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

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At least 109 records · Page 6

Comparison of Performance Predictions for New Low-Thrust Trajectory Tools

Several low thrust trajectory optimization tools have been developed over the last 3% years by the Low Thrust Trajectory Tools development team. This toolset includes both low-medium fidelity and high fidelity tools which allow the analyst to quickly research a wide mission trade space and perform advanced mission design. These tools were tested using a set of reference trajectories that exercised each tool s unique capabilities. This paper compares the performance predictions of the various tools against several of the reference trajectories. The intent is to verify agreement between the high fidelity tools and to quantify the performance prediction differences between tools of different fidelity levels.

Polsgrove, Tara↗

Structural stability augmentation system design using BODEDIRECT: A quick and accurate approach

A methodology is presented for a modal suppression control law design using flight test data instead of mathematical models to obtain the required gain and phase information about the flexible airplane. This approach is referred to as BODEDIRECT. The purpose of the BODEDIRECT program is to provide a method of analyzing the modal phase relationships measured directly from the airplane. These measurements can be achieved with a frequency sweep at the control surface input while measuring the outputs of interest. The measured Bode-models can be used directly for analysis in the frequency domain, and for control law design. Besides providing a more accurate representation for the system inputs and outputs of interest, this method is quick and relatively inexpensive. To date, the BODEDIRECT program has been tested and verified for computational integrity. Its capabilities include calculation of series, parallel and loop closure connections between Bode-model representations. System PSD, together with gain and phase margins of stability may be calculated for successive loop closures of multi-input/multi-output systems. Current plans include extensive flight testing to obtain a Bode-model representation of a commercial aircraft for design of a structural stability augmentation system.

Goslin, T. J.↗

EOS Laser Atmosphere Wind Sounder (LAWS) investigation

In this final report, the set of tasks that evolved from the Laser Atmosphere Wind Sounder (LAWS) Science Team are reviewed, the major accomplishments are summarized, and a complete set of resulting references provided. The tasks included preparation of a plan for the LAWS Algorithm Development and Evolution Laboratory (LADEL); participation in the preparation of a joint CNES/NASA proposal to build a space-based DWL; involvement in the Global Backscatter Experiments (GLOBE); evaluation of several DWL concepts including 'Quick-LAWS', SPNDL and several direct detection technologies; and an extensive series of system trade studies and Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSE's). In this report, some of the key accomplishments are briefly summarized with reference to interim reports, special reports, conference/workshop presentations, and publications.

Source record↗

Processing of Water on the Moon

The electrolytic dissociation of water into gaseous forms of hydrogen and oxygen is a well known process that can quickly be summarized in a series of illustrations. Table 1 presents some physical properties of hydrogen and oxygen for purposes of reference. Figure 1 illustrates the chemical process and the equipment used in the industrial production of hydrogen and oxygen by the electrolysis of water. Table 2 summarizes the characteristics of electrolytic H2-O2 cells used in industrial practice. It is of interest to note that substantial amounts of power are required for the process and that rather heavy equipments are common to the land-based systems now in use. Very little can be done to reduce the power requirements, for the process as now carried out is relatively efficient, but undoubtedly great savings in weight can be realized.

Fowle, A. A.↗

Pick-up ions at Comet P/Halley's bow shock - Observations with the IIS spectrometer on Giotto

Gaseous material expanding from the nucleus of Comet Halley into space forms the neutral coma around the comet. Ionization in the solar UV radiation removes particles from the coma and injects them into the solar wind plasma. These freshly created ions are accelerated by the interplanetary electric field on cycloidal trajectories with gyrocenters moving with the speed of the magnetic field lines. In the solar wind frame of reference these particles move along the magnetic field lines with a fixed pitch angle. Pitch-angle scattering and energy diffusion reduce quickly the initial energy anisotropy which is associated with the narrow pick-up structures. First observations of heavy cometary pick-up ions (water group ions) at the bow shock are presented. The evolution of the distribution function in the vicinity of the shock and radial density profiles are discussed.

