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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

Human motion perception and smooth eye movements show similar directional biases for elongated apertures

Although numerous studies have examined the relationship between smooth-pursuit eye movements and motion perception, it remains unresolved whether a common motion-processing system subserves both perception and pursuit. To address this question, we simultaneously recorded perceptual direction judgments and the concomitant smooth eye-movement response to a plaid stimulus that we have previously shown generates systematic perceptual errors. We measured the perceptual direction biases psychophysically and the smooth eye-movement direction biases using two methods (standard averaging and oculometric analysis). We found that the perceptual and oculomotor biases were nearly identical, suggesting that pursuit and perception share a critical motion processing stage, perhaps in area MT or MST of extrastriate visual cortex.

NASA Center ARC↗

Skylab observations of the solar O I resonance triplet

Profile variations from center to limb, as well as at different heights above the quiet solar limb, are illustrated by profile observations of the solar O I resonant triplet at 1302, 1304, and 1306 A that were obtained with the Skylab S082-B spectrograph. Since these lines share a common upper energy level, source function equality should exist for them when the lower states are populated according to their statistical weights. Profile congruency and profile inversion calculations comparisons show, however, that this is not the case, suggesting either errors in the fine structure collision rates, or the H I Ly-beta flux preferentially depopulating the 1302 A lower level, or two-dimensional transfer effects.

Roussel-Dupre, D.↗

Application of Face-Gear Drives in Helicopter Transmissions

The use of face gears in helicopter transmissions was explored. A light-weight, split torque transmission design utilizing face gears was described. Face-gear design and geometry were investigated. Topics included tooth generation, limiting inner and outer radii, tooth contact analysis, contact ratio, gear eccentricity, and structural stiffness. Design charts were developed to determine minimum and maximum face-gear inner and outer radii. Analytical study of transmission error showed face-gear drives were relatively insensitive to gear misalignment, but tooth contact was affected by misalignment. A method of localizing bearing contact to compensate for misalignment was explored. The proper choice of shaft support stiffness enabled good load sharing in the split torque transmission design. Face-gear experimental studies were also included and the feasibility of face gears in high-speed, high-load applications such as helicopter transmissions was demonstrated.

Litvin, F. L.↗

Resource Selection Using Execution and Queue Wait Time Predictions

Computational grids provide users with many possible places to execute their applications. We wish to help users select where to run their applications by providing predictions of the execution times of applications on space shared parallel computers and predictions of when scheduling systems for such parallel computers will start applications. Our predictions are based on instance based learning techniques and simulations of scheduling algorithms. We find that our execution time prediction techniques have an average error of 37 percent of the execution times for trace data recorded from SGI Origins at NASA Ames Research Center and that this error is 67 percent lower than the error of user estimates. We also find that the error when predicting how long applications will wait in scheduling queues is 95 percent of mean queue wait times when using our execution time predictions and this is 57 percent lower than if we use user execution time estimates.

Warren, Smith↗

Resource Selection Using Execution and Queue Wait Time Predictions

Computational grids provide users with many possible places to execute their applications. We wish to help users select where to run their applications by providing predictions of the execution times of applications on space shared parallel computers and predictions of when scheduling systems for such parallel computers will start applications. Our predictions are based on instance based learning techniques and simulations of scheduling algorithms. We find that our execution time prediction techniques have an average error of 37 percent of the execution times for trace data recorded from SGI Origins at NASA Ames Research Center and that this error is 67 percent lower than the error of user estimates. We also find that the error when predicting how long applications will wait in scheduling queues is 95 percent of mean queue wait times when using our execution time predictions and this is 57 percent lower than if we use user execution time estimates.

Smith, Warren↗

Evaluation Of Performance Of A Telerobot

Paper presents evaluation of performance of six-axis telerobot system with shared control and advanced modes of force feedback. Various tasks performed with and without force feedback. Study found force feedback reduces average time required to complete task by about 30 percent. Also reduces sum of squared forces by factor of 7 and errors by 63 percent.

