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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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NASA NTRS1993

A review of wiring system safety in space power systems

Wiring system failures have resulted from arc propagation in the wiring harnesses of current aerospace vehicles. These failures occur when the insulation becomes conductive upon the initiation of an arc. In some cases, the conductive path of the carbon arc track displays a high enough resistance such that the current is limited, and therefore may be difficult to detect using conventional circuit protection. Often, such wiring failures are not simply the result of insulation failure, but are due to a combination of wiring system factors. Inadequate circuit protection, unforgiving system designs, and careless maintenance procedures can contribute to a wiring system failure. This paper approaches the problem with respect to the overall wiring system, in order to determine what steps can be taken to improve the reliability, maintainability, and safety of space power systems. Power system technologies, system designs, and maintenance procedures which have led to past wiring system failures will be discussed. New technologies, design processes, and management techniques which may lead to improved wiring system safety will be introduced.

Stavnes, Mark W.↗
NASA NTRS2003

An Integrated Approach to Thermal Management of International Space Station Logistics Flights, Improving the Efficiency

The efficiency of re-useable aerospace systems requires a focus on the total operations process rather than just orbital performance. For the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module this activity included special attention to terrestrial conditions both pre-launch and post-landing and how they inter-relate to the mission profile. Several of the efficiencies implemented for the MPLM Mission Engineering were NASA firsts and all served to improve the overall operations activities. This paper will provide an explanation of how various issues were addressed and the resulting solutions. Topics range from statistical analysis of over 30 years of atmospheric data at the launch and landing site to a new approach for operations with the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. In each situation the goal was to "tune" the thermal management of the overall flight system for minimizing requirement risk while optimizing power and energy performance.

Holladay, Jon↗
NASA NTRS1988

Hypersonic drone design: A multidisciplinary experience

Efforts were focused on design problems of an unmanned hypersonic vehicle. It is felt that a scaled hypersonic drone is necessary to bridge the gap between present theory on hypersonics and the future reality of the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) for two reasons: to fulfill a need for experimental data in the hypersonic regime, and to provide a testbed for the scramjet engine which is to be the primary mode of propulsion for the NASP. Three areas of great concern to NASP design were examined: propulsion, thermal management, and flight systems. Problem solving in these areas was directed towards design of the drone with the idea that the same design techniques could be applied to the NASP. A seventy degree swept double delta wing configuration, developed in the 70's at NASA Langley, was chosen as the aerodynamic and geometric model for the drone. This vehicle would be air-launched from a B-1 at Mach 0.8 and 48,000 feet, rocket boosted by two internal engines to Mach 10 and 100,000 feet, and allowed to cruise under power of the scramjet engine until burnout. It would then return to base for an unpowered landing. Preliminary energy calculations based upon the flight requirements give the drone a gross launch weight of 134,000 lb. and an overall length of 85 feet.

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NASA NTRS1988

Hypersonic drone vehicle design: A multidisciplinary experience

UCLA's Advanced Aeronautic Design group focussed their efforts on design problems of an unmanned hypersonic vehicle. It is felt that a scaled hypersonic drone is necesary to bridge the gap between present theory on hypersonics and the future reality of the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) for two reasons: (1) to fulfill a need for experimental data in the hypersonic regime, and (2) to provide a testbed for the scramjet engine which is to be the primary mode of propulsion for the NASP. The group concentrated on three areas of great concern to NASP design: propulsion, thermal management, and flight systems. Problem solving in these areas was directed toward design of the drone with the idea that the same design techniques could be applied to the NASP. A 70 deg swept double-delta wing configuration, developed in the 70's at the NASA Langley, was chosen as the aerodynamic and geometric model for the drone. This vehicle would be air launched from a B-1 at Mach 0.8 and 48,000 feet, rocket boosted by two internal engines to Mach 10 and 100,000 feet, and allowed to cruise under power of the scramjet engine until burnout. It would then return to base for an unpowered landing. Preliminary energy calculations based on flight requirements give the drone a gross launch weight of 134,000 pounds and an overall length of 85 feet.

