Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “programmatic requirements”

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 109 records · Page 6

The Venus radar mapper mission

The Venus Radar Mapper (VRM) Mission, in 1988, will be the next NASA mission to Venus. This paper describes the mission as it is currently planned, showing how the design of the science payload, the spacecraft, and the mission satisfies the science objectives and requirements as well as other programmatic constraints. The VRM mission is dedicated to obtaining Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images of at least 70 percent of the surface of Venus at a resolution of 1 km per line pair or better (comparable to the coverage and resolution of the Mars Mariner 9 mission). Additional investigations will study the interior geophysical characteristics of the planet using altimetric data and gravity field measurements of the planet.

Dallas, S. S.↗

The Magellan mission to Venus

The Magellan mission will be the next NASA mission to Venus. This paper describes the mission as it is currently planned, showing how the design of the science payload, the spacecraft, and the mission satisfies the science objectives and requirements as well as other programmatic constraints. The Magellan mission is dedicated to obtaining SAR images of at least 70 percent of the surface of Venus at a resolution of 1 km per line-pair, or better, which is comparable to the coverage and resolution of the Mars Mariner 9 mission. Other investigations will study the geophysical characteristics of the planet using altimetric data and gravity field measurements, and measurements to determine global surface emissivity.

Dallas, S. S.↗

Mirror Tech Days (11/02/2021)Next Generation Astronomical X-ray Optics:High Resolution, Light Weight, & Low Cost

We have demonstrated the basic elements of a technology to make high-resolution, light-weight, and low-cost X-ray optics. We continue to advance this technology to meet all requirements of Lynx: performance and programmatic. This technology uses only commercially available equipment and materials. It piggybacks on the semiconductor industry, avoiding obsolescence and ensuring continual advance. This technology can be used for missions of all sizes: sub-orbital, SmallSats, Pioneers, SMEX, MIDEX, Probes, and Flagships(Lynx).

X-Ray↗

An investigation of acoustic noise requirements for the Space Station centrifuge facility

Acoustic noise emissions from the Space Station Freedom (SSF) centrifuge facility hardware represent a potential technical and programmatic risk to the project. The SSF program requires that no payload exceed a Noise Criterion 40 (NC-40) noise contour in any octave band between 63 Hz and 8 kHz as measured 2 feet from the equipment item. Past experience with life science experiment hardware indicates that this requirement will be difficult to meet. The crew has found noise levels on Spacelab flights to be unacceptably high. Many past Ames Spacelab life science payloads have required waivers because of excessive noise. The objectives of this study were (1) to develop an understanding of acoustic measurement theory, instruments, and technique, and (2) to characterize the noise emission of analogous Facility components and previously flown flight hardware. Test results from existing hardware were reviewed and analyzed. Measurements of the spectral and intensity characteristics of fans and other rotating machinery were performed. The literature was reviewed and contacts were made with NASA and industry organizations concerned with or performing research on noise control.

Castellano, Timothy↗

Environmental Conditions for Space Flight Hardware: A Survey

Interest in generalization of the physical environment experienced by NASA hardware from the natural Earth environment (on the launch pad), man-made environment on Earth (storage acceptance an d qualification testing), the launch environment, and the space environment, is ed to find commonality among our hardware in an effort to reduce cost and complexity. NASA is entering a period of increase in its number of planetary missions and it is important to understand how our qualification requirements will evolve with and track these new environments. Environmental conditions are described for NASA projects in several ways for the different periods of the mission life cycle. At the beginning, the mission manager defines survivability requirements based on the mission length, orbit, launch date, launch vehicle, and other factors . such as the use of reactor engines. Margins are then applied to these values (temperature extremes, vibration extremes, radiation tolerances, etc,) and a new set of conditions is generalized for design requirements. Mission assurance documents will then assign an additional margin for reliability, and a third set of values is provided for during testing. A fourth set of environmental condition values may evolve intermittently from heritage hardware that has been tested to a level beyond the actual mission requirement. These various sets of environment figures can make it quite confusing and difficult to capture common hardware environmental requirements. Environmental requirement information can be found in a wide variety of places. The most obvious is with the individual projects. We can easily get answers to questions about temperature extremes being used and radiation tolerance goals, but it is more difficult to map the answers to the process that created these requirements: for design, for qualification, and for actual environment with no margin applied. Not everyone assigned to a NASA project may have that kind of insight, as many have only the environmental requirement numbers needed to do their jobs but do not necessarily have a programmatic-level understanding of how all of the environmental requirements fit together.

