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At least 685 records · Page 38

Initial Operations Experience and Results from the Juno Gravity Experiment

Radio communications between the Juno spacecraft, in orbit around Jupiter, and the Earth-based observing stations of NASA’s Deep Space Network enable measurements of the Doppler shift induced on the radio signals by Juno’s motion in the Jovian environment. This measurement of the Doppler shift improves the knowledge of Jupiter’s gravitational field. As a radio science instrument, Juno’s gravity science instrument utilizes a ground component at the Deep Space Network’s DSS-25 antenna, equipped with simultaneous dual X- and Ka-band transmitters and receivers, and a spacecraft component, which includes X- and Ka-band transponders to relay the transmitted signal back to Earth. Originally planned to be in 14-day orbits around Jupiter, a risk identified in the propulsion system led to the decision to stay in the 53-day orbit period. Rapid turnaround of observation planning led to successful near-term perijove passes. Although maintaining a 53-day orbit period provides a scientific benefit to the gravity science investigation, the longer orbit period further increases the large dynamic range in Doppler shift and pointing angles induced by the geometry of each perijove. Between entering orbit at Jupiter on July 5, 2016 and September 2017, the Juno spacecraft has executed eight closest approach periods every 53 days where science data was collected. The first five perijove passes were conducted in different telecom configurations, each presenting unique challenges in data collection and processing. Perijoves PJ-01, PJ-02, PJ-03, and PJ-06 utilized the high-gain antenna and various configurations of the X- and Ka-bands. Perijoves PJ-04 and PJ-05 utilized the medium-gain antenna at X-band only while the spacecraft was off-Earth point. Additional perijoves are planned every 53-days, with an additional five by March 2018. Lessons learned from operating and collecting data at each perijove are documented and will be utilized in future perijoves. Analysis of the first two gravity science perijoves has improved the precision of Jupiter’s gravity field by a factor of five, providing crucial constraints on the interior structure of Jupiter.

Buccino, Dustin↗

Advancing Urban Water Resilience: Coproducing Knowledge through Civic–Academic Global Partnerships on Water and Climate

As extreme weather events become more pronounced, the vulnerabilities associated with the urban water supply and wastewater systems in megacities are intensified in multiple interconnected dimensions. These multifaceted water challenges can benefit from enhanced cross-sectoral collaboration and sharing of critical knowledge, which are essential for sustainable and adaptive water governance frameworks. In this context, the Megacity Alliance for Water and Climate (MAWAC)–Europe and North America Region (ENAR) Working Group convened a workshop in March 2023, followed by a subsequent workshop in London, United Kingdom, from 11 to 13 September 2024. These workshops aimed to investigate and devise solutions for the cascading hazards with water systems. The solutions examined various aspects focused on climate adaptation and mitigation, stormwater management, and the governance of water and wastewater systems. Additionally, discussions highlighted the importance of community engagement, economic considerations, equity, and effective communication in addressing these pressing challenges. Over the course of 3 days, experts from academia, government agencies, and industry engaged in meaningful discussions on digital modeling for integrated water management, climate-informed urban planning, and public–private–academic partnerships (Fig. 1). Case studies from cities such as New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Chicago highlighted innovative governance strategies for managing water and wastewater systems, promoting water reuse, planning infrastructure, and fostering stakeholder-driven and stakeholder-informed adaptation. The workshop participants emphasized the need for data-driven decision-making, scalable governance models, and knowledge-sharing networks to enhance urban water governance for sustainability and resilience. This workshop report presents the key takeaways from the 3-day convening, providing a roadmap for integrating scientific research, policy frameworks, and emerging technologies to address water challenges faced by megacities.

