Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “transfer standard”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission: Overview and U.S. Status

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission designed to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational microwave sensors. NASA and JAXA will deploy the GPM Core Observatory carrying an advanced radar-radiometer system to serve as a physics observatory and a transfer standard for inter-calibration of constellation radiometers. The GPM Core Observatory is scheduled for launch in July 2013. NASA will provide a second radiometer to be flown on a partner-provided GPM Low-Inclination Observatory to enhance the near real-time monitoring of hurricanes and mid-latitude storms. JAXA will also contribute data from the Global Change Observation Mission-Water (GCOM-W) satellite. Additional partnerships are under development to include microwave radiometers on the French-Indian Megha-Tropiques satellite and U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, as well as cross-track scanning humidity sounders on operational satellites such as the NPP, POES, JPSS, and MetOp satellites, which are used to improve the precipitation sampling over land. Brazil has in its national space plan for a GPM low-inclination radiometer, and data from Chinese and Russian microwave radiometers could potentially become available through international collaboration under the auspices of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and Group on Earth Observations (GEO). The current generation of global rainfall products combines observations from a network of uncoordinated satellite missions using a variety of merging techniques. GPM will provide "next-generation" precipitation data products characterized by: (1) more accurate instantaneous precipitation measurement (especially for light rain and cold-season solid precipitation), (2) more frequent sampling by an expanded constellation of microwave radiometers including operational humidity sounders over land, (3) intercalibrated microwave brightness temperatures from constellation radiometers within a unified framework, and (4) physical-based precipitation retrievals from constellation radiometers using a common a priori cloud/hydrometeor database constructed from GPM Core sensor measurements. As a science mission with integrated application goals, GPM will (1) provide new measurement standards for precipitation estimation from space, (2) improve understanding of precipitation physics, the global water cycle variability, and freshwater availability, and (3) advance weather/climate/hydrological prediction capabilities to directly benefit the society. An overview of the GPM mission concept, NASA program status, science activities in the United States, as well as a wide range of international scientific collaborations in radiometer inter-calibration, retrieval algorithm development, and ground validation will be presented.

Hou, Arthur Y.↗
NASA NTRS2011

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission: Overview and U.S. Status

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission specifically designed to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational microwave sensors. The cornerstone of the GPM mission is the deployment of a Core Observatory in a 65 deg non-Sun-synchronous orbit to serve as a physics observatory and a transfer standard for inter-calibration of constellation radiometers. The GPM Core Observatory will carry a Ku/Ka-band Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and a conical-scanning multi-channel (10-183 GHz) GPM Microwave Radiometer (GMI). The first space-borne dual-frequency radar will provide not only measurements of 3-D precipitation structures but also quantitative information on microphysical properties of precipitating particles needed for improving precipitation retrievals from passive microwave sensors. The combined use of DPR and GMI measurements will place greater constraints on radiometer retrievals to improve the accuracy and consistency of precipitation estimates from all constellation radiometers. The GPM constellation is envisioned to comprise five or more conical-scanning microwave radiometers and four or more cross-track microwave sounders on operational satellites. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plan to launch the GPM Core in July 2013. NASA will provide a second radiometer to be flown on a partner-provided GPM Low-Inclination Observatory (L10) to improve near real-time monitoring of hurricanes and mid-latitude storms. NASA and the Brazilian Space Program (AEB/IPNE) are currently engaged in a one-year study on potential L10 partnership. JAXA will contribute to GPM data from the Global Change Observation Mission-Water (GCOM-W) satellite. Additional partnerships are under development to include microwave radiometers on the French-Indian Megha-Tropiques satellite and U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, as well as cross-track scanning humidity sounders on operational satellites such as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP), POES, the NASA/NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), and EUMETSAT MetOp satellites. Data from Chinese and Russian microwave radiometers may also become available through international collaboration under the auspices of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and Group on Earth Observations (GEO). The current generation of global rainfall products combines observations from a network of uncoordinated satellite missions using a variety of merging techniques. Relative to current data products, GPM's "nextgeneration" precipitation products will be characterized by: (1) more accurate instantaneous precipitation estimate (especially for light rain and cold-season solid precipitation), (2) more frequent sampling by an expanded constellation of microwave radiometers including operational humidity sounders over land, (3) intercalibrated microwave brightness temperatures from constellation radiometers within a unified framework, and (4) physical-based precipitation retrievals from constellation radiometers using a common a priori hydrometeor database constrained by combined radar/radiometer measurements provided by the GPM Core Observatory. An overview of the GPM mission concept, the U.S. GPM program status and updates on international science collaborations on GPM will be presented.

