Verification and Validation of Neural Networks for Aerospace Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mackall, Dale; Nelson, Stacy; Schumann, Johann

2002-01-01

The Dryden Flight Research Center V&V working group and NASA Ames Research Center Automated Software Engineering (ASE) group collaborated to prepare this report. The purpose is to describe V&V processes and methods for certification of neural networks for aerospace applications, particularly adaptive flight control systems like Intelligent Flight Control Systems (IFCS) that use neural networks. This report is divided into the following two sections: Overview of Adaptive Systems and V&V Processes/Methods.

Predicting forest insect flight activity: A Bayesian network approach

Treesearch

Stephen M. Pawson; Bruce G. Marcot; Owen G. Woodberry

2017-01-01

Daily flight activity patterns of forest insects are influenced by temporal and meteorological conditions. Temperature and time of day are frequently cited as key drivers of activity; however, complex interactions between multiple contributing factors have also been proposed. Here, we report individual Bayesian network models to assess the probability of flight...

Data systems and computer science programs: Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Paul H.; Hunter, Paul

1991-01-01

An external review of the Integrated Technology Plan for the Civil Space Program is presented. The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: onboard memory and storage technology; advanced flight computers; special purpose flight processors; onboard networking and testbeds; information archive, access, and retrieval; visualization; neural networks; software engineering; and flight control and operations.

Analysis of the Chinese air route network as a complex network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Kai-Quan; Zhang, Jun; Du, Wen-Bo; Cao, Xian-Bin

2012-02-01

The air route network, which supports all the flight activities of the civil aviation, is the most fundamental infrastructure of air traffic management system. In this paper, we study the Chinese air route network (CARN) within the framework of complex networks. We find that CARN is a geographical network possessing exponential degree distribution, low clustering coefficient, large shortest path length and exponential spatial distance distribution that is obviously different from that of the Chinese airport network (CAN). Besides, via investigating the flight data from 2002 to 2010, we demonstrate that the topology structure of CARN is homogeneous, howbeit the distribution of flight flow on CARN is rather heterogeneous. In addition, the traffic on CARN keeps growing in an exponential form and the increasing speed of west China is remarkably larger than that of east China. Our work will be helpful to better understand Chinese air traffic systems.

The deep space network. [tracking and communication support for space probes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The objectives, functions, and organization of the deep space network are summarized. Progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations is reported. Interface support for the Mariner Venus Mercury 1973 flight and Pioneer 10 and 11 missions is included.

GRC-2010-C-05148

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-11-08

Communications, Navigation, and Network Reconfigurable Test-bed (CoNNeCT) Flight Hardware Compatibility Test Sets - Glenn Research Center and Networks Integration Management Office (NIMO) Testing for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) - Goddard Space Flight Center Testing

GRC-2010-C-05136

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-11-16

Communications, Navigation, and Network Reconfigurable Test-bed (CoNNeCT) Flight Hardware Compatibility Test Sets - Glenn Research Center and Networks Integration Management Office (NIMO) Testing for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) - Goddard Space Flight Center Testing

Integrated Neural Flight and Propulsion Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaneshige, John; Gundy-Burlet, Karen; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This paper describes an integrated neural flight and propulsion control system. which uses a neural network based approach for applying alternate sources of control power in the presence of damage or failures. Under normal operating conditions, the system utilizes conventional flight control surfaces. Neural networks are used to provide consistent handling qualities across flight conditions and for different aircraft configurations. Under damage or failure conditions, the system may utilize unconventional flight control surface allocations, along with integrated propulsion control, when additional control power is necessary for achieving desired flight control performance. In this case, neural networks are used to adapt to changes in aircraft dynamics and control allocation schemes. Of significant importance here is the fact that this system can operate without emergency or backup flight control mode operations. An additional advantage is that this system can utilize, but does not require, fault detection and isolation information or explicit parameter identification. Piloted simulation studies were performed on a commercial transport aircraft simulator. Subjects included both NASA test pilots and commercial airline crews. Results demonstrate the potential for improving handing qualities and significantly increasing survivability rates under various simulated failure conditions.

Implementation of an Adaptive Controller System from Concept to Flight Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, Richard R.; Burken, John J.; Butler, Bradley S.; Yokum, Steve

2009-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California) is conducting ongoing flight research using adaptive controller algorithms. A highly modified McDonnell-Douglas NF-15B airplane called the F-15 Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) is used to test and develop these algorithms. Modifications to this airplane include adding canards and changing the flight control systems to interface a single-string research controller processor for neural network algorithms. Research goals include demonstration of revolutionary control approaches that can efficiently optimize aircraft performance in both normal and failure conditions and advancement of neural-network-based flight control technology for new aerospace system designs. This report presents an overview of the processes utilized to develop adaptive controller algorithms during a flight-test program, including a description of initial adaptive controller concepts and a discussion of modeling formulation and performance testing. Design finalization led to integration with the system interfaces, verification of the software, validation of the hardware to the requirements, design of failure detection, development of safety limiters to minimize the effect of erroneous neural network commands, and creation of flight test control room displays to maximize human situational awareness; these are also discussed.

Reconfigurable Flight Control Design using a Robust Servo LQR and Radial Basis Function Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burken, John J.

2005-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the use of a Robust Servo Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and a Radial Basis Function (RBF) Neural Network in reconfigurable flight control designs in adaptation to a aircraft part failure. The method uses a robust LQR servomechanism design with model Reference adaptive control, and RBF neural networks. During the failure the LQR servomechanism behaved well, and using the neural networks improved the tracking.

Secretory granule formation and membrane recycling by the trans-Golgi network in adipokinetic cells of Locusta migratoria in relation to flight and rest.

PubMed

Diederen, J H; Vullings, H G

1995-03-01

The influence of flight activity on the formation of secretory granules and the concomitant membrane recycling by the trans-Golgi network in the peptidergic neurosecretory adipokinetic cells of Locusta migratoria was investigated by means of ultrastructural morphometric methods. The patterns of labelling of the trans-Golgi network by the exogenous adsorptive endocytotic tracer wheat-germ agglutinin-conjugated horse-radish peroxidase and by the endogenous marker enzyme acid phosphatase were used as parameters and were measured by an automatic image analysis system. The results show that endocytosed fragments of plasma membrane with bound peroxidase label were transported to the trans-Golgi network and used to build new secretory granules. The amounts of peroxidase and especially of acid phosphatase within the trans-Golgi network showed a strong tendency to be smaller in flight-stimulated cells than in non-stimulated cells. The amounts of acid phosphatase in the immature secretory granules originating from the trans-Golgi network were significantly smaller in stimulated cells. The number of immature secretory granules positive for acid phosphatase tended to be higher in stimulated cells. Thus, flight stimulation of adipokinetic cells for 1 h influences the functioning of the trans-Golgi network; this most probably results in a slight enhancement of the production of secretory granules by the trans-Golgi network.

Flight Test Implementation of a Second Generation Intelligent Flight Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams-Hayes, Peggy S.

2005-01-01

The NASA F-15 Intelligent Flight Control System project team has developed a series of flight control concepts designed to demonstrate the benefits of a neural network-based adaptive controller. The objective of the team was to develop and flight-test control systems that use neural network technology, to optimize the performance of the aircraft under nominal conditions, and to stabilize the aircraft under failure conditions. Failure conditions include locked or failed control surfaces as well as unforeseen damage that might occur to the aircraft in flight. The Intelligent Flight Control System team is currently in the process of implementing a second generation control scheme, collectively known as Generation 2 or Gen 2, for flight testing on the NASA F-15 aircraft. This report describes the Gen 2 system as implemented by the team for flight test evaluation. Simulation results are shown which describe the experiment to be performed in flight and highlight the ways in which the Gen 2 system meets the defined objectives.

Implementation of an Adaptive Controller System from Concept to Flight Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, Richard R.; Burken, John J.; Butler, Bradley S.

2009-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California) is conducting ongoing flight research using adaptive controller algorithms. A highly modified McDonnell-Douglas NF-15B airplane called the F-15 Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) was used for these algorithms. This airplane has been modified by the addition of canards and by changing the flight control systems to interface a single-string research controller processor for neural network algorithms. Research goals included demonstration of revolutionary control approaches that can efficiently optimize aircraft performance for both normal and failure conditions, and to advance neural-network-based flight control technology for new aerospace systems designs. Before the NF-15B IFCS airplane was certified for flight test, however, certain processes needed to be completed. This paper presents an overview of these processes, including a description of the initial adaptive controller concepts followed by a discussion of modeling formulation and performance testing. Upon design finalization, the next steps are: integration with the system interfaces, verification of the software, validation of the hardware to the requirements, design of failure detection, development of safety limiters to minimize the effect of erroneous neural network commands, and creation of flight test control room displays to maximize human situational awareness.

Neural Network Assisted Inverse Dynamic Guidance for Terminally Constrained Entry Flight

PubMed Central

Chen, Wanchun

2014-01-01

This paper presents a neural network assisted entry guidance law that is designed by applying Bézier approximation. It is shown that a fully constrained approximation of a reference trajectory can be made by using the Bézier curve. Applying this approximation, an inverse dynamic system for an entry flight is solved to generate guidance command. The guidance solution thus gotten ensures terminal constraints for position, flight path, and azimuth angle. In order to ensure terminal velocity constraint, a prediction of the terminal velocity is required, based on which, the approximated Bézier curve is adjusted. An artificial neural network is used for this prediction of the terminal velocity. The method enables faster implementation in achieving fully constrained entry flight. Results from simulations indicate improved performance of the neural network assisted method. The scheme is expected to have prospect for further research on automated onboard control of terminal velocity for both reentry and terminal guidance laws. PMID:24723821

Verification and Validation Methodology of Real-Time Adaptive Neural Networks for Aerospace Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gupta, Pramod; Loparo, Kenneth; Mackall, Dale; Schumann, Johann; Soares, Fola

2004-01-01

Recent research has shown that adaptive neural based control systems are very effective in restoring stability and control of an aircraft in the presence of damage or failures. The application of an adaptive neural network with a flight critical control system requires a thorough and proven process to ensure safe and proper flight operation. Unique testing tools have been developed as part of a process to perform verification and validation (V&V) of real time adaptive neural networks used in recent adaptive flight control system, to evaluate the performance of the on line trained neural networks. The tools will help in certification from FAA and will help in the successful deployment of neural network based adaptive controllers in safety-critical applications. The process to perform verification and validation is evaluated against a typical neural adaptive controller and the results are discussed.

F-15 IFCS Intelligent Flight Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosworth, John T.

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation gives a detailed description of the F-15 aircraft, flight tests, aircraft performance and overall advanced neural network based flight control technologies for aerospace systems designs.

The prediction of nonlinear dynamic loads on helicopters from flight variables using artificial neural networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, A. B.; Fuller, C. R.; O'Brien, W. F.; Cabell, R. H.

1992-01-01

A method of indirectly monitoring component loads through common flight variables is proposed which requires an accurate model of the underlying nonlinear relationships. An artificial neural network (ANN) model learns relationships through exposure to a database of flight variable records and corresponding load histories from an instrumented military helicopter undergoing standard maneuvers. The ANN model, utilizing eight standard flight variables as inputs, is trained to predict normalized time-varying mean and oscillatory loads on two critical components over a range of seven maneuvers. Both interpolative and extrapolative capabilities are demonstrated with agreement between predicted and measured loads on the order of 90 percent to 95 percent. This work justifies pursuing the ANN method of predicting loads from flight variables.

Hexacopter trajectory control using a neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artale, V.; Collotta, M.; Pau, G.; Ricciardello, A.

2013-10-01

The modern flight control systems are complex due to their non-linear nature. In fact, modern aerospace vehicles are expected to have non-conventional flight envelopes and, then, they must guarantee a high level of robustness and adaptability in order to operate in uncertain environments. Neural Networks (NN), with real-time learning capability, for flight control can be used in applications with manned or unmanned aerial vehicles. Indeed, using proven lower level control algorithms with adaptive elements that exhibit long term learning could help in achieving better adaptation performance while performing aggressive maneuvers. In this paper we show a mathematical modeling and a Neural Network for a hexacopter dynamics in order to develop proper methods for stabilization and trajectory control.

Predicting forest insect flight activity: A Bayesian network approach

PubMed Central

Pawson, Stephen M.; Marcot, Bruce G.; Woodberry, Owen G.

2017-01-01

Daily flight activity patterns of forest insects are influenced by temporal and meteorological conditions. Temperature and time of day are frequently cited as key drivers of activity; however, complex interactions between multiple contributing factors have also been proposed. Here, we report individual Bayesian network models to assess the probability of flight activity of three exotic insects, Hylurgus ligniperda, Hylastes ater, and Arhopalus ferus in a managed plantation forest context. Models were built from 7,144 individual hours of insect sampling, temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, photon flux density, and temporal data. Discretized meteorological and temporal variables were used to build naïve Bayes tree augmented networks. Calibration results suggested that the H. ater and A. ferus Bayesian network models had the best fit for low Type I and overall errors, and H. ligniperda had the best fit for low Type II errors. Maximum hourly temperature and time since sunrise had the largest influence on H. ligniperda flight activity predictions, whereas time of day and year had the greatest influence on H. ater and A. ferus activity. Type II model errors for the prediction of no flight activity is improved by increasing the model’s predictive threshold. Improvements in model performance can be made by further sampling, increasing the sensitivity of the flight intercept traps, and replicating sampling in other regions. Predicting insect flight informs an assessment of the potential phytosanitary risks of wood exports. Quantifying this risk allows mitigation treatments to be targeted to prevent the spread of invasive species via international trade pathways. PMID:28953904

Development of an integrated set of research facilities for the support of research flight test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Archie L.; Harney, Constance D.

