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At least 163 records · Page 9

International Cooperation of Payload Operations on the International Space Station

One of the primary goals of the International Space Station (ISS) is to provide an orbiting laboratory to be used to conduct scientific research and commercial products utilizing the unique environment of space. The ISS Program has united multiple nations into a coalition with the objective of developing and outfitting this orbiting laboratory and sharing in the utilization of the resources available. The primary objectives of the real- time integration of ISS payload operations are to ensure safe operations of payloads, to avoid mutual interference between payloads and onboard systems, to monitor the use of integrated station resources and to increase the total effectiveness of ISS. The ISS organizational architecture has provided for the distribution of operations planning and execution functions to the organizations with expertise to perform each function. Each IPP is responsible for the integration and operations of their payloads within their resource allocations and the safety requirements defined by the joint program. Another area of international cooperation is the sharing in the development and on- orbit utilization of unique payload facilities. An example of this cooperation is the Microgravity Science Glovebox. The hardware was developed by ESA and provided to NASA as part of a barter arrangement.

Melton, Tina↗

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↗

Science Data Processing for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer: Earth Observing System

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration established the framework for the Science Investigator-led Processing Systems (SIPS) to enable the Earth science data products to be produced by personnel directly associated with the instrument science team and knowledgeable of the science algorithms. One of the first instantiations implemented for NASA was the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) SIPS. The AMSR-E SIPS is a decentralized, geographically distributed ground data processing system composed of two primary components located in California and Alabama. Initial science data processing is conducted at Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) in Santa Rosa, California. RSS ingests antenna temperature orbit data sets from JAXA and converts them to calibrated, resampled, geolocated brightness temperatures. The brightness temperatures are sent to the Global Hydrology and Climate Center in Huntsville, Alabama, which generates the geophysical science data products (e.g., water vapor, sea surface temperature, sea ice extent, etc.) suitable for climate research and applications usage. These science products are subsequently sent to the National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center in Boulder, Colorado for archival and dissemination to the at-large science community. This paper describes the organization, coordination, and production techniques employed by the AMSR-E SIPS in implementing, automating and operating the distributed data processing system.

Goodman, H. Michael↗

Wavelets and the squeezed states of quantum optics

Wavelets are new mathematical objects which act as 'designer trigonometric functions.' To obtain a wavelet, the original function space of finite energy signals is generalized to a phase-space, and the translation operator in the original space has a scale change in the new variable adjoined to the translation. Localization properties in the phase-space can be improved and unconditional bases are obtained for a broad class of function and distribution spaces. Operators in phase space are 'almost diagonal' instead of the traditional condition of being diagonal in the original function space. These wavelets are applied to the squeezed states of quantum optics. The scale change required for a quantum wavelet is shown to be a Yuen squeeze operator acting on an arbitrary density operator.

Defacio, B.↗

Execution time supports for adaptive scientific algorithms on distributed memory machines

Optimizations are considered that are required for efficient execution of code segments that consists of loops over distributed data structures. The PARTI (Parallel Automated Runtime Toolkit at ICASE) execution time primitives are designed to carry out these optimizations and can be used to implement a wide range of scientific algorithms on distributed memory machines. These primitives allow the user to control array mappings in a way that gives an appearance of shared memory. Computations can be based on a global index set. Primitives are used to carry out gather and scatter operations on distributed arrays. Communications patterns are derived at runtime, and the appropriate send and receive messages are automatically generated.

Berryman, Harry↗

Execution time support for scientific programs on distributed memory machines

Optimizations are considered that are required for efficient execution of code segments that consists of loops over distributed data structures. The PARTI (Parallel Automated Runtime Toolkit at ICASE) execution time primitives are designed to carry out these optimizations and can be used to implement a wide range of scientific algorithms on distributed memory machines. These primitives allow the user to control array mappings in a way that gives an appearance of shared memory. Computations can be based on a global index set. Primitives are used to carry out gather and scatter operations on distributed arrays. Communications patterns are derived at runtime, and the appropriate send and receive messages are automatically generated.