Hydrologic models↗

The Evolution of Technology in the Deep Space Network: A History of the Advanced Systems Program

The Deep Space Network (DSN) of 1995 might be described as the evolutionary result of 45 years of deep space communication and navigation, together with the synergistic activities of radio science and radar and radio astronomy. But the evolution of the DSN did not just happen - it was carefully planned and created. The evolution of the DSN has been an ongoing engineering activity, and engineering is a process of problem solving under constraints, one of which is technology. In turn, technology is the knowledge base providing the capability and experience for practical application of various areas of science, when needed. The best engineering solutions result from optimization under the fewest constraints, and if technology needs are well anticipated (ready when needed), then the most effective engineering solution is possible. Throughout the history of the DSN it has been the goal and function of DSN advanced technology development (designated the DSN Advanced Systems Program from 1963 through 1994) to supply the technology needs of the DSN when needed, and thus to minimize this constraint on DSN engineering. Technology often takes considerable time to develop, and when that happens, it is important to have anticipated engineering needs; at times, this anticipation has been by as much as 15 years. Also, on a number of occasions, mission malfunctions or emergencies have resulted in unplanned needs for technology that has, in fact, been available from the reservoir of advanced technology provided by the DSN Advanced Systems Program. Sometimes, even DSN engineering personnel fail to realize that the organization of JPL permits an overlap of DSN advanced technology activities with subsequent engineering activities. This can result in the flow of advanced technology into DSN engineering in a natural and sometimes almost unnoticed way. In the following pages, we will explore some of the many contributions of the DSN Advanced Systems Program that were provided to DSN Engineering and Implementation. These contributions are, for the most part, unique capabilities that have met the requirements of flight projects for 45 years. These unique capabilities include not only the world's best deep-space communications system, but also outstanding competency in the fields of radio metric measurement, radar and radio astronomy, and radio science.

Layland, J. W.↗

Overview of the Systems Engineering Process as It Applies to The National Spherical Torus Experiment - Upgrade (NSTX-U)

This paper addresses the systems engineering (SE) processes used for the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U). It focuses on SE across the life cycle of the system, including requirements management, interface control, risk management, integration, and verification/validation. This is particularly significant as NSTX-U includes new systems and an existing plant and reused systems from past projects such as the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). The implementation of SE provides the ability to control complexity, improve communications, identify risks early, and prevent defects. Systems engineering principles are applied to enhance the integration while maintaining relevance in plasma research. Furthermore, these principles define a deliberate process to identify and resolve issues early in the development cycle, thus reducing risks and optimizing outputs. They also establish relationships to gather knowledge from experts and stakeholders, supporting the continued ability of NSTX-U in building and maintaining an operational system able to adapt to changing environments and emerging requirements.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Dynamic and Responsive Distributed Energy Resource Education Solutions for Building, Fire, and Safety Department Officials (Final Technical Report)

From April 2021 through March 2024, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) led a collaborative project to develop a free online clearinghouse of educational resources about solar photovoltaics (PV), energy storage systems (ESS), electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), and grid-interactive efficient building (GEB) technologies. Two websites—the Clean Energy Clearinghouse and CleanEnergyTraining.org—housed over 70 educational resources. Over the course of the three-year project, 154,272 unique visitors accessed the learning materials. Learner feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Even through the end of the project, there was sustained demand for education and communication. A primary innovation of the project was to drive multiple complementary audiences to the same place. Building owners, designers, installation contractors and developers, authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs), and fire service personnel all benefit from a shared understanding of clean energy technologies, including safety and code-related requirements. When considering the impact on the target audience, the project team worked with partners and advisors to inform resource creation and delivery in such a way as to address key motivational factors of the target audience and compel each user to seek additional information on the topic and return to the Clean Energy Clearinghouse website as their central location for more information. Resources were intentionally developed to be concise—five to 15 minutes—and accessible, meaning not overly technical. Providing basic information demystified the technologies and invited the professional to explore additional learning opportunities. Awardee and partner collaboration was key to project success. IREC facilitated collaboration among the other Topic 2 awardees, Southface and New Buildings Institute (NBI). The three awardees shared relevant information gained through discovery and validation questionnaires that informed product development and reduced duplication of effort by coordinating the development of complementary, and not competing, educational resources. Inspired by this collaboration, IREC brought on additional partners even in the final year of the project. Five regional energy efficiency organizations were part of the project, which expanded the connection between efficiency and distributed energy resources. We also included resources on the Clearinghouse that were developed through other federally funded projects, such as the Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) program. The website was developed with the learner in mind, and not solely the funding source. Feedback from stakeholders throughout the project, and especially in its final year, indicated the need for continued education and facilitated communication among stakeholders to further the safe and widespread adoption of clean energy.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Carrier Estimation Using Classic Spectral Estimation Techniques for the Proposed Demand Assignment Multiple Access Service

