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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

The Generic Spacecraft Analyst Assistant (GenSAA): A tool for automating spacecraft monitoring with expert systems

Flight Operations Analysts (FOAs) in the Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) are responsible for monitoring a satellite's health and safety. As satellites become more complex and data rates increase, FOAs are quickly approaching a level of information saturation. The FOAs in the spacecraft control center for the COBE (Cosmic Background Explorer) satellite are currently using a fault isolation expert system named the Communications Link Expert Assistance Resource (CLEAR), to assist in isolating and correcting communications link faults. Due to the success of CLEAR and several other systems in the control center domain, many other monitoring and fault isolation expert systems will likely be developed to support control center operations during the early 1990s. To facilitate the development of these systems, a project was initiated to develop a domain specific tool, named the Generic Spacecraft Analyst Assistant (GenSAA). GenSAA will enable spacecraft analysts to easily build simple real-time expert systems that perform spacecraft monitoring and fault isolation functions. Lessons learned during the development of several expert systems at Goddard, thereby establishing the foundation of GenSAA's objectives and offering insights in how problems may be avoided in future project, are described. This is followed by a description of the capabilities, architecture, and usage of GenSAA along with a discussion of its application to future NASA missions.

Hughes, Peter M.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Fault Diagnosis in HVAC Chillers

Modern buildings are being equipped with increasingly sophisticated power and control systems with substantial capabilities for monitoring and controlling the amenities. Operational problems associated with heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems plague many commercial buildings, often the result of degraded equipment, failed sensors, improper installation, poor maintenance, and improperly implemented controls. Most existing HVAC fault-diagnostic schemes are based on analytical models and knowledge bases. These schemes are adequate for generic systems. However, real-world systems significantly differ from the generic ones and necessitate modifications of the models and/or customization of the standard knowledge bases, which can be labor intensive. Data-driven techniques for fault detection and isolation (FDI) have a close relationship with pattern recognition, wherein one seeks to categorize the input-output data into normal or faulty classes. Owing to the simplicity and adaptability, customization of a data-driven FDI approach does not require in-depth knowledge of the HVAC system. It enables the building system operators to improve energy efficiency and maintain the desired comfort level at a reduced cost. In this article, we consider a data-driven approach for FDI of chillers in HVAC systems. To diagnose the faults of interest in the chiller, we employ multiway dynamic principal component analysis (MPCA), multiway partial least squares (MPLS), and support vector machines (SVMs). The simulation of a chiller under various fault conditions is conducted using a standard chiller simulator from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). We validated our FDI scheme using experimental data obtained from different types of chiller faults.

Choi, Kihoon↗
NASA NTRS2017

How to Address a Global Problem with Earth Observations? Developing Best Practices to Monitor Forests Around the World

Forests represent a key natural resource, for which degradation or disturbance is directly associated to economic implications, particularly in the context of the United Nations program REDD+ in supporting national policies to fight illegal deforestation. SERVIR, a joint NASA-USAID initiative that brings Earth observations (EO) for improved environmental decision making in developing countries, works with established institutions, called SERVIR hubs, in four regions around the world. SERVIR is partnering with global programs with great experience in providing best practices in forest monitoring systems, such as SilvaCarbon and the Global Forest Observation Initiative (GFOI), to develop a capacity building plan that prioritizes user needs. Representatives from the SERVIR global network met in February 2017 with experts in the field of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for forest applications to envisage this capacity building plan that aims to leverage the state-of-the-art knowledge on remote sensing to enhance forest monitoring for user agencies in SERVIR regions.

remote sensing↗
NASA NTRS2010

The Radio Jove Project

The Radio love Project is a hands-on education and outreach project in which students, or any other interested individuals or groups build a radio telescope from a kit, operate the radio telescope, transmit the resulting signals through the internet if desired, analyze the results, and share the results with others through archives or general discussions among the observers. Radio love is intended to provide an introduction to radio astronomy for the observer. The equipment allows the user to observe radio signals from Jupiter, the Sun, the galaxy, and Earth-based radiation both natural and man-made. The project was started through a NASA Director's Discretionary Fund grant more than ten years ago. it has continued to be carried out through the dedicated efforts of a group of mainly volunteers. Dearly 1500 kits have been distributed throughout the world. Participation can also be done without building a kit. Pre-built kits are available. Users can also monitor remote radio telescopes through the internet using free downloadable software available through the radiosky.com website. There have been many stories of prize-winning projects, inspirational results, collaborative efforts, etc. We continue to build the community of observers and are always open to new thoughts about how to inspire the observers to still greater involvement in the science and technology associated with Radio Jove.