Hou, Arthur Y.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Space-Based Measurements of CO2 from the Japanese Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) and the NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) Missions

Space-based remote sensing observations hold substantial promise for future long-term monitoring of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. The principal advantages of space based measurements include: (1) Spatial coverage (especially over oceans and tropical land) (2) Sampling density (needed to resolve CO2 weather). The principal challenge is the need for high precision To reach their full potential, space based CO2 measurements must be validated against surface measurements to ensure their accuracy. The TCCON network is providing the transfer standard There is a need for a long-term vision to establish and address community priorities (1) Must incorporate ground, air, space-based assets and models (2) Must balance calls for new observations with need to maintain climate data records.

Orbiting Carbon Observatory -↗
NASA NTRS2012

Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission: Overview and Status

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission specifically designed to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational microwave sensors. NASA and JAXA will deploy a Core Observatory in 2014 to serve as a reference satellite to unify precipitation measurements from the constellation of sensors. The GPM Core Observatory will carry a Ku/Ka-band Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and a conical-scanning multi-channel (10-183 GHz) GPM Microwave Radiometer (GMI). The DPR will be the first dual-frequency radar in space to provide not only measurements of 3-D precipitation structures but also quantitative information on microphysical properties of precipitating particles. The DPR and GMI measurements will together provide a database that relates vertical hydrometeor profiles to multi-frequency microwave radiances over a variety of environmental conditions across the globe. This combined database will be used as a common transfer standard for improving the accuracy and consistency of precipitation retrievals from all constellation radiometers. For global coverage, GPM relies on existing satellite programs and new mission opportunities from a consortium of partners through bilateral agreements with either NASA or JAXA. Each constellation member may have its unique scientific or operational objectives but contributes microwave observations to GPM for the generation and dissemination of unified global precipitation data products. In addition to the DPR and GMI on the Core Observatory, the baseline GPM constellation consists of the following sensors: (1) Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) instruments on the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, (2) the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-2 (AMSR-2) on the GCOM-W1 satellite of JAXA, (3) the Multi-Frequency Microwave Scanning Radiometer (MADRAS) and the multi-channel microwave humidity sounder (SAPHIR) on the French-Indian MeghaTropiques satellite, (4) the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-19, (5) MHS instruments on MetOp satellites launched by the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), (6) the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) on the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP), and (7) ATMS instruments on the NOAA-NASA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellites. Data from Chinese and Russian microwave radiometers may also become available through international collaboration under the auspices of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and Group on Earth Observations (GEO). The current generation of global rainfall products combines observations from a network of uncoordinated satellite missions using a variety of merging techniques. GPM will provide "next-generation" precipitation products characterized by: (1) more accurate instantaneous precipitation estimate (especially for light rain and cold-season solid precipitation), (2) intercalibrated microwave brightness temperatures from constellation radiometers within a consistent framework, and (3) unified precipitation retrievals from constellation radiometers using a common a priori hydrometeor database constrained by combined radar/radiometer measurements provided by the GPM Core Observatory. GPM is a science mission with integrated applications goals. GPM will provide a key measurement to improve understanding of global water cycle variability and freshwater availability in a changing climate. The DPR and GMI measurements will offer insights into 3-dimensional structures of hurricanes and midlatitude storms, microphysical properties of precipitating particles, and latent heat associated with precipitation processes. The GPM mission will also make data available in near realtime (within 3 hours of observations) forocietal applications ranging from position fixes of storm centers, numerical weather prediction, flood forecasting, freshwater management, landslide warning, crop prediction, to tracking of water-borne diseases. An overview of the GPM mission design, retrieval strategy, ground validation activities, and international science collaboration will be presented.