Wilken, B.↗

Robotic lunar surface operations: Engineering analysis for the design, emplacement, checkout and performance of robotic lunar surface systems

The assembly, emplacement, checkout, operation, and maintenance of equipment on planetary surfaces are all part of expanding human presence out into the solar system. A single point design, a reference scenario, is presented for lunar base operations. An initial base, barely more than an output, which starts from nothing but then quickly grows to sustain people and produce rocket propellant. The study blended three efforts: conceptual design of all required surface systems; assessments of contemporary developments in robotics; and quantitative analyses of machine and human tasks, delivery and work schedules, and equipment reliability. What emerged was a new, integrated understanding of hot to make a lunar base happen. The overall goal of the concept developed was to maximize return, while minimizing cost and risk. The base concept uses solar power. Its primary industry is the production of liquid oxygen for propellant, which it extracts from native lunar regolith. Production supports four lander flights per year, and shuts down during the lunar nighttime while maintenance is performed.

Woodcock, Gordon R.↗

Project Columbiad: Mission to the Moon. Book 2, volume 3: Stage configuration designs; volume 4: Program plan

The Earth Orbital Rendezvous (EOR) configuration for the piloted mission is composed of three propulsive elements in addition to the Crew Module (CM): Primary Trans-Lunar Injection (PTLI), Lunar Braking Module (LBM), and Earth Return Module (ERM). The precursor mission is also composed of three propulsive elements in addition to its surface payloads: PTLI, LBM and the Payload Landing Module (PLM). Refer to Volume 1, Section 5.1 and 5.2 for a break-up of the different stages into the four launches. A quick summary is as follows: PTLI is on Launch 1 and 3 while the LBM, PLM, and surface payloads are on Launch 2 and another LBM, ERM, and CM on Launch 4. The precursor mission is designed to be as modular as possible with the piloted mission for developmental cost considerations. The following topics are discussed: launch vehicle description; primary trans-lunar injection stage; lunar braking module; earth return module; crew module; payload landing module; and surface payload description.

Source record↗

Certification trails and software design for testability

Design techniques which may be applied to make program testing easier were investigated. Methods for modifying a program to generate additional data which we refer to as a certification trail are presented. This additional data is designed to allow the program output to be checked more quickly and effectively. Certification trails were described primarily from a theoretical perspective. A comprehensive attempt to assess experimentally the performance and overall value of the certification trail method is reported. The method was applied to nine fundamental, well-known algorithms for the following problems: convex hull, sorting, huffman tree, shortest path, closest pair, line segment intersection, longest increasing subsequence, skyline, and voronoi diagram. Run-time performance data for each of these problems is given, and selected problems are described in more detail. Our results indicate that there are many cases in which certification trails allow for significantly faster overall program execution time than a 2-version programming approach, and also give further evidence of the breadth of applicability of this method.

Sullivan, Gregory F.↗

Catalog of solar wind events identified from observations by ISTP spacecraft

The ISTP Science Planning and Operations Facility (SPOF), in collaboration with ISTP investigators, is developing a catalog of solar wind events and features. The catalog is primarily based on plasma and magnetic field observations from the WIND and IMP-8 spacecraft. Interplanetary events that may trigger magnetospheric activity are included as well as features of interest for using the solar wind as a plasma laboratory. Catalog coverage begins on September 8, 1992, the start of ISTP science data collection. The catalog is based on Key Parameter data sets (preliminary summary data at approximately 1 min time resolution produced quickly for survey purposes) and as such has limited citability in formal scientific work. Its primary intent is to serve as a reference for identifying candidate periods for further study, such as may be the focus of coordinated data analysis efforts during ISTP and/or IACG Science Campaigns. To facilitate access by members of the ISTP and wider space physics communities, the catalog will be available on the World Wide Web. The contents of the catalog will be described, and samples of catalog information will be presented.