Hannaford, Blake↗

EDOS Data Capture for ALOS

In 2008, NASA's Earth Sciences Missions Operations (ESMO) at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) directed the Earth Observing System Data Operations System (EDOS) project to provide a prototype system to assess the feasibility of high rate data capture for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) spacecraft via NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The key objective of this collaborative effort between NASA and JAXA was to share science data collected over North and South America previously unavailable due to limitations in ALOS downlink capacity. EDOS provided a single system proof-of-concept in 4 months at White Sands TDRS Ground Terminal The system captured 6 ALOS events error-free at 277 Mbps and delivered the data to the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) within 3 hours (May/June '08). This paper describes the successful rapid prototyping approach which led to a successful demonstration and agreement between NASA and JAXA for operational support. The design of the operational system will be discussed with emphasis on concurrent high-rate data capture, Level-O processing, real-time display and high-rate delivery with stringent latency requirements. A similar solution was successfully deployed at Svalbard, Norway to support the Suomi NPP launch (October 2011) and capture all X-band data and provide a 30-day backup archive.

McLemore, Bruce↗

Buffer management for sequential decoding

Sequential decoding has been found to be an efficient means of communicating at low undetected error rates from deep space probes, but erasure or computational overflow remains a significant problem. Erasure of a block occurs when the decoder has not finished decoding that block at the time that it must be output. By drawing upon analogies in computer time sharing, this paper develops a buffer-management strategy which reduces the decoder idle time to a negligible level, and therefore improves the erasure probability of a sequential decoder. For a decoder with a speed advantage of ten and a buffer size of ten blocks, operating at an erasure rate of .01, use of this buffer-management strategy reduces the erasure rate to less than .0001.

Layland, J. W.↗

Tools to Rapidly and Effectively Parallelise Serial FORTRAN Codes Using Either MPI or OpenMP

Significant progress has been made in hardware and software technologies, as a result the use of efficient standard message passing communication calls in parallel application codes has greatly assisted in reducing execution times. In addition, the introduction of OpenMP, an industrial standard for shared memory programming with directives addresses the issue of portability and also provides a means to deliver respectable performance. In general however, the manual parallelisation of a user's application code using either message passing or directives is still a very costly and error-prone process.

Jin, Hao-Qiang↗

Earth Observation from Space - The Issue of Environmental Sustainability

Remote sensing scientists work under assumptions that should not be taken for granted and should, therefore, be challenged. These assumptions include the following: 1. Space, especially Low Earth Orbit (LEO), will always be available to governmental and commercial space entities that launch Earth remote sensing missions. 2. Space launches are benign with respect to environmental impacts. 3. Minimization of Type 1 error, which provides increased confidence in the experimental outcome, is the best way to assess the significance of environmental change. 4. Large-area remote sensing investigations, i.e. national, continental, global studies, are best done from space. 5. National space missions should trump international, cooperative space missions to ensure national control and distribution of the data products. At best, all of these points are arguable, and in some cases, they're wrong. Development of observational space systems that are compatible with sustainability principles should be a primary concern when Earth remote sensing space systems are envisioned, designed, and launched. The discussion is based on the hypothesis that reducing the environmental impacts of thedata acquisition step,which is at the very beginning of the information streamleading to decision and action, will enhance coherence in the information streamand strengthen the capacity of measurement processes to meet their stated functional goal, i.e. sustainable management of Earth resources. We suggest that unconventional points of view should be adopted and when appropriate, remedial measures considered that could help to reduce the environmental footprint of space remote sensing and of Earth observation and monitoring systems in general. This article discusses these five assumptions inthe contextof sustainablemanagementof Earth's resources. Takingeachassumptioninturn,we find the following: (1) Space debris may limit access to Low Earth Orbit over the next decades. (2) Relatively speaking, given that they're rare event, space launches may be benign, but study is merited on upper stratospheric and exospheric layers given the chemical activity associated with rocket combustion by-products. (3) Minimization of Type II error should be considered in situations where minimization of Type I error greatly hampers or precludes our ability to correct the environmental condition being studied. (4) In certain situations, airborne collects may be less expensive and more environmentally benign, and comparative studies should be done to determine which path is wisest. (5) International cooperation and data sharing will reduce instrument and launch costs and mission redundancy. Given fiscal concerns of most of the major space agencies e e.g. NASA, ESA, CNES e it seems prudent to combine resources.