Hou, Arthur Y.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Branching Ratios for The Radiometric Calibration of EUNIS-2012

The Extreme Ultraviolet Normal Incidence Spectrograph (EUNIS) sounding rocket instrument is a two-channel imaging spectrograph that observes the solar corona and transition region with high spectral resolution and a rapid cadence made possible by unprecedented sensitivity. The upcoming flight will incorporate a new wavelength channel covering the range 524-630 Angstroms, the previously-flown 300-370 Angstroms channel, and the first flight demonstration of cooled active pixel sensor (APS) arrays. The new 524-630 Angstrom channel incorporates a Toroidal Varied Line Space (TVLS) grating coated with B4C/Ir, providing broad spectral coverage and a wide temperature range of 0.025 to 10 MK. Absolute radiometric calibration of the two channels is being performed using a hollow cathode discharge lamp and NIST-calibrated AXUV-100G photodiode. Laboratory observations of He I 584 Angstroms and He II 304 Angstroms provide absolute radiometric calibrations of the two channels at those two respective wavelengths by using the AXUV photodiode as a transfer standard. The spectral responsivity is being determined by observing line pairs with a common upper state in the spectra of Ne I-III and Ar II-III. Calculations of A-values for the observed branching ratios are in progress.

Daw, Adrian N.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Achieving Climate Change Absolute Accuracy in Orbit

The Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) mission will provide a calibration laboratory in orbit for the purpose of accurately measuring and attributing climate change. CLARREO measurements establish new climate change benchmarks with high absolute radiometric accuracy and high statistical confidence across a wide range of essential climate variables. CLARREO's inherently high absolute accuracy will be verified and traceable on orbit to Système Internationale (SI) units. The benchmarks established by CLARREO will be critical for assessing changes in the Earth system and climate model predictive capabilities for decades into the future as society works to meet the challenge of optimizing strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change. The CLARREO benchmarks are derived from measurements of the Earth's thermal infrared spectrum (5-50 micron), the spectrum of solar radiation reflected by the Earth and its atmosphere (320-2300 nm), and radio occultation refractivity from which accurate temperature profiles are derived. The mission has the ability to provide new spectral fingerprints of climate change, as well as to provide the first orbiting radiometer with accuracy sufficient to serve as the reference transfer standard for other space sensors, in essence serving as a "NIST [National Institute of Standards and Technology] in orbit." CLARREO will greatly improve the accuracy and relevance of a wide range of space-borne instruments for decadal climate change. Finally, CLARREO has developed new metrics and methods for determining the accuracy requirements of climate observations for a wide range of climate variables and uncertainty sources. These methods should be useful for improving our understanding of observing requirements for most climate change observations.

Wielicki, Bruce A.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Enhancing GPM Passive and Combined Microwave Algorithms with Dynamic Surface Information for Drizzle Retrieval and Improved Precipitation Detection Over Land

Following the 2014 launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM), an unprecedented combination of coincident active and passive microwave observations are available for state of the art precipitation retrieval. The GPM Combined Algorithm forms the backbone of this effort, optimizing geophysical variables for agreement with the full suite of multi-spectral information content. These combined retrievals are then utilized, along with a radiative transfer model, as a database applied for retrievals across a constellation of passive microwave radiometers of varying frequencies. By keeping such retrievals related through the transfer standard of the combined algorithm, level 3 products such as the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) are able to provide consistent global products for users at the higher temporal resolution required for hydrological applications. In initial versions of the combined product, precipitation retrievals are carried out only in the presence of a signal from the active radar. As a result, light precipitation and drizzle below the threshold of DPR sensitivity are not included in any of the products down the chain from the constellation to IMERG. In this work, the effects of enhancing the retrievals with a surface emissivity and non-raining water vapor retrieval using the passive observations are explored. Over both ocean and land, the surface retrieval is used to identify areas with high probability of light precipitation and drizzle which is then quantified using techniques derived from the higher sensitivity CloudSat mission. Results indicate successful inclusion of drizzle in the retrievals that can then be included in the constellation databases, as well as improvement in passive microwave false positive precipitation signals over land in cases where surface scattering was misinterpreted as precipitation signal. The inclusion of the dynamic surface information also creates a more robust, radiometrically consistent retrieval scheme for process studies and hydrologic applications.

