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NASA NTRS2007

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↗

NASA NTRS1990

Workshop on Observations of Recent Comets (1990)

Potential interpretations are presented for observations of four comets: Brorsen-Metcalf (1989o), Okazaki-Levy-Rudenko (1989r), Aarseth-Brewington (1989a1), and Austin (1989o1). The relationship of minor species with each other and possible parents as well as with dust are being pursued in a number of investigations. Of particular interest are the abundance ratios of CH4 to CO and NH3 to N2. The need for closer collaboration betwen observing teams and modelers is examined. The need for dust size distribution as a function of cometocentric distance to be analyzed in closer collaboration between observers and modelers is discussed.

Huebner, Walter F.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Distributed Observer Network

NASA s advanced visual simulations are essential for analyses associated with life cycle planning, design, training, testing, operations, and evaluation. Kennedy Space Center, in particular, uses simulations for ground services and space exploration planning in an effort to reduce risk and costs while improving safety and performance. However, it has been difficult to circulate and share the results of simulation tools among the field centers, and distance and travel expenses have made timely collaboration even harder. In response, NASA joined with Valador Inc. to develop the Distributed Observer Network (DON), a collaborative environment that leverages game technology to bring 3-D simulations to conventional desktop and laptop computers. DON enables teams of engineers working on design and operations to view and collaborate on 3-D representations of data generated by authoritative tools. DON takes models and telemetry from these sources and, using commercial game engine technology, displays the simulation results in a 3-D visual environment. Multiple widely dispersed users, working individually or in groups, can view and analyze simulation results on desktop and laptop computers in real time.

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NASA NTRS2007

An IEEE 1451.1 Architecture for ISHM Applications

The IEEE 1451.1 Standard for a Smart Transducer Interface defines a common network information model for connecting and managing smart elements in control and data acquisition networks using network-capable application processors (NCAPs). The Standard is a network-neutral design model that is easily ported across operating systems and physical networks for implementing complex acquisition and control applications by simply plugging in the appropriate network level drivers. To simplify configuration and tracking of transducer and actuator details, the family of 1451 standards defines a Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) that is associated with each physical element. The TEDS contains all of the pertinent information about the physical operations of a transducer (such as operating regions, calibration tables, and manufacturer information), which the NCAP uses to configure the system to support a specific transducer. The Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) group at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) has been developing an ISHM architecture that utilizes IEEE 1451.1 as the primary configuration and data acquisition mechanism for managing and collecting information from a network of distributed intelligent sensing elements. This work has involved collaboration with other NASA centers, universities and aerospace industries to develop IEEE 1451.1 compliant sensors and interfaces tailored to support health assessment of complex systems. This paper and presentation describe the development and implementation of an interface for the configuration, management and communication of data, information and knowledge generated by a distributed system of IEEE 1451.1 intelligent elements monitoring a rocket engine test system. In this context, an intelligent element is defined as one incorporating support for the IEEE 1451.x standards and additional ISHM functions. Our implementation supports real-time collection of both measurement data (raw ADC counts and converted engineering units) and health statistics produced by each intelligent element. The handling of configuration, calibration and health information is automated by using the TEDS in combination with other electronic data sheets extensions to convey health parameters. By integrating the IEEE 1451.1 Standard for a Smart Transducer Interface with ISHM technologies, each element within a complex system becomes a highly flexible computation engine capable of self-validation and performing other measures of the quality of information it is producing.

Morris, Jon A.↗

NASA NTRS1995

The Linux operating system: An introduction

Linux is a Unix-like operating system for Intel 386/486/Pentium based IBM-PCs and compatibles. The kernel of this operating system was written from scratch by Linus Torvalds and, although copyrighted by the author, may be freely distributed. A world-wide group has collaborated in developing Linux on the Internet. Linux can run the powerful set of compilers and programming tools of the Free Software Foundation, and XFree86, a port of the X Window System from MIT. Most capabilities associated with high performance workstations, such as networking, shared file systems, electronic mail, TeX, LaTeX, etc. are freely available for Linux. It can thus transform cheap IBM-PC compatible machines into Unix workstations with considerable capabilities. The author explains how Linux may be obtained, installed and networked. He also describes some interesting applications for Linux that are freely available. The enormous consumer market for IBM-PC compatible machines continually drives down prices of CPU chips, memory, hard disks, CDROMs, etc. Linux can convert such machines into powerful workstations that can be used for teaching, research and software development. For professionals who use Unix based workstations at work, Linux permits virtually identical working environments on their personal home machines. For cost conscious educational institutions Linux can create world-class computing environments from cheap, easily maintained, PC clones. Finally, for university students, it provides an essentially cost-free path away from DOS into the world of Unix and X Windows.