1988-01-01

The Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (DFRF) serves as the site for high-risk flight research on many one-of-a-kind test vehicles like the X-29A advanced technology demonstrator, F-16 advanced fighter technology integration (AFTI), AFTI F-111 mission adaptive wing, and F-18 high-alpha research vehicle (HARV). Ames-Dryden is on a section of the historic Muroc Range. The facility is oriented toward the testing of high-performance aircraft, as shown by its part in the development of the X-series aircraft. Given the cost of research flight tests and the complexity of today's systems-driven aircraft, an integrated set of ground support experimental facilities is a necessity. In support of the research flight test of highly advanced test beds, the DFRF is developing a network of facilities to expedite the acquisition and distribution of flight research data to the researcher. The network consists of an array of experimental ground-based facilities and systems as nodes and the necessary telecommunications paths to pass research data and information between these facilities. This paper presents the status of the current network, an overview of current developments, and a prospectus on future major enhancements.

The deep space network, volume 6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

Progress on Deep Space Network (DSN) supporting research and technology is presented, together with advanced development and engineering, implementation, and DSN operations of flight projects. The DSN is described. Interplanetary and planetary flight projects and radio science experiments are discussed. Tracking and navigational accuracy analysis, communications systems and elements research, and supporting research are considered. Development of the ground communications and deep space instrumentation facilities is also presented. Network allocation schedules and angle tracking and test development are included.

The deep space network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

Presented is Deep Space Network (DSN) progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition (TDA) research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations.

The deep space network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Summaries are given of Deep Space Network progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations.

Deep space network support of the manned space flight network for Apollo, volume 3. [support for Apollo 14, 15, 16, and 17 flights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartley, R. B.

1974-01-01

The Deep Space Network (DSN) activities in support of Project Apollo during the period of 1971 and 1972 are reported. Beginning with the Apollo 14 mission and concluding with the Apollo 17 mission, the narrative includes, (1) a mission description, (2) the NASA support requirements placed on the DSN, and, (3) a comprehensive account of the support activities provided by each committed DSN deep space communication station. Associated equipment and activities of the three elements of the DSN (the Deep Space Instrumentation Facility (DSIF), the Space Flight Operations Facility (SFOF), and the Ground Communications Facility (GCF)) used in meeting the radio-metric and telemetry demands of the missions are documented.

Ethernet for Space Flight Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webb, Evan; Day, John H. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is adapting current data networking technologies to fly on future spaceflight missions. The benefits of using commercially based networking standards and protocols have been widely discussed and are expected to include reduction in overall mission cost, shortened integration and test (I&T) schedules, increased operations flexibility, and hardware and software upgradeability/scalability with developments ongoing in the commercial world. The networking effort is a comprehensive one encompassing missions ranging from small University Explorer (UNEX) class spacecraft to large observatories such as the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST). Mission aspects such as flight hardware and software, ground station hardware and software, operations, RF communications, and security (physical and electronic) are all being addressed to ensure a complete end-to-end system solution. One of the current networking development efforts at GSFC is the SpaceLAN (Spacecraft Local Area Network) project, development of a space-qualifiable Ethernet network. To this end we have purchased an IEEE 802.3-compatible 10/100/1000 Media Access Control (MAC) layer Intellectual Property (IP) core and are designing a network node interface (NNI) and associated network components such as a switch. These systems will ultimately allow the replacement of the typical MIL-STD-1553/1773 and custom interfaces that inhabit most spacecraft. In this paper we will describe our current Ethernet NNI development along with a novel new space qualified physical layer that will be used in place of the standard interfaces. We will outline our plans for development of space qualified network components that will allow future spacecraft to operate in significant radiation environments while using a single onboard network for reliable commanding and data transfer. There will be a brief discussion of some issues surrounding system implications of a flight Ethernet. Finally, we will show an onboard network architecture for a proposed new mission using Ethernet for science data transport.

The 1991 research and technology report, Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soffen, Gerald (Editor); Ottenstein, Howard (Editor); Montgomery, Harry (Editor); Truszkowski, Walter (Editor); Frost, Kenneth (Editor); Sullivan, Walter (Editor); Boyle, Charles (Editor)

1991-01-01

The 1991 Research and Technology Report for Goddard Space Flight Center is presented. Research covered areas such as (1) earth sciences including upper atmosphere, lower atmosphere, oceans, hydrology, and global studies; (2) space sciences including solar studies, planetary studies, Astro-1, gamma ray investigations, and astrophysics; (3) flight projects; (4) engineering including robotics, mechanical engineering, electronics, imaging and optics, thermal and cryogenic studies, and balloons; and (5) ground systems, networks, and communications including data and networks, TDRSS, mission planning and scheduling, and software development and test.

The deep space network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

A Deep Space Network progress report is presented dealing with in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations.

Rocket ozone sounding network data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, D. U.; Krueger, A. J.; Foster, G. M.

1979-01-01

During the period March 1977 through May 1977, three regular monthly ozone profiles were measured at Wallops Flight Center and three regular monthly ozone profiles were measured at the Churchill Research Range. One additional flight was conducted at Wallops Flight Center in support of Nimbus 4 SBUV. Data results and flight profiles for the period covered are presented.

Flight Test Results from the NF-15B Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) Project with Adaptation to a Simulated Stabilator Failure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosworth, John T.; Williams-Hayes, Peggy S.

2007-01-01

Adaptive flight control systems have the potential to be more resilient to extreme changes in airplane behavior. Extreme changes could be a result of a system failure or of damage to the airplane. A direct adaptive neural-network-based flight control system was developed for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NF-15B Intelligent Flight Control System airplane and subjected to an inflight simulation of a failed (frozen) (unmovable) stabilator. Formation flight handling qualities evaluations were performed with and without neural network adaptation. The results of these flight tests are presented. Comparison with simulation predictions and analysis of the performance of the adaptation system are discussed. The performance of the adaptation system is assessed in terms of its ability to decouple the roll and pitch response and reestablish good onboard model tracking. Flight evaluation with the simulated stabilator failure and adaptation engaged showed that there was generally improvement in the pitch response; however, a tendency for roll pilot-induced oscillation was experienced. A detailed discussion of the cause of the mixed results is presented.

Flight Test Results from the NF-15B Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) Project with Adaptation to a Simulated Stabilator Failure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosworth, John T.; Williams-Hayes, Peggy S.

2010-01-01

Adaptive flight control systems have the potential to be more resilient to extreme changes in airplane behavior. Extreme changes could be a result of a system failure or of damage to the airplane. A direct adaptive neural-network-based flight control system was developed for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NF-15B Intelligent Flight Control System airplane and subjected to an inflight simulation of a failed (frozen) (unmovable) stabilator. Formation flight handling qualities evaluations were performed with and without neural network adaptation. The results of these flight tests are presented. Comparison with simulation predictions and analysis of the performance of the adaptation system are discussed. The performance of the adaptation system is assessed in terms of its ability to decouple the roll and pitch response and reestablish good onboard model tracking. Flight evaluation with the simulated stabilator failure and adaptation engaged showed that there was generally improvement in the pitch response; however, a tendency for roll pilot-induced oscillation was experienced. A detailed discussion of the cause of the mixed results is presented.

Fault-tolerant nonlinear adaptive flight control using sliding mode online learning.

PubMed

Krüger, Thomas; Schnetter, Philipp; Placzek, Robin; Vörsmann, Peter

2012-08-01

An expanded nonlinear model inversion flight control strategy using sliding mode online learning for neural networks is presented. The proposed control strategy is implemented for a small unmanned aircraft system (UAS). This class of aircraft is very susceptible towards nonlinearities like atmospheric turbulence, model uncertainties and of course system failures. Therefore, these systems mark a sensible testbed to evaluate fault-tolerant, adaptive flight control strategies. Within this work the concept of feedback linearization is combined with feed forward neural networks to compensate for inversion errors and other nonlinear effects. Backpropagation-based adaption laws of the network weights are used for online training. Within these adaption laws the standard gradient descent backpropagation algorithm is augmented with the concept of sliding mode control (SMC). Implemented as a learning algorithm, this nonlinear control strategy treats the neural network as a controlled system and allows a stable, dynamic calculation of the learning rates. While considering the system's stability, this robust online learning method therefore offers a higher speed of convergence, especially in the presence of external disturbances. The SMC-based flight controller is tested and compared with the standard gradient descent backpropagation algorithm in the presence of system failures. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Collision avoidance in commercial aircraft Free Flight via neural networks and non-linear programming.

PubMed

Christodoulou, Manolis A; Kontogeorgou, Chrysa

2008-10-01

In recent years there has been a great effort to convert the existing Air Traffic Control system into a novel system known as Free Flight. Free Flight is based on the concept that increasing international airspace capacity will grant more freedom to individual pilots during the enroute flight phase, thereby giving them the opportunity to alter flight paths in real time. Under the current system, pilots must request, then receive permission from air traffic controllers to alter flight paths. Understandably the new system allows pilots to gain the upper hand in air traffic. At the same time, however, this freedom increase pilot responsibility. Pilots face a new challenge in avoiding the traffic shares congested air space. In order to ensure safety, an accurate system, able to predict and prevent conflict among aircraft is essential. There are certain flight maneuvers that exist in order to prevent flight disturbances or collision and these are graded in the following categories: vertical, lateral and airspeed. This work focuses on airspeed maneuvers and tries to introduce a new idea for the control of Free Flight, in three dimensions, using neural networks trained with examples prepared through non-linear programming.

Online Learning Flight Control for Intelligent Flight Control Systems (IFCS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Niewoehner, Kevin R.; Carter, John (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The research accomplishments for the cooperative agreement 'Online Learning Flight Control for Intelligent Flight Control Systems (IFCS)' include the following: (1) previous IFC program data collection and analysis; (2) IFC program support site (configured IFC systems support network, configured Tornado/VxWorks OS development system, made Configuration and Documentation Management Systems Internet accessible); (3) Airborne Research Test Systems (ARTS) II Hardware (developed hardware requirements specification, developing environmental testing requirements, hardware design, and hardware design development); (4) ARTS II software development laboratory unit (procurement of lab style hardware, configured lab style hardware, and designed interface module equivalent to ARTS II faceplate); (5) program support documentation (developed software development plan, configuration management plan, and software verification and validation plan); (6) LWR algorithm analysis (performed timing and profiling on algorithm); (7) pre-trained neural network analysis; (8) Dynamic Cell Structures (DCS) Neural Network Analysis (performing timing and profiling on algorithm); and (9) conducted technical interchange and quarterly meetings to define IFC research goals.

Apollo 7 - Press Kit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1968-01-01

Contents include the following: General release. Mission objectives. Mission description. Flight plan. Alternate missions. Experiments. Abort model. Spacecraft structure system. The Saturn 1B launch vehicle. Flight sequence. Launch preparations. Mission control center-Houston. Manned space flight network. Photographic equipment. Apollo 7 crew. Apollo 7 test program.

Cognitive network organization and cockpit automation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roske-Hofstrand, R. J.; Paap, K. R.

1985-01-01

Attention is given to a technique for the derivation of pilot cognitive networks from empirical data, which has been successfully used to guide the redesign of the Control Display Unit that serves as the primary interface of the complex flight management system being developed by NASA's Advanced Concepts Flight Simulator program. The 'pathfinder' algorithm of Schvaneveldt et al. (1985) is used to obtain the conceptual organization of four pilots by generating a family of link-weighted networks from a set of psychological distance data derived through similarity ratings. The degree of conceptual agreement between pilots is assessed, and the means of translating a cognitive network into a menu structure are noted.

The deep space network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The functions and facilities of the Deep Space Network are considered. Progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations is reported.

The deep space network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Progress is reported in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations. The functions and facilities of the Deep Space Network are emphasized.

Direct Adaptive Aircraft Control Using Dynamic Cell Structure Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jorgensen, Charles C.

1997-01-01

A Dynamic Cell Structure (DCS) Neural Network was developed which learns topology representing networks (TRNS) of F-15 aircraft aerodynamic stability and control derivatives. The network is integrated into a direct adaptive tracking controller. The combination produces a robust adaptive architecture capable of handling multiple accident and off- nominal flight scenarios. This paper describes the DCS network and modifications to the parameter estimation procedure. The work represents one step towards an integrated real-time reconfiguration control architecture for rapid prototyping of new aircraft designs. Performance was evaluated using three off-line benchmarks and on-line nonlinear Virtual Reality simulation. Flight control was evaluated under scenarios including differential stabilator lock, soft sensor failure, control and stability derivative variations, and air turbulence.

The deep space network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

A report is given of the Deep Space Networks progress in (1) flight project support, (2) tracking and data acquisition research and technology, (3) network engineering, (4) hardware and software implementation, and (5) operations.

Hybrid adaptive ascent flight control for a flexible launch vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lefevre, Brian D.

