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

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NASA NTRS2003

TDRS-1 Going Strong at 20

This video presents an overview of the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-1) in the form of text, computer animations, footage, and an interview with its program manager. Launched by the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983, TDRS-1 was the first of a network of satellites used for relaying data to and from scientific spacecraft. Most of this short video is silent, and consists of footage and animation of the deployment of TDRS-1, written and animated explanations of what TDRS satellites do, and samples of the astronomical and Earth science data they transmit. The program manager explains in the final segment of the video the improvement TDRS satellites brought to communication with manned space missions, including alleviation of blackout during reentry, and also the role TDRS-1 played in providing telemedicine for a breast cancer patient in Antarctica.

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NASA NTRS2004

Going Up

The accelerated Leadership Option (ALO) combines business management and systems engineering studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) culminating in a Master of Science degree, with a one year developmental assignment. The program accelerates the development process of exceptionally promising project leaders to positions of increased responsibility. Participants are selected because of technical expertise and proven leadership abilities.

Douglas, Freddie, III↗
NASA NTRS1999

Modified Dynamic Inversion to Control Large Flexible Aircraft: What's Going On?

High performance aircraft of the future will be designed lighter, more maneuverable, and operate over an ever expanding flight envelope. One of the largest differences from the flight control perspective between current and future advanced aircraft is elasticity. Over the last decade, dynamic inversion methodology has gained considerable popularity in application to highly maneuverable fighter aircraft, which were treated as rigid vehicles. This paper explores dynamic inversion application to an advanced highly flexible aircraft. An initial application has been made to a large flexible supersonic aircraft. In the course of controller design for this advanced vehicle, modifications were made to the standard dynamic inversion methodology. The results of this application were deemed rather promising. An analytical study has been undertaken to better understand the nature of the made modifications and to determine its general applicability. This paper presents the results of this initial analytical look at the modifications to dynamic inversion to control large flexible aircraft.

Gregory, Irene M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Alpha, beta, or gamma: where does all the diversity go?

Global taxonomic richness is affected by variation in three components: within-community, or alpha, diversity, between-community, or beta, diversity; and between-region, or gamma, diversity. A data set consisting of 505 faunal lists distributed among 40 stratigraphic intervals and six environmental zones was used to investigate how variation of alpha and beta diversity influenced global diversity through the Paleozoic, and especially during the Ordovician radiations. As first shown by Bambach (1977), alpha diversity increased by 50 to 70 percent in offshore marine environments during the Ordovician and then remained essentially constant of the remainder of the Paleozoic. The increase is insufficient, however, to account for the 300 percent rise observed in global generic diversity. It is shown that beta diversity among level, soft-bottom communities also increased significantly during the early Paleozoic. This change is related to enhanced habitat selection, and presumably increased overall specialization, among diversifying taxa during the Ordovician radiations. Combined with alpha diversity, the measured change in beta diversity still accounts for only about half of the increase in global diversity. Other sources of increase are probably not related to variation in gamma diversity but rather to appearance and/or expansion of organic reefs, hardground communities, bryozoan thickets, and crinoid gardens during the Ordovician.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS2004

Remote Sensing Assessment of Lunar Resources: We Know Where to Go to Find What We Need

The utilization of space resources is necessary to not only foster the growth of human activities in space, but is essential to the President s vision of a "sustained and affordable human and robotic program to explore the solar system and beyond." The distribution of resources will shape planning permanent settlements by affecting decisions about where to locate a settlement. Mapping the location of such resources, however, is not the limiting factor in selecting a site for a lunar base. It is indecision about which resources to use that leaves the location uncertain. A wealth of remotely sensed data exists that can be used to identify targets for future detailed exploration. Thus, the future of space resource utilization pre-dominantly rests upon developing a strategy for resource exploration and efficient methods of extraction.