In any satellite communication, the Doppler shift associated with the satellite's position and velocity must be calculated in order to determine the carrier frequency. If the satellite state vector is unknown then some estimate must be formed of the Doppler-shifted carrier frequency. One elementary technique is to examine the signal spectrum and base the estimate on the dominant spectral component. If, however, the carrier is spread (as in most satellite communications) this technique may fail unless the chip rate-to-data rate ratio (processing gain) associated with the carrier is small. In this case, there may be enough spectral energy to allow peak detection against a noise background. In this thesis, we present a method to estimate the frequency (without knowledge of the Doppler shift) of a spread-spectrum carrier assuming a small processing gain and binary-phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation. Our method relies on an averaged discrete Fourier transform along with peak detection on spectral match filtered data. We provide theory and simulation results indicating the accuracy of this method. In addition, we will describe an all-digital hardware design based around a Motorola DSP56303 and high-speed A/D which implements this technique in real-time. The hardware design is to be used in NMSU's implementation of NASA's demand assignment, multiple access (DAMA) service.

Scaife, Bradley James↗

The Integrated Medical Model: Outcomes from Independent Review

In 2016, the Integrated Medical Model (IMM) v4.0 underwent an extensive external review in preparation for transition to an operational status. In order to insure impartiality of the review process, the Exploration Medical Capabilities Element of NASA's Human Research Program convened the review through the Systems Review Office at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The review board convened by GSFC consisted of persons from both NASA and academia with expertise in the fields of statistics, epidemiology, modeling, software development, aerospace medicine, and project management (see Figure 1). The board reviewed software and code standards, as well as evidence pedigree associated with both the input and outcomes information. The board also assesses the models verification, validation, sensitivity to parameters and ability to answer operational questions. This talk will discuss the processes for designing the review, how the review progressed and the findings from the board, as well as summarize the IMM project responses to those findings. Overall, the board found that the IMM is scientifically sound, represents a necessary, comprehensive approach to identifying medical and environmental risks facing astronauts in long duration missions and is an excellent tool for communication between engineers and physicians. The board also found IMM and its customer(s) should convene an additional review of the IMM data sources and to develop a sustainable approach to augment, peer review, and maintain the information utilized in the IMM. The board found this is critically important because medical knowledge continues to evolve. Delivery of IMM v4.0 to the Crew Health and Safety (CHS) Program will occur in the 2017. Once delivered for operational decision support, IMM v4.0 will provide CHS with additional quantitative capability in to assess astronaut medical risks and required medical capabilities to help drive down overall mission risks.