For the purpose of maintaining dynamic stability and improving guidance command tracking performance under off-nominal flight conditions, a hybrid adaptive control scheme is selected and modified for use as a launch vehicle flight controller. This architecture merges a model reference adaptive approach, which utilizes both direct and indirect adaptive elements, with a classical dynamic inversion controller. This structure is chosen for a number of reasons: the properties of the reference model can be easily adjusted to tune the desired handling qualities of the spacecraft, the indirect adaptive element (which consists of an online parameter identification algorithm) continually refines the estimates of the evolving characteristic parameters utilized in the dynamic inversion, and the direct adaptive element (which consists of a neural network) augments the linear feedback signal to compensate for any nonlinearities in the vehicle dynamics. The combination of these elements enables the control system to retain the nonlinear capabilities of an adaptive network while relying heavily on the linear portion of the feedback signal to dictate the dynamic response under most operating conditions. To begin the analysis, the ascent dynamics of a launch vehicle with a single 1st stage rocket motor (typical of the Ares 1 spacecraft) are characterized. The dynamics are then linearized with assumptions that are appropriate for a launch vehicle, so that the resulting equations may be inverted by the flight controller in order to compute the control signals necessary to generate the desired response from the vehicle. Next, the development of the hybrid adaptive launch vehicle ascent flight control architecture is discussed in detail. Alterations of the generic hybrid adaptive control architecture include the incorporation of a command conversion operation which transforms guidance input from quaternion form (as provided by NASA) to the body-fixed angular rate commands needed by the hybrid adaptive flight controller, development of a Newton's method based online parameter update that is modified to include a step size which regulates the rate of change in the parameter estimates, comparison of the modified Newton's method and recursive least squares online parameter update algorithms, modification of the neural network's input structure to accommodate for the nature of the nonlinearities present in a launch vehicle's ascent flight, examination of both tracking error based and modeling error based neural network weight update laws, and integration of feedback filters for the purpose of preventing harmful interaction between the flight control system and flexible structural modes. To validate the hybrid adaptive controller, a high-fidelity Ares I ascent flight simulator and a classical gain-scheduled proportional-integral-derivative (PID) ascent flight controller were obtained from the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The classical PID flight controller is used as a benchmark when analyzing the performance of the hybrid adaptive flight controller. Simulations are conducted which model both nominal and off-nominal flight conditions with structural flexibility of the vehicle either enabled or disabled. First, rigid body ascent simulations are performed with the hybrid adaptive controller under nominal flight conditions for the purpose of selecting the update laws which drive the indirect and direct adaptive components. With the neural network disabled, the results revealed that the recursive least squares online parameter update caused high frequency oscillations to appear in the engine gimbal commands. This is highly undesirable for long and slender launch vehicles, such as the Ares I, because such oscillation of the rocket nozzle could excite unstable structural flex modes. In contrast, the modified Newton's method online parameter update produced smooth control signals and was thus selected for use in the hybrid adaptive launch vehicle flight controller. In the simulations where the online parameter identification algorithm was disabled, the tracking error based neural network weight update law forced the network's output to diverge despite repeated reductions of the adaptive learning rate. As a result, the modeling error based neural network weight update law (which generated bounded signals) is utilized by the hybrid adaptive controller in all subsequent simulations. Comparing the PID and hybrid adaptive flight controllers under nominal flight conditions in rigid body ascent simulations showed that their tracking error magnitudes are similar for a period of time during the middle of the ascent phase. Though the PID controller performs better for a short interval around the 20 second mark, the hybrid adaptive controller performs far better from roughly 70 to 120 seconds. Elevating the aerodynamic loads by increasing the force and moment coefficients produced results very similar to the nominal case. However, applying a 5% or 10% thrust reduction to the first stage rocket motor causes the tracking error magnitude observed by the PID controller to be significantly elevated and diverge rapidly as the simulation concludes. In contrast, the hybrid adaptive controller steadily maintains smaller errors (often less than 50% of the corresponding PID value). Under the same sets of flight conditions with flexibility enabled, the results exhibit similar trends with the hybrid adaptive controller performing even better in each case. Again, the reduction of the first stage rocket motor's thrust clearly illustrated the superior robustness of the hybrid adaptive flight controller.

Flight Test Comparison of Different Adaptive Augmentations for Fault Tolerant Control Laws for a Modified F-15 Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burken, John J.; Hanson, Curtis E.; Lee, James A.; Kaneshige, John T.

2009-01-01

This report describes the improvements and enhancements to a neural network based approach for directly adapting to aerodynamic changes resulting from damage or failures. This research is a follow-on effort to flight tests performed on the NASA F-15 aircraft as part of the Intelligent Flight Control System research effort. Previous flight test results demonstrated the potential for performance improvement under destabilizing damage conditions. Little or no improvement was provided under simulated control surface failures, however, and the adaptive system was prone to pilot-induced oscillations. An improved controller was designed to reduce the occurrence of pilot-induced oscillations and increase robustness to failures in general. This report presents an analysis of the neural networks used in the previous flight test, the improved adaptive controller, and the baseline case with no adaptation. Flight test results demonstrate significant improvement in performance by using the new adaptive controller compared with the previous adaptive system and the baseline system for control surface failures.

The deep space network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

The facilities, programming system, and monitor and control system for the deep space network are described. Ongoing planetary and interplanetary flight projects are reviewed, along with tracking and ground-based navigation, communications, and network and facility engineering.

Toward Real Time Neural Net Flight Controllers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jorgensen, C. C.; Mah, R. W.; Ross, J.; Lu, Henry, Jr. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

NASA Ames Research Center has an ongoing program in neural network control technology targeted toward real time flight demonstrations using a modified F-15 which permits direct inner loop control of actuators, rapid switching between alternative control designs, and substitutable processors. An important part of this program is the ACTIVE flight project which is examining the feasibility of using neural networks in the design, control, and system identification of new aircraft prototypes. This paper discusses two research applications initiated with this objective in mind: utilization of neural networks for wind tunnel aircraft model identification and rapid learning algorithms for on line reconfiguration and control. The first application involves the identification of aerodynamic flight characteristics from analysis of wind tunnel test data. This identification is important in the early stages of aircraft design because complete specification of control architecture's may not be possible even though concept models at varying scales are available for aerodynamic wind tunnel testing. Testing of this type is often a long and expensive process involving measurement of aircraft lift, drag, and moment of inertia at varying angles of attack and control surface configurations. This information in turn can be used in the design of the flight control systems by applying the derived lookup tables to generate piece wise linearized controllers. Thus, reduced costs in tunnel test times and the rapid transfer of wind tunnel insights into prototype controllers becomes an important factor in more efficient generation and testing of new flight systems. NASA Ames Research Center is successfully applying modular neural networks as one way of anticipating small scale aircraft model performances prior to testing, thus reducing the number of in tunnel test hours and potentially, the number of intermediate scaled models required for estimation of surface flow effects.

Future aircraft networks and schedules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shu, Yan

2011-07-01

Because of the importance of air transportation scheduling, the emergence of small aircraft and the vision of future fuel-efficient aircraft, this thesis has focused on the study of aircraft scheduling and network design involving multiple types of aircraft and flight services. It develops models and solution algorithms for the schedule design problem and analyzes the computational results. First, based on the current development of small aircraft and on-demand flight services, this thesis expands a business model for integrating on-demand flight services with the traditional scheduled flight services. This thesis proposes a three-step approach to the design of aircraft schedules and networks from scratch under the model. In the first step, both a frequency assignment model for scheduled flights that incorporates a passenger path choice model and a frequency assignment model for on-demand flights that incorporates a passenger mode choice model are created. In the second step, a rough fleet assignment model that determines a set of flight legs, each of which is assigned an aircraft type and a rough departure time is constructed. In the third step, a timetable model that determines an exact departure time for each flight leg is developed. Based on the models proposed in the three steps, this thesis creates schedule design instances that involve almost all the major airports and markets in the United States. The instances of the frequency assignment model created in this thesis are large-scale non-convex mixed-integer programming problems, and this dissertation develops an overall network structure and proposes iterative algorithms for solving these instances. The instances of both the rough fleet assignment model and the timetable model created in this thesis are large-scale mixed-integer programming problems, and this dissertation develops subproblem schemes for solving these instances. Based on these solution algorithms, this dissertation also presents computational results of these large-scale instances. To validate the models and solution algorithms developed, this thesis also compares the daily flight schedules that it designs with the schedules of the existing airlines. Furthermore, it creates instances that represent different economic and fuel-prices conditions and derives schedules under these different conditions. In addition, it discusses the implication of using new aircraft in the future flight schedules. Finally, future research in three areas---model, computational method, and simulation for validation---is proposed.

F-15 IFCS: Intelligent Flight Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosworth, John

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation describes the F-15 Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS). The goals of this project include: 1) Demonstrate revolutionary control approaches that can efficiently optimize aircraft performance in both normal and failure conditions; and 2) Demonstrate advance neural network-based flight control technology for new aerospace systems designs.

Intelligence Applied to Air Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, Robert; Gross, Anthony R.; Fletcher, L. Skip; Zornetzer, Steven (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The exponential growth in information technology has provided the potential for air vehicle capabilities that were previously unavailable to mission and vehicle designers. The increasing capabilities of computer hardware and software, including new developments such as neural networks, provide a new balance of work between humans and machines. This paper will describe several NASA projects, and review results and conclusions from ground and flight investigations where vehicle intelligence was developed and applied to aeronautical and space systems. In the first example, flight results from a neural network flight control demonstration will be reviewed. Using, a highly-modified F-15 aircraft, a NASA/Dryden experimental flight test program has demonstrated how the neural network software can correctly identify and respond to changes in aircraft stability and control characteristics. Using its on-line learning capability, the neural net software would identify that something in the vehicle has changed, then reconfigure the flight control computer system to adapt to those changes. The results of the Remote Agent software project will be presented. This capability will reduce the cost of future spacecraft operations as computers become "thinking" partners along with humans. In addition, the paper will describe the objectives and plans for the autonomous airplane program and the autonomous rotorcraft project. Technologies will also be developed.

2018 NDIA 33rd Annual National Test and Evaluation Conference

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-05-17

Breach IOC Delayed RDT&E Overrun MS B IOC First Flight CDR Wind Tunnel Campaign Flight Test Campaign $ Peak Burn Rate Occurs Around FF Wind Tunnel...Connectivity Team – Tier 2 network support, network characterization and analysis, walk-the- wire trouble resolution, assistance with new site Connection...File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) Server. The Test and Training Enabling Architecture (TENA) is used for over the wire simulation protocol via the DISGW

Space Communication and Navigation Testbed Communications Technology for Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard

2013-01-01

NASA developed and launched an experimental flight payload (referred to as the Space Communication and Navigation Test Bed) to investigate software defined radio, networking, and navigation technologies, operationally in the space environment. The payload consists of three software defined radios each compliant to NASAs Space Telecommunications Radio System Architecture, a common software interface description standard for software defined radios. The software defined radios are new technology developed by NASA and industry partners. The payload is externally mounted to the International Space Station truss and available to NASA, industry, and university partners to conduct experiments representative of future mission capability. Experiment operations include in-flight reconfiguration of the SDR waveform functions and payload networking software. The flight system communicates with NASAs orbiting satellite relay network, the Tracking, Data Relay Satellite System at both S-band and Ka-band and to any Earth-based compatible S-band ground station.

Methodologies for Adaptive Flight Envelope Estimation and Protection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tang, Liang; Roemer, Michael; Ge, Jianhua; Crassidis, Agamemnon; Prasad, J. V. R.; Belcastro, Christine

2009-01-01

This paper reports the latest development of several techniques for adaptive flight envelope estimation and protection system for aircraft under damage upset conditions. Through the integration of advanced fault detection algorithms, real-time system identification of the damage/faulted aircraft and flight envelop estimation, real-time decision support can be executed autonomously for improving damage tolerance and flight recoverability. Particularly, a bank of adaptive nonlinear fault detection and isolation estimators were developed for flight control actuator faults; a real-time system identification method was developed for assessing the dynamics and performance limitation of impaired aircraft; online learning neural networks were used to approximate selected aircraft dynamics which were then inverted to estimate command margins. As off-line training of network weights is not required, the method has the advantage of adapting to varying flight conditions and different vehicle configurations. The key benefit of the envelope estimation and protection system is that it allows the aircraft to fly close to its limit boundary by constantly updating the controller command limits during flight. The developed techniques were demonstrated on NASA s Generic Transport Model (GTM) simulation environments with simulated actuator faults. Simulation results and remarks on future work are presented.

Aeronautical-Satellite-Assisted Process Being Developed for Information Exchange Through Network Technologies (Aero-SAPIENT)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zernic, Michael J.