Thieman, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS2025

PACE Water Resources: Demonstrating the Use of NASA's PACE Hyperspectral Ocean Color Instrument Data for Enhanced Coastal Management

This project developed tools to support the future use of Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) hyperspectral imagery in water resource monitoring and research by NASA DEVELOP teams and members of the PACE applications community. We sought to address a need for support in processing and visualizing hyperspectral PACE Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) data among researchers and decision-makers working in coastal water quality management and harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring. To supplement the day of simulated PACE imagery available, we used Aqua MODIS earth observations with Level 3 processing from March 2022 to build a Python graphical user interface (GUI) for visualizing ocean biogeochemical parameters relevant to the early detection and monitoring of HABs. We used simulated PACE OCI Level 2 data derived from the Python Top of Atmosphere Simulation Tool (PyTOAST) to build Jupyter Notebooks for band subset and selection. The Level 3 PACE Viewer components support users with quick visualizations as well as the creation of geoTIFFs and time-series. The Level 2 Jupyter Notebooks address users’ concerns over the volume and complexity of hyperspectral imagery. The PACE Viewer is useful for visual inspection and netCDF data processing but should not be used for geospatial analysis. Once PACE launches, this tool will alleviate the technical burdens of working with hyperspectral data and support the early detection and monitoring of HABs using PACE satellite imagery.

Python Top of Atmosphere Simulation Tool↗
NASA NTRS1974

Skylab induced environment

This induced environment consists of particles and gases which emanate from the spacecraft in orbit and form the 'contamination cloud'. The presence of the cloud can present certain problems connected with scattering effects and the deposition of condensibles on optical surfaces. Measures taken to investigate these effects involved the placement of quartz crystal microbalance deposition monitors at certain locations to determine molecular film build-up during the flight.

Naumann, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Active nutation controller

An apparatus is described for controlling nutation motion in a spinning body, comprised of an angular accelerometer with its input axis perpendicular to the spin axis of the body, a flywheel with an axis of rotation perpendicular to the axis of the accelerometer and to the spin axis of the body, and a motor for driving the flywheel to attenuate or build nutation. The motor is controlled by circuitry that monitors the output of the angular accelerometer and drives the motor clockwise or counterclockwise during predetermined nutation angles synchronized to the zero crossover points of the accelerometer signal centered about the nutation peaks. The motor drive is phased to damp nutation motion to zero for stabilization. To increase the noise immunity of the system, when the output of the accelerometer falls below a threshold level, the circuitry operates in an open loop, beat mode where data representing the last accelerometer signal that exceeded that threshold level is stored, and the motor drive is controlled by the stored data. In a second version, the motor is controlled to supply a predetermined amount of nutation motion to a body undergoing testing on a spin table for energy dissipation evaluation. In each version, the use of an angular accelerometer rather than a linear accelerometer or gyro to monitor nutation enables placement of the nutation control apparatus at any location relative to the spin axis of the body requiring only crude orientation and no calibration.

Hoffman, H. C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Passive films on magnesium anodes in primary batteries

The characteristics of the passive films over Mg anodes, which essentially govern the voltage delay of the latter, have been determined nondestructively from an analysis of the transient and steady-state response of the electrode potential to low amplitude galvanostatic polarization under various experimental conditions viz., with different corrosion inhibitor coatings on Mg, after various periods of ageing of anode in solutions containing corrosion inhibitors, at various low temperatures etc. Using these parameters, the kinetics of film build-up or dissolution under these conditions have been monitored. The morphology of the anode film has been verified with scanning electron microscopy. Similar transients at low temperatures point out a steep rise in the film resistivity which is essentially responsible for the severe voltage delay. Finally, possible application of this technique in secondary Li batteries to improve cycling characteristics of the Li anode has been pointed out.