Bokhari, Shahid H.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Experimental Internet Environment Software Development

Geographically distributed project teams need an Internet based collaborative work environment or "Intranet." The Virtual Research Center (VRC) is an experimental Intranet server that combines several services such as desktop conferencing, file archives, on-line publishing, and security. Using the World Wide Web (WWW) as a shared space paradigm, the Graphical User Interface (GUI) presents users with images of a lunar colony. Each project has a wing of the colony and each wing has a conference room, library, laboratory, and mail station. In FY95, the VRC development team proved the feasibility of this shared space concept by building a prototype using a Netscape commerce server and several public domain programs. Successful demonstrations of the prototype resulted in approval for a second phase. Phase 2, documented by this report, will produce a seamlessly integrated environment by introducing new technologies such as Java and Adobe Web Links to replace less efficient interface software.

Maddux, Gary A.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Management of Guidance, Navigation, and Control Technologies for Spacecraft Formations Under the NASA Cross Enterprise Technology Development Program (CETDP)

Breakthrough technology development is critical to securing the future of our space industry. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Cross-Enterprise Technology Development Program (CETDP) is developing critical space technologies that enable innovative and less costly missions, and spawn new mission opportunities through revolutionary, long-term, high-risk, high-payoff technology advances. The CETDP is a NASA-wide activity managed by the Advanced Technology and Mission Studies Division (AT&MS) at Headquarters Office of Space Science. Program management for CETDP is distributed across the multiple NASA Centers and draws on expertise throughout the Agency. The technology research activities are organized along Project-level divisions called thrust areas that are directly linked to the Agency's goals and objectives of the Enterprises: Earth Science, Space Science, Human Exploration and Development of Space; and the Office of the Chief Technologist's (OCT) strategic technology areas. Cross-Enterprise technology is defined as long-range strategic technologies that have broad potential to span the needs of more than one Enterprise. Technology needs are identified and prioritized by each of the primary customers. The thrust area manager (TAM) for each division is responsible for the ultimate success of technologies within their area, and can draw from industry, academia, other government agencies, other CETDP thrust areas, and other NASA Centers to accomplish the goals of the thrust area. An overview of the CETDP and description of the future directions of the thrust area called Distributed Spacecraft are presented in this paper. Revolutionary technologies developed within this thrust area will enable the implementation of a spatially distributed network of individual vehicles, or assets, collaborating as a single collective unit, and exhibiting a common system-wide capability to accomplish a shared objective. With such a capability, new Earth and space science measurement concepts become a reality.

Hartman, Kathy↗

NASA NTRS1999

Management of Guidance, Navigation and Control Technologies for Spacecraft Formations under the NASA Cross-Enterprise Technology Development Program (CETDP)

Hartman, Kathy↗

NASA NTRS1999

Development of Formation Deployment and Intialization Concepts

NASA's Cross-Cutting Technology Development Program identified formation flying as a key enabler for the next generation Earth and Sciences campaign. It is hoped that this technology will allow a distributed network of autonomous satellites to act collaboratively as a single collective unit paving the way for extensive co-observing campaigns, coordinated multi-point observing programs, improved space-based interferometry, and entirely new approaches to conducting science. APL as a team member with GSFC, funded by the Earth Sciences and Technology Organization (ESTO), investigated formation deployment and initialization concepts which is central to the formation flying concept. This paper presents the analytical approach and preliminary results of the study. The study investigated a simple mission involving the deployment of six micro-satellites, one at a time, from a bus. At the initialization state, the satellites fly in an along-track trajectory separated by nominal spacing. The study entailed the development of a two-body (bus and satellite) relative motion propagator based on Clohessy-Wiltshire (C-W) equations with drag from which the relative motion of the micro-satellites is deduced. This code was used to investigate cluster development characteristics subject to "tip-off' (ejection) conditions. Results indicate that cluster development is very sensitive to the ballistic coefficients of the bus and satellites, and to relative ejection velocity. This information can be used to identify optimum deployment parameters, along with accuracy bounds for a particular mission, and to develop a cluster control strategy minimizing global fuel and cost. A suitable control strategy concept has been identified, however, it needs to be developed further.