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NASA NTRS1982

From Lift-Off to Light-Off

Shuttle's propellant measurement system is produced by Simmonds Precision. Company has extensive experience in fuel management systems and other equipment for military and commercial aircraft. A separate corporate entity, Industrial Controls Division was formed due to a number of non-aerospace spinoffs. One example is a "custody transfer" system for measuring and monitoring liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG is transported aboard large tankers at minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit. Value of a single shipload may reach $15 million. Precision's LNG measurement and monitoring system aids accurate financial accounting and enhances crew safety. Custody transfer systems have been provided for 10 LNG tankers, built by Owing Shipbuilding. Simmonds also provided measurement systems for several liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production and storage installations. Another spinoff developed by Simmonds Precision is an advanced ignition system for industrial boilers that offers savings of millions of gallons of fuel, and a computer based monitoring and control system for improving safety and reliability in electrical utility applications. Simmonds produces a line of safety systems for nuclear and non-nuclear electrical power plants.

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NASA NTRS2004

Derivation of Failure Rates and Probability of Failures for the International Space Station Probabilistic Risk Assessment Study

National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) International Space Station (ISS) Program uses Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) as part of its Continuous Risk Management Process. It is used as a decision and management support tool to not only quantify risk for specific conditions, but more importantly comparing different operational and management options to determine the lowest risk option and provide rationale for management decisions. This paper presents the derivation of the probability distributions used to quantify the failure rates and the probability of failures of the basic events employed in the PRA model of the ISS. The paper will show how a Bayesian approach was used with different sources of data including the actual ISS on orbit failures to enhance the confidence in results of the PRA. As time progresses and more meaningful data is gathered from on orbit failures, an increasingly accurate failure rate probability distribution for the basic events of the ISS PRA model can be obtained. The ISS PRA has been developed by mapping the ISS critical systems such as propulsion, thermal control, or power generation into event sequences diagrams and fault trees. The lowest level of indenture of the fault trees was the orbital replacement units (ORU). The ORU level was chosen consistently with the level of statistically meaningful data that could be obtained from the aerospace industry and from the experts in the field. For example, data was gathered for the solenoid valves present in the propulsion system of the ISS. However valves themselves are composed of parts and the individual failure of these parts was not accounted for in the PRA model. In other words the failure of a spring within a valve was considered a failure of the valve itself.

Vitali, Roberto↗
NASA NTRS1997

The Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph Scientific Support Contract

In 1988, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) was selected as the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) Scientific Support Contractor (SSC). This was to have been a few months before the launch of NASA's first Great Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). As one of five scientific instruments on HST, the GHRS was designed to obtain spectra in the 1050-3300 A ultraviolet wavelength region with a resolving power, lambda/Delta(lambda) , of up to 100,000 and relative photometric accuracy to 1%. It was built by Ball AeroSpace Systems Group under the guidance of the GHRS Investigation Definition Team (IDT), comprised of 16 scientists from the US and Canada. After launch, the IDT was to perform the initial instrument calibration and execute a broad scientific program during a five-year Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) period. After a year's delay, the launch of HST occurred in April 1990, and CSC participated in the in-orbit calibration and first four years of GTO observations with the IDT. The HST primary mirror suffered from spherical aberration, which reduced the spatial and spectral resolution of Large Science Aperture (LSA) observations and decreased the throughput of the Small Science Aperture (SSA) by a factor of two. Periodic problems with the Side 1 carrousel electronics and anomalies with the low-voltage power supply finally resulted in a suspension of the use of Side 1 less than two years after launch. At the outset, the GHRS SSC task involved work in four areas: 1) to manage and operate the GHRS Data Analysis Facility (DAF); 2) to support the second Servicing Mission Observatory Verification (SMOV) program, as well as perform system engineering analysis of the GHRS as nesessary; 3) to assist the GHRS IDT with their scientific research programs, particularly the GSFC members of the team, and 4) to provide administrative and logistic support for GHRS public information and educational activities.

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NASA NTRS2002

Cryogenic Electronics Being Developed for Space Operation

Planetary exploration missions and deep space probes require electrical power management and control systems that can operate efficiently and reliably in very low temperature environments. Presently, spacecraft operating in the cold environment of deep space carry a large number of radioisotope heating units to maintain the surrounding temperature of the onboard electronics at approximately 20 C. Electronics capable of operation at cryogenic temperatures would not only tolerate the hostile environment of deep space but also reduce system size and weight by eliminating or reducing the radioisotope heating units and their associate structures. Thereby, such electronics would reduce system development as well as launch costs. In addition, power electronic circuits designed for operation at low temperatures are expected to result in more efficient systems than those at room temperature. This improvement results because semiconductor and dielectric materials have better behavior and tolerance in their electrical and thermal properties at low temperatures. The Low Temperature Electronics Program at the NASA Glenn Research Center is focusing on the research and development of electrical components, circuits, and systems suitable for applications in the aerospace environment and in deep space exploration missions. Research is being conducted on devices and systems for reliable use down to cryogenic temperatures. Some of the commercial off-the-shelf as well as developed components that are being characterized include semiconductor switching devices, resistors, magnetics, and capacitors. Semiconductor devices and integrated circuits including digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters, dc-dc converters, operational amplifiers, and oscillators are also being investigated for potential use in low-temperature applications. For example, the output response of an advanced oscillator at room temperature and at -190 C is shown. Most oscillators can operate at temperatures down to only -55 C. It can be seen that, for this oscillator, the low temperature of -196 C changed the leading and trailing edges of the oscillator pulses by producing overshoot. The research and development efforts performed under the Low Temperature Electronics Program at Glenn are being carried out through collaboration with other Government agencies, industrial and aerospace companies, and academia. The program supports missions as well as technology development efforts at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Langley Research Center, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Patterson, Richard L.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Electronic Components and Circuits for Extreme Temperature Environments