2001-01-01

Communications technologies are being developed to address safety issues during aviation travel. Some of these technologies enable the aircraft to be in constant bidirectional communications with necessary systems, people, and other aircraft that are not currently in place today. Networking technologies, wireless datalinks, and advanced avionics techniques are areas of particular importance that the NASA Glenn Research Center has contributed. Glenn, in conjunction with the NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, and NASA Langley Research Center, is investigating methods and applications that would utilize these communications technologies. In mid-June 2000, the flight readiness of the network and communications technologies were demonstrated via a simulated aircraft. A van simulating an aircraft was equipped with advanced phased-array antennas (Advanced Communications/Air Traffic Management (AC/ATM) Advanced Air Transportation Technologies (AATT) project) that used commercial Ku-band satellite communications to connect Glenn, Dryden, and Ames in a combined system ground test. This test simulated air-ground bidirectional transport of real-time digital audio, text, and video data via a hybrid network configuration that demonstrated the flight readiness of the network and communications technologies. Specifically, a Controller Pilot Data Link Communications application was used with other applications to demonstrate a multiprotocol capability via Internet-protocol encapsulated ATN (Aeronautical Telecommunications Network) data packets. The significance of this combined ground test is its contribution to the Aero Information Technology Base Program Level I milestone (Software Technology investment area) of a real-time data link for the National Airspace System. The objective of this milestone was to address multiprotocol technology applicable for real-time data links between aircraft, a satellite, and the ground as well as the ability to distribute flight data with multilevel priorities among several sites.

Columbia's first flight shakes down space transportation system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrett, D.; Young, D.; White, T.

1981-01-01

The first space shuttle mission is described. Topics include launch preparations, flight profile, trajectory, and landing operations. The spaceflight tracking and data network is discussed and the photography and television schedules are included.

The deep space network, Volume 11

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

Deep Space Network progress in flight project support, Tracking and Data Acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations are presented. Material is presented in each of the following categories: description of DSN; mission support; radio science; support research and technology; network engineering and implementation; and operations and facilities.

The Temporal Configuration of Airline Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burghouwt, Guillaume; deWit, Jaap

2003-01-01

The deregulation of US aviation in 1978 resulted in the reconfiguration of airline networks into hub-and-spoke systems, spatially concentrated around a small number of central airports or 'hubs' through which an airline operates a number of daily waves of flights. A hub-and-spoke network requires a concentration of traffic in both space and time. In contrast to the U.S. airlines, European airlines had entered the phase of spatial network concentration long before deregulation. Bilateral negotiation of traffic fights between governments forced European airlines to focus their networks spatially on small number of 'national' airports. In general, these star-shaped networks were not coordinated in time. Transfer opportunities at central airports were mostly created 'by accident'. With the deregulation of the EU air transport market from 1988 on, a second phase of airline network concentration started. European airlines concentrated their networks in time by adopting or intensifying wave-system structures in their flight schedules. Temporal concentration may increase the competitive position of the network in a deregulated market because of certain cost and demand advantages.

A neural based intelligent flight control system for the NASA F-15 flight research aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Urnes, James M.; Hoy, Stephen E.; Ladage, Robert N.; Stewart, James

1993-01-01

A flight control concept that can identify aircraft stability properties and continually optimize the aircraft flying qualities has been developed by McDonnell Aircraft Company under a contract with the NASA-Dryden Flight Research Facility. This flight concept, termed the Intelligent Flight Control System, utilizes Neural Network technology to identify the host aircraft stability and control properties during flight, and use this information to design on-line the control system feedback gains to provide continuous optimum flight response. This self-repairing capability can provide high performance flight maneuvering response throughout large flight envelopes, such as needed for the National Aerospace Plane. Moreover, achieving this response early in the vehicle's development schedule will save cost.

Performance improvement of optical CDMA networks with stochastic artificial bee colony optimization technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panda, Satyasen

2018-05-01

This paper proposes a modified artificial bee colony optimization (ABC) algorithm based on levy flight swarm intelligence referred as artificial bee colony levy flight stochastic walk (ABC-LFSW) optimization for optical code division multiple access (OCDMA) network. The ABC-LFSW algorithm is used to solve asset assignment problem based on signal to noise ratio (SNR) optimization in OCDM networks with quality of service constraints. The proposed optimization using ABC-LFSW algorithm provides methods for minimizing various noises and interferences, regulating the transmitted power and optimizing the network design for improving the power efficiency of the optical code path (OCP) from source node to destination node. In this regard, an optical system model is proposed for improving the network performance with optimized input parameters. The detailed discussion and simulation results based on transmitted power allocation and power efficiency of OCPs are included. The experimental results prove the superiority of the proposed network in terms of power efficiency and spectral efficiency in comparison to networks without any power allocation approach.

The deep space network, volume 14

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

DSN progress during Jan. and Feb. 1973 is reported. Areas of accomplishment include: flight project support, TDA research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations.

How transfer flights shape the structure of the airline network.

PubMed

Ryczkowski, Tomasz; Fronczak, Agata; Fronczak, Piotr

2017-07-17

In this paper, we analyse the gravity model in the global passenger air-transport network. We show that in the standard form, the model is inadequate for correctly describing the relationship between passenger flows and typical geo-economic variables that characterize connected countries. We propose a model for transfer flights that allows exploitation of these discrepancies in order to discover hidden subflows in the network. We illustrate its usefulness by retrieving the distance coefficient in the gravity model, which is one of the determinants of the globalization process. Finally, we discuss the correctness of the presented approach by comparing the distance coefficient to several well-known economic events.

Investigation of Air Transportation Technology at Princeton University, 1989-1990

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stengel, Robert F.

1990-01-01

The Air Transportation Technology Program at Princeton University proceeded along six avenues during the past year: microburst hazards to aircraft; machine-intelligent, fault tolerant flight control; computer aided heuristics for piloted flight; stochastic robustness for flight control systems; neural networks for flight control; and computer aided control system design. These topics are briefly discussed, and an annotated bibliography of publications that appeared between January 1989 and June 1990 is given.

Ambitious STS-7 mission to feature first landing at Kennedy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrett, D.; Hess, M.; White, T.; Taylor, J.

1982-01-01

The STS-7 press briefing schedule, NASA select television schedule; launch preparations, countdown and liftoff; major countdown milestones; launch window; STS-7 flight sequence of events, landing timeline; STS-7 flight timeline; landing and post landing operations; flight objectives; Telesat's ANIK-C 2; PALAPA-B; STS-7 experiments; and spacecraft tracking and data network are presented.

The deep space network, volume 7

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The objectives, functions, and organization of the Deep Space Network are summarized. The Deep Space Instrumentation Facility, the Ground Communications Facility, and the Space Flight Operations Facility are described.

The Deep Space Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Deep Space Network progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition, research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations is cited. Topics covered include: tracking and ground based navigation; spacecraft/ground communication; station control and operations technology; ground communications; and deep space stations.

A Multi-Verse Optimizer with Levy Flights for Numerical Optimization and Its Application in Test Scheduling for Network-on-Chip.

PubMed

Hu, Cong; Li, Zhi; Zhou, Tian; Zhu, Aijun; Xu, Chuanpei

2016-01-01

We propose a new meta-heuristic algorithm named Levy flights multi-verse optimizer (LFMVO), which incorporates Levy flights into multi-verse optimizer (MVO) algorithm to solve numerical and engineering optimization problems. The Original MVO easily falls into stagnation when wormholes stochastically re-span a number of universes (solutions) around the best universe achieved over the course of iterations. Since Levy flights are superior in exploring unknown, large-scale search space, they are integrated into the previous best universe to force MVO out of stagnation. We test this method on three sets of 23 well-known benchmark test functions and an NP complete problem of test scheduling for Network-on-Chip (NoC). Experimental results prove that the proposed LFMVO is more competitive than its peers in both the quality of the resulting solutions and convergence speed.

A Multi-Verse Optimizer with Levy Flights for Numerical Optimization and Its Application in Test Scheduling for Network-on-Chip

PubMed Central

Hu, Cong; Li, Zhi; Zhou, Tian; Zhu, Aijun; Xu, Chuanpei

2016-01-01

We propose a new meta-heuristic algorithm named Levy flights multi-verse optimizer (LFMVO), which incorporates Levy flights into multi-verse optimizer (MVO) algorithm to solve numerical and engineering optimization problems. The Original MVO easily falls into stagnation when wormholes stochastically re-span a number of universes (solutions) around the best universe achieved over the course of iterations. Since Levy flights are superior in exploring unknown, large-scale search space, they are integrated into the previous best universe to force MVO out of stagnation. We test this method on three sets of 23 well-known benchmark test functions and an NP complete problem of test scheduling for Network-on-Chip (NoC). Experimental results prove that the proposed LFMVO is more competitive than its peers in both the quality of the resulting solutions and convergence speed. PMID:27926946

Integrating LMINET with TAAM and SIMMOD: A Feasibility Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, Dou; Stouffer-Coston, Virginia; Kostiuk, Peter; Kula, Richard; Yackovetsky, Robert (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

LMINET is a queuing network air traffic simulation model implemented at 64 large airports and the entire National Airspace System in the United States. TAAM and SIMMOD are two widely used air traffic event-driven simulation models mostly for airports. Based on our proposed Progressive Augmented window approach, TAAM and SIMMOD are integrated with LMINET though flight schedules. In the integration, the flight schedules are modified through the flight delays reported by the other models. The benefit to the local simulation study is to let TAAM or SIMMOD take the modified schedule from LMINET, which takes into account of the air traffic congestion and flight delays at the national network level. We demonstrate the value of the integrated models by the case studies at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. Details of the integration are reported and future work for a full-blown integration is identified.

Fault Tolerance in ZigBee Wireless Sensor Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alena, Richard; Gilstrap, Ray; Baldwin, Jarren; Stone, Thom; Wilson, Pete

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) based on the IEEE 802.15.4 Personal Area Network standard are finding increasing use in the home automation and emerging smart energy markets. The network and application layers, based on the ZigBee 2007 PRO Standard, provide a convenient framework for component-based software that supports customer solutions from multiple vendors. This technology is supported by System-on-a-Chip solutions, resulting in extremely small and low-power nodes. The Wireless Connections in Space Project addresses the aerospace flight domain for both flight-critical and non-critical avionics. WSNs provide the inherent fault tolerance required for aerospace applications utilizing such technology. The team from Ames Research Center has developed techniques for assessing the fault tolerance of ZigBee WSNs challenged by radio frequency (RF) interference or WSN node failure.

On-board fault diagnostics for fly-by-light flight control systems using neural network flight processors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urnes, James M., Sr.; Cushing, John; Bond, William E.; Nunes, Steve

1996-10-01

Fly-by-Light control systems offer higher performance for fighter and transport aircraft, with efficient fiber optic data transmission, electric control surface actuation, and multi-channel high capacity centralized processing combining to provide maximum aircraft flight control system handling qualities and safety. The key to efficient support for these vehicles is timely and accurate fault diagnostics of all control system components. These diagnostic tests are best conducted during flight when all facts relating to the failure are present. The resulting data can be used by the ground crew for efficient repair and turnaround of the aircraft, saving time and money in support costs. These difficult to diagnose (Cannot Duplicate) fault indications average 40 - 50% of maintenance activities on today's fighter and transport aircraft, adding significantly to fleet support cost. Fiber optic data transmission can support a wealth of data for fault monitoring; the most efficient method of fault diagnostics is accurate modeling of the component response under normal and failed conditions for use in comparison with the actual component flight data. Neural Network hardware processors offer an efficient and cost-effective method to install fault diagnostics in flight systems, permitting on-board diagnostic modeling of very complex subsystems. Task 2C of the ARPA FLASH program is a design demonstration of this diagnostics approach, using the very high speed computation of the Adaptive Solutions Neural Network processor to monitor an advanced Electrohydrostatic control surface actuator linked through a AS-1773A fiber optic bus. This paper describes the design approach and projected performance of this on-line diagnostics system.

"Launch Your Business with NASA" conference in Decatur, Alabama.

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-18

The Morgan County Economic Development Association and the City of Decatur, in Partnership with the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), hosted a business forum on, How to Launch Your Business with NASA, Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at the Alabama Center for the Arts in downtown Decatur, AL. The event was open to all businesses allowed them to connect with Senior NASA representatives and their prime contractors. The program guided businesses through the process of working with NASA as a supplier, subcontractor, and/or a service provider. The Marshall Space Flight Center’s projected procurement budget in FY 2018 is approximately $2.2 billion and numerous procurement opportunities are available for small business participation each fiscal year. The program included Todd May, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center; Johnny Stephenson, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication; David Brock, Small Business Specialist with Marshall Space Flight Center; and Lynn Garrison, Small Business Specialist Technical Advisor with Marshall Space Flight Center. Additionally, there was a prime contractor panel consisting of representatives from five NASA prime contractors. The event included a dedicated networking session with those prime contractors. The “Launch Your Business With NASA” event provides those in attendance the opportunity to network with key Marshall Space Flight Center procurement and technical personnel, and representatives of several major Marshall Space Flight Center prime contractors.Arts.

"Launch Your Business with NASA" conference in Decatur, Alabama.

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-18

The Morgan County Economic Development Association and the City of Decatur, in Partnership with the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), hosted a business forum on, How to Launch Your Business with NASA, Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at the Alabama Center for the Arts in downtown Decatur, AL. The event was open to all businesses allowed them to connect with Senior NASA representatives and their prime contractors. The program guided businesses through the process of working with NASA as a supplier, subcontractor, and/or a service provider. The Marshall Space Flight Center’s projected procurement budget in FY 2018 is approximately $2.2 billion and numerous procurement opportunities are available for small business participation each fiscal year. The program included Todd May, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center; Johnny Stephenson, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication; David Brock, Small Business Specialist with Marshall Space Flight Center; and Lynn Garrison, Small Business Specialist Technical Advisor with Marshall Space Flight Center. Additionally, there was a prime contractor panel consisting of representatives from five NASA prime contractors. The event included a dedicated networking session with those prime contractors. The “Launch Your Business With NASA” event provides those in attendance the opportunity to network with key Marshall Space Flight Center procurement and technical personnel, and representatives of several major Marshall Space Flight Center prime contractors. Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling greets David Brock.