medical equipment↗

Stakeholder Involvement in the Revegetation of the 92-Acre Area - 17152

The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) works closely with stakeholders that have an interest in the revegetation of a closed landfill on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Located at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex on the NNSS, the 92-Acre Area was operational from 1961 to 2010. In 2009, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) and NNSA/NFO agreed on a closure path consisting of a vegetative cover. Closure activities were initially completed in 2012. Although revegetation was initially promising, subsequent monitoring revealed that a viable plant community had not been established. Subsequently, sections of the site were chosen as test plot locations to determine the best path forward. Despite various seeding methods, mulching techniques, and irrigation frequencies, the test plots failed to produce viable plant communities in 2013 and 2014. NNSA/NFO had been in communication with one stakeholder, NDEP, during the revegetation process. NDEP agreed that after three failed revegetation attempts, a change in strategy was necessary. The Consolidated Group of Tribes and Organizations (CGTO), a coalition of tribal members representing seventeen culturally affiliated tribes and one organization, agreed to provide guidance using traditional ecological knowledge for re-vegetating the 92-Acre Area. A Tribal Revegetation Committee (TRC) was formed and tasked with developing guidance from a unique tribal perspective. After visiting the 92-Acre Area and receiving background information, the TRC held several meetings and deliberated on how to address the revegetation challenges. The TRC submitted recommendations to NNSA/NFO identifying approaches that incorporate tribal perspectives in re-vegetating the site. The Nevada Site-Specific Advisory Board (NSSAB), which is made up of community members who represent Nevada stakeholders, was also asked for input regarding the 92-Acre Area. After a public meeting in May 2016, the NSSAB submitted recommendations, which included a suggestion to consider input from the CGTO. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Characterization of Quantum Frequency Processors

Frequency-bin qubits possess unique synergies with wavelength-multiplexed lightwave communications, suggesting valuable opportunities for quantum networking with the existing fiber-optic infrastructure. Although the coherent manipulation of frequency-bin states requires highly controllable multi-spectral-mode interference, the quantum frequency processor (QFP) provides a scalable path for gate synthesis leveraging standard telecom components. Here, we summarize the state of the art in experimental QFP characterization. Distinguishing between physically motivated “open box” approaches that treat the QFP as a multiport interferometer, and “black box” approaches that view the QFP as a general quantum operation, we highlight the assumptions and results of multiple techniques, including quantum process tomography of a tunable beamsplitter—to our knowledge the first full process tomography of any frequency-bin operation. Our findings should inform future characterization efforts as the QFP increasingly moves beyond proof-of-principle tabletop demonstrations toward integrated devices and deployed quantum networking experiments.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Roadmap to Advance Heliostat Technologies for High Temperature Solar-Thermal Systems

Since its establishment, the Heliostat Consortium (HelioCon) has made substantial progress toward closing many of the gaps in concentrating solar power (CSP) research. Numerous techno-economic studies have been performed, investigating topics ranging from the trade-off between size and temperature for industrial process heat applications to optimization of the heliostat design itself for various applications. Significant improvements have been made in optical metrology techniques, with first steps toward in situ measurement of heliostat fields. Several standards have been, and continue to be, developed with the coordination of an international group of CSP industry participants. Training programs have been developed, with universities including CSP in their engineering curricula, and many public webinars have been held to provide broad access to the latest CSP research. Improved CSP components such as mirror facets and wireless communication systems have been developed, and the solar tower at Sandia National Laboratories has been upgraded with a testbed for closed-loop controls research and development. Field deployment challenges involving heliostat foundations and sensitive wildlife habitats have been explored, with progress made toward methods for streamlining project development and permitting. Additional knowledge has been added to the body of work on wind behavior of heliostats and arrays of heliostats, with progress made toward a holistic understanding of wind design methods. Finally, techniques have been developed and demonstrated for assessing soiling conditions at a proposed project site, with predictive models for the soiling rate showing good results. Taking these results together, HelioCon has contributed greatly to the global CSP research and development effort over the past several years.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Remote Sensing from Geostationary Orbit: GEO TROPSAT, A New Concept for Atmospheric Remote Sensing

The Geostationary Tropospheric Pollution Satellite (GEO TROPSAT) mission is a new approach to measuring the critical constituents of tropospheric ozone chemistry: ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and aerosols. The GEO TROPSAT mission comprises a constellation of three instruments flying as secondary payloads on geostationary communications satellites around the world. This proposed approach can significantly reduce the cost of getting a science payload to geostationary orbit and also generates revenue for the satellite owners. The geostationary vantage point enables simultaneous high temporal and spatial resolution measurement of tropospheric trace gases, leading to greatly improved atmospheric ozone chemistry knowledge. The science data processing, conducted as a research (not operational) activity, will provide atmospheric trace gas data many times per day over the same region at better than 25 km ground footprint. The high temporal resolution identifies short time scale processes, diurnal variations, seasonal trends, and interannual variation.