Gillis, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

To Boldly Go: America's Next Era in Space. Sustaining Life on the Earth

Dr. France Cordova, NASA's Chief Scientist, opened this, the sixth seminar in the Administrator's Seminar Series, by introducing NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin. Mr Goldin welcomed the attendees and set the stage for Dr. Cordova's introduction of the first speaker, Dr. Robert Kates of Brown University. Dr. Kates primary concerns are global environmental changes, world hunger, and the size of the population. Human changes, he said, rival the changes of nature. Changes in the size of world population affect the need for more agricultural products, therefore more land for growing food, which leads to deforestation, which affects rainfall, and therefore the water supply which is in increased demand. Human ingenuity can reduce some shortages but generally doesn't keep up with increased demand for life-sustaining essentials. These problems require the concern of intergovernmental organizations, treaties and activities, as well as transnational corporations, and non-governmental and private, volunteer organizations. Next Dr. Diana Liverman of Pennsylvania State University spoke on human interactions regarding climate and society. She considered the effect of changes in land use on climate, using Mexico as an example. Mexicans changed from raising much wheat to raising more fruits and vegetables. This was in response to the demands of the market. The results were more industry, population growth, greater income, drought (because the new crops required more water), and conflicts over water supplies. Dr. Charles Kennel of the Office of Mission to Planet Earth joined Dr.s Cordova, Kates, and Liverman for the question and answer session that followed.

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NASA NTRS1995

To Boldly Go. America's Next Era in Space: New Frontiers in Climate Research

Dr. France Cordova, NASA's Chief Scientist, chaired this, the fourth seminar in the NASA Administrator's Seminar Series. She introduced NASA Administrator, Daniel S. Goldin, who greeted the attendees, and in his opening remarks said that human beings have a need to understand the what and why of the forces of nature and of people, and the stresses on the planet Earth. The first speaker, Dr. Ellen Mosley-Thompson of Ohio State University discussed the many things that scientists have learned from ice cores obtained in Peru and the Antarctic. The next speaker, Dr. Michael McElroy of Harvard University, is active in environmental research. He noted that insurance companies need to know more about the physics and chemistry of weather in order to avoid bankruptcy; that the greenhouse effect, which is good because it reflects heat, is being changed, and we don't know the rules. In the discussion that followed, Goldin asked if the present technology for measuring circulation of air and water and contents of the atmosphere is worth the cost. Drs. McElroy and Mosley-Thompson noted that the historic record in an ice core is endangered by ice melts; that in the last 10 years we've learned that tropics change; that the water vapor in the tropics is critical right now; that clouds absorb short-wave radiation; and that there is a need to improve measurements of atmospheric contents, the development of models, and the understanding of basic physics. We also need to understand parameters for detecting climate change, water, water temperature, and be able to provide fundamental information. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

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NASA NTRS2004

To Boldly Go: America's Next Era in Space. Machine Consciousness and the Exploration of Space

Dr. France Cordova, NASA's Chief Scientist, chaired this meeting, another part of the NASA Administrator's Seminar Series. She introduced Administrator Daniel S. Goldin, who welcomed the attendees, and noted that the two speakers have a running feud regarding the possibility of creating robots that can 'think'. Dr. Cordova then introduced the first speaker, Dr. Roger Penrose of the Mathematical Institute at Oxford in the U.K. His primary interests are in mathematics, physics, information systems technology, and artificial intelligence. He thinks that robots cannot be made to 'think' and that consciousness is not computable. Dr. Hans Moravec, who spoke next, has opinions and activities that are related to, but substantially different from those of Dr. Penrose. Dr. Moravec believes that he can build a robot that can act based on the deductions that it will make. To mimic human thinking capabilities, he figures that a robot ultimately will need to be able to handle ten trillion computations per second. He predicts that his goal of building a 'thinking' robot will be met in the 2030-2040 time period. He pointed out that he already has built a car that successfully drove itself from Washington, DC to San Diego, CA. He commented that a human being, was ready to take over driving the car, if necessary, but there was no need. The robots envisioned by Dr. Moravec would not only be able to 'think', but also would have human-like emotions, and ultimately would be able to reproduce. The discussion that followed raised questions about the morality of sending human-like robots into outer space. Also a concern was expressed that human-like robots might perceive humans as a threat and become dangerous to people.