Ringerud, Sarah↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Detection of Drizzle and Light Snowfall Over the Southern Ocean Using the GPM Combined Algorithm

Following the 2014 launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM), an unprecedented combination of coincident active and passive microwave observations are available for state of the art precipitation retrieval. The GPM Combined Algorithm forms the backbone of this effort, optimizing geophysical variables for agreement with the multi-spectral information content. Combined retrievals are then utilized, along with a radiative transfer model, as a database applied for retrievals across a constellation of passive microwave radiometers of varying frequencies and viewing geometries. By keeping such retrievals related through the transfer standard of the combined algorithm, level 3 products such as the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) are able to provide consistent global products for users at the higher temporal resolution required for hydrological applications on the global scale. In the current version of the combined product, precipitation retrievals are carried out only in the presence of a signal from the active radar. As a result, light precipitation and drizzle below the threshold of radar sensitivity are not included in any of the products down the chain from the constellation to IMERG. In this work, the effects of enhancing the retrievals with an optimal estimation-type (OE) water vapor and cloud retrieval using the passive observations are explored over the Southern Ocean on a regional scale. Non-convergence of the OE in areas with no detectable radar signal is used to identify areas with high probability of light precipitation and drizzle. Microphysical scale characterization of the light precipitation will be explored using information derived from the higher sensitivity CloudSat mission along with model information to identify and associate the related atmospheric state and dynamics. This is a physically-based approach requiring radiometric consistency with all available multi-spectral observations. Retrieved drizzle can then be included in the constellation databases continuing across all scales through to the level 3 products. The technique, successfully demonstrated for the Southern Ocean, can be easily adapted for light precipitation retrieval over other areas and surfaces leading to a global climatology of light precipitation.

Sarah Rinegerud↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluating Long-Term Changes in Atmospheric Ozone

Ozonesondes have made inexpensive, accurate measurements of ozone from the ground to 30km for more than 50 years. The data are used extensively for trend analyses and for evaluation of satellite and model data products, and are also part of climatologies that are used as a priori data for satellite retrievals. They are essential as a transfer standard when merging shorter satellite-derived time series, and are the most important source of trend-quality long-term records below about 18 km. The importance of long-term ozonesonde records as a stable reference has led to increased attention to quantifying uncertainties and changes in ozonesonde data. Based on past intercomparison data, ECC sondes show a modest (~1-5%) high bias with respect to UV-absorption measurements (including MOZAIC-IAGOS) in the troposphere, with an uncertainty of 5%, but no evidence of a change with time. Other sonde types show an increase of 5-20% in sensitivity to tropospheric ozone from 1970-1995. Agreement in the stratosphere is much better. In the past 20 years ozonesonde precision has improved by a factor of 2, primarily through the adoption of strict standard operating procedures. In addition, many of the most important ozonesonde records have been re-evaluated and corrected, and detailed estimates made of their biases and uncertainties. Corrections to historical data for known issues may reduce biases but simultaneously introduce additional uncertainties. The uncertainty budget for the ozone partial pressure reading has contributions from stoichiometry, cell background current, pump efficiency and temperature, sensing solution type and volume. The much-discussed “background current” has recently been shown to be primarily related to reaction stoichiometry. Several quality assurance issues remain, but are tractable problems that can be addressed with further research. This will be required if the present goal of better than 5% overall uncertainty throughout the global ozonesonde network is to be achieved. Finally, the importance of regular sonde intercomparisons, employing UV photometers traceable to the modern UV-absorption standard, and of regular comparison of operational station records with multiple satellite sensors, is emphasized.

Ozonesondes↗
NASA NTRS1979

Recent progress of the research work on frequency and time at the NIM

Chinese activities reported include (1) research and development on the primary cesium beam standard and the high precision crystal oscillator; (2) keeping the atomic time and calibrating frequency standards; (3) determining methods for transferring the standard frequency at the highest precision. The primary beam installation gives an accuracy of 1.2 x 10 to the minus 12 power (1 sigma). Improvements are being made to attain an uncertainity goal of the order of 10 to the minus 13 power. Two experiments conducted are described. One involved standard frequency transfer via TV color subcarrier; the other involved time synchronization via Symphonie satellite. The best results are the random fluctuation of direct measurement data is 1 sigma sub r (RMS) 10 ns, and the absolute error of clock synchronization is 1 sigma sub A (RMS) 30 ns.