Peredo, M.↗

Cuff-Mounted Electronic Checklist Display Unit

Portable electronic display unit developed to provide text and pictures to guide users through complex technical procedures in field. Touch screen divided into six areas; touching each area causes display of specific menu or page, or activates electronic stopwatch. Unit strapped onto user's wrist in manner of wristwatch, leaving user's hands free to carry out procedures while referring to displayed information. Intended originally for use by astronaut in space suit, unit also eases tasks of technicians on Earth by providing quick and easy access to information, without need to carry and thumb through massive service manuals.

Marmolejo, Jose A.↗

Feature and Pose Constrained Visual Aided Inertial Navigation for Computationally Constrained Aerial Vehicles

A Feature and Pose Constrained Extended Kalman Filter (FPC-EKF) is developed for highly dynamic computationally constrained micro aerial vehicles. Vehicle localization is achieved using only a low performance inertial measurement unit and a single camera. The FPC-EKF framework augments the vehicle's state with both previous vehicle poses and critical environmental features, including vertical edges. This filter framework efficiently incorporates measurements from hundreds of opportunistic visual features to constrain the motion estimate, while allowing navigating and sustained tracking with respect to a few persistent features. In addition, vertical features in the environment are opportunistically used to provide global attitude references. Accurate pose estimation is demonstrated on a sequence including fast traversing, where visual features enter and exit the field-of-view quickly, as well as hover and ingress maneuvers where drift free navigation is achieved with respect to the environment.

autonomous operation↗

Sublaminate analysis of interlaminar fracture in composites

A simple analysis method based upon a transverse shear deformation theory and a sublaminate approach is utilized to analyze a mixed-mode edge delamination specimen. The analysis provides closed form expressions for the interlaminar shear stresses ahead of the crack, the total energy release rate, and the energy release rate components. The parameters controlling the behavior are identified. The effect of specimen stacking sequence and delamination interface on the strain energy release rate components is investigated. Results are compared with a finite element simulation for reference. The simple nature of the method makes it suitable for preliminary design analyses which require a large number of configurations to be evaluated quickly and economically.

Armanios, E. A.↗

Interlaminar analysis of laminated composites using a sublaminate approach

A simple analysis method based upon a transverse shear deformation theory and a sublaminate approach is utilized to analyze a Mixed-Mode edge delamination specimen. The analysis provides a closed form distribution of the interlaminar shear stresses ahead of the crack, and the parameters controlling the behavior are identified. The effect of specimen stacking sequence and delamination interface on the strain energy release rate components is investigated. Results are compared with a finite element simulation for reference. The simple nature of the method makes it suitable for preliminary design analyses which require a large number of configurations to be evaluated quickly and economically.

Armanios, E. A.↗

Sublaminate analysis of interlaminar fracture in composites. I - Analytical model

A simple analysis method based on a transverse shear-deformation theory and a sublaminate approach is utilized to analyze a mixed-mode edge delamination specimen. The analysis provides closed-form expressions for the interlaminar shear stresses ahead of the crack, the total strain-energy release rate, and the strain-energy release-rate components. The parameters controlling the behavior are identified. The effect of specimen stacking sequence and delamination interface on the strain energy release rate components is investigated. Results are compared with a finite-element simulation for reference. The simple nature of the method makes it suitable for preliminary design analyses which require a large number of configurations to be evaluated quickly and economically.

Armanios, Erian A.↗

Code Parallelization with CAPO: A User Manual

A software tool has been developed to assist the parallelization of scientific codes. This tool, CAPO, extends an existing parallelization toolkit, CAPTools developed at the University of Greenwich, to generate OpenMP parallel codes for shared memory architectures. This is an interactive toolkit to transform a serial Fortran application code to an equivalent parallel version of the software - in a small fraction of the time normally required for a manual parallelization. We first discuss the way in which loop types are categorized and how efficient OpenMP directives can be defined and inserted into the existing code using the in-depth interprocedural analysis. The use of the toolkit on a number of application codes ranging from benchmark to real-world application codes is presented. This will demonstrate the great potential of using the toolkit to quickly parallelize serial programs as well as the good performance achievable on a large number of toolkit to quickly parallelize serial programs as well as the good performance achievable on a large number of processors. The second part of the document gives references to the parameters and the graphic user interface implemented in the toolkit. Finally a set of tutorials is included for hands-on experiences with this toolkit.