Badesha, Surjit S.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Two Paths from the Same Place: Task Driven and Human Centered Evolution of a Group Information Surface

This is the tale of two different implementations of a collaborative information tool, that started from the same design source. The Blueboard, developed at IBM Research, is a tool for groups to use in exchanging information in a lightweight, informal collaborative way. It began as a large display surface for walk-by use in a corporate setting and has evolved in response to task demands and user needs. At NASA, the MERBoard is being designed to support surface operations for the upcoming Mars Exploration Rover Missions. The MERBoard is a tool that was inspired by the Blueboard design, extending this design to support the collaboration requirements for viewing, annotating, linking and distributing information for the science and engineering teams that will operate two rovers on the surface of Mars. The ways in which each group transformed the system reflects not only technical requirements, but also the needs of users in each setting and embedding of the system within the larger socio-technical environment. Lessons about how task requirements, information flow requirements and work practice drive the evolution of a system are illustrated.

Russell, Daniel M.↗

NASA NTRS2003

NASA's MERBoard: An Interactive Collaborative Workspace Platform

This chapter describes the ongoing process by which a multidisciplinary group at NASA's Ames Research Center is designing and implementing a large interactive work surface called the MERBoard Collaborative Workspace. A MERBoard system involves several distributed, large, touch-enabled, plasma display systems with custom MERBoard software. A centralized server and database back the system. We are continually tuning MERBoard to support over two hundred scientists and engineers during the surface operations of the Mars Exploration Rover Missions. These scientists and engineers come from various disciplines and are working both in small and large groups over a span of space and time. We describe the multidisciplinary, human-centered process by which this h4ERBoard system is being designed, the usage patterns and social interactions that we have observed, and issues we are currently facing.

Trimble, Jay↗

NASA NTRS2011

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2011

The topics include: 1) Distributed Aerodynamic Sensing and Processing Toolbox; 2) Collaborative Supervised Learning for Sensor Networks; 3) Hazard Detection Software for Lunar Landing; 4) Onboard Nonlinear Engine Sensor and Component Fault Diagnosis and Isolation Scheme; 5) Network-Capable Application Process and Wireless Intelligent Sensors for ISHM; 6) Interface Supports Multiple Broadcast Transceivers for Flight Applications; 7) FPGA Sequencer for Radar Altimeter Applications; 8) Miniature Sapphire Acoustic Resonator - MSAR; 9) Process-Hardened, Multi-Analyte Sensor for Characterizing Rocket Plume Constituents; 10) SAD5 Stereo Correlation Line-Striping in an FPGA; 11) Hybrid Composite Cryogenic Tank Structure; 12) Nanoscale Deformable Optics; 13) Reliability-Based Design Optimization of a Composite Airframe Component; 14) Zinc Oxide Nanowire Interphase for Enhanced Lightweight Polymer Fiber Composites; 15) Plasma Igniter for Reliable Ignition of Combustion in Rocket Engines; 16) Wire Test Grip Fixture; 17) A Sub-Hertz, Low-Frequency Vibration Isolation Platform; 18) Carbon Nanofibers Synthesized on Selective Substrates for Nonvolatile Memory and 3D Electronics; 19) Nanoparticle/Polymer Nanocomposite Bond Coat or Coating; 20) High-Resolution Wind Measurements for Offshore Wind Energy Development; 21) Spring Tire; 22) Marsviewer 2008; 23) Mission Services Evolution Center Message Bus; 24) Major Constituents Analysis for the Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Monitor; 25) Astronaut Health Participant Summary Application; 26) Adaption of the AMDIS Method to Flight Status on the VCAM Instrument; 27) Natural Language Interface for Safety Certification of Safety-Critical Software; 28) Cryogenic Caging for Science Instrumentation; 29) Wide-Range Neutron Detector for Space Nuclear Applications; 30) In Situ Guided Wave Structural Health Monitoring System; 31) Multiplexed Energy Coupler for Rotating Equipment; 32) Attitude Estimation in Fractionated Spacecraft Cluster Systems; 33) Full Piezoelectric Multilayer-Stacked Hybrid Actuation/Transduction Systems; 34) Active Flow Effectors for Noise and Separation Control; 35) Method and System for Temporal Filtering in Video Compression Systems; 36) Apparatus for Measuring Total Emissivity of Small, Low-Emissivity Samples; 37) Multiple-Zone Diffractive Optic Element for Laser Ranging Applications; 38) Simplified Architecture for Precise Aiming of a Deep-Space Communication Laser Transceiver; 39) Two-Photon-Absorption Scheme for Optical Beam Tracking; 40) High-Sensitivity, Broad-Range Vacuum Gauge Using Nanotubes for Micromachined Cavities; 41) Wide-Field Optic for Autonomous Acquisition of Laser Link; 42) Extracting Zero-Gravity Surface Figure of a Mirror; 43) Modeling Electromagnetic Scattering From Complex Inhomogeneous Objects; 44) Visual Object Recognition and Tracking of Tools; 45) Method for Implementing Optical Phase Adjustment; 46) Visual SLAM Using Variance Grid Maps; 47) Rapid Calculation of Spacecraft Trajectories Using Efficient Taylor Series Integration; 48) Efficient Kriging Algorithms; 49) Predicting Spacecraft Trajectories by the WeavEncke Method; 50) An Augmentation of G-Guidance Algorithms; 51) Comparison of Aircraft Icing Growth Assessment Software; 52) Silicon-Germanium Voltage-Controlled Oscillator at 105 GHz; 53) Estimation of Coriolis Force and Torque Acting on Ares-1; 54) Null Lens Assembly for X-Ray Mirror Segments; and 55) High-Precision Pulse Generator.