Bingying, H.↗
NASA NTRS1966

Freon provides heat transfer for solid C02 calibration standard

Acetone and Freon as liquid heat transfer mediums bring a dry ice bath to, and keep it at, the temperature required when using solid carbon dioxide as a calibration standard. Although acetone gives better results, Freon TF is preferred since acetone reacts violently in the presence of liquid oxygen.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1973

Technology transfer: Transportation

Standard Research Institute (SRI) has operated a NASA-sponsored team for four years. The SRI Team is concentrating on solving problems in the public transportation area and on developing methods for decreasing the time gap between the development and the marketing of new technology and for aiding the movement of knowledge across industrial, disciplinary, and regional boundaries. The SRI TAT has developed a methodology that includes adaptive engineering of the aerospace technology and commercialization when a market is indicated. The SRI Team has handled highway problems on a regional rather than a state basis, because many states in similar climatic or geologic regions have similar problems. Program exposure has been increased to encompass almost all of the fifty states.

Anyos, T.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Effects of inclination and eccentricity on optimal trajectories between earth and Venus

The true optimal transfers, including the effects of the inclination and eccentricity of the planets' orbits, between earth and Venus are presented as functions of the corresponding idealized Hohmann transfers. The method of determining the optimal transfers using the calculus of variations is presented. For every possible Hohmann window, specified as a continuous function of the longitude of perihelion of the Hohmann trajectory, the corresponding numerically exact optimal two-impulse transfers are given in graphical form. The cases for which the optimal two-impulse transfer is the absolute optimal, and those for which a three-impulse transfer provides the absolute optimal transfer are indicated. This information furnishes everything necessary for quick and accurate orbit calculations for preliminary Venus mission analysis. This makes it possible to use the actual optimal transfers for advanced planning in place of the standard Hohmann transfers.

Gravier, J.-P.↗
NASA NTRS1995

ORION: A Supersynchronous Transfer Orbit mission

ORION F1 was launched on 29th November 1994 on an Atlas IIA launch vehicle. It was designed, built and delivered in-orbit by Matra Marconi Space Systems Plc and was handed over to ORION Satellite Corporation on 20th January 1995 at its on-station longitude of 37.5 deg W. The mission differed significantly from that of any other geostationary communications satellite in that the Transfer Orbit apogee altitude of 123,507 km was over three times geosynchronous (GEO) altitude and one third of the way to the moon. The SuperSynchronous Transfer Orbit (SSTO) mission is significantly different from the standard Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO)mission in a number of ways. This paper discusses the essential features of the mission design through its evolution since 1987 and the details of the highly successful mission itself including a detailed account of the attitude determination achieved using the Galileo Earth and Sun Sensor (ESS).

Walters, I. M.↗
NASA NTRS1996

A Computational Fluid Dynamic and Heat Transfer Model for Gaseous Core and Gas Cooled Space Power and Propulsion Reactors

A computational model based on the axisymmetric, thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations is developed to predict the convective, radiation and conductive heat transfer in high temperature space nuclear reactors. An implicit-explicit, finite volume, MacCormack method in conjunction with the Gauss-Seidel line iteration procedure is utilized to solve the thermal and fluid governing equations. Simulation of coolant and propellant flows in these reactors involves the subsonic and supersonic flows of hydrogen, helium and uranium tetrafluoride under variable boundary conditions. An enthalpy-rebalancing scheme is developed and implemented to enhance and accelerate the rate of convergence when a wall heat flux boundary condition is used. The model also incorporated the Baldwin and Lomax two-layer algebraic turbulence scheme for the calculation of the turbulent kinetic energy and eddy diffusivity of energy. The Rosseland diffusion approximation is used to simulate the radiative energy transfer in the optically thick environment of gas core reactors. The computational model is benchmarked with experimental data on flow separation angle and drag force acting on a suspended sphere in a cylindrical tube. The heat transfer is validated by comparing the computed results with the standard heat transfer correlations predictions. The model is used to simulate flow and heat transfer under a variety of design conditions. The effect of internal heat generation on the heat transfer in the gas core reactors is examined for a variety of power densities, 100 W/cc, 500 W/cc and 1000 W/cc. The maximum temperature, corresponding with the heat generation rates, are 2150 K, 2750 K and 3550 K, respectively. This analysis shows that the maximum temperature is strongly dependent on the value of heat generation rate. It also indicates that a heat generation rate higher than 1000 W/cc is necessary to maintain the gas temperature at about 3500 K, which is typical design temperature required to achieve high efficiency in the gas core reactors. The model is also used to predict the convective and radiation heat fluxes for the gas core reactors. The maximum value of heat flux occurs at the exit of the reactor core. Radiation heat flux increases with higher wall temperature. This behavior is due to the fact that the radiative heat flux is strongly dependent on wall temperature. This study also found that at temperature close to 3500 K the radiative heat flux is comparable with the convective heat flux in a uranium fluoride failed gas core reactor.