Planetary exploration missions and deep space probes require electrical power management and control systems that are capable of efficient and reliable operation in very low temperature environments. Presently, spacecraft operating in the cold environment of deep space carry a large number of radioisotope heating units in order to maintain the surrounding temperature of the on-board electronics at approximately 20 C. Electronics capable of operation at cryogenic temperatures will not only tolerate the hostile environment of deep space but also reduce system size and weight by eliminating or reducing the radioisotope heating units and their associate structures; thereby reducing system development as well as launch costs. In addition, power electronic circuits designed for operation at low temperatures are expected to result in more efficient systems than those at room temperature. This improvement results from better behavior and tolerance in the electrical and thermal properties of semiconductor and dielectric materials at low temperatures. The Low Temperature Electronics Program at the NASA Glenn Research Center focuses on research and development of electrical components, circuits, and systems suitable for applications in the aerospace environment and deep space exploration missions. Research is being conducted on devices and systems for reliable use down to cryogenic temperatures. Some of the commercial-off-the-shelf as well as developed components that are being characterized include switching devices, resistors, magnetics, and capacitors. Semiconductor devices and integrated circuits including digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters, DC/DC converters, operational amplifiers, and oscillators are also being investigated for potential use in low temperature applications. An overview of the NASA Glenn Research Center Low Temperature Electronic Program will be presented in this paper. A description of the low temperature test facilities along with selected data obtained through in-house component and circuit testing will also be discussed. Ongoing research activities that are being performed in collaboration with various organizations will also be presented.

Patterson, Richard L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Materials Selection for Aerospace Systems

A systematic design-oriented, five-step approach to material selection is described: 1) establishing design requirements, 2) material screening, 3) ranking, 4) researching specific candidates and 5) applying specific cultural constraints to the selection process. At the core of this approach is the definition performance indices (i.e., particular combinations of material properties that embody the performance of a given component) in conjunction with material property charts. These material selection charts, which plot one property against another, are introduced and shown to provide a powerful graphical environment wherein one can apply and analyze quantitative selection criteria, such as those captured in performance indices, and make trade-offs between conflicting objectives. Finding a material with a high value of these indices maximizes the performance of the component. Two specific examples pertaining to aerospace (engine blades and pressure vessels) are examined, both at room temperature and elevated temperature (where time-dependent effects are important) to demonstrate the methodology. The discussion then turns to engineered/hybrid materials and how these can be effectively tailored to fill in holes in the material property space, so as to enable innovation and increases in performance as compared to monolithic materials. Finally, a brief discussion is presented on managing the data needed for materials selection, including collection, analysis, deployment, and maintenance issues.

Arnold, Steven M.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Spinoff 2009

