priori knowledge of the Phobos orbit parameters with sufficiently high precision. These parameters should be obtained beforehand using both all modern observations and historical ones.

Akim, E. L.↗

The Power and Energy Storage Systems Toolbox -- PSTess v.1.0

The Power and Energy Storage Systems Toolbox (PSTess) is a MATLAB-based computing package for dynamic simulation and analysis of utility-scale battery storage systems. This codebase is a fork of the Power Systems Toolbox Version 3.0, developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Cherry Tree Scientific Software. While PSTess shares a common lineage with PST, it is a substantially different application. As the name implies, the main distinguishing characteristic of PSTess is its ability to model inverter-based energy storage systems (ESS). The model that enables this is called ess.m, and it serves the dual role of representing ESS operational constraints and the generator/converter interface. With PSTess, the generator/converter interface is modeled as a controllable current source with the ability to modulate both active and reactive current. The model ess.m permits four-quadrant modulation, which allows it to represent a wide variety of inverter-based resources beyond energy storage when paired with an appropriate supplemental control model. Examples include utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) power plants, type 4 wind plants, and static synchronous compensators (STATCOM). This capability is especially useful for modeling hybrid plants that combine energy storage with renewable resources. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. SAND2021-8322 O

Elliott, RyanT.↗

City and Borough of Sitka, Alaska: Modeling and Controls Assistance and Renewable Energy Resource Assessment [Slides]

This project develops the dynamic modeling of hydro plants and wind generation in Sitka, Alaska. A dynamic penetration of renewables was evaluated under various conditions. The impact of altering hydro generation control to synchronous condenser control was evaluated. While the existing hydro generations are sufficient to address voltage instability, a detailed study of the active-reactive capability limits of hydro generation operation should be conducted to uptake at various wind penetration levels.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

NASA Operational Simulator for Small Satellites: Tools for Software Based Validation and Verification of Small Satellites

The NASA Operational Simulator for Small Satellites (NOS3) is a suite of tools to aid in areas such as software development, integration test (IT), mission operations training, verification and validation (VV), and software systems check-out. NOS3 provides a software development environment, a multi-target build system, an operator interface-ground station, dynamics and environment simulations, and software-based hardware models. NOS3 enables the development of flight software (FSW) early in the project life cycle, when access to hardware is typically not available. For small satellites there are extensive lead times on many of the commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components as well as limited funding for engineering test units (ETU). Considering the difficulty of providing a hardware test-bed to each developer tester, hardware models are modeled based upon characteristic data or manufacturers data sheets for each individual component. The fidelity of each hardware models is such that FSW executes unaware that physical hardware is not present. This allows binaries to be compiled for both the simulation environment, and the flight computer, without changing the FSW source code. For hardware models that provide data dependent on the environment, such as a GPS receiver or magnetometer, an open-source tool from NASA GSFC (42 Spacecraft Simulation) is used to provide the necessary data. The underlying infrastructure used to transfer messages between FSW and the hardware models can also be used to monitor, intercept, and inject messages, which has proven to be beneficial for VV of larger missions such as James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). As hardware is procured, drivers can be added to the environment to enable hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) testing. When strict time synchronization is not vital, any number of combinations of hardware components and software-based models can be tested. The open-source operator interface used in NOS3 is COSMOS from Ball Aerospace. For testing, plug-ins are implemented in COSMOS to control the NOS3 simulations, while the command and telemetry tools available in COSMOS are used to communicate with FSW. NOS3 is actively being used for FSW development and component testing of the Simulation-to-Flight 1 (STF-1) CubeSat. As NOS3 matures, hardware models have been added for common CubeSat components such as Novatel GPS receivers, ClydeSpace electrical power systems and batteries, ISISpace antenna systems, etc. In the future, NASA IVV plans to distribute NOS3 to other CubeSat developers and release the suite to the open-source community.

Verification↗