"Launch Your Business with NASA" conference in Decatur, Alabama.

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-18

The Morgan County Economic Development Association and the City of Decatur, in Partnership with the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), hosted a business forum on, How to Launch Your Business with NASA, Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at the Alabama Center for the Arts in downtown Decatur, AL. The event was open to all businesses allowed them to connect with Senior NASA representatives and their prime contractors. The program guided businesses through the process of working with NASA as a supplier, subcontractor, and/or a service provider. The Marshall Space Flight Center’s projected procurement budget in FY 2018 is approximately $2.2 billion and numerous procurement opportunities are available for small business participation each fiscal year. The program included Todd May, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center; Johnny Stephenson, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication; David Brock, Small Business Specialist with Marshall Space Flight Center; and Lynn Garrison, Small Business Specialist Technical Advisor with Marshall Space Flight Center. Additionally, there was a prime contractor panel consisting of representatives from five NASA prime contractors. The event included a dedicated networking session with those prime contractors. The “Launch Your Business With NASA” event provides those in attendance the opportunity to network with key Marshall Space Flight Center procurement and technical personnel, and representatives of several major Marshall Space Flight Center prime contractors.Arts. MSFC Director Todd May shares opening remarks.

"Launch Your Business with NASA" conference in Decatur, Alabama.

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-18

The Morgan County Economic Development Association and the City of Decatur, in Partnership with the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), hosted a business forum on, How to Launch Your Business with NASA, Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at the Alabama Center for the Arts in downtown Decatur, AL. The event was open to all businesses allowed them to connect with Senior NASA representatives and their prime contractors. The program guided businesses through the process of working with NASA as a supplier, subcontractor, and/or a service provider. The Marshall Space Flight Center’s projected procurement budget in FY 2018 is approximately $2.2 billion and numerous procurement opportunities are available for small business participation each fiscal year. The program included Todd May, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center; Johnny Stephenson, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication; David Brock, Small Business Specialist with Marshall Space Flight Center; and Lynn Garrison, Small Business Specialist Technical Advisor with Marshall Space Flight Center. Additionally, there was a prime contractor panel consisting of representatives from five NASA prime contractors. The event included a dedicated networking session with those prime contractors. The “Launch Your Business With NASA” event provides those in attendance the opportunity to network with key Marshall Space Flight Center procurement and technical personnel, and representatives of several major Marshall Space Flight Center prime contractors.Arts.. Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling welcomes attendees.

The deep space network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The progress is reported of Deep Space Network (DSN) research in the following areas: (1) flight project support, (2) spacecraft/ground communications, (3) station control and operations technology, (4) network control and processing, and (5) deep space stations. A description of the DSN functions and facilities is included.

The deep space network, volume 16

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The objectives, functions, and organization of the DSN are summarized, and the instrumentation facility, ground communication facility, and the network control system are described. The requirements for supporting planetary flight projects are discussed along with the research and technology for tracking, navigation, network control, and data processing.

Research and Technology Report. Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soffen, Gerald (Editor); Truszkowski, Walter (Editor); Ottenstein, Howard (Editor); Frost, Kenneth (Editor); Maran, Stephen (Editor); Walter, Lou (Editor); Brown, Mitch (Editor)

1996-01-01

This issue of Goddard Space Flight Center's annual report highlights the importance of mission operations and data systems covering mission planning and operations; TDRSS, positioning systems, and orbit determination; ground system and networks, hardware and software; data processing and analysis; and World Wide Web use. The report also includes flight projects, space sciences, Earth system science, and engineering and materials.

Investigation of air transportation technology at Princeton University, 1990-1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stengel, Robert F.

1991-01-01

The Air Transportation Technology Program at Princeton University is a program that emphasizes graduate and undergraduate student research. The program proceeded along six avenues during the past year: microburst hazards to aircraft, intelligent failure tolerant control, computer-aided heuristics for piloted flight, stochastic robustness of flight control systems, neural networks for flight control, and computer-aided control system design.

Station Crew Member Discusses Life in Space with Media

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-01-18

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 54 Flight Engineer Scott Tingle of NASA discussed life and research on the orbital complex during an in-flight interview session Jan. 18 with the ABC Digital Network and Space.com.

Flight Results of the NF-15B Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) Aircraft with Adaptation to a Longitudinally Destabilized Plant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosworth, John T.

2008-01-01

Adaptive flight control systems have the potential to be resilient to extreme changes in airplane behavior. Extreme changes could be a result of a system failure or of damage to the airplane. The goal for the adaptive system is to provide an increase in survivability in the event that these extreme changes occur. A direct adaptive neural-network-based flight control system was developed for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NF-15B Intelligent Flight Control System airplane. The adaptive element was incorporated into a dynamic inversion controller with explicit reference model-following. As a test the system was subjected to an abrupt change in plant stability simulating a destabilizing failure. Flight evaluations were performed with and without neural network adaptation. The results of these flight tests are presented. Comparison with simulation predictions and analysis of the performance of the adaptation system are discussed. The performance of the adaptation system is assessed in terms of its ability to stabilize the vehicle and reestablish good onboard reference model-following. Flight evaluation with the simulated destabilizing failure and adaptation engaged showed improvement in the vehicle stability margins. The convergent properties of this initial system warrant additional improvement since continued maneuvering caused continued adaptation change. Compared to the non-adaptive system the adaptive system provided better closed-loop behavior with improved matching of the onboard reference model. A detailed discussion of the flight results is presented.

Space Communication and Navigation SDR Testbed, Overview and Opportunity for Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard C.

2013-01-01

NASA has developed an experimental flight payload (referred to as the Space Communication and Navigation (SCAN) Test Bed) to investigate software defined radio (SDR) communications, networking, and navigation technologies, operationally in the space environment. The payload consists of three software defined radios each compliant to NASAs Space Telecommunications Radio System Architecture, a common software interface description standard for software defined radios. The software defined radios are new technology developments underway by NASA and industry partners launched in 2012. The payload is externally mounted to the International Space Station truss to conduct experiments representative of future mission capability. Experiment operations include in-flight reconfiguration of the SDR waveform functions and payload networking software. The flight system will communicate with NASAs orbiting satellite relay network, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System at both S-band and Ka-band and to any Earth-based compatible S-band ground station. The system is available for experiments by industry, academia, and other government agencies to participate in the SDR technology assessments and standards advancements.

Mission Control Center (MCC) system specification for the shuttle Orbital Flight Test (OFT) timeframe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The Mission Control Center Shuttle (MCC) Shuttle Orbital Flight Test (OFT) Data System (OFTDS) provides facilities for flight control and data systems personnel to monitor and control the Shuttle flights from launch (tower clear) to rollout (wheels stopped on runway). It also supports the preparation for flight (flight planning, flight controller and crew training, and integrated vehicle and network testing activities). The MCC Shuttle OFTDS is described in detail. Three major support systems of the OFTDS and the data types and sources of data entering or exiting the MCC were illustrated. These systems are the communication interface system, the data computation complex, and the display and control system.

Using Long-Short-Term-Memory Recurrent Neural Networks to Predict Aviation Engine Vibrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

ElSaid, AbdElRahman Ahmed

This thesis examines building viable Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) using Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) neurons to predict aircraft engine vibrations. The different networks are trained on a large database of flight data records obtained from an airline containing flights that suffered from excessive vibration. RNNs can provide a more generalizable and robust method for prediction over analytical calculations of engine vibration, as analytical calculations must be solved iteratively based on specific empirical engine parameters, and this database contains multiple types of engines. Further, LSTM RNNs provide a "memory" of the contribution of previous time series data which can further improve predictions of future vibration values. LSTM RNNs were used over traditional RNNs, as those suffer from vanishing/exploding gradients when trained with back propagation. The study managed to predict vibration values for 1, 5, 10, and 20 seconds in the future, with 2.84% 3.3%, 5.51% and 10.19% mean absolute error, respectively. These neural networks provide a promising means for the future development of warning systems so that suitable actions can be taken before the occurrence of excess vibration to avoid unfavorable situations during flight.

Modeling of UH-60A Hub Accelerations with Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kottapalli, Sesi

2002-01-01

Neural network relationships between the full-scale, flight test hub accelerations and the corresponding three N/rev pilot floor vibration components (vertical, lateral, and longitudinal) are studied. The present quantitative effort on the UH-60A Black Hawk hub accelerations considers the lateral and longitudinal vibrations. An earlier study had considered the vertical vibration. The NASA/Army UH-60A Airloads Program flight test database is used. A physics based "maneuver-effect-factor (MEF)", derived using the roll-angle and the pitch-rate, is used. Fundamentally, the lateral vibration data show high vibration levels (up to 0.3 g's) at low airspeeds (for example, during landing flares) and at high airspeeds (for example, during turns). The results show that the advance ratio and the gross weight together can predict the vertical and the longitudinal vibration. However, the advance ratio and the gross weight together cannot predict the lateral vibration. The hub accelerations and the advance ratio can be used to satisfactorily predict the vertical, lateral, and longitudinal vibration. The present study shows that neural network based representations of all three UH-60A pilot floor vibration components (vertical, lateral, and longitudinal) can be obtained using the hub accelerations along with the gross weight and the advance ratio. The hub accelerations are clearly a factor in determining the pilot vibration. The present conclusions potentially allow for the identification of neural network relationships between the experimental hub accelerations obtained from wind tunnel testing and the experimental pilot vibration data obtained from flight testing. A successful establishment of the above neural network based link between the wind tunnel hub accelerations and the flight test vibration data can increase the value of wind tunnel testing.

Development of Methodologies for IV and V of Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Brian; Darrah, Marjorie

2003-01-01

Non-deterministic systems often rely upon neural network (NN) technology to "lean" to manage flight systems under controlled conditions using carefully chosen training sets. How can these adaptive systems be certified to ensure that they will become increasingly efficient and behave appropriately in real-time situations? The bulk of Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) research of non-deterministic software control systems such as Adaptive Flight Controllers (AFC's) addresses NNs in well-behaved and constrained environments such as simulations and strict process control. However, neither substantive research, nor effective IV&V techniques have been found to address AFC's learning in real-time and adapting to live flight conditions. Adaptive flight control systems offer good extensibility into commercial aviation as well as military aviation and transportation. Consequently, this area of IV&V represents an area of growing interest and urgency. ISR proposes to further the current body of knowledge to meet two objectives: Research the current IV&V methods and assess where these methods may be applied toward a methodology for the V&V of Neural Network; and identify effective methods for IV&V of NNs that learn in real-time, including developing a prototype test bed for IV&V of AFC's. Currently. no practical method exists. lSR will meet these objectives through the tasks identified and described below. First, ISR will conduct a literature review of current IV&V technology. TO do this, ISR will collect the existing body of research on IV&V of non-deterministic systems and neural network. ISR will also develop the framework for disseminating this information through specialized training. This effort will focus on developing NASA's capability to conduct IV&V of neural network systems and to provide training to meet the increasing need for IV&V expertise in such systems.

STS-104 PLT Hobaugh and DV Cam units on Atlantis flight deck

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-07-15

STS104-326-005 (12-24 July 2001) --- Astronaut Charles O. Hobaugh, STS-104 pilot, prepares to do some work at the recently-fashioned computer network station on the flight deck of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Atmosphere, Magnetosphere and Plasmas in Space (AMPS). Spacelab payload definition study. Volume 2: Mission support requirements document. Addendum: Flight 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

The AMPS Flight 2 payload, its operation, and the support required from the Space Transportation System (STS) are described. The definition of the payload includes the flight objectives and requirements, the experiment operations, and the payload configuration. The support required from the STS includes the accommodation of the payload by the orbiter/Spacelab, use of the flight operations network and ground facilities, and the use of the launch site facilities.

78 FR 73995 - Special Conditions: Cessna Model 680 Series Airplanes; Aircraft Electronic System Security...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-10

... critical systems and data networks. The network architecture is composed of several connected networks including the following: 1. Flight-Safety related control and navigation systems, 2. Operator business and... the individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an association, business, labor union...

Bioelectric Control of a 757 Class High Fidelity Aircraft Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jorgensen, Charles; Wheeler, Kevin; Stepniewski, Slawomir; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

This paper presents results of a recent experiment in fine grain Electromyographic (EMG) signal recognition, We demonstrate bioelectric flight control of 757 class simulation aircraft landing at San Francisco International Airport. The physical instrumentality of a pilot control stick is not used. A pilot closes a fist in empty air and performs control movements which are captured by a dry electrode array on the arm, analyzed and routed through a flight director permitting full pilot outer loop control of the simulation. A Vision Dome immersive display is used to create a VR world for the aircraft body mechanics and flight changes to pilot movements. Inner loop surfaces and differential aircraft thrust is controlled using a hybrid neural network architecture that combines a damage adaptive controller (Jorgensen 1998, Totah 1998) with a propulsion only based control system (Bull & Kaneshige 1997). Thus the 757 aircraft is not only being flown bioelectrically at the pilot level but also demonstrates damage adaptive neural network control permitting adaptation to severe changes in the physical flight characteristics of the aircraft at the inner loop level. To compensate for accident scenarios, the aircraft uses remaining control surface authority and differential thrust from the engines. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time real time bioelectric fine-grained control, differential thrust based control, and neural network damage adaptive control have been integrated into a single flight demonstration. The paper describes the EMG pattern recognition system and the bioelectric pattern recognition methodology.