Topics covered include: Image-Capture Devices Extend Medicine's Reach; Medical Devices Assess, Treat Balance Disorders; NASA Bioreactors Advance Disease Treatments; Robotics Algorithms Provide Nutritional Guidelines; "Anti-Gravity" Treadmills Speed Rehabilitation; Crew Management Processes Revitalize Patient Care; Hubble Systems Optimize Hospital Schedules; Web-based Programs Assess Cognitive Fitness; Electrolyte Concentrates Treat Dehydration; Tools Lighten Designs, Maintain Structural Integrity; Insulating Foams Save Money, Increase Safety; Polyimide Resins Resist Extreme Temperatures; Sensors Locate Radio Interference; Surface Operations Systems Improve Airport Efficiency; Nontoxic Resins Advance Aerospace Manufacturing; Sensors Provide Early Warning of Biological Threats; Robot Saves Soldier's Lives Overseas (MarcBot); Apollo-Era Life Raft Saves Hundreds of Sailors; Circuits Enhance Scientific Instruments and Safety Devices; Tough Textiles Protect Payloads and Public Safety Officers; Forecasting Tools Point to Fishing Hotspots; Air Purifiers Eliminate Pathogens, Preserve Food; Fabrics Protect Sensitive Skin from UV Rays; Phase Change Fabrics Control Temperature; Tiny Devices Project Sharp, Colorful Images; Star-Mapping Tools Enable Tracking of Endangered Animals; Nanofiber Filters Eliminate Contaminants; Modeling Innovations Advance Wind Energy Industry; Thermal Insulation Strips Conserve Energy; Satellite Respondent Buoys Identify Ocean Debris; Mobile Instruments Measure Atmospheric Pollutants; Cloud Imagers Offer New Details on Earth's Health; Antennas Lower Cost of Satellite Access; Feature Detection Systems Enhance Satellite Imagery; Chlorophyll Meters Aid Plant Nutrient Management; Telemetry Boards Interpret Rocket, Airplane Engine Data; Programs Automate Complex Operations Monitoring; Software Tools Streamline Project Management; Modeling Languages Refine Vehicle Design; Radio Relays Improve Wireless Products; Advanced Sensors Boost Optical Communication, Imaging; Tensile Fabrics Enhance Architecture Around the World; Robust Light Filters Support Powerful Imaging Devices; Thermoelectric Devices Cool, Power Electronics; Innovative Tools Advance Revolutionary Weld Technique; Methods Reduce Cost, Enhance Quality of Nanotubes; Gauging Systems Monitor Cryogenic Liquids; Voltage Sensors Monitor Harmful Static; and Compact Instruments Measure Heat Potential.

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NASA NTRS2004

The Perfect Mate for Safe Fueling

Referred to as the "lifeline for any space launch vehicle" by NASA Space Launch Initiative Program Manager Warren Wiley, an umbilical is a large device that transports power, communications, instrument readings, and fluids such as propellants, pressurization gases, and coolants from one source to another. Numerous launch vehicles, planetary systems, and rovers require umbilical "mating". This process is a driving factor for dependable and affordable space access. With future-generation space vehicles in mind, NASA recently designed a smart, automated method for quickly and reliably mating and demating electrical and fluid umbilical connectors. The new umbilical concept is expected to replace NASA s traditional umbilical systems that release at vehicle lift-off (T-0). The idea is to increase safety by automatically performing hazardous tasks, thus reducing potential failure modes and the time and labor hours necessary to prepare for launch. The new system will also be used as a test bed for quick disconnect development and for advance control and leak detection. It incorporates concepts such as a secondary mate plate, robotic machine vision, and compliant motor motion control, and is destined to advance usage of automated umbilicals in a variety of aerospace and commercial applications.

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NASA NTRS2007

A New Heavy-Lift Capability for Space Exploration: NASA's Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing new launch systems and preparing to retire the Space Shuttle by 2010, as directed in the United States (U.S.) Vision for Space Exploration. The Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and the Ares V heavy-lift Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV) systems will build upon proven, reliable hardware derived from the Apollo-Saturn and Space Shuttle programs to deliver safe, reliable, affordable space transportation solutions. This approach leverages existing aerospace talent and a unique infrastructure, as well as legacy knowledge gained from nearly 50 years' experience developing space hardware. Early next decade, the Ares I will launch the new Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to the International Space Station (ISS) or to low-Earth orbit for trips to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Late next decade, the Ares V's Earth Departure Stage will carry larger payloads such as the lunar lander into orbit, and the Crew Exploration Vehicle will dock with it for missions to the Moon, where astronauts will explore new territories and conduct science and technology experiments. Both Ares I and Ares V are being designed to support longer future trips to Mars. The Exploration Launch Projects Office is designing, developing, testing, and evaluating both launch vehicle systems in partnership with other NASA Centers, Government agencies, and industry contractors. This paper provides top-level information regarding the genesis and evolution of the baseline configuration for the Ares V heavy-lift system. It also discusses riskbased, management strategies, such as building on powerful hardware and promoting common features between the Ares I and Ares V systems to reduce technical, schedule, and cost risks, as well as development and operations costs. Finally, it summarizes several notable accomplishments since October 2005, when the Exploration Launch Projects effort officially kicked off, and looks ahead at work planned for 2007 and beyond.