Ratnakumar, B. V.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Dynamics Questions Associated with the AERCam Sprint Free-Flyer

The International Space Station will require the development of small robotic vehicles for such tasks as external inspection, monitoring of extravehicular activities (EVA's) and station build-up, and providing additional lighting at EVA worksites. The Autonomous EVA Robotic Camera (AERCam) family of free-flyers is currently being developed at NASA Johnson Space Center to perform these functions; the first member of the family is the AERCam Sprint vehicle. Many interesting dynamical questions are associated with the Sprint free-flyer. For instance, the reaction of a vehicle which is nearly spherically symmetric (such as Sprint) to a stuck-on thruster is significantly more complicated than that obtained for an idealized, perfectly spherical, spacecraft model. In particular, the real spacecraft will experience a form of forced nutation, with convergence towards either its major or minor principal axis, depending on both the applied torque and the mass properties of the vehicle. Furthermore, the body-fixed jet force vector may have a significant component along this principal axis, so giving rise to a considerable net linear acceleration of the spacecraft. The large velocity that can result is very important, as it may lead to collision with the nearby Orbiter, and is completely overlooked in the idealized analysis. This report will firstly briefly describe the stuck-on thruster dynamics of the real vehicle, and outline how the small products of inertia of the spacecraft determine the time constants of the motion. Secondly, the dynamical effects of a failed-off jet on the Sprint free-flyer will be described in more detail, and compared with the stuck-on thruster case. This will help to show whether the two malfunctions should be dealt with differently in flight. Finally, the stuck-on thruster detection software (known as the uncommanded motion algorithm) that is proposed to be flown on the Sprint vehicle will be analyzed, and all possible perturbation sources that may tend to give rise to false stuck-on thruster alarms quantified. It will be shown that false alarms can be triggered by discrete events such as a failed-off thruster, a glancing collision with Orbiter structure, or thruster saturation. They can also be triggered by a combination of errors introduced by constantly present sources such as thrust level errors, thruster misalignment, inertial cross-coupling, angular rate sensor noise, and structural vibrations induced by thruster firings. Based on this fact, the original plan to have the spacecraft enter safe mode whenever the uncommanded motion algorithm is triggered does not appear to be advisable. A better approach seems to be to provide the Sprint pilot with a warning whenever uncommanded motion is detected, and then allow the crew to determine whether safing the vehicle is appropriate.

Williams, Trevor↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission: A Global DEM

Digital topographic data are critical for a variety of civilian, commercial, and military applications. Scientists use Digital Elevation Models (DEM) to map drainage patterns and ecosystems, and to monitor land surface changes over time. The mountain-building effects of tectonics and the climatic effects of erosion can also be modeled with DEW The data's military applications include mission planning and rehearsal, modeling and simulation. Commercial applications include determining locations for cellular phone towers, enhanced ground proximity warning systems for aircraft, and improved maps for backpackers. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) (Fig. 1), is a cooperative project between NASA and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense. The mission is designed to use a single-pass radar interferometer to produce a digital elevation model of the Earth's land surface between about 60 degrees north and south latitude. The DEM will have 30 m pixel spacing and about 15 m vertical errors.

Farr, Tom G.↗
NASA NTRS2016

From Toes to Top-of-the-Atmosphere: Fowler Sneaker Index

Fowler Sneaker Index (FSI), developed by a NASA summer intern, is a new Ocean Color application that facilitates continuous monitoring of environmental conditions in the Chesapeake Bay. It builds on three decades of citizen science data collected by former Maryland State Senator Bernie Fowler, during his yearly "Wade-ins in the Patuxent River". FSI demonstrates how NASA's Earth-observing tools, in combination with a concerned and engaged public, can take science from the tips of our toes-to-top-of the atmosphere and back.