Plante, Jeannette↗

Space transfer vehicle concepts and requirements study. Volume 2, book 3: STV system interfaces

This report presents the results of systems analyses and conceptual design of space transfer vehicles (STV). The missions examined included piloted and unpiloted lunar outpost support and spacecraft servicing, and unpiloted payload delivery to various earth and solar orbits. The study goal was to examine the mission requirements and provide a decision data base for future programmatic development plans. The final lunar transfer vehicles provided a wide range of capabilities and interface requirements while maintaining a constant payload mission model. Launch vehicle and space station sensitivity was examined, with the final vehicles as point design covering the range of possible options. Development programs were defined and technology readiness levels for different options were determined. Volume 1 presents the executive summary, volume 2 provides the study results, and volume 3 the cost and WBS data.

Weber, Gary A.↗

Best Practices for Resilience Hub Development and Management

The Carbon League and its community partners in East St. Louis, Illinois, have identified five facilities to serve as resilience hubs. These hubs are intended to support the local community through a range of services and resources during blue-sky (everyday), gray-sky (pre-event), and black-sky (emergency) conditions. Transforming these facilities into fully functional resilience hubs requires a broad operational improvement and programmatic planning roadmap. This memo outlines best practices to guide the development of these resilience hubs in East St. Louis, including recommendations for infrastructure services; safety and physical protection; community services; operational protocols; and a phased implementation strategy aligned with realistic funding and capacity constraints. Infrastructure recommendations include strengthening electric power, communications, water, sanitation, and transportation/logistics capabilities, all of which are essential for hubs that may serve as cooling and warming centers, distribution points, and information hubs during emergencies. Safety recommendations focus on accessibility, emergency action planning, indoor air quality, and secure storage of critical equipment. A phased roadmap provides guidance from immediate, low-cost readiness actions to long-term optimization and community integration. Performance metrics and maintenance protocols ensure continuous improvement and operational readiness. This guidance draws on best practices that can be used to support the development of resilient, community-centered hubs capable of enhancing public safety, health, and well-being during everyday operations and emergencies alike.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Definition of technology development missions for early Space Station satellite servicing. Volume 1: Executive summary

The Executive Summary volume 1, includes an overview of both phases of the Definition of Technology Development Missions for Early Space Station Satellite Servicing. The primary purpose of Phase 1 of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Satellite Servicing Phase 1 study was to establish requirements for demonstrating the capability of performing satellite servicing activities on a permanently manned Space Station in the early 1990s. The scope of Phase 1 included TDM definition, outlining of servicing objectives, derivation of initial Space Station servicing support requirements, and generation of the associated programmatic schedules and cost. The purpose of phase 2 of the satellite servicing study was to expand and refine the overall understanding of how best to use the manned space station as a test bed for demonstration of satellite servicing capabilities.

Source record↗

Mars rover RTG study

The paper describes the design and analysis of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) for powering the Mars rover vehicle, which is a critical element of the unmanned Mars Rover and Sample Return mission (MRSR). A brief description is given of a reference mission scenario, an illustrative rover design and activity pattern on Mars, power system requirements, and environmental constraints, including the RTG cooling requirements during transit to Mars. The key RTG design problem, i.e. venting the helium generated by the fuel's alpha decay without intrusion of the Martian atmosphere into the RTG, is identified and a design approach to solve that problem is proposed. The study's primary objective is to quantify the performance improvements achievable in new successfully developed technologies, to estimate the required time, effort, success probability, and programmatic risk in developing these new technologies, and thus to help identify the best strategy for meeting the MRSR system goals. Finally, the paper compares the RTGs' specific powers for different power levels (250W vs 125W), different thermoelectric element designs (standard vs short unicouples vs multicouples), and different thermoelectric figures of merit (0.00058K to the -1 to 0.00140K to the -1).