Sumrall, John P.↗
NASA NTRS2001

MHD Energy Bypass Scramjet Engine

Revolutionary rather than evolutionary changes in propulsion systems are most likely to decrease cost of space transportation and to provide a global range capability. Hypersonic air-breathing propulsion is a revolutionary propulsion system. The performance of scramjet engines can be improved by the AJAX energy management concept. A magneto-hydro-dynamics (MHD) generator controls the flow and extracts flow energy in the engine inlet and a MHD accelerator downstream of the combustor accelerates the nozzle flow. A progress report toward developing the MHD technology is presented herein. Recent theoretical efforts are reviewed and ongoing experimental efforts are discussed. The latter efforts also include an ongoing collaboration between NASA, the US Air Force Research Laboratory, US industry, and Russian scientific organizations. Two of the critical technologies, the ionization of the air and the MHD accelerator, are briefly discussed. Examples of limiting the combustor entrance Mach number to a low supersonic value with a MHD energy bypass scheme are presented, demonstrating an improvement in scramjet performance. The results for a simplified design of an aerospace plane show that the specific impulse of the MHD-bypass system is better than the non-MHD system and typical rocket over a narrow region of flight speeds and design parameters. Equilibrium ionization and non-equilibrium ionization are discussed. The thermodynamic condition of air at the entrance of the engine inlet determines the method of ionization. The required external power for non-equilibrium ionization is computed. There have been many experiments in which electrical power generation has successfully been achieved by magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) means. However, relatively few experiments have been made to date for the reverse case of achieving gas acceleration by the MHD means. An experiment in a shock tunnel is described in which MHD acceleration is investigated experimentally. MHD has several potential aerospace applications. The first is to improve the performance of hypersonic air-breathing engines for space launch and cruise vehicles. The second is to improve the performance of a high enthalpy wind tunnel. The third is to control a hypersonic vehicle. With such applications in mind, theoretical and experiments are being conducted at the NASA Ames Research Center to develop the MHD technology.

Mehta, Unmeel B.↗
NASA NTRS2006

A New Heavy-Lift Capability for Space Exploration: NASA's Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing new launch systems in preparation for the retirement of the Space Shuttle by 2010, as directed in the United States (U.S.) Vision for Space Exploration. The Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and the Ares V heavy-lift Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV) systems will build upon proven, reliable hardware derived from the Apollo Saturn (1961 to 1975) and Space Shuttle (1972 to 2010) programs to deliver safe, reliable, affordable space transportation solutions. This approach leverages existing aerospace talent and a unique infrastructure, as well as the vast amount of legacy knowledge gained from almost a half-century of hard-won experience in the space enterprise. Beginning early next decade, the Ares I will launch the new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to the International Space Station (ISS) or to low-Earth orbit for trips to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Late next decade, the Ares V's Earth Departure Stage will carry larger payloads such as the lunar lander into orbit, and the Crew Exploration Vehicle will dock with it for missions to the Moon, where astronauts will explore new territories and conduct science and technology experiments. Both the Ares I and Ares V systems are being designed to support longer future trips to Mars. The Exploration Launch Projects Office, located at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, is designing, developing, testing, and evaluating both launch vehicle systems in partnership with other NASA Centers, Government agencies, and industry contractors. This paper provides top-level information regarding the genesis and evolution of the baseline configuration for the Ares V heavy-lift system. It also touches on risk-based management strategies, such as building on powerful hardware and promoting common features between the Ares I and Ares V systems to reduce technical, schedule, and cost risks, as well as development and operations costs. Finally, it gives a summary of several notable accomplishments over the past year, since the Exploration Launch Projects effort officially kicked off in October 2005, and looks ahead at work planned for 2007 and beyond.

Sumrall, John P.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Automated Medical Inventory System (AMIS) to Enable Earth-Independent Medical Operations