Jin, Hao-Qiang↗

Tools for Performing SBG hyperspectral Observing System Simulation Experiment

One of NASA’s Decadal Survey mission, Surface Biology and Geology (SBG), will include a hyperspectral remote sensing imager, which has a very high spatial resolution and a wide spectral coverage (from UV to Near IR). Unprecedented large data volumes will be generated by the SBG hyperspectral instrument. Before the launch of the new satellite, an Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) can be used to study different designs of the new satellite system. One of the key components in an OSSE study is a radiative transfer model (RTM) or forward model. In this presentation, we will describe a Principal Component-based Radiative Transfer Model (PCRTM) which is capable of simulating atmospheric (TOA) radiance or reflectance spectra from far IR to visible and UV spectral regions (50 wavenumber to 30000 wavenumber) quickly and accurately. Multiple scattering from multiple layers of clouds/aerosols are included in the model. The PCRTM has a very good accuracy relative to reference line-by-line radiative transfer models (LBLRTM), and it saves 3-4 orders of magnitude computational time relative to LBLRTM or MODTRAN. The PCRTM model has been successfully used to analyze large volumes of data from hyperspectral sensors such as AIRS, CrIS, and IASI. It has also been used to perform OSSE studies for the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) mission. Another useful tool for the OSSE is surface Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) database. It is very crucial for the SBG OSSE to include realistic BRDF spectra. Currently, most of the surface reflectance spectra such as those in the ECOSIS and ECOSTRESS are measured at specific observation geometries. We have developed a hyperspectral bidirectional reflectance (HSBR) model which combines Ross-Li BRDF model with the existing reflectance spectral libraries using a principal component analysis. This HSBR model can provide realistic BRDF spectra under various observation conditions. It can also be used to generate realistic BRDF spectra using measurements from multi-band imagers or spectrometers such as MODIS or VIIRS.

Xu Liu↗

Time series comparisons in Deep Space Network

The Deep Space Network (DSN) is NASA’s international array of antennas that support interplanetary spacecraft missions. DSN provides radar and radio astronomy observations that enhance our understanding of the solar system and the larger universe. A track is a block of continuous multi-dimensional time series from the beginning to end of DSN communication with the target spacecraft, containing 129 monitor data items lasting several hours at a frequency of 0.2-1Hz. Monitor data on each track reports on the performance of specific spacecraft operations and the DSN itself. DSN is receiving signals from 32 spacecraft across the solar system. DSN has pressure to reduce costs while maintaining the quality of support for DSN mission users. DSN operators need to simultaneously monitor multiple tracks and identify anomalies in real time. DSN has seen that as the number of missions increases, the data that needs to be processed increases over time. In this project, we look at the last 8 years of data for analysis. Any anomaly in the track indicates a problem with either the spacecraft, DSN equipment, or weather conditions. DSN operators typically write “discrepancy reports” for further analysis. It is recognized that it would be quite helpful to identify 10 similar historical tracks out of the huge database to quickly find/match anomalies. This tool has three functions: (1) identification of the top 10 similar historical tracks, (2) detection of anomalies compared to the reference normal track, and (3) comparison of statistical differences between two given tracks. The requirements for these features were confirmed by survey responses from 21 DSN operators and engineers. The preliminary machine learning model has shown promising performance (AUC=0.92). We plan to increase the number of data sets and perform additional testing to improve performance further before its planned integration into the Track Visualizer to assist DSN field operators and engineers.

Rebbapragada, Umaa↗

Analyze satellite-tracking laser data in order to study satellite ephemerides, solid-Earth and ocean tides and laser system performance

The decrease in the semimajor axis of Lageos is considerably larger than expected. Gravitational effects, reference system effects, solar radiation pressure, Earth albedo pressure, neutral atmospheric drag, the Poynting Robertson Effect, and electrodynamic effects were used in explaining the observations. Quick look data provided are used to determine the Earth's polar motion and length of day. This process is routine, and provides these geophysical data every five days.

Gaposchkin, E. M.↗