Earth observation systems↗

Q4 – A CubeSat Mission to Demonstrate Omnidirectional Optical Communications

We are proposing a technology demonstration mission for JPL’s Inter-Satellite Optical Communicator (ISOC). The ISOC has the potential to enable up to 1 Gbps data rates over a distance up to 200 km in free space. Key features of the ISOC include full sky coverage and the ability to maintain multiple links simultaneously. The Q4 mission consists of (4) 6U CubeSats furnished with ISOCs to demonstrate high data rate communications among the spacecraft. More specifically, we seek to demonstrate the omnidirectionality of the ISOC by providing simultaneous optical links between one spacecraft and the other three. Q4 will be a demonstrator for small spacecraft swarm capabilities. Following a proposed deployment from the ISS, the CubeSats will utilize their onboard thrusters to enter their desired orbit. The orbit consists of one “leader” spacecraft in a circular orbit with a 400 km LEO altitude and three “follower” spacecraft in slightly elliptical orbits rotating azimuthally about the leader. The main mission will consist of three consecutive phases: First, the spacecraft will demonstrate pointing, acquisition, and tracking using newly developed protocols. Next, link establishment and different channel access methods (CDMA and TDMA) will be tested. Finally, Delay Tolerant Network protocols will be implemented to allow fast data sharing among the spacecraft. The distance between the communicating spacecraft will be increased as the mission progresses to characterize the link quality as a function of distance. All communications over the course of the mission will be recorded and analyzed on the ground using bit error rate as a metric for success. The current design for each the four Q4 CubeSats contains an XACT advanced ADCS system for precision beam pointing. Other components currently under consideration include MiPS cold gas thrusters for orbital maneuvering and gimbaled eHaWK 84W solar arrays. In this paper we present design considerations for the Q4 CubeSats, link budget calculations, results from preliminary mission analysis, and expected results.

Velazco, Jose E↗

Leveraging Observing System Simulation Experiments for Satellite Instrument Design: Advancements and Challenges

This abstract highlights NASA's OSSE framework, developed at the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, which has become a widely adopted tool for evaluating the impact of new observations on weather forecasts. The framework involves simulating realistic observations by introducing errors to mimic real-world scenarios. By utilizing advanced radiative transfer modeling, the accuracy of simulated observations is significantly improved, enhancing the reliability of experimental outcomes. The talk focuses on recent progress and challenges in three key areas. Firstly, it explores the techniques used to simulate synthetic observations, a crucial aspect of OSSE experiments. Secondly, the presentation also discusses the challenges of examining the observation errors that need to be added to the perfect observations to generate realistic simulated observations. Lastly, the assimilation of synthetic observations and their impact on forecast skills is evaluated, providing valuable insights for optimizing current and future observing systems for improving the weather forecasts. By sharing recent advancements and acknowledging challenges, this presentation seeks to inspire researchers to leverage the OSSE framework in weather forecasting. NASA's OSSE techniques hold promise for a better understanding of the atmosphere and the development of more accurate and reliable weather predictions.

Isaac Moradi↗

A comparison between theoretical prediction and experimental measurement of the dynamic behavior of spur gears

A comparison was made between computer model predictions of gear dynamics behavior and experimental results. The experimental data were derived from the NASA gear noise rig, which was used to record dynamic tooth loads and vibration. The experimental results were compared with predictions from the DSTO Aeronautical Research Laboratory's gear dynamics code for a matrix of 28 load speed points. At high torque the peak dynamic load predictions agree with the experimental results with an average error of 5 percent in the speed range 800 to 6000 rpm. Tooth separation (or bounce), which was observed in the experimental data for light torque, high speed conditions, was simulated by the computer model. The model was also successful in simulating the degree of load sharing between gear teeth in the multiple tooth contact region.