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NASA NTRS1995

To Boldly Go: America's Next Era in Space. Probing the Primordial Constituents of Our Solar System

Dr. France Cordova, NASA's Chief Scientist, chaired this, another seminar in the Administrator's Seminar Series. She introduced NASA Administrator, Daniel S. Goldin, who greeted the attendees, and noted that, from the day people first looked into the sky, they've wondered what was up there, who or what created it, is Earth unique, what shaped the solar system, what is the Kuiper Belt and why is it there, and what are the solar system's building blocks. NASA's missions may discover some of the answers. Dr. Cordova then introduced Dr. Anita Cochran, research scientist at the University of Texas. Dr. Cochran has been searching for some of this information. She is especially interested in finding out when various planets and asteroids were discovered, what their orbits are, when the solar system was formed, and more about the comets in the Kuiper Belt. Are they icy planetisimals that helped form our solar system? Dr. Toby Owen of the University of Hawaii faculty spoke next. He believes that life on Earth exists because comets brought water and a variety of light elements to Earth from the outer parts of the solar system. Without them, we couldn't exist. He noted that noble gases don't mix with other gases. Gases come to Earth via rocks and by bombardment. Ice can trap argon and carbon, but not neon. Dr. Owens concluded with comments that we need 'better numbers for the Martian atmosphere', and it would be good to get samples of material from a comet. The third speaker was Dr. Eugene Shoemaker of the Lowell Observatory and the U.S. Geological Survey. He is credited with discovering more than 800 asteroids and learning about the Oort Cloud, which is believed to be a cloud of rocks and dust that may surround our solar system and be where comets originate. Comet storms reoccur about every 30 million years. Dr. Shoemaker suggested that since we are presently in a period of comet showers, it would be good to get a comet sample. It might provide insight regarding the origin of life. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

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NASA NTRS2004

To Boldly Go: America's Next Era in Space. The Universe Now and Beyond

Dr. France Cordova, NASA's Chief Scientist opened this, the third session in the NASA Administrator's Seminar Series, by asking the following question: 'What would be a bold and aspiring agenda for America's next era in space?' It aimed at answering the following questions: What do we know about the universe? How do we know it? (Dr. Cordova also mentioned that the first seminar was about the definition of cellular life and how to recognize it, and featured as speakers, Dr. Lynn Margoles and Dr. Leslie Orgle.) Administrator Daniel S. Goldin was introduced; he welcomed the attendees, and remarked that NASA personnel have a critical need to explain to Congress and the public why a space program is important. Congress and the public pay for the space programs. Therefore the programs' importance cannot remain in the sole domain of scientists. The first speaker, Dr. Vera Ruben of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institute of Washington, was introduced as an art historian expert in cosmology and an observational astronomer. Dr. Ruben brought up a number of questions regarding the substance, location, and origin of dark matter, radiation, galaxies, and the lumpy structure of galaxies in space, as well as the age and density of our universe. The next speaker was Dr. Bohdan Paczynski, a theoretical astrophysicist from Princeton University's Department of Astrophysical Sciences. The final speaker, Dr. Linda Schale is a cosmologist from the University of Texas at Austin. She was said to be a 'paleontologist of the human mind' who tries 'to understand mechanisms people use to understand the world'. The concluding discussion centered on why NASA scientists don t communicate better with people who are not highly educated. This is a big concern because to continue its work, NASA needs to communicate the importance of its goals to the average person. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

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NASA NTRS2005

Going to the Bottom of the Explosion that Formed Cas A

The purpose of this INTEGRAL AO 1 proposal was to observe the gamma-ray lines at 1157 keV, as well as 68 keV and 78 keV of the (44)Ti decay chain from the youngest known galactic supernova remnant Cas A. The radioactive decay of (44)Ti in Cas A was first detected by COMPTEL in the 1157 keV line and later confirmed in the lower energy lines using BeppoSAX data. Despite the second confirming measurement, the flux value still has a considerable error, due to a low signal over background ratio and the poor definition of the continuum background in the range of 70 - 100 keV above the line energies. In addition to improving this flux measurement, INTEGRAL has the unique capability, in principle, to measure the line width of the emission. This type of measurement can further constrain supernova explosion models. Unfortunately, the INTEGRAL instrumental background, especially in the SPI spectrometer, turned out to be significantly higher than estimated at the time of proposal submission before launch. This, and to a smaller extent the reduced effective exposure time of about 1.5 Ms compared to requested 2.5 Ms, has precluded us from reaching the sensitivity necessary for this measurement. Studies of the background variability with the goal of improving background modeling are ongoing, and additional 2.5 Ms observing time has just been approved for the next observing cycle.