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NASA NTRS2014

The Use of Software Agents for Autonomous Control of a DC Space Power System

In order to enable manned deep-space missions, the spacecraft must be controlled autonomously using on-board algorithms. A control architecture is proposed to enable this autonomous operation for an spacecraft electric power system and then implemented using a highly distributed network of software agents. These agents collaborate and compete with each other in order to implement each of the control functions. A subset of this control architecture is tested against a steadystate power system simulation and found to be able to solve a constrained optimization problem with competing objectives using only local information.

autonomous control↗

NASA NTRS2017

Validation of SMAP Surface Soil Moisture Products with Core Validation Sites

The NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission has utilized a set of core validation sites as the primary methodology in assessing the soil moisture retrieval algorithm performance. Those sites provide well calibrated in situ soil moisture measurements within SMAP product grid pixels for diverse conditions and locations.The estimation of the average soil moisture within the SMAP product grid pixels based on in situ measurements is more reliable when location specific calibration of the sensors has been performed and there is adequate replication over the spatial domain, with an up-scaling function based on analysis using independent estimates of the soil moisture distribution. SMAP fulfilled these requirements through a collaborative CalVal Partner program.This paper presents the results from 34 candidate core validation sites for the first eleven months of the SMAP mission. As a result of the screening of the sites prior to the availability of SMAP data, out of the 34 candidate sites 18 sites fulfilled all the requirements at one of the resolution scales (at least). The rest of the sites are used as secondary information in algorithm evaluation. The results indicate that the SMAP radiometer-based soil moisture data product meets its expected performance of 0.04 cu m/cu m volumetric soil moisture (unbiased root mean square error); the combined radar-radiometer product is close to its expected performance of 0.04 cu m/cu m, and the radar-based product meets its target accuracy of 0.06 cu m/cu m (the lengths of the combined and radar-based products are truncated to about 10 weeks because of the SMAP radar failure). Upon completing the intensive CalVal phase of the mission the SMAP project will continue to enhance the products in the primary and extended geographic domains, in co-operation with the CalVal Partners, by continuing the comparisons over the existing core validation sites and inclusion of candidate sites that can address shortcomings.