Schock, A.↗

Program Management Tool

The Program Management Tool (PMT) is a comprehensive, Web-enabled business intelligence software tool for assisting program and project managers within NASA enterprises in gathering, comprehending, and disseminating information on the progress of their programs and projects. The PMT provides planning and management support for implementing NASA programmatic and project management processes and requirements. It provides an online environment for program and line management to develop, communicate, and manage their programs, projects, and tasks in a comprehensive tool suite. The information managed by use of the PMT can include monthly reports as well as data on goals, deliverables, milestones, business processes, personnel, task plans, monthly reports, and budgetary allocations. The PMT provides an intuitive and enhanced Web interface to automate the tedious process of gathering and sharing monthly progress reports, task plans, financial data, and other information on project resources based on technical, schedule, budget, and management criteria and merits. The PMT is consistent with the latest Web standards and software practices, including the use of Extensible Markup Language (XML) for exchanging data and the WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning) protocol for collaborative management of documents. The PMT provides graphical displays of resource allocations in the form of bar and pie charts using Microsoft Excel Visual Basic for Application (VBA) libraries. The PMT has an extensible architecture that enables integration of PMT with other strategic-information software systems, including, for example, the Erasmus reporting system, now part of the NASA Integrated Enterprise Management Program (IEMP) tool suite, at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The PMT data architecture provides automated and extensive software interfaces and reports to various strategic information systems to eliminate duplicative human entries and minimize data integrity issues among various NASA systems that impact schedules and planning.

Gawadiak, Yuri↗

Shuttle Shortfalls and Lessons Learned for the Sustainment of Human Space Exploration

Much debate and national soul searching has taken place over the value of the Space Shuttle which first flew in 1981 and which is currently scheduled to be retired in 2010. Originally developed post-Saturn Apollo to emphasize affordability and safety, the reusable Space Shuttle instead came to be perceived as economically unsustainable and lacking the technology maturity to assure safe, routine access to low earth orbit (LEO). After the loss of two crews, aboard Challenger and Columbia, followed by the decision to retire the system in 2010, it is critical that this three decades worth of human space flight experience be well understood. Understanding of the past is imperative to further those goals for which the Space Shuttle was a stepping-stone in the advancement of knowledge. There was significant reduction in life cycle costs between the Saturn Apollo and the Space Shuttle. However, the advancement in life cycle cost reduction from Saturn Apollo to the Space Shuttle fell far short of its goal. This paper will explore the reasons for this shortfall. Shortfalls and lessons learned can be categorized as related to design factors, at the architecture, element and sub-system levels, as well as to programmatic factors, in terms of goals, requirements, management and organization. Additionally, no review of the Space Shuttle program and attempt to take away key lessons would be complete without a strategic review. That is, how do national space goals drive future space transportation development strategies? The lessons of the Space Shuttle are invaluable in all respects - technical, as in design, program-wise, as in organizational approach and goal setting, and strategically, within the context of the generational march toward an expanded human presence in space. Beyond lessons though (and the innumerable papers, anecdotes and opinions published on this topic) this paper traces tangible, achievable steps, derived from the Space Shuttle program experience, that must be a part of any 2l century initiatives furthering a growing human presence beyond earth.

Zapata, Edgar↗

Performance Impacts to the NASA Artemis II Trajectory Correction Burn Placement

As NASA embarks to return humans to the lunar vicinity with the upcoming Artemis II mission, the selected free return trajectory taking the crew to the Moon in the Orion spacecraft is impacted by the execution of small trajectory correction burns to ensure the spacecraft stays on course for a successful return to Earth. The placement of these nominally zero translational maneuvers must account for the crew schedule, navigation tracking constraints, spacecraft venting, thermal and communication requirements, and a host of other programmatic factors. Understanding the influence the placement of these periodic burn corrections have on the integrated GN\&C performance can provide valuable insight to mission controllers and trajectory planning processes to untangle the complex trade space considered for both baseline and contingency scenarios. This sensitivity information can also be utilized to facilitate the optimized placement of these burns. This paper utilizes several techniques to systematically generate the performance impacts to the NASA Artemis II trajectory correction burn placement and demonstrate how to derive optimized locations that make the system robust to crew activity, maneuver execution errors, navigation uncertainty, orbit insertion errors, disturbance accelerations, and other system limitations.