Little, Alan D.↗

UAS in the NAS: Survey Responses by ATC, Manned Aircraft Pilots, and UAS Pilots

NASA currently is working with industry and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish future requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) flying in the National Airspace System (NAS). To work these issues NASA has established a multi-center UAS Integration in the NAS project. In order to establish Ground Control Station requirements for UAS, the perspective of each of the major players in NAS operations was desired. Three on-line surveys were administered that focused on Air Traffic Controllers (ATC), pilots of manned aircraft, and pilots of UAS. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with some survey respondents. The survey questions addressed UAS control, navigation, and communications from the perspective of small and large unmanned aircraft. Questions also addressed issues of UAS equipage, especially with regard to sense and avoid capabilities. From the ATC and military ATC perspective, of particular interest is how mixed-operations (manned/UAS) have worked in the past and the role of aircraft equipage. Knowledge gained from this information is expected to assist the NASA UAS in the NAS project in directing research foci thus assisting the FAA in the development of rules, regulations, and policies related to UAS in the NAS.

Comstock, James R., Jr.↗

Work Practice Simulation of Complex Human-Automation Systems in Safety Critical Situations: The Brahms Generalized berlingen Model

The transition from the current air traffic system to the next generation air traffic system will require the introduction of new automated systems, including transferring some functions from air traffic controllers to on­-board automation. This report describes a new design verification and validation (V&V) methodology for assessing aviation safety. The approach involves a detailed computer simulation of work practices that includes people interacting with flight-critical systems. The research is part of an effort to develop new modeling and verification methodologies that can assess the safety of flight-critical systems, system configurations, and operational concepts. The 2002 Ueberlingen mid-air collision was chosen for analysis and modeling because one of the main causes of the accident was one crew's response to a conflict between the instructions of the air traffic controller and the instructions of TCAS, an automated Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System on-board warning system. It thus furnishes an example of the problem of authority versus autonomy. It provides a starting point for exploring authority/autonomy conflict in the larger system of organization, tools, and practices in which the participants' moment-by-moment actions take place. We have developed a general air traffic system model (not a specific simulation of Überlingen events), called the Brahms Generalized Ueberlingen Model (Brahms-GUeM). Brahms is a multi-agent simulation system that models people, tools, facilities/vehicles, and geography to simulate the current air transportation system as a collection of distributed, interactive subsystems (e.g., airports, air-traffic control towers and personnel, aircraft, automated flight systems and air-traffic tools, instruments, crew). Brahms-GUeM can be configured in different ways, called scenarios, such that anomalous events that contributed to the Überlingen accident can be modeled as functioning according to requirements or in an anomalous condition, as occurred during the accident. Brahms-GUeM thus implicitly defines a class of scenarios, which include as an instance what occurred at Überlingen. Brahms-GUeM is a modeling framework enabling "what if" analysis of alternative work system configurations and thus facilitating design of alternative operations concepts. It enables subsequent adaption (reusing simulation components) for modeling and simulating NextGen scenarios. This project demonstrates that BRAHMS provides the capacity to model the complexity of air transportation systems, going beyond idealized and simple flights to include for example the interaction of pilots and ATCOs. The research shows clearly that verification and validation must include the entire work system, on the one hand to check that mechanisms exist to handle failures of communication and alerting subsystems and/or failures of people to notice, comprehend, or communicate problematic (unsafe) situations; but also to understand how people must use their own judgment in relating fallible systems like TCAS to other sources of information and thus to evaluate how the unreliability of automation affects system safety. The simulation shows in particular that distributed agents (people and automated systems) acting without knowledge of each others' actions can create a complex, dynamic system whose interactive behavior is unexpected and is changing too quickly to comprehend and control.