SMAP↗

NASA NTRS2015

Nearly a Decade of CALIPSO Observations of Asian and Saharan Dust Properties Near Source and Transport Regions

The lidar on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission, makes robust measurements of dust and has generated a length of record that is significant both seasonally and inter-annually. We exploit this record to determine a multi-year climatology of the properties of Asian and Saharan dust, in particular seasonal optical depths, layer frequencies, and layer heights of dust gridded in accordance with the Level 3 data products protocol, between 2006-2015. The data are screened using standard CALIPSO quality assurance flags, cloud aerosol discrimination (CAD) scores, overlying features and layer properties. To evaluate the effects of transport on the morphology, vertical extent and size of the dust layers, we compare probability distribution functions of the layer integrated volume depolarization ratios, geometric depths and integrated attenuated color ratios near the source to the same distributions in the far field or transport region. CALIPSO is collaboration between NASA and Centre National D'études Spatiales (CNES), was launched in April 2006 to provide vertically resolved measurements of cloud and aerosol distributions. The primary instrument on the CALIPSO satellite is the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), a near-nadir viewing two-wavelength polarization-sensitive instrument. The unique nature of CALIOP measurements make it quite challenging to validate backscatter profiles, aerosol type, and cloud phase, all of which are used to retrieve extinction and optical depth. To evaluate the uncertainty in the lidar ratios, we compare the values computed from dust layers overlying opaque water clouds, considered nominal, with the constant lidar ratio value used in the CALIOP algorithms for dust. We also explore the effects of noise on the CALIOP retrievals at daytime by comparing the distributions of the properties at daytime to the nighttime distributions.

Omar, Ali H.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Self-organizing control for space-based sparse antennas

An integrated control and electromagnetic/antenna formulation is presented for evaluating the performance of a distributed antenna system as a function of formation geometry. A distributed and self-organizing control law for the control law for the control of multiple antennas in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is presented. The control system provides collaborative commanding and performance optimization to configure and operate the distributed formation system. A large aperture antenna is thereby realized by a collection of miniature sparse antennas in formation. A case study consisting of a simulation of four antennas in Low Earth orbit (LEO)is presented to demonstrate the concept.

formation flying↗

NASA NTRS2007

Collaborative Resource Allocation

Collaborative Resource Allocation Networking Environment (CRANE) Version 0.5 is a prototype created to prove the newest concept of using a distributed environment to schedule Deep Space Network (DSN) antenna times in a collaborative fashion. This program is for all space-flight and terrestrial science project users and DSN schedulers to perform scheduling activities and conflict resolution, both synchronously and asynchronously. Project schedulers can, for the first time, participate directly in scheduling their tracking times into the official DSN schedule, and negotiate directly with other projects in an integrated scheduling system. A master schedule covers long-range, mid-range, near-real-time, and real-time scheduling time frames all in one, rather than the current method of separate functions that are supported by different processes and tools. CRANE also provides private workspaces (both dynamic and static), data sharing, scenario management, user control, rapid messaging (based on Java Message Service), data/time synchronization, workflow management, notification (including emails), conflict checking, and a linkage to a schedule generation engine. The data structure with corresponding database design combines object trees with multiple associated mortal instances and relational database to provide unprecedented traceability and simplify the existing DSN XML schedule representation. These technologies are used to provide traceability, schedule negotiation, conflict resolution, and load forecasting from real-time operations to long-range loading analysis up to 20 years in the future. CRANE includes a database, a stored procedure layer, an agent-based middle tier, a Web service wrapper, a Windows Integrated Analysis Environment (IAE), a Java application, and a Web page interface.

Wang, Yeou-Fang↗

NASA NTRS2012

The Earth System Grid Federation : an Open Infrastructure for Access to Distributed Geospatial Data

The Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) is a multi-agency, international collaboration that aims at developing the software infrastructure needed to facilitate and empower the study of climate change on a global scale. The ESGF's architecture employs a system of geographically distributed peer nodes, which are independently administered yet united by the adoption of common federation protocols and application programming interfaces (APIs). The cornerstones of its interoperability are the peer-to-peer messaging that is continuously exchanged among all nodes in the federation; a shared architecture and API for search and discovery; and a security infrastructure based on industry standards (OpenID, SSL, GSI and SAML). The ESGF software is developed collaboratively across institutional boundaries and made available to the community as open source. It has now been adopted by multiple Earth science projects and allows access to petabytes of geophysical data, including the entire model output used for the next international assessment report on climate change (IPCC-AR5) and a suite of satellite observations (obs4MIPs) and reanalysis data sets (ANA4MIPs).

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