BACKGROUND: Inventory of medical consumables and durables (medications, treatment aids, diagnostic equipment, etc.) aboard the International Space Station is a manual process whereby crewmembers reach out to their flight surgeon to relay when items are used. Performing a full medical system inventory is time intensive. However, as exploration progresses to long duration missions with little to no resupply or evacuation capabilities, maintaining an accurate account of inventory and location for medical systems across the mission will become increasingly critical. A new system must be developed for future exploration missions to meet the need for a crew-facing, real time method of managing medical inventory. OVERVIEW: NASA’s Exploration Medical Integrated Product Team (XMIPT) is funding the AMIS project to mature the technology readiness level and to conduct a flight demonstration of a medical inventory capability. AMIS will leverage lessons learned from a Medical Consumables Tracking project previously demonstrated aboard the ISS in 2016 and 2017. Key components of AMIS include a database, supporting hardware and software, and interfaces to power, communications, or other vehicle or medical systems. Some medical inventory capability may be provided by the vehicle inventory management system which relies upon RFID-based technology and can track larger items such as medical kits or medical hardware. AMIS will augment these capabilities to enable tracking of individual medical kit contents. Efforts are underway to characterize the optimal solution trade space by comparing system specifications (e.g. mass and volume, etc.) across maintenance and operational use cases (e.g. crew time saved, total inventory automated, etc). DISCUSSION: The contents of a Mars Medical System have not been fully defined which poses challenges to defining an inventory system and requires assumptions regarding medical kit contents and medical system design. Other important considerations include minimizing crew time required, avoiding access restrictions to medical inventory in the event of an emergency, and ensuring that data is accessible to other medical system elements to enable crew autonomy in provision of medical care.

Automated Medical Inventory System↗
NASA NTRS2002

HI-STAR. Health Improvements through Space Technologies and Resources: Executive Summary

Our mission is to develop and promote a global strategy to help combat malaria using space technology. Like the tiny yet powerful mosquito, HI-STAR (Health Improvements Through Space Technologies and Resources) is a small program that aspires to make a difference. Timely detection of malaria danger zones is essential to help health authorities and policy makers make decisions about how to manage limited resources for combating malaria. In 2001, the technical support network for prevention and control of malaria epidemics published a study. HI-STAR focuses on malaria because it is the most common and deadly of the vector-borne diseases. Malaria also shares many commonalities with other diseases, which means the global strategy developed here may also be applicable to other parasitic diseases. HI-STAR would like to contribute to the many malaria groups already making great strides in the fight against malaria. Some examples include: Roll Back Malaria, The Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) and the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM). Other important groups that are among the first to include space technologies in their model include: The Center for Health Application of Aerospace Related Technologies (CHAART) and Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa (MARA). Malaria is a complex and multi-faceted disease. Combating it must therefore be equally versatile. HI-STAR incorporates an interdisciplinary, international, intercultural approach.called 'Malaria Early Warning Systems; Concepts, Indicators and Partners.' This study, funded by Roll Back Malaria, a World Health Organization initiative, offers a framework for a monitoring and early warning system. HI-STAR seeks to build on this proposal and enhance the space elements of the suggested framework. It is the work of fifty-three professionals and students from the International Space University's 2002 Summer Session Program held in California, USA.

Finarelli, Margaret G.↗
NASA NTRS2009

General Purpose Data-Driven Monitoring for Space Operations

As modern space propulsion and exploration systems improve in capability and efficiency, their designs are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Determining the health state of these systems, using traditional parameter limit checking, model-based, or rule-based methods, is becoming more difficult as the number of sensors and component interactions grow. Data-driven monitoring techniques have been developed to address these issues by analyzing system operations data to automatically characterize normal system behavior. System health can be monitored by comparing real-time operating data with these nominal characterizations, providing detection of anomalous data signatures indicative of system faults or failures. The Inductive Monitoring System (IMS) is a data-driven system health monitoring software tool that has been successfully applied to several aerospace applications. IMS uses a data mining technique called clustering to analyze archived system data and characterize normal interactions between parameters. The scope of IMS based data-driven monitoring applications continues to expand with current development activities. Successful IMS deployment in the International Space Station (ISS) flight control room to monitor ISS attitude control systems has led to applications in other ISS flight control disciplines, such as thermal control. It has also generated interest in data-driven monitoring capability for Constellation, NASA's program to replace the Space Shuttle with new launch vehicles and spacecraft capable of returning astronauts to the moon, and then on to Mars. Several projects are currently underway to evaluate and mature the IMS technology and complementary tools for use in the Constellation program. These include an experiment on board the Air Force TacSat-3 satellite, and ground systems monitoring for NASA's Ares I-X and Ares I launch vehicles. The TacSat-3 Vehicle System Management (TVSM) project is a software experiment to integrate fault and anomaly detection algorithms and diagnosis tools with executive and adaptive planning functions contained in the flight software on-board the Air Force Research Laboratory TacSat-3 satellite. The TVSM software package will be uploaded after launch to monitor spacecraft subsystems such as power and guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C). It will analyze data in real-time to demonstrate detection of faults and unusual conditions, diagnose problems, and react to threats to spacecraft health and mission goals. The experiment will demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of integrated system health management (ISHM) technologies with both ground and on-board experiments.

Iverson, David L.↗