complex systems↗

Spacecraft Fire Safety Technology Development Plan For Exploration Missions

To date, NASA’s spaceflight operations in the past 5 decades have been limited to a narrow range of conditions from a fire safety perspective. The currently anticipated missions outside of low earth orbit will substantially expand this parameter space to include, extended durations, dormancy intervals, increased oxygen concentrations, partial gravity conditions and the presence of surface dust. All of these changes can have significant impacts on fire safety system design and operations. The overall state of understanding is discussed in this paper along with the identification of the needs for spacecraft fire safety technology development. These needs have been assembled into a roadmap maintained by the Environmental Control and Life Support System Capability Leadership Team that has evolved as the exploration mission concepts have changed. This roadmap continues to communicate the spacecraft fire safety needs for exploration and guide technology development efforts. This paper summarizes the major recent developments in our understanding of spacecraft fire behavior and mitigation. A review of the major technology development needs and discussion of their objectives, status, and future plans is presented. The plan for transitioning knowledge, hardware, and modeling capability resulting from these development efforts to specific exploration vehicle programs and missions is also discussed.

Fire safety↗

Increasing the Uptake of Ecological Model Results in Policy Decisions to Improve Biodiversity Outcomes

Models help decision-makers anticipate the consequences of policies for ecosystems and people; for instance, improving our ability to represent interactions between human activities and ecological systems is essential to identify pathways to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. However, use of modeling outputs in decision-making remains uncommon. We share insights from a multidisciplinary National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center working group on technical, communication, and process-related factors that facilitate or hamper uptake of model results. We emphasize that it is not simply technical model improvements, but active and iterative stakeholder involvement that can lead to more impactful outcomes. In particular, trust- and relationship-building with decision-makers are key for knowledge-based decision making. In this respect, nurturing knowledge exchange on the interpersonal (e.g., through participatory processes), and institutional level (e.g., through science-policy interfaces across scales), represent promising approaches. To this end, we offer a generalized approach for linking modeling and decision-making.

Biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships↗

KSC/IT Knowledge Sharing With JAXA/IT

The mission of NASA IT [organizations throughout the Agency] is to increase the productivity of scientists, engineers, and mission support personnel by responsively and efficiently delivering reliable, innovative and secure IT services. (http://insidenasa.nasa.gov/ocio/about/index.html, July 2010) IT at NASA/KSC serves to enable KSC's mission (Human Space Flight) in a customer-focused manner by offering a breadth of IT services to support the current and advanced information technology and communications needs of KSC institutional and NASA/KSC program customers.

Turner, Stacie↗

Toward More Actionable Flood‐Risk Information

Abstract The increasingly urgent need to develop knowledge and practices to manage flood risks drives innovative information design. However, experts often disagree about design practices. As a result, flood‐risk estimates can diverge, leading to different conclusions for decision‐making. Using examples of household‐scale fluvial (riverine) flood‐risk information in the United States, we assess design features and risk communication approaches that may lead to more actionable information for decision‐making. We argue that increased attention to uncertainty characterization and model diagnostics is a critical intermediate step for developing simpler approaches for designing flood‐risk information. Simpler frameworks are desirable because flood risks change over time, and simpler frameworks are less costly to update. Developing frameworks for large spatial domains require collaboration grounded in principles of open science. Finally, systematically evaluating how decision‐makers access and use information can provide new insights to guide risk communication and information design.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The Expert Project Management System (EPMS)

Successful project managers (PMs) have been shown to rely on 'intuition,' experience, and analogical reasoning heuristics. For new PMs to be trained and experienced PMs to avoid repeating others' mistakes, it is necessary to make the knowledge and heuristics of successful PMs more widely available. The preparers have evolved a model of PM thought processes over the last decade that is now ready to be implemented as a generic PM aid. This aid consists of a series of 'specialist' expert systems (CRITIC, LIBRARIAN, IDEA MAN, CRAFTSMAN, and WRITER) that communicate with each other via a 'blackboard' architecture. The various specialist expert systems are driven to support PM training and problem solving since any 'answers' they pass to the blackboard are subjected to conflict identification (AGENDA FORMULATOR) and GOAL SETTER inference engines.

Silverman, Barry G.↗