Optics Express↗
NASA NTRS1994

Retrieval of Forest Canopy Parameters for OTTER Using an Optimized Technique

An inversion algorithm based on a nonlinear optimization technique is used to retrieve a subset of forest canopy parameters that can be used in ecosystem modeling. The inversion algorithm uses a parametric model derived from a discrete component forest scattering model which includes all major scattering contributions to radar backscatter. The parametric model, however, is derived for cases where only one mechanism dominates the scattering process, in this case, branch layer volume scattering.The inversion algorithm is shown to be a useful tool in the quantative monitoring of canopy moisture status, as well as a building block of its future versions which will include a more comprehensive set of forest scattering parameters as unknowns.

forest↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

TeleLayering: Teleoperated Construction 3D Printing Using Multimodal Feedback for Extraterrestrial and Terrestrial Construction

In this paper, we propose a teleoperated construction 3D printing technology, called TeleLayering, for planetary and terrestrial applications. The TeleLayering technology is enabled by effective multimodal control and monitoring systems and enhanced construction 3D printing robots to build or repair a variety of structures in extreme environments without the need for human presence on the jobsite. This paper presents a general description, main technical requirements, implementation challenges, and applications of this technology.

TeleLayering↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA POWER: Providing Analysis-Ready, Cloud-Optimized Data for AI /ML Training and Applications in Earth Science

As global demand for sustainable development grows, the integration of Earth Observation (EO) data into decision making frameworks has become a primary objective for the scientific community. The NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project serves as a bridge between NASA EO data and the specialized needs of the renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure and agroclimatology communities. In this poster presentation we will present an overview of POWER data products and services along with its use in diverse research to decision-making workflows. By providing over 40 years of high-resolution historical, hourly and daily solar and meteorological data, POWER transforms satellite observations and global model reanalysis into actionable, Analysis-Ready Dataset (ARD). Currently, the project delivers over 250 industry-friendly parameters to the users from different NASA datasets like CERES SYN1Deg, MERRA-2, and IMERG alongside downscaled CMIP6 climate model data, fulfilling over 16 million requests from 50,000 unique users monthly. To ensure data quality and traceability, these parameters are rigorously validated against the ground-based observations from the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) and the Global Surface Summary of the Day (GSOD) – these results will be discussed in the presentation. A newly introduced web-based PaRameter Uncertainty ViEwer (PRUVE) tool will be presented that provides an online validation platform to the users that benchmarks satellite-based and assimilation data products against these surface measurements. To reduce technical barriers to data adoption, POWER data is accessible through RESTful APIs, ESRI ArcGIS Image Services, a web-based Data Access Viewer tool, allowing users to visualize, validate and apply the dataset. For efficient data delivery POWER data is cloud-optimized into Zarr datastore accessible through NASA managed Amazon S3 ensures high-performance allowing users to integrate EO directly into operational pipelines. These customized services will be presented. Use cases from application will be presented from the energy sector - such as for design of generation systems, performance monitoring of solar power plants, in infrastructure sector- optimizing building energy efficiency and thermal comfort, in agriculture – such as driving crop simulation and yield forecasting models to enable climate resilient farming. Furthermore, the shift toward machine learning (ML) in EO research that has positioned POWER as a key provider for training datasets which will be discussed. Use-cases will be presented to showcase how NASA data is enabling the development of predictive tools for climate variability and resource management. The poster will present POWER’s future plans including technology development to enhance data traceability and reproducibility and improving I/O performance to support the rapid integration of new EO products, ensuring that POWER remains a robust scalable backend for the evolving landscape of AI-driven Earth Science. Additionally, POWER is developing an AI Agent and an MCP-Server to enable industry AI-Agentic workflows.