Berryman, Harry↗

Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) "AirStation": Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Carrier Concept

Proposals for adapting modern airship technologies for military missions have mostly focused on exploiting the airships high flight endurance and low fuel requirement to conduct direct surveillance missions requiring high degrees of persistence over the areas to be observed. While this mission has value, it constrains the airship in two regards. (1) It places all the surveillance sensors, communication systems, and other mission equipment in the airship itself. (2) It requires the airship to be physically in the vicinity of the areas to be directly observed. A more advanced utilization of airship technology would be to add the capability to deploy a separate set of surveillance equipment, thereby enabling indirect and distributed observation operations. This can be undertaken by installing surveillance equipment in a squadron of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that can be carried and operated remotely from the airship, and then return to the airship as a base of support. This could be accomplished by deploying 20-30 UASs on an optionally manned (5 person crew) airship. The mission focus of the airship UAS carrier would be for support of distributed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), close air support (CAS), maritime patrol and interdiction, electronic warfare (EW), persistent area dominance and missile defense. The logic for utilizing an airship carrier over a ground base to deploy UAS will be examined. Whether to be used as a stand-alone platform or in concert with conventional intelligence gathering techniques, the airship UAS carrier can provide the following benefits: a mobile base that will remain accessible despite political fallout which may render a ground base unavailable for use, the psychological impact of a power projection tool that has no geographical limits (imagined in the same way a naval carrier group projects power), cost-saving intelligence gathering over manned alternatives (assumption), and a wider area of influence when compared to an immobile ground base that must facilitate the transfer of UAS to other bases in order to overfly particular areas (all operations, launch, recover, etc. take place from the airship).

Hochstetler, Ron↗

Cassini Science Operations and Planning Computer Design

The Cassini Science Operations and Planning Computers (SOPC) are meant to give Cassini investigators and the Huygens Probe Operations Centre (HPOC) more directed control of and responsibility for their instruments and their data and to reduce mission operations cost.SOPCs give the investigators the ability to command their instrument directly, but also the responsibility to do so correctly.

Cassini↗

Telescience Operations on International Space Station

This paper describes the concept of telescience operations for the International Space Station (ISS). The extended duration microgravity environment of the ISS will enable microgravity science research to enter into a new era of increased scientific and technological data return. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a vision of distributed ground operations which enables the Principal Investigator direct interaction with his/her on-board experiment from his/her home location. This is the concept of telescience and is essential for maximizing the use of the long duration science environment that ISS provides. The goal of telescience is to provide the capability to fully tele-operate an experiment from any ground location in such a way as to increase the amount and quality of scientific and technological data return and decrease the operations cost of an individual experiment relative to the era of Space Shuttle experiments. This paper also describes the NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) implementation approach for the LeRC Telescience Support Center (TSC) and Principal Investigator Science Operations Sites (SOS) which will fully meet the concept of telescience as prescribed by the Agency.

Schubert, Kathleen E.↗

Parameter estimation of large flexible aerospace structures with application to the control of the Maypole Deployable Reflector

Systems such as the Maypole deployable reflector have a distributed parameter nature. The flexible column and hoop structure and the circular antenna of 30-100 meter diameter which it supports are described by partial, rather than ordinary, differential equations. Progress completed in reduced order modelling andd controller design and digital parameter estimation and control is summarized. Topics covered include depolyment and on-orbit operation; quasi-static (steady state) operation; dynamic distributed parameter system; autoregressive moving average identification; frequency domain procedures; direct or implicit active control; adaptive observers; parameter estimation using a linear reinforcement learning factor; feedback control; and reduced order modeling for nonlinear systems.

Balas, M. J.↗

A multiprocessing architecture for real-time monitoring

A multitasking architecture for performing real-time monitoring and analysis using knowledge-based problem solving techniques is described. To handle asynchronous inputs and perform in real time, the system consists of three or more distributed processes which run concurrently and communicate via a message passing scheme. The Data Management Process acquires, compresses, and routes the incoming sensor data to other processes. The Inference Process consists of a high performance inference engine that performs a real-time analysis on the state and health of the physical system. The I/O Process receives sensor data from the Data Management Process and status messages and recommendations from the Inference Process, updates its graphical displays in real time, and acts as the interface to the console operator. The distributed architecture has been interfaced to an actual spacecraft (NASA's Hubble Space Telescope) and is able to process the incoming telemetry in real-time (i.e., several hundred data changes per second). The system is being used in two locations for different purposes: (1) in Sunnyville, California at the Space Telescope Test Control Center it is used in the preflight testing of the vehicle; and (2) in Greenbelt, Maryland at NASA/Goddard it is being used on an experimental basis in flight operations for health and safety monitoring.

Schmidt, James L.↗

Science operations interfaces for Mars surface exploration

The Science Activity Planner (SAP) is the science planning tool used for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission. This paper begins with an overview of the software developed for MER and how it was used for science downlink analysis and activity planning.

