Committee on Space Businessmen Review the Space Effort
Businessmen review space programs
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Businessmen review space programs
Mariner, Surveyor, Ranger, Lunar Orbiter, Gemini, Apollo, Saturn, Centaur, and lunar exploration space programs
Comparative assessment of United States and Soviet space programs
History and future projects of United States space program
An overview of the Shuttle Program organization and management concepts suggests the necessity of careful measurements of contractor schedules, cost and technical performance, and program modification control to keep both the development and operating cost of the Program at the lowest possible level. Maximum use of the contractors' own management systems and the utilization of new technologies, procedures and materials during space operations are also envisaged as contributors to the reduction of costs per flight to acceptable limits.
The goal of the NASA Technology Utilization (TU) Program is to broaden and accelerate the transfer of aerospace technology and to develop new commercial products and processes that represent additional return on the national investment in the U.S. space programs. The mechanisms established by the TU Program includes TU offices, publications, the information retrieval, software dissemination, and the NASA Applications Engineering Program. These mechanisms are implemented through a nationwide NASA TU Network, working closely with industry and public sector organizations to encourage and facilitate their access and utilization of the results of the U.S space programs. Examples of TU are described, including a method for the reduction of metal fatigue in textile equipment and a method for the management of wandering behavior in Alzheimer's patients.
An overview of space oriented control technology programs which are applicable to flexible large space structures is presented. The spacecraft control activity is interdisciplinary with activities in structures, structural dynamics and control brought together. The large flexible structures to be controlled have many physical factors that influence the final controllability of the vehicle. Factors are studied such as rigidity of both structural elements and joints, damping inherent in both material as well as discrete dampers located throughout the structure, and the bandwidth of both sensors and actuators used to sense motion and control it. Descriptions of programs both in-house and contracted are given.
The program is intended to initiate utilization of spaceflight for economically beneficial activities in all branches of materials science and technology. In view of the prospect they offer for reducing the costs of space operations, the Spacelab and Space Shuttle are expected to become widely used for work on materials early in the 1980's. At first they will be employed for space experiments and for services, such as sample preparation, that support research and development activities on the ground. Orbital manufacturing operations are expected to develop as well when research has prepared an adequate basis for them. During the past year, NASA has initiated a series of rocket flights on which prospective participants in the Shuttle/Spacelab program can perform preliminary experiments. Participation in these flights is open to investigators from all countries, and experiments are being solicited from private sponsors also. NASA is performing concurrent definition studies of Shuttle/Spacelab payloads, and design work on equipment for the first two years of operations is planned to begin early in 1977. The Office of Applications currently plans to fly two space processing payloads on Orbital Flight Test missions in 1980 and two on operational Spacelab missions in 1981.
The purpose of this document is to provide definition of the software interface requirements between the International Standard Payload Rack (ISPR) plus C&DH related non-rack end items and the International Space Station (ISS) flight elements. Related non-rack end items include portable payloads in any of the modules, payloads on the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility (JEM EF), payloads on the Columbus Exposed Payload Facility (COL EPF), and attached payloads mounted on the ISS truss.
Brief of Progress: A. Preparations for the 26 November launching of ABLE-4 ATLAS are proceeding as scheduled, with no problems apparent at this time. Many of the electrical tests and subsystems checks have been completed. Minor modifications have been made to the solar paddle tie-down and release mechanism, after an extensive testing program; B. Work toward the 10 December launching of ABLE-4 THOR is also progressing on schedule. Subsystem checks have been started, and mechanical fit checks have been completed; C. During the month of October, a total of 136 tests were performed on components and assemblies related to the ABLE program. These included acceptance tests, type tests, R&D tests, etc. Of this total, only three failures occurred, all of which have been corrected; D. The Space Physics Data Library, Los Angeles, California, is now in operation. Data reduction gear in the Library is in breadboard operation with completion of the installation expected by mid-November. Analysis of ABLE-3 data is progressing satisfactorily at the Library.
Spacecraft charging analysis and migration is an interdisciplinary subject combining aspects of electrostatics, plasma physics, ionizing radiation, and materials science, as well as electronic system electromagnetic interference and compatibility (EMI/EMC) effects. Spacecraft charging hazards are caused by the accumulation of electrical charge on spacecraft and spacecraft components produced by interactions with space plasmas, energetic charged particles, and solar UV photons as well as spacecraft electrical power and propulsion systems operations. Spacecraft charging hazard effects include both hard and soft avionics and electrical power system anomalies and have led to the partial or complete loss of numerous spacecraft. The International Space Station (ISS) orbital altitude and inclination (~400 km and 51.6o) determined the dominant natural environment factors affecting ISS spacecraft charging; high speed flight through the geomagnetic field and electrical power system interaction with the cold, high-density ionospheric plasma. In addition ISS is exposed to energetic auroral electrons at high latitude. In this paper we present the results of ISS spacecraft charging modeling and measurements and compare the measurements with numerical modeling of ISS charging processes. ISS is a large metallic structure and flight through the geomagnetic field at orbital speed dominates ISS charging. Collection of ionospheric electrons by the large 160V PV arrays is the next largest contributor. Charging by auroral electrons is detectable but makes a relatively minor contribution. Finally we report the observation of short duration (~ 1 sec) rapid charging peaks associated with shunt/un-shunt operations of the 160V PV arrays, a phenomena not predicted before flight. ISS spacecraft charging environments are radically different from those encountered at higher altitudes in Earth?s magnetosphere and in cis-Lunar space. We present a brief review of those charging environments and an assessment of the applicability of ISS spacecraft charging management and experience to future human spaceflight programs beyond LEO.