Neha Khadka↗
NASA NTRS1996

Automated Decomposition of Model-based Learning Problems

A new generation of sensor rich, massively distributed autonomous systems is being developed that has the potential for unprecedented performance, such as smart buildings, reconfigurable factories, adaptive traffic systems and remote earth ecosystem monitoring. To achieve high performance these massive systems will need to accurately model themselves and their environment from sensor information. Accomplishing this on a grand scale requires automating the art of large-scale modeling. This paper presents a formalization of [\em decompositional model-based learning (DML)], a method developed by observing a modeler's expertise at decomposing large scale model estimation tasks. The method exploits a striking analogy between learning and consistency-based diagnosis. Moriarty, an implementation of DML, has been applied to thermal modeling of a smart building, demonstrating a significant improvement in learning rate.

Williams, Brian C.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Swamp Works- Multiple Projects

My Surface Systems internship over the summer 2013 session covered a broad range of projects that ranged multiple aspects and fields of engineering and technology. This internship included a project to create a command center for a 120 ton regolith bin, a design and build for a blast shield to add further protection for the Surface Systems engineers, a design for a portable four monitor hyper wall that can extend as large as needed, research and programming a nano drill for a next generation robot, and social media tasks including the making of videos, posting to social networking websites and implementation of a new weekly outreach program to help spread the word about the Swamp Works laboratory. The objectives for the command center were to create a central computer controlled area for the still in production lunar regolith bin. It needed to be easy to use and the operating systems had to be Linux. The objectives for the hyper wall were to build a mobile transport of monitors that could potentially attach to one another. It needed to be light but sturdy, and have the ability to last. The objectives for the blast shield included a robust design that could withstand a small equipment malfunction, while also being convenient for use. The objectives for the nano-drill included the research and implementation of programming for vertical and horizontal movement. The hyper wall and blasts shield project were designed by me in the Pro/Engineer/Creo2 software. Each project required a meeting with the Swamp Works engineers and was declared successful.

Carelli, Jonathan M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A fuzzy case based reasoning tool for model based approach to rocket engine health monitoring

In this system we develop a fuzzy case based reasoner that can build a case representation for several past anomalies detected, and we develop case retrieval methods that can be used to index a relevant case when a new problem (case) is presented using fuzzy sets. The choice of fuzzy sets is justified by the uncertain data. The new problem can be solved using knowledge of the model along with the old cases. This system can then be used to generalize the knowledge from previous cases and use this generalization to refine the existing model definition. This in turn can help to detect failures using the model based algorithms.

Krovvidy, Srinivas↗
NASA NTRS2013

Ensemble Statistical Post-Processing of the National Air Quality Forecast Capability: Enhancing Ozone Forecasts in Baltimore, Maryland

An ensemble statistical post-processor (ESP) is developed for the National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) to address the unique challenges of forecasting surface ozone in Baltimore, MD. Air quality and meteorological data were collected from the eight monitors that constitute the Baltimore forecast region. These data were used to build the ESP using a moving-block bootstrap, regression tree models, and extreme-value theory. The ESP was evaluated using a 10-fold cross-validation to avoid evaluation with the same data used in the development process. Results indicate that the ESP is conditionally biased, likely due to slight overfitting while training the regression tree models. When viewed from the perspective of a decision-maker, the ESP provides a wealth of additional information previously not available through the NAQFC alone. The user is provided the freedom to tailor the forecast to the decision at hand by using decision-specific probability thresholds that define a forecast for an ozone exceedance. Taking advantage of the ESP, the user not only receives an increase in value over the NAQFC, but also receives value for An ensemble statistical post-processor (ESP) is developed for the National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) to address the unique challenges of forecasting surface ozone in Baltimore, MD. Air quality and meteorological data were collected from the eight monitors that constitute the Baltimore forecast region. These data were used to build the ESP using a moving-block bootstrap, regression tree models, and extreme-value theory. The ESP was evaluated using a 10-fold cross-validation to avoid evaluation with the same data used in the development process. Results indicate that the ESP is conditionally biased, likely due to slight overfitting while training the regression tree models. When viewed from the perspective of a decision-maker, the ESP provides a wealth of additional information previously not available through the NAQFC alone. The user is provided the freedom to tailor the forecast to the decision at hand by using decision-specific probability thresholds that define a forecast for an ozone exceedance. Taking advantage of the ESP, the user not only receives an increase in value over the NAQFC, but also receives value for

ozone↗