distributed operations↗

The SMART-NAS Testbed

The SMART-NAS Testbed for Safe Trajectory Based Operations Project will deliver an evaluation capability, critical to the ATM community, allowing full NextGen and beyond-NextGen concepts to be assessed and developed. To meet this objective a strong focus will be placed on concept integration and validation to enable a gate-to-gate trajectory-based system capability that satisfies a full vision for NextGen. The SMART-NAS for Safe TBO Project consists of six sub-projects. Three of the sub-projects are focused on exploring and developing technologies, concepts and models for evolving and transforming air traffic management operations in the ATM+2 time horizon, while the remaining three sub-projects are focused on developing the tools and capabilities needed for testing these advanced concepts. Function Allocation, Networked Air Traffic Management and Trajectory Based Operations are developing concepts and models. SMART-NAS Test-bed, System Assurance Technologies and Real-time Safety Modeling are developing the tools and capabilities to test these concepts. Simulation and modeling capabilities will include the ability to assess multiple operational scenarios of the national airspace system, accept data feeds, allowing shadowing of actual operations in either real-time, fast-time and/or hybrid modes of operations in distributed environments, and enable integrated examinations of concepts, algorithms, technologies, and NAS architectures. An important focus within this project is to enable the development of a real-time, system-wide safety assurance system. The basis of such a system is a continuum of information acquisition, analysis, and assessment that enables awareness and corrective action to detect and mitigate potential threats to continuous system-wide safety at all levels. This process, which currently can only be done post operations, will be driven towards "real-time" assessments in the 2035 time frame.

Trajectory Based Operations↗

COCPIT: Collaborative Activity Planning Software for Mars Perseverance Rover

Since landing on the Martian surface, the Perseverance rover has relied on a distributed team to generate commands for exploring its new environment each sol(Martian day). The team uses a complex suite of software tools to accomplish this challenging task in time for the next window of opportunity to send commands to the rover. A key piece of this software ecosystem is COCPIT (Component-based Campaign Planning, Implementation, and Tactical). COCPIT is part of the next generation of planning and scheduling software tools developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in partnership with NASA's Ames Research Center. COCPIT is a web-based application that allows users to collaboratively view and update the Perseverance rover's activity plans, continuously verify that the plan satisfies constraints, assign targets for directing scientific instruments, document science intent, and model power and data resources. Mars Surface Operations requires diverse expertise from team members within the Engineering, Science, Robotic, and Instrument Operations groups, distributed across North America and Europe. In order to improve efficiency and reduce risk, all teams are able to review and edit their activities simultaneously and see the effects on the plan in its entirety. As part of the Ground Data System (GDS) tool suite, COCPIT is responsible for the activity plan. It provides specialized views that allow operators to understand where there may be room for additional observations, see whether any planning constraints are being violated, and confirm that energy usage and data generation are within the defined limits. It contains details such as which filters a camera will use for a given observation, what the resolution of the images should be, where to store the data onboard, and how long the observation is expected to take. It predicts when specific data will be downlinked from the rover to a passing orbiter, so that the team knows when to expect that data on Earth for evaluation in future planning. Ultimately the information from the COCPIT plan is translated to sequences that will be bundled and radiated to Perseverance for execution. The COCPIT tool is used throughout all planning phases.

activity planning↗

COCPIT: Collaborative Activity Planning Software for Mars Perseverance Rover

Since landing on the Martian surface, the Perseverance rover has relied on a distributed team to generate commands for exploring its new environment each sol(Martian day). The team uses a complex suite of software tools to accomplish this challenging task in time for the next window of opportunity to send commands to the rover. A key piece of this software ecosystem is COCPIT (Component-based Campaign Planning, Implementation, and Tactical). COCPIT is part of the next generation of planning and scheduling software tools developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in partnership with NASA's Ames Research Center. COCPIT is a web-based application that allows users to collaboratively view and update the Perseverance rover's activity plans, continuously verify that the plan satisfies constraints, assign targets for directing scientific instruments, document science intent, and model power and data resources. Mars Surface Operations requires diverse expertise from team members within the Engineering, Science, Robotic, and Instrument Operations groups, distributed across North America and Europe. In order to improve efficiency and reduce risk, all teams are able to review and edit their activities simultaneously and see the effects on the plan in its entirety. As part of the Ground Data System (GDS) tool suite, COCPIT is responsible for the activity plan. It provides specialized views that allow operators to understand where there may be room for additional observations, see whether any planning constraints are being violated, and confirm that energy usage and data generation are within the defined limits. It contains details such as which filters a camera will use for a given observation, what the resolution of the images should be, where to store the data onboard, and how long the observation is expected to take. It predicts when specific data will be downlinked from the rover to a passing orbiter, so that the team knows when to expect that data on Earth for evaluation in future planning. Ultimately the information from the COCPIT plan is translated to sequences that will be bundled and radiated to Perseverance for execution. The COCPIT tool is used throughout all planning phases.