Rebbechi, Brian↗

Solar-B X-ray Telescope (XRT) Concept Study Report

The X-ray observations from the Yohkoh SXT provided the greatest step forward in our understanding of the solar corona in nearly two decades. Expanding on the accomplishments of Yohkoh, we believe that the scientific objectives of the Solar-B mission are achieved with a significantly improved X-ray telescope (XRT) similar to the SXT. The Solar-B XRT will have twice the spatial resolution and a broader temperature response, while building on the knowledge gained from the successful Yohkoh mission. We present the scientific justification for this view, discuss the instrumental requirements that flow from the scientific objectives, and describe the instrumentation to meet these requirements. We then provide a detailed discussion of the design activities carried out during Phase A, noting the conclusions that were reached in terms of their implications for the detailed design activities which are now commencing. Details of the instrument that have changed as a result of the Phase A studied are specifically noted, and areas of concern going into Phase B are highlighted. XRT is a grazing-incidence (GI) modified Wolter I X-ray telescope, of 35cm inner diameter and 2.7m focal length. The 2048x2048 back-illuminated CCD (now an ISAS responsibility) has 13.5 micron pixels, corresponding to 1.0 arcsec and giving full Sun field of view. This will be the highest resolution GI X-ray telescope ever flown for Solar coronal studies, and it has been designed specifically to observe both the high and low temperature coronal plasma. A small optical telescope provides visible light images for co-alignment with the Solar-B optical and EUV instruments. The XRT science team is working in close cooperation with our Japanese colleagues in the design and construction of this instrument. All of the expertise and resources of the High Energy and Solar/Stellar Divisions of the Center for Astrophysics are being made available to this program, and our team will carry its full share of responsibility for mission operations, data reduction and education and public outreach. All aspects of the XRT design were reviewed during Phase A. The study focussed particularly on those aspects that have the greatest affect on instrument performance and extended lifetime, on the image quality error budget, and on the camera (mechanical and electrical) interface and the instrument mounting interfaces. The present instrument design differs in some details from that originally proposed. Selection of the XRT for Phase A study was contingent upon the removal of the camera and its associated electronics, and the acceptance of a stringent cost cap. The removal of the electronics left the XRT without control electronics for the instrument mechanisms. A mechanism controller was therefore added. The removal of the camera resulted in major complications to the integration and test plan. After many discussions, it was decided that the system would be less expensive, and the risk of unacceptable performance lower, if we include a focus mechanism. The remainder of the XRT design baseline matches the proposed configuration. Data requirements for the XRT are driven by the science plans, which are based on the physical processes in the solar outer atmosphere. Discussions to date of the XRT observing plan, both alone and in conjunction with the other Solar-B instruments, shows that the XRT needs 2 Gbits of on-board storage, at least one circulating buffer of 640 Mbits, and twelve 10- minute downlinks per day in order to carry out its required programs.

Golub, Leon↗

Management of Operations under Visual Flight Rules in UTM for Disaster Response Missions

The disaster response domain has experienced an increased focus in recent years due to the rise in number and scale of events, lessons learned from past experience, and emerging technologies that make possible a more coordinated and effective response. As part of this focus, JAXA and NASA have been collaborating on the integration of manned and unmanned aircraft in support of disaster response operations through integrated testing of their respective mission planning and optimization system (Disaster Relief Aircraft Information Sharing Network, or D-NET) and an automated UAS traffic management system (e.g., UTM). In 2018, JAXA and NASA jointly participated in a large-scale disaster drill in Japan where the integration of systems was successfully demonstrated through real-time data exchanges, visualization, and decision making as part of the coordinated airspace management of a manned helicopter in VFR conditions and unmanned small UAS operating in common areas. This work details a flight test consisting of two flights that were conducted December 2019 near the Chofu Aerodrome in Tokyo, which focused on the evaluation of pilots operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) communicating through D-NET and sharing intent and position information within UTM. This work contributes to defining the necessary requirements for digital coordination between manned and unmanned operations. UTM requires the use of operation volumes, which are spatial and temporal volumes that encompass UAS flight trajectories and account for technical performance errors and deviations due to disturbances (e.g., wind). A series of flights, representing different missions, used landmark-based operation volumes and conformance of the aircraft to those operation volumes were tracked within UTM. Experienced disaster response helicopter pilots provided insight on the development of the operation plans and their usability during disaster response operations. Results from the flight test supported the suggested benefits of using landmarks for planning and positional awareness and highlighted the need for future research in advanced visualization capabilities to support operations that consider both system constraints and flight deck/airspace management interaction.