GN&C↗

Assessment of Alternate Thermal Protection Systems for the Space Shuttle Orbiter

Candidate concepts are identified. The impact on the Shuttle Orbiter performance life cycle cost, and risk was assessed and technology advances required to bring the selected TPS to operational readiness are defined. The best system is shown to be a hybrid blend of metallic and carbon-carbon TPS concepts. These alternate concepts offer significant improvements in reusability and are mass competitive with the current ceramic tile reusable surface insulation. Programmatic analysis indicates approximately five years are required to bring the concepts to operational readiness.

Kelly, H. N.↗

System analysis study of space platform and station accommodations for life sciences research facilities. Volume 1: Executive summary. Phase A: Conceptual design and programmatics

The study was conducted in 3 parts over a 3 year period. The study schedule and the documentation associated with each study part is given. This document summarized selected study results from the conceptual design and programmatics segment of the effort. The objectives were: (1) to update requirements and tradeoffs and develop a detailed design and mission requirements document; (2) to develop conceptual designs and mission descriptions; and (3) to develop programmatic, i.e., work breakdown structure and work breakdown structure dictionary, estimated cost, and implementing plans and schedules.

Source record↗

Space station needs, attributes and architectural options study. Volume 5: Cost benefits and programmatic analyses

The science, applications, commercial, U.S. national security and space operations missions that would require or be materially benefited by the availability of a permanent manned space station in low Earth orbit are considered. Space station attributes and capabilities which will be necessary to satisfy these mission requirements are identified. Emphasis is placed on the identification and validation of potential users, their requirements, and the benefits accruing to them from the existence of a space station, and the programmatic and cost implications of a space station program.

Source record↗

Systems Engineering Design Via Experimental Operation Research: Complex Organizational Metric for Programmatic Risk Environments (COMPRE)

Unique and innovative graph theory, neural network, organizational modeling, and genetic algorithms are applied to the design and evolution of programmatic and organizational architectures. Graph theory representations of programs and organizations increase modeling capabilities and flexibility, while illuminating preferable programmatic/organizational design features. Treating programs and organizations as neural networks results in better system synthesis, and more robust data modeling. Organizational modeling using covariance structures enhances the determination of organizational risk factors. Genetic algorithms improve programmatic evolution characteristics, while shedding light on rulebase requirements for achieving specified technological readiness levels, given budget and schedule resources. This program of research improves the robustness and verifiability of systems synthesis tools, including the Complex Organizational Metric for Programmatic Risk Environments (COMPRE).

Mog, Robert A.↗

Exploration Space Suit Architecture: Destination Environmental-Based Technology Development

This paper picks up where EVA Space Suit Architecture: Low Earth Orbit Vs. Moon Vs. Mars (Hill, Johnson, IEEEAC paper #1209) left off in the development of a space suit architecture that is modular in design and interfaces and could be reconfigured to meet the mission or during any given mission depending on the tasks or destination. This paper will walk though the continued development of a space suit system architecture, and how it should evolve to meeting the future exploration EVA needs of the United States space program. In looking forward to future US space exploration and determining how the work performed to date in the CxP and how this would map to a future space suit architecture with maximum re-use of technology and functionality, a series of thought exercises and analysis have provided a strong indication that the CxP space suit architecture is well postured to provide a viable solution for future exploration missions. Through the destination environmental analysis that is presented in this paper, the modular architecture approach provides the lowest mass, lowest mission cost for the protection of the crew given any human mission outside of low Earth orbit. Some of the studies presented here provide a look and validation of the non-environmental design drivers that will become every-increasingly important the further away from Earth humans venture and the longer they are away. Additionally, the analysis demonstrates a logical clustering of design environments that allows a very focused approach to technology prioritization, development and design that will maximize the return on investment independent of any particular program and provide architecture and design solutions for space suit systems in time or ahead of being required for any particular manned flight program in the future. The new approach to space suit design and interface definition the discussion will show how the architecture is very adaptable to programmatic and funding changes with minimal redesign effort required such that the modular architecture can be quickly and efficiently honed into a specific mission point solution if required.

Hill, Terry R.↗