The key requirements, a design overview, development testing (qualification levels), and two problems and their solutions resolved during the mechanism development testing phase are presented. The mechanism described herein has demonstrated its capability to deploy/restow two large Hubble Space Telescope deployable appendages in a varying but controlled manner.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and, in particular, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have played pivotal roles in the advancement of space exploration and space-related science and discovery since the early 1960's. Many of the extraordinary accomplishments and advancements of NASA and MSFC have gone largely unheralded to the general public, though they often border on the miraculous. This lack of suitable and deserved announcement of these "miracles" seems to have occurred because NASA engineers and scientists are inclined to regard extraordinary accomplishment as a normal course of events. The goal in this project has been to determine an effective structure and mechanism for communicating to the general public the extent to which our investment in our US civilian space program, NASA, is, in fact, a very wise investment. The project has involved discerning important messages of truth which beg to be conveyed to the public. It also sought to identify MSFC personnel who are particularly effective as messengers or communicators. A third aspect of the project was to identify particular target audiences who would appreciate knowing the facts about their NASA investment. The intent is to incorporate the results into the formation of an effective, proactive MSFC speakers bureau. A corollary accomplishment for the summer was participation in the formation of an educational outreach program known as Nasa Ambassadors. Nasa Ambassadors are chosen from the participants in the various MSFC summer programs including: Summer Faculty Fellowship Program (SFFP), Science Teacher Enrichment Program (STEP), Community College Enrichment Program (CCEP), Joint Venture (JOVE) program, and the NASA Academy program. NASA Ambassadors agree to make pre-packaged NASA-related presentations to non-academic audiences in their home communities. The packaged presentations were created by a small cadre of participants from the 1996 MSFC summer programs, volunteering their time beyond their normal NASA summer research commitment. A total of eight presentations were created and made available for use by NASA Ambassadors. A major segment of the research effort during the summer has been devoted to verifying and documenting certain "spinoff' contributions of NASA technology and in determining their relevance and impact to our society and our nation's economy. The purpose behind the verification/documentation research has been to shed light on the question of whether or not our NASA investment is a wise investment. It has revealed that NASA is a wise investment.
Over the past 30 or more years, the National Research Council Space Studies Board and its various committees have published hundreds of recommendations concerning life sciences research. Several particularly noteworthy themes appear consistently: (1) Balance - the need for a well-balanced research program in terms of ground versus flight, basic versus clinical, and internal versus extramural; (2) Excellence - because of the extremely limited number of flight opportunities (as well as their associated relative costs), the need for absolute excellence in the research that is conducted, in terms of topic, protocol, and investigator, and (3) Facilities - the single most important facility for life sciences research in space, an on-board, variable force centrifuge. In this first assessment report, the Committee on Space Biology and Medicine emphasizes that these long-standing themes remain as essential today as when first articulated. On the brink of the twenty-first century, the nation is contemplating the goal of human space exploration; consequently, the themes bear repeating. Each is a critical component of what will be necessary to successfully achieve such a goal.
The aforementioned strategic decisions and the overarching direction for America's aeronautics and space program are addressed in the Strategic Plan. Our Strategic Plan is critical to our ability to meet the challenges of this new era and deliver a vibrant aeronautics and space program that strengthens and inspires the Nation. The Plan is our top-level strategy.
The high Tc Y1Ba2Cu3O(7-x) ceramic materials, initially developed in 1987, are now being extensively investigated for a variety of engineering applications. The superconductor applications which are presently identified as of most interest to NASA-LaRC are low-noise, low thermal conductivity grounding links; large-area linear Meissner-effect bearings; and sensitive, low-noise sensors and leads. Devices designed for these applications require the development of a number of processing and fabrication technologies. Included among the technologies most specific to the present needs are tapecasting, melt texturing, magnetic field grain alignment, superconductor/polymer composite fabrication, thin film MOD (metal-organic decomposition) processing, screen printing of thick films, and photolithography of thin films. The overall objective of the program was to establish a high Tc superconductivity laboratory capability at NASA-LaRC and demonstrate this capability by fabricating superconducting 123 material via bulk and thin film processes. Specific objectives include: order equipment and set up laboratory; prepare 1 kg batches of 123 material via oxide raw material; construct tapecaster and tapecaster 123 material; fabricate 123 grounding link; fabricate 123 composite for Meissner linear bearing; develop 123 thin film processes (nitrates, acetates); establish Tc and Jc measurement capability; and set up a commercial use of space program in superconductivity at LaRC. In general, most of the objectives of the program were met. Finally, efforts to implement a commercial use of space program in superconductivity at LaRC were completed and at least two industrial companies have indicated their interest in participating.