Oberlack, Uwe↗
NASA NTRS2005

What's Going on Around BN

The Becklin-Neugebauer object, discovered in observations made by Eric Becklin as a graduate student, is the brightest mid-infrared source outside the solar system, and a beacon in the nearest region of massive star formation. Using NICMOS on HST, we have obtained near infrared photometric, spectroscopic, and polarimetric images of the region immediately around BN. These images, with resolutions < -0.2", reveal remarkable morphologies, shock details, new young stellar objects, faint stars with variable intensities, and outflow features. We will summarize these results and inferences regarding the shock properties, illuminating sources of the nebulosity, and IRc sources near BN.

Erickson, Edwin↗
NASA NTRS2005

Space Exploration: Where We Have Been, Where We Are and Where We Are Going: A Human Perspective

NASA is moving forward towards the agency's new vision for space exploration in the 21st Century encompassing a broad range of human and robotic missions including missions to Moon, Mars and beyond. Exposure from the hazards of severe space radiation in deep space long duration missions is the show stopper. Langley has developed state-of-the-art radiation protection and shielding technology for space missions. The payload penalty demands a very stringent requirement on the design of the spacecrafts for human deep space missions. The exploration beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) to enable routine access to more interesting regions of space will require protection from the hazards of the accumulated exposures of space radiation, Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) and Solar Particle Events (SPE), and minimizing the production of secondary radiation is a great advantage. The better understanding of radiation environment (GCR & SPE) and their interaction is a key to the success of the program due to the vital role and importance of cosmic rays for space missions.

Tripathi, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Experiments With Small Animals Rarely Go This Well

In the mid-1950s, a young U.S. Air Force engineer named Clark Beck began work with what is now one of NASA s most prolific spinoffs, the radiant barrier technology. Beck s work involved creating materials that could withstand the immense heat created by passage through the Earth s atmosphere. He was working on structures and resources that could withstand the fluctuations in temperature created by a skip reentry, where a craft would skip along the surface of the atmosphere, gradually making inroads sufficient for reentry, a process that took the craft from extreme heat to frigid cold every few seconds. The material also needed to withstand millions of pounds of pressure per inch of bending without twisting, the simulated force of reentry. Without reflective material, the craft would get what Beck refers to as "red hot wings," and without the required flexibility, the craft would break apart. One result of Beck s work was the discovery of the useful properties of radiant barrier material. The Space Agency used Beck s design work for the materials that went into building the space capsules, heat resistant instrument panels, and, in conjunction with the Air Force, an early spacecraft prototype, the DynaSoar, that looks remarkably similar to the present-day Space Shuttle. NASA used the thin, shiny, silver material to protect the first space explorers from the harsh environment of space, which could range from -460 F to 541 F. If the engineers had used conventional insulation for the space suits, the fabric would have been 7-feet thick, a little awkward for even the most nimble of astronauts to maneuver. Radiant barrier technology was clearly the solution. It reflected the astronaut s body heat back into the suit to keep him warm, while at the same time reflecting radiant energy from the Sun outward to keep him cool. The radiant barrier material reflected more than 95 percent of the radiant energy away from the wearer, while tiny holes in the fabric allowed moisture to escape and longer heat waves to get through. This amazing fabric had an added benefit that made it ideal for its space-bound application: It weighed only 17 pounds per 1,000 square feet. NASA has used this material ever since the Gemini and Apollo missions, on virtually all of its spacecraft, and even on unmanned missions as thermal protection for instruments.

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NASA NTRS2005

Going End to End to Deliver High-Speed Data

By the end of the 1990s, the optical fiber "backbone" of the telecommunication and data-communication networks had evolved from megabits-per-second transmission rates to gigabits-per-second transmission rates. Despite this boom in bandwidth, however, users at the end nodes were still not being reached on a consistent basis. (An end node is any device that does not behave like a router or a managed hub or switch. Examples of end node objects are computers, printers, serial interface processor phones, and unmanaged hubs and switches.) The primary reason that prevents bandwidth from reaching the end nodes is the complex local network topology that exists between the optical backbone and the end nodes. This complex network topology consists of several layers of routing and switch equipment which introduce potential congestion points and network latency. By breaking down the complex network topology, a true optical connection can be achieved. Access Optical Networks, Inc., is making this connection a reality with guidance from NASA s nondestructive evaluation experts.

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