The Deep Impact Network Experiment Operations Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torgerson, J. Leigh; Clare, Loren; Wang, Shin-Ywan

2009-01-01

Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) promises solutions in solving space communications challenges arising from disconnections as orbiters lose line-of-sight with landers, long propagation delays over interplanetary links, and other phenomena. DTN has been identified as the basis for the future NASA space communications network backbone, and international standardization is progressing through both the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). JPL has developed an implementation of the DTN architecture, called the Interplanetary Overlay Network (ION). ION is specifically implemented for space use, including design for use in a real-time operating system environment and high processing efficiency. In order to raise the Technology Readiness Level of ION, the first deep space flight demonstration of DTN is underway, using the Deep Impact (DI) spacecraft. Called the Deep Impact Network (DINET), operations are planned for Fall 2008. An essential component of the DINET project is the Experiment Operations Center (EOC), which will generate and receive the test communications traffic as well as "out-of-DTN band" command and control of the DTN experiment, store DTN flight test information in a database, provide display systems for monitoring DTN operations status and statistics (e.g., bundle throughput), and support query and analyses of the data collected. This paper describes the DINET EOC and its value in the DTN flight experiment and potential for further DTN testing.

David Brock addresses the "How to Launch Your Business with NASA" forum.

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-18

The Morgan County Economic Development Association and the City of Decatur, in Partnership with the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), hosted a business forum on, How to Launch Your Business with NASA, Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at the Alabama Center for the Arts in downtown Decatur, AL. The event was open to all businesses allowed them to connect with Senior NASA representatives and their prime contractors. The program guided businesses through the process of working with NASA as a supplier, subcontractor, and/or a service provider. The Marshall Space Flight Center’s projected procurement budget in FY 2018 is approximately $2.2 billion and numerous procurement opportunities are available for small business participation each fiscal year. The program included Todd May, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center; Johnny Stephenson, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication; David Brock, Small Business Specialist with Marshall Space Flight Center; and Lynn Garrison, Small Business Specialist Technical Advisor with Marshall Space Flight Center. Additionally, there was a prime contractor panel consisting of representatives from five NASA prime contractors. The event included a dedicated networking session with those prime contractors. The “Launch Your Business With NASA” event provides those in attendance the opportunity to network with key Marshall Space Flight Center procurement and technical personnel, and representatives of several major Marshall Space Flight Center prime contractors.Arts.. David Brock, head of Marshall's Small Business Office talks about doing business with Marshall.

"Launch Your Business with NASA" conference in Decatur, Alabama.

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-18

The Morgan County Economic Development Association and the City of Decatur, in Partnership with the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), hosted a business forum on, How to Launch Your Business with NASA, Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at the Alabama Center for the Arts in downtown Decatur, AL. The event was open to all businesses allowed them to connect with Senior NASA representatives and their prime contractors. The program guided businesses through the process of working with NASA as a supplier, subcontractor, and/or a service provider. The Marshall Space Flight Center’s projected procurement budget in FY 2018 is approximately $2.2 billion and numerous procurement opportunities are available for small business participation each fiscal year. The program included Todd May, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center; Johnny Stephenson, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication; David Brock, Small Business Specialist with Marshall Space Flight Center; and Lynn Garrison, Small Business Specialist Technical Advisor with Marshall Space Flight Center. Additionally, there was a prime contractor panel consisting of representatives from five NASA prime contractors. The event included a dedicated networking session with those prime contractors. The “Launch Your Business With NASA” event provides those in attendance the opportunity to network with key Marshall Space Flight Center procurement and technical personnel, and representatives of several major Marshall Space Flight Center prime contractors.Arts. MSFC Director Todd May and Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling enjoy a light moment.

"Launch Your Business with NASA" conference in Decatur, Alabama.

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-18

The Morgan County Economic Development Association and the City of Decatur, in Partnership with the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), hosted a business forum on, How to Launch Your Business with NASA, Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at the Alabama Center for the Arts in downtown Decatur, AL. The event was open to all businesses allowed them to connect with Senior NASA representatives and their prime contractors. The program guided businesses through the process of working with NASA as a supplier, subcontractor, and/or a service provider. The Marshall Space Flight Center’s projected procurement budget in FY 2018 is approximately $2.2 billion and numerous procurement opportunities are available for small business participation each fiscal year. The program included Todd May, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center; Johnny Stephenson, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication; David Brock, Small Business Specialist with Marshall Space Flight Center; and Lynn Garrison, Small Business Specialist Technical Advisor with Marshall Space Flight Center. Additionally, there was a prime contractor panel consisting of representatives from five NASA prime contractors. The event included a dedicated networking session with those prime contractors. The “Launch Your Business With NASA” event provides those in attendance the opportunity to network with key Marshall Space Flight Center procurement and technical personnel, and representatives of several major Marshall Space Flight Center prime contractors.Arts.. OSAC Director Johnny Stephenson talks about Marshall's Mission areas to audience

"Launch Your Business with NASA" conference in Decatur, Alabama.

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-18

The Morgan County Economic Development Association and the City of Decatur, in Partnership with the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), hosted a business forum on, How to Launch Your Business with NASA, Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at the Alabama Center for the Arts in downtown Decatur, AL. The event was open to all businesses allowed them to connect with Senior NASA representatives and their prime contractors. The program guided businesses through the process of working with NASA as a supplier, subcontractor, and/or a service provider. The Marshall Space Flight Center’s projected procurement budget in FY 2018 is approximately $2.2 billion and numerous procurement opportunities are available for small business participation each fiscal year. The program included Todd May, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center; Johnny Stephenson, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication; David Brock, Small Business Specialist with Marshall Space Flight Center; and Lynn Garrison, Small Business Specialist Technical Advisor with Marshall Space Flight Center. Additionally, there was a prime contractor panel consisting of representatives from five NASA prime contractors. The event included a dedicated networking session with those prime contractors. The “Launch Your Business With NASA” event provides those in attendance the opportunity to network with key Marshall Space Flight Center procurement and technical personnel, and representatives of several major Marshall Space Flight Center prime contractors. Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling chats with NASA retiree Don Odum

"Launch Your Business with NASA" conference in Decatur, Alabama.

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-18

The Morgan County Economic Development Association and the City of Decatur, in Partnership with the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), hosted a business forum on, How to Launch Your Business with NASA, Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at the Alabama Center for the Arts in downtown Decatur, AL. The event was open to all businesses allowed them to connect with Senior NASA representatives and their prime contractors. The program guided businesses through the process of working with NASA as a supplier, subcontractor, and/or a service provider. The Marshall Space Flight Center’s projected procurement budget in FY 2018 is approximately $2.2 billion and numerous procurement opportunities are available for small business participation each fiscal year. The program included Todd May, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center; Johnny Stephenson, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication; David Brock, Small Business Specialist with Marshall Space Flight Center; and Lynn Garrison, Small Business Specialist Technical Advisor with Marshall Space Flight Center. Additionally, there was a prime contractor panel consisting of representatives from five NASA prime contractors. The event included a dedicated networking session with those prime contractors. The “Launch Your Business With NASA” event provides those in attendance the opportunity to network with key Marshall Space Flight Center procurement and technical personnel, and representatives of several major Marshall Space Flight Center prime contractors.Arts.. City of Hartselle Mayor Randy Garrison welcomes attendees to conference.

Design of an advanced flight planning system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sorensen, J. A.; Goka, T.

1985-01-01

The demand for both fuel conservation and four-dimensional traffic management require that the preflight planning process be designed to account for advances in airborne flight management and weather forecasting. The steps and issues in designing such an advanced flight planning system are presented. Focus is placed on the different optimization options for generating the three-dimensional reference path. For the cruise phase, one can use predefined jet routes, direct routes based on a network of evenly spaced grid points, or a network where the grid points are existing navaid locations. Each choice has its own problem in determining an optimum solution. Finding the reference path is further complicated by choice of cruise altitude levels, use of a time-varying weather field, and requiring a fixed time-of-arrival (four-dimensional problem).

Network Monitor and Control of Disruption-Tolerant Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torgerson, J. Leigh

2014-01-01

For nearly a decade, NASA and many researchers in the international community have been developing Internet-like protocols that allow for automated network operations in networks where the individual links between nodes are only sporadically connected. A family of Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN) protocols has been developed, and many are reaching CCSDS Blue Book status. A NASA version of DTN known as the Interplanetary Overlay Network (ION) has been flight-tested on the EPOXI spacecraft and ION is currently being tested on the International Space Station. Experience has shown that in order for a DTN service-provider to set up a large scale multi-node network, a number of network monitor and control technologies need to be fielded as well as the basic DTN protocols. The NASA DTN program is developing a standardized means of querying a DTN node to ascertain its operational status, known as the DTN Management Protocol (DTNMP), and the program has developed some prototypes of DTNMP software. While DTNMP is a necessary component, it is not sufficient to accomplish Network Monitor and Control of a DTN network. JPL is developing a suite of tools that provide for network visualization, performance monitoring and ION node control software. This suite of network monitor and control tools complements the GSFC and APL-developed DTN MP software, and the combined package can form the basis for flight operations using DTN.

Supply support of NASA tracking networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The extent which supply support for Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Deep Space Network and Goddard Space Flight Center's Space Flight Tracking and Data Network should be consolidated is considered along with the Identification of opportunities for improvements in each of the supply systems without regard to consolidation. There is a considerable amount of commonality between the items in the stock catalogs at the two network depots, 58% for federal stock number items and 30% overall. The workload at the DSIF Supply Depot (DSD) is small (less than 20%) compared to the Network Logistics Depot (NLD). A number of important benefits in supply support would result from a consolidation of DSD into NLD. LMI found that a consolidation as is, without any changes in inventory management techniques, would reduce annual operating costs by from $208,000 to $358,000. However, if the consolidation were coupled with a change to use of economic order quantities, the annual operating cost reduction would range from $930,000 to $1,078,000.

F-15 837 IFCS Intelligent Flight Control System Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosworth, John T.

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the use of Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) for the F-15. The goals of the project are: (1) Demonstrate Revolutionary Control Approaches that can Efficiently Optimize Aircraft Performance in both Normal and Failure Conditions (2) Advance Neural Network-Based Flight Control Technology for New Aerospace Systems Designs. The motivation for the development are to reduce the chance and skill required for survival.

Adaptive Control Law Development for Failure Compensation Using Neural Networks on a NASA F-15 Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burken, John J.

2005-01-01

This viewgraph presentation covers the following topics: 1) Brief explanation of Generation II Flight Program; 2) Motivation for Neural Network Adaptive Systems; 3) Past/ Current/ Future IFCS programs; 4) Dynamic Inverse Controller with Explicit Model; 5) Types of Neural Networks Investigated; and 6) Brief example

Modeling Aircraft Wing Loads from Flight Data Using Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Michael J.; Dibley, Ryan P.

2003-01-01

Neural networks were used to model wing bending-moment loads, torsion loads, and control surface hinge-moments of the Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) aircraft. Accurate loads models are required for the development of control laws designed to increase roll performance through wing twist while not exceeding load limits. Inputs to the model include aircraft rates, accelerations, and control surface positions. Neural networks were chosen to model aircraft loads because they can account for uncharacterized nonlinear effects while retaining the capability to generalize. The accuracy of the neural network models was improved by first developing linear loads models to use as starting points for network training. Neural networks were then trained with flight data for rolls, loaded reversals, wind-up-turns, and individual control surface doublets for load excitation. Generalization was improved by using gain weighting and early stopping. Results are presented for neural network loads models of four wing loads and four control surface hinge moments at Mach 0.90 and an altitude of 15,000 ft. An average model prediction error reduction of 18.6 percent was calculated for the neural network models when compared to the linear models. This paper documents the input data conditioning, input parameter selection, structure, training, and validation of the neural network models.

Disruption Tolerant Networking Flight Validation Experiment on NASA's EPOXI Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wyatt, Jay; Burleigh, Scott; Jones, Ross; Torgerson, Leigh; Wissler, Steve

2009-01-01

In October and November of 2008, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory installed and tested essential elements of Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) technology on the Deep Impact spacecraft. This experiment, called Deep Impact Network Experiment (DINET), was performed in close cooperation with the EPOXI project which has responsibility for the spacecraft. During DINET some 300 images were transmitted from the JPL nodes to the spacecraft. Then they were automatically forwarded from the spacecraft back to the JPL nodes, exercising DTN's bundle origination, transmission, acquisition, dynamic route computation, congestion control, prioritization, custody transfer, and automatic retransmission procedures, both on the spacecraft and on the ground, over a period of 27 days. All transmitted bundles were successfully received, without corruption. The DINET experiment demonstrated DTN readiness for operational use in space missions. This activity was part of a larger NASA space DTN development program to mature DTN to flight readiness for a wide variety of mission types by the end of 2011. This paper describes the DTN protocols, the flight demo implementation, validation metrics which were created for the experiment, and validation results.