activity planning↗

COCPIT: Collaborative Activity Planning Software for Mars Perseverance Rover

Since landing on the Martian surface, the Perseverance rover has relied on a distributed team to generate commands for exploring its new environment each sol (Martian day). The team uses a complex suite of software tools to accomplish this challenging task in time for the next window of opportunity to send commands to the rover. A key piece of this software ecosystem is COCPIT (Component-based Campaign Planning, Implementation, and Tactical). COCPIT is part of the next generation of planning and scheduling software tools developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in partnership with NASA's Ames Research Center. COCPIT is a web-based application that allows users to collaboratively view and update the Perseverance rover's activity plans, continuously verify that the plan satisfies constraints, assign targets for directing scientific instruments, document science intent, and model power and data resources. Mars Surface Operations requires diverse expertise from team members within the Engineering, Science, Robotic, and Instrument Operations groups, distributed across North America and Europe. In order to improve efficiency and reduce risk, all teams are able to review and edit their activities simultaneously and see the effects on the plan in its entirety. As part of the Ground Data System (GDS) tool suite, COCPIT is responsible for the activity plan. It provides specialized views that allow operators to understand where there may be room for additional observations, see whether any planning constraints are being violated, and confirm that energy usage and data generation are within the defined limits. It contains details such as which filters a camera will use for a given observation, what the resolution of the images should be, where to store the data onboard, and how long the observation is expected to take. It predicts when specific data will be downlinked from the rover to a passing orbiter, so that the team knows when to expect that data on Earth for evaluation in future planning. Ultimately the information from the COCPIT plan is translated to sequences that will be bundled and radiated to Perseverance for execution. The COCPIT tool is used throughout all planning phases.

Kanefsky, Bob↗

Towards an Open, Distributed Software Architecture for UxS Operations

To address the growing need to evaluate, test, and certify an ever expanding ecosystem of UxS platforms in preparation of cultural integration, NASA Langley Research Center's Autonomy Incubator (AI) has taken on the challenge of developing a software framework in which UxS platforms developed by third parties can be integrated into a single system which provides evaluation and testing, mission planning and operation, and out-of-the-box autonomy and data fusion capabilities. This software framework, named AEON (Autonomous Entity Operations Network), has two main goals. The first goal is the development of a cross-platform, extensible, onboard software system that provides autonomy at the mission execution and course-planning level, a highly configurable data fusion framework sensitive to the platform's available sensor hardware, and plug-and-play compatibility with a wide array of computer systems, sensors, software, and controls hardware. The second goal is the development of a ground control system that acts as a test-bed for integration of the proposed heterogeneous fleet, and allows for complex mission planning, tracking, and debugging capabilities. The ground control system should also be highly extensible and allow plug-and-play interoperability with third party software systems. In order to achieve these goals, this paper proposes an open, distributed software architecture which utilizes at its core the Data Distribution Service (DDS) standards, established by the Object Management Group (OMG), for inter-process communication and data flow. The design decisions proposed herein leverage the advantages of existing robotics software architectures and the DDS standards to develop software that is scalable, high-performance, fault tolerant, modular, and readily interoperable with external platforms and software.

Cross, Charles D.↗

Performance Risk Model (PRisM) Proof-of-Concept: An Operational Decision Support Tool to Predict Crew Performance in Space from Available Performance Tests

The Crew Health and Performance-Probabilistic Risk Assessment (CHP-PRA) team at NASA Glenn Research Center has developed a range of tools to evaluate astronaut health during spaceflight and to optimize the medical set required for missions. Among these, the Performance Risk Model (PRisM) represents a novel advancement, extending CHP-PRA’s focus beyond medical systems into the domain of human performance. Such tool could be pivotal in optimizing astronaut capabilities during space travel, thereby enhancing overall mission success. PRisM leverages data from well-established performance assessments conducted during previous crewed space missions and Earth analogs to strategically predict outcomes for planned tasks, even when direct performance testing has not been conducted for those specific tasks. To evaluate performance, PRisM references the various metrics outlined in NASA-STD-3001 and employs a methodology to integrate different performance scales. This framework analyzes the contribution of various human system task categories (HSTCs) to task execution and compares these contributions to the HSTCs’ involvement in other known tests. The model further employs a Monte Carlo simulation to sample performance scores from their distribution in operationally relevant tests such as those in Mulavara et al. (2018) and, by leveraging similarities in HSTC involvement, transfers this knowledge to actual mission tasks, such as those outlined in the "Human Exploration of Mars: Preliminary List of Crew Tasks”. The current PRisM proof-of-concept includes analyses of the impact of exercise and specific medications on astronauts’ performance, with provisions to incorporate additional countermeasures as data becomes available. Furthermore, the tool is customizable to include any system necessary to fully encompass the domain of human systems and can be adapted to evaluate performance for any spaceflight activities as requested by operational stakeholders. PRisM has the potential to assist the Human Research Program in exploring the capabilities trade space for optimized crew performance.

performance modeling↗