Anghaie, S.↗
NASA NTRS2005

High-Performance Satellite/Terrestrial-Network Gateway

A gateway has been developed to enable digital communication between (1) the high-rate receiving equipment at NASA's White Sands complex and (2) a standard terrestrial digital communication network at data rates up to 622 Mb/s. The design of this gateway can also be adapted for use in commercial Earth/satellite and digital communication networks, and in terrestrial digital communication networks that include wireless subnetworks. Gateway as used here signifies an electronic circuit that serves as an interface between two electronic communication networks so that a computer (or other terminal) on one network can communicate with a terminal on the other network. The connection between this gateway and the high-rate receiving equipment is made via a synchronous serial data interface at the emitter-coupled-logic (ECL) level. The connection between this gateway and a standard asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) terrestrial communication network is made via a standard user network interface with a synchronous optical network (SONET) connector. The gateway contains circuitry that performs the conversion between the ECL and SONET interfaces. The data rate of the SONET interface can be either 155.52 or 622.08 Mb/s. The gateway derives its clock signal from a satellite modem in the high-rate receiving equipment and, hence, is agile in the sense that it adapts to the data rate of the serial interface.

Beering, David R.↗
NASA NTRS2010

High-Speed Ring Bus

The high-speed ring bus at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) allows for future growth trends in spacecraft seen with future scientific missions. This innovation constitutes an enhancement of the 1393 bus as documented in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1393-1999 standard for a spaceborne fiber-optic data bus. It allows for high-bandwidth and time synchronization of all nodes on the ring. The JPL ring bus allows for interconnection of active units with autonomous operation and increased fault handling at high bandwidths. It minimizes the flight software interface with an intelligent physical layer design that has few states to manage as well as simplified testability. The design will soon be documented in the AS-1393 standard (Serial Hi-Rel Ring Network for Aerospace Applications). The framework is designed for "Class A" spacecraft operation and provides redundant data paths. It is based on "fault containment regions" and "redundant functional regions (RFR)" and has a method for allocating cables that completely supports the redundancy in spacecraft design, allowing for a complete RFR to fail. This design reduces the mass of the bus by incorporating both the Control Unit and the Data Unit in the same hardware. The standard uses ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) packets, standardized by ITU-T, ANSI, ETSI, and the ATM Forum. The IEEE-1393 standard uses the UNI form of the packet and provides no protection for the data portion of the cell. The JPL design adds optional formatting to this data portion. This design extends fault protection beyond that of the interconnect. This includes adding protection to the data portion that is contained within the Bus Interface Units (BIUs) and by adding to the signal interface between the Data Host and the JPL 1393 Ring Bus. Data transfer on the ring bus does not involve a master or initiator. Following bus protocol, any BIU may transmit data on the ring whenever it has data received from its host. There is no centralized arbitration or bus granting. The JPL design provides for autonomous synchronization of the nodes on the ring bus. An address-synchronous latency adjust buffer (LAB) has been designed that cannot get out of synchronization and needs no external input. Also, a priority-driven cable selection behavior has been programmed into each unit on the ring bus. This makes the bus able to connect itself up, according to a maximum redundancy priority system, without the need for computer intervention at startup. Switching around a failed or switched-off unit is also autonomous. The JPL bus provides a map of all the active units for the host computer to read and use for fault management. With regard to timing, this enhanced bus recognizes coordinated timing on a spacecraft as critical and addresses this with a single source of absolute and relative time, which is broadcast to all units on the bus with synchronization maintained to the tens of nanoseconds. Each BIU consists of up to five programmable triggers, which may be programmed for synchronization of events within the spacecraft of instrument. All JPL-formatted data transmitted on the ring bus are automatically time-stamped.

Wysocky, Terry↗