Goddard Monitors Orions EFT-1 Test Flight

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, played a critical role in the test flight of the #Orion spacecraft on Dec. 5, 2014. Goddard's Networks Integration Center, pictured here, coordinated the communications support for both the Orion vehicle and the Delta IV rocket, ensuring complete communications coverage through NASA's Space Network and Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. The Orion spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 in Florida at 7:05 a.m. EST. The Orion capsule splashed down about four and a half hours later, at 11:29 a.m. EST, about 600 miles off the coast of San Diego, California. While no humans were aboard Orion for this test flight, in the future, Orion will allow humans to travel deeper in to space than ever before, including an asteroid and Mars. Credit: NASA/Goddard/Amber Jacobson Credit: NASA/Goddard/Amber Jacobson NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

The Deep Space Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Work accomplished on the Deep Space Network (DSN) was described, including the following topics: supporting research and technology, advanced development and engineering, system implementation, and DSN operations pertaining to mission-independent or multiple-mission development as well as to support of flight projects.

Atmosphere, Magnetosphere and Plasmas in Space (AMPS). Space payload definition study. Volume 2: Mission support requirements document

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

The flight payload, its operation, and the support required from the Space Transporatation System (STS) is defined including the flight objectives and requirements, the experiment operations, and the payload configurations. The support required from the STS includes the accommodation of the payload by the orbiter/Spacelab, use of the flight operations network and ground facilities, and the use of the launch site facilities.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM): Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Homola, Jeffrey; Owens, Brandon

2017-01-01

This is a presentation for a Cisco Internet of Things (IoT) Systems Engineering Virtual Training (SEVT) event. The presentation provides an overview of the UTM concept, architecture, flight test events, and lessons learned. Networking hardware used in support of flight tests is also described.

The Telecommunications and Data Acquisition Report. [Deep Space Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Posner, E. C. (Editor)

1986-01-01

This publication, one of a series formerly titled The Deep Space Network Progress Report, documents DSN progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations. In addition, developments in Earth-based radio technology as applied to geodynamics, astrophysics and the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence are reported.

The deep space network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The objectives, functions, and organization of the Deep Space Network are summarized along with deep space station, ground communication, and network operations control capabilities. Mission support of ongoing planetary/interplanetary flight projects is discussed with emphasis on Viking orbiter radio frequency compatibility tests, the Pioneer Venus orbiter mission, and Helios-1 mission status and operations. Progress is also reported in tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations.

Mobile Computing for Aerospace Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alena, Richard; Swietek, Gregory E. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

The use of commercial computer technology in specific aerospace mission applications can reduce the cost and project cycle time required for the development of special-purpose computer systems. Additionally, the pace of technological innovation in the commercial market has made new computer capabilities available for demonstrations and flight tests. Three areas of research and development being explored by the Portable Computer Technology Project at NASA Ames Research Center are the application of commercial client/server network computing solutions to crew support and payload operations, the analysis of requirements for portable computing devices, and testing of wireless data communication links as extensions to the wired network. This paper will present computer architectural solutions to portable workstation design including the use of standard interfaces, advanced flat-panel displays and network configurations incorporating both wired and wireless transmission media. It will describe the design tradeoffs used in selecting high-performance processors and memories, interfaces for communication and peripheral control, and high resolution displays. The packaging issues for safe and reliable operation aboard spacecraft and aircraft are presented. The current status of wireless data links for portable computers is discussed from a system design perspective. An end-to-end data flow model for payload science operations from the experiment flight rack to the principal investigator is analyzed using capabilities provided by the new generation of computer products. A future flight experiment on-board the Russian MIR space station will be described in detail including system configuration and function, the characteristics of the spacecraft operating environment, the flight qualification measures needed for safety review, and the specifications of the computing devices to be used in the experiment. The software architecture chosen shall be presented. An analysis of the performance characteristics of wireless data links in the spacecraft environment will be discussed. Network performance and operation will be modeled and preliminary test results presented. A crew support application will be demonstrated in conjunction with the network metrics experiment.

Orion Flight Test Architecture Benefits of MBSE Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reed, Don; Simpson, Kim

2012-01-01

Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) is an unmanned first orbital flight test of the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) Mission s purpose is to: Test Orion s ascent, on-orbit and entry capabilities Monitor critical activities Provide ground control in support of contingency scenarios Requires development of a large scale end-to-end information system network architecture To effectively communicate the scope of the end-to-end system a model-based system engineering approach was chosen.

NASA's International Lunar Network Anchor Nodes and Robotic Lunar Lander Project Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, Barbara A.; Bassler, Julie A.; Ballard, Benjamin; Chavers, Greg; Eng, Doug S.; Hammond, Monica S.; Hill, Larry A.; Harris, Danny W.; Hollaway, Todd A.; Kubota, Sanae;

Outcomes of Acellular Dermal Matrix for Immediate Tissue Expander Reconstruction with Radiotherapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

PubMed

Craig, Elizabeth S; Clemens, Mark W; Koshy, John C; Wren, James; Hong, Zhang; Butler, Charles; Garvey, Patrick; Selber, Jesse; Kronowitz, Steven

2018-05-24

Despite increasing literature support for the use of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) in expander-based breast reconstruction, the effect of ADM on clinical outcomes in the presence of post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) has not been well described. To analyze the impact ADM plays on clinical outcomes on immediate tissue expander (ITE) reconstruction undergoing PMRT. We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent ITE breast reconstruction from 2004 to 2014 at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Patients were categorized into four cohorts: ADM, ADM with PMRT, non-ADM, and non-ADM with PMRT. Outcomes and complications were compared between cohorts. Over ten years, 957 patients underwent ITE reconstruction (683 non-ADM, 113 non-ADM with PMRT, 486 ADM, and 88 ADM with PMRT) with 1,370 reconstructions. Overall complication rates for the ADM and non-ADM cohorts were 39.0 and 16.7%, respectively (p <0.001). Within both cohorts, mastectomy skin flap necrosis (MSFN) was the most common complication, followed by infection. ADM use was associated with a significantly higher rate of infections and seromas in both radiated and non-radiated groups; however, when comparing radiated cohorts, the incidence of explantation was significantly lower with the use of ADM. The decision to use ADM for expander-based breast reconstruction should be performed with caution, given higher overall rates of complications, including infections and seromas. There may, however, be a role for ADM in cases requiring PMRT, as the overall incidence of implant failure is lower than non-ADM cases.

Telecommunications and data acquisition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Renzetti, N. A. (Editor)

1981-01-01

Deep Space Network progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations is reported. In addition, developments in Earth based radio technology as applied to geodynamics, astrophysics, and the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence are reported.

The deep space network, volume 19

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The progress is reported in the DSN for Nov. and Dec. 1973. Research is described for the following areas: functions and facilities, mission support for flight projects, tracking and ground-based navigation, spacecraft/ground communication, network control and operations technology, and deep space stations.

Software For Monitoring A Computer Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Young H.

1992-01-01

SNMAT is rule-based expert-system computer program designed to assist personnel in monitoring status of computer network and identifying defective computers, workstations, and other components of network. Also assists in training network operators. Network for SNMAT located at Space Flight Operations Center (SFOC) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Intended to serve as data-reduction system providing windows, menus, and graphs, enabling users to focus on relevant information. SNMAT expected to be adaptable to other computer networks; for example in management of repair, maintenance, and security, or in administration of planning systems, billing systems, or archives.

NASA Earth Science Update with Information Science Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halem, Milton

2000-01-01

This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of NASA earth science updates with information science technology. Details are given on NASA/Earth Science Enterprise (ESE)/Goddard Space Flight Center strategic plans, ESE missions and flight programs, roles of information science, ESE goals related to the Minority University-Space Interdisciplinary Network, and future plans.

Rocket ozone sounding network data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, D. U.; Krueger, A. J.; Foster, G. M.

1978-01-01

During the period December 1976 through February 1977, three regular monthly ozone profiles were measured at Wallops Flight Center, two special soundings were taken at Antigua, West Indies, and at the Churchill Research Range, monthly activities were initiated to establish stratospheric ozone climatology. This report presents the data results and flight profiles for the period covered.

High-Capacity Ground Communications to Support Future Space Missions: A Forecast of Ground Communications Challenges in the 2010-2020 Period

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markley, Richard W.

2003-01-01

The purpose of this presentation is to identify major challenges involved in space ground communications networks to support space flight missions over the next 20 years. The presentation focus is on the Deep Space Network and its customers, but the forecast is applicable to all space ground communications networks.

Improved methods in neural network-based adaptive output feedback control, with applications to flight control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Nakwan

Utilizing the universal approximation property of neural networks, we develop several novel approaches to neural network-based adaptive output feedback control of nonlinear systems, and illustrate these approaches for several flight control applications. In particular, we address the problem of non-affine systems and eliminate the fixed point assumption present in earlier work. All of the stability proofs are carried out in a form that eliminates an algebraic loop in the neural network implementation. An approximate input/output feedback linearizing controller is augmented with a neural network using input/output sequences of the uncertain system. These approaches permit adaptation to both parametric uncertainty and unmodeled dynamics. All physical systems also have control position and rate limits, which may either deteriorate performance or cause instability for a sufficiently high control bandwidth. Here we apply a method for protecting an adaptive process from the effects of input saturation and time delays, known as "pseudo control hedging". This method was originally developed for the state feedback case, and we provide a stability analysis that extends its domain of applicability to the case of output feedback. The approach is illustrated by the design of a pitch-attitude flight control system for a linearized model of an R-50 experimental helicopter, and by the design of a pitch-rate control system for a 58-state model of a flexible aircraft consisting of rigid body dynamics coupled with actuator and flexible modes. A new approach to augmentation of an existing linear controller is introduced. It is especially useful when there is limited information concerning the plant model, and the existing controller. The approach is applied to the design of an adaptive autopilot for a guided munition. Design of a neural network adaptive control that ensures asymptotically stable tracking performance is also addressed.

Control Reallocation Strategies for Damage Adaptation in Transport Class Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gundy-Burlet, Karen; Krishnakumar, K.; Limes, Greg; Bryant, Don

2003-01-01

This paper examines the feasibility, potential benefits and implementation issues associated with retrofitting a neural-adaptive flight control system (NFCS) to existing transport aircraft, including both cable/hydraulic and fly-by-wire configurations. NFCS uses a neural network based direct adaptive control approach for applying alternate sources of control authority in the presence of damage or failures in order to achieve desired flight control performance. Neural networks are used to provide consistent handling qualities across flight conditions, adapt to changes in aircraft dynamics and to make the controller easy to apply when implemented on different aircraft. Full-motion piloted simulation studies were performed on two different transport models: the Boeing 747-400 and the Boeing C-17. Subjects included NASA, Air Force and commercial airline pilots. Results demonstrate the potential for improving handing qualities and significantly increased survivability rates under various simulated failure conditions.

The NASA F-15 Intelligent Flight Control Systems: Generation II

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buschbacher, Mark; Bosworth, John

2006-01-01

The Second Generation (Gen II) control system for the F-15 Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) program implements direct adaptive neural networks to demonstrate robust tolerance to faults and failures. The direct adaptive tracking controller integrates learning neural networks (NNs) with a dynamic inversion control law. The term direct adaptive is used because the error between the reference model and the aircraft response is being compensated or directly adapted to minimize error without regard to knowing the cause of the error. No parameter estimation is needed for this direct adaptive control system. In the Gen II design, the feedback errors are regulated with a proportional-plus-integral (PI) compensator. This basic compensator is augmented with an online NN that changes the system gains via an error-based adaptation law to improve aircraft performance at all times, including normal flight, system failures, mispredicted behavior, or changes in behavior resulting from damage.

Using convolutional neural networks to estimate time-of-flight from PET detector waveforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berg, Eric; Cherry, Simon R.

2018-01-01

Although there have been impressive strides in detector development for time-of-flight positron emission tomography, most detectors still make use of simple signal processing methods to extract the time-of-flight information from the detector signals. In most cases, the timing pick-off for each waveform is computed using leading edge discrimination or constant fraction discrimination, as these were historically easily implemented with analog pulse processing electronics. However, now with the availability of fast waveform digitizers, there is opportunity to make use of more of the timing information contained in the coincident detector waveforms with advanced signal processing techniques. Here we describe the application of deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs), a type of machine learning, to estimate time-of-flight directly from the pair of digitized detector waveforms for a coincident event. One of the key features of this approach is the simplicity in obtaining ground-truth-labeled data needed to train the CNN: the true time-of-flight is determined from the difference in path length between the positron emission and each of the coincident detectors, which can be easily controlled experimentally. The experimental setup used here made use of two photomultiplier tube-based scintillation detectors, and a point source, stepped in 5 mm increments over a 15 cm range between the two detectors. The detector waveforms were digitized at 10 GS s-1 using a bench-top oscilloscope. The results shown here demonstrate that CNN-based time-of-flight estimation improves timing resolution by 20% compared to leading edge discrimination (231 ps versus 185 ps), and 23% compared to constant fraction discrimination (242 ps versus 185 ps). By comparing several different CNN architectures, we also showed that CNN depth (number of convolutional and fully connected layers) had the largest impact on timing resolution, while the exact network parameters, such as convolutional filter size and number of feature maps, had only a minor influence.

The telecommunications and data acquisition report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Renzetti, N. A.