disaster response↗

What Multilevel Parallel Programs do when you are not Watching: A Performance Analysis Case Study Comparing MPI/OpenMP, MLP, and Nested OpenMP

With the current trend in parallel computer architectures towards clusters of shared memory symmetric multi-processors, parallel programming techniques have evolved that support parallelism beyond a single level. When comparing the performance of applications based on different programming paradigms, it is important to differentiate between the influence of the programming model itself and other factors, such as implementation specific behavior of the operating system (OS) or architectural issues. Rewriting-a large scientific application in order to employ a new programming paradigms is usually a time consuming and error prone task. Before embarking on such an endeavor it is important to determine that there is really a gain that would not be possible with the current implementation. A detailed performance analysis is crucial to clarify these issues. The multilevel programming paradigms considered in this study are hybrid MPI/OpenMP, MLP, and nested OpenMP. The hybrid MPI/OpenMP approach is based on using MPI [7] for the coarse grained parallelization and OpenMP [9] for fine grained loop level parallelism. The MPI programming paradigm assumes a private address space for each process. Data is transferred by explicitly exchanging messages via calls to the MPI library. This model was originally designed for distributed memory architectures but is also suitable for shared memory systems. The second paradigm under consideration is MLP which was developed by Taft. The approach is similar to MPi/OpenMP, using a mix of coarse grain process level parallelization and loop level OpenMP parallelization. As it is the case with MPI, a private address space is assumed for each process. The MLP approach was developed for ccNUMA architectures and explicitly takes advantage of the availability of shared memory. A shared memory arena which is accessible by all processes is required. Communication is done by reading from and writing to the shared memory.

Jost, Gabriele↗

Automatic speech recognition in air-ground data link

In the present air traffic system, information presented to the transport aircraft cockpit crew may originate from a variety of sources and may be presented to the crew in visual or aural form, either through cockpit instrument displays or, most often, through voice communication. Voice radio communications are the most error prone method for air-ground data link. Voice messages can be misstated or misunderstood and radio frequency congestion can delay or obscure important messages. To prevent proliferation, a multiplexed data link display can be designed to present information from multiple data link sources on a shared cockpit display unit (CDU) or multi-function display (MFD) or some future combination of flight management and data link information. An aural data link which incorporates an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system for crew response offers several advantages over visual displays. The possibility of applying ASR to the air-ground data link was investigated. The first step was to review current efforts in ASR applications in the cockpit and in air traffic control and evaluated their possible data line application. Next, a series of preliminary research questions is to be developed for possible future collaboration.

Armstrong, Herbert B.↗

Face-gear drives: Design, analysis, and testing for helicopter transmission applications

The use of face-gears in helicopter transmissions was explored. A light-weight, split-torque transmission design utilizing face-gears is described. Face-gear design and geometry were investigated. Topics included tooth generation, limiting inner and outer radii, tooth contact analysis, contact ratio, gear eccentricity, grinding, and structural stiffness. Design charts were developed to determine minimum and maximum face-gear inner and outer radii. An analytical study showed that the face-gear drive is relatively insensitive to gear misalignment with respect to transmission errors, but the tooth contact is affected by misalignment. A method of localizing the bearing contact to permit operation with misalignment was explored. Two new methods for grinding of the face-gear tooth surfaces were also investigated. The proper choice of shaft stiffness enabled good load sharing in the split-torque transmission design. Face-gear experimental studies were also conducted. These tests demonstrated the feasibility of face-gears in high-speed, high-load applications such as helicopter transmissions.

Litvin, F. L.↗