1980-01-01

Deep Space Network progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implemention, and operations is documented. In addition, developments in Earth based radio technology as applied to geodynamics, astrophysics, and the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence are reported.

The Telecommunications and Data Acquisition Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Posner, E. C. (Editor)

1986-01-01

Deep Space Network progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations is documented. In addition, developments in Earth-based radio technology as applied to geodynamics, astrophysics and the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence are reported.

R and T report: Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soffen, Gerald A. (Editor)

1993-01-01

The 1993 Research and Technology Report for Goddard Space Flight Center is presented. Research covered areas such as (1) flight projects; (2) space sciences including cosmology, high energy, stars and galaxies, and the solar system; (3) earth sciences including process modeling, hydrology/cryology, atmospheres, biosphere, and solid earth; (4) networks, planning, and information systems including support for mission operations, data distribution, advanced software and systems engineering, and planning/scheduling; and (5) engineering and materials including spacecraft systems, material and testing, optics and photonics and robotics.

NLS Flight Simulation Laboratory (FSL) documentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

The Flight Simulation Laboratory (FSL) Electronic Documentation System design consists of modification and utilization of the MSFC Integrated Engineering System (IES), translation of the existing FSL documentation to an electronic format, and generation of new drawings to represent the Engine Flight Simulation Laboratory design and implementation. The intent of the electronic documentation is to provide ease of access, local print/plot capabilities, as well as the ability to correct and/or modify the stored data by network users who are authorized to access this information.

Systems and Methods for Collaboratively Controlling at Least One Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estkowski, Regina I. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

An unmanned vehicle management system includes an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) control station controlling one or more unmanned vehicles (UV), a collaborative routing system, and a communication network connecting the UAS and the collaborative routing system. The collaborative routing system being configured to receive flight parameters from an operator of the UAS control station and, based on the received flight parameters, automatically present the UAS control station with flight plan options to enable the operator to operate the UV in a defined airspace.

High Level Rule Modeling Language for Airline Crew Pairing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mutlu, Erdal; Birbil, Ş. Ilker; Bülbül, Kerem; Yenigün, Hüsnü

2011-09-01

The crew pairing problem is an airline optimization problem where a set of least costly pairings (consecutive flights to be flown by a single crew) that covers every flight in a given flight network is sought. A pairing is defined by using a very complex set of feasibility rules imposed by international and national regulatory agencies, and also by the airline itself. The cost of a pairing is also defined by using complicated rules. When an optimization engine generates a sequence of flights from a given flight network, it has to check all these feasibility rules to ensure whether the sequence forms a valid pairing. Likewise, the engine needs to calculate the cost of the pairing by using certain rules. However, the rules used for checking the feasibility and calculating the costs are usually not static. Furthermore, the airline companies carry out what-if-type analyses through testing several alternate scenarios in each planning period. Therefore, embedding the implementation of feasibility checking and cost calculation rules into the source code of the optimization engine is not a practical approach. In this work, a high level language called ARUS is introduced for describing the feasibility and cost calculation rules. A compiler for ARUS is also implemented in this work to generate a dynamic link library to be used by crew pairing optimization engines.

Use of high performance networks and supercomputers for real-time flight simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cleveland, Jeff I., II

1993-01-01

In order to meet the stringent time-critical requirements for real-time man-in-the-loop flight simulation, computer processing operations must be consistent in processing time and be completed in as short a time as possible. These operations include simulation mathematical model computation and data input/output to the simulators. In 1986, in response to increased demands for flight simulation performance, NASA's Langley Research Center (LaRC), working with the contractor, developed extensions to the Computer Automated Measurement and Control (CAMAC) technology which resulted in a factor of ten increase in the effective bandwidth and reduced latency of modules necessary for simulator communication. This technology extension is being used by more than 80 leading technological developers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Included among the commercial applications are nuclear process control, power grid analysis, process monitoring, real-time simulation, and radar data acquisition. Personnel at LaRC are completing the development of the use of supercomputers for mathematical model computation to support real-time flight simulation. This includes the development of a real-time operating system and development of specialized software and hardware for the simulator network. This paper describes the data acquisition technology and the development of supercomputing for flight simulation.

Space Flight Operations Center local area network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodman, Ross V.

1988-01-01

The existing Mission Control and Computer Center at JPL will be replaced by the Space Flight Operations Center (SFOC). One part of the SFOC is the LAN-based distribution system. The purpose of the LAN is to distribute the processed data among the various elements of the SFOC. The SFOC LAN will provide a robust subsystem that will support the Magellan launch configuration and future project adaptation. Its capabilities include (1) a proven cable medium as the backbone for the entire network; (2) hardware components that are reliable, varied, and follow OSI standards; (3) accurate and detailed documentation for fault isolation and future expansion; and (4) proven monitoring and maintenance tools.

The Telecommunications and Data Acquisition Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Posner, E. C. (Editor)

1985-01-01

Deep Space Network (DSN) progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operation is discussed. In addition, developments in Earth-based radio technology as applied to geodynamics, astrophysics and the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence are reported.

A Communications Network for Cislunar Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burleigh, Scott

2012-01-01

Reliable and efficient communications will be critical to the success of commercial flight operations in cislunar space. The Internet is not well-suited to meeting this requirement. But the Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN) architecture is. The DTN protocols are well-documented and implementations are mature. We think DTN will be ready to support low-cost, low-risk cislunar networking by the time the vehicles are in place.

The Deep Space Network. An instrument for radio navigation of deep space probes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Renzetti, N. A.; Jordan, J. F.; Berman, A. L.; Wackley, J. A.; Yunck, T. P.

1982-01-01

The Deep Space Network (DSN) network configurations used to generate the navigation observables and the basic process of deep space spacecraft navigation, from data generation through flight path determination and correction are described. Special emphasis is placed on the DSN Systems which generate the navigation data: the DSN Tracking and VLBI Systems. In addition, auxiliary navigational support functions are described.

Suborbital Telepresence and Over-the-Horizon Networking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freudinger, Lawrence C.

2007-01-01

A viewgraph presentation describing the suborbital telepresence project utilizing in-flight network computing is shown. The topics include: 1) Motivation; 2) Suborbital Telepresence and Global Test Range; 3) Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4); 4) Data Sets for TC4 Real-time Monitoring; 5) TC-4 Notional Architecture; 6) An Application Integration View; 7) Telepresence: Architectural Framework; and 8) Disruption Tolerant Networks.

Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networks for Human Space Flight Video Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fink, Patrick W.; Ngo, Phong; Schlesinger, Adam

2010-01-01

The movie describes collaboration between NASA and Vint Cerf on the development of Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTN) for use in space exploration. Current evaluation efforts at Johnson Space Center are focused on the use of DTNs in space communications. Tests include the ability of rovers to store data for later display, tracking local and remote habitat inventory using radio-frequency identification tags, and merging networks.

NASA Langley WINN System Operational Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jonsson, Jon

2003-01-01

An operational assessment of the NASA Langley Weather Information Network (WINN) System is presented. The objectives of this program include: 1) Determine if near real-time weather information presented on the flight deck improves pilot situational awareness of weather; and 2) Identify pilot interface issues related to the use of WINN system during test flights. This paper is in viewgraph form.

Integrated Circuit Chip Improves Network Efficiency

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Prior to 1999 and the development of SpaceWire, a standard for high-speed links for computer networks managed by the European Space Agency (ESA), there was no high-speed communications protocol for flight electronics. Onboard computers, processing units, and other electronics had to be designed for individual projects and then redesigned for subsequent projects, which increased development periods, costs, and risks. After adopting the SpaceWire protocol in 2000, NASA implemented the standard on the Swift mission, a gamma ray burst-alert telescope launched in November 2004. Scientists and developers on the James Webb Space Telescope further developed the network version of SpaceWire. In essence, SpaceWire enables more science missions at a lower cost, because it provides a standard interface between flight electronics components; new systems need not be custom built to accommodate individual missions, so electronics can be reused. New protocols are helping to standardize higher layers of computer communication. Goddard Space Flight Center improved on the ESA-developed SpaceWire by enabling standard protocols, which included defining quality of service and supporting plug-and-play capabilities. Goddard upgraded SpaceWire to make the routers more efficient and reliable, with features including redundant cables, simultaneous discrete broadcast pulses, prevention of network blockage, and improved verification. Redundant cables simplify management because the user does not need to worry about which connection is available, and simultaneous broadcast signals allow multiple users to broadcast low-latency side-band signal pulses across the network using the same resources for data communication. Additional features have been added to the SpaceWire switch to prevent network blockage so that more robust networks can be designed. Goddard s verification environment for the link-and-switch implementation continuously randomizes and tests different parts, constantly anticipating situations, which helps improve communications reliability. It has been tested in many different implementations for compatibility.

A-5A on lakebed.

NASA Image and Video Library

1963-03-25

A North American Aviation A-5A Vigilante (Navy serial number 147858/NASA tail number 858) arrived from the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, MD, on December 19, 1962, at the NASA Flight Research Center (now, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA). The Center flew the A-5A in a year-long series of flights in support of the U.S. supersonic transport program. The Center flew the aircraft to determine the let-down and approach conditions of a supersonic transport flying into a dense air traffic network. With the completion of the research flights, the Center sent the A-5A back to the Navy on December 20, 1963.

A-5A on lakebed.

NASA Image and Video Library

1963-10-25

A North American Aviation A-5A Vigilante (Navy serial number 147858/NASA tail number 858) arrived from the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, MD, on December 19, 1962, at the NASA Flight Research Center (now, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA). The Center flew the A-5A in a year-long series of flights in support of the U.S. supersonic transport program. The Center flew the aircraft to determine the let-down and approach conditions of a supersonic transport flying into a dense air traffic network. With the completion of the research flights, the Center sent the A-5A back to the Navy on December 20, 1963.

Summary results of the first United States manned orbital space flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glenn, J. H. Jr

1963-01-01

This paper describes the principal findings of the first United States manned orbital space flight in light of the flight mission. Consideration is given to the coordinated tracking network, recovery forces and to the spacecraft and its several functional systems. These include mechanisms for heat protection, escape maneuvers, spacecraft control, power supply, communications, life support and landing. A few difficulties encountered in the flight and deviations from the planned sequence are described. Craft preparation, aeromedical studies, flight plan and particularly flight observations--including the color, light, horizon visibility by day and by night, cloud formations and sunrise and sunset effects are given in some detail. The general conclusion from the MA-6 flight is that man can adapt well to new conditions encountered in space flight and that man can contribute importantly to mission reliability and toward mission achievement through his capacities to control the spacecraft and its multiple systems contribute to decision making and adaptation of programming as well as to direct exploratory and experimental observations.

Design and Development of a Flight Route Modification, Logging, and Communication Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merlino, Daniel K.; Wilson, C. Logan; Carboneau, Lindsey M.; Wilder, Andrew J.; Underwood, Matthew C.

2016-01-01

There is an overwhelming desire to create and enhance communication mechanisms between entities that operate within the National Airspace System. Furthermore, airlines are always extremely interested in increasing the efficiency of their flights. An innovative system prototype was developed and tested that improves collaborative decision making without modifying existing infrastructure or operational procedures within the current Air Traffic Management System. This system enables collaboration between flight crew and airline dispatchers to share and assess optimized flight routes through an Internet connection. Using a sophisticated medium-fidelity flight simulation environment, a rapid-prototyping development, and a unified modeling language, the software was designed to ensure reliability and scalability for future growth and applications. Ensuring safety and security were primary design goals, therefore the software does not interact or interfere with major flight control or safety systems. The system prototype demonstrated an unprecedented use of in-flight Internet to facilitate effective communication with Airline Operations Centers, which may contribute to increased flight efficiency for airlines.

Design and implementation of an inter-agency, multi-mission space flight operations network interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byrne, R.; Scharf, M.; Doan, D.; Liu, J.; Willems, A.

2004-01-01

An advanced network interface was designed and implemented by a team from the Jet Propulsion Lab with support from the European Space Operations Center. This poster shows the requirements for the interface, the design, the topology, the testing and lessons learned from the whole implementation.

Wings: Women Entrepreneurs Take Flight.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baldwin, Fred D.

1997-01-01

Women's Initiative Networking Groups (WINGS) provides low- and moderate-income women in Appalachian Kentucky with training in business skills, contacts, and other resources they need to succeed as entrepreneurs. The women form informal networks to share business know-how and support for small business startup and operations. The program plans to…

Proceedings of the Second Joint Technology Workshop on Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lea, Robert N. (Editor); Villarreal, James (Editor)

1991-01-01

Documented here are papers presented at the Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic Workshop sponsored by NASA and the University of Houston, Clear Lake. The workshop was held April 11 to 13 at the Johnson Space Flight Center. Technical topics addressed included adaptive systems, learning algorithms, network architectures, vision, robotics, neurobiological connections, speech recognition and synthesis, fuzzy set theory and application, control and dynamics processing, space applications, fuzzy logic and neural network computers, approximate reasoning, and multiobject decision making.

The Space Mobile Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Israel, David

2017-01-01

The definition and development of the next generation space communications and navigation architecture is underway. The primary goals are to remove communications and navigations constraints from missions and to enable increased autonomy. The Space Mobile Network (SMN) is an architectural concept that includes new technology and operations that will provide flight systems with an similar user experience to terrestrial wireless mobile networks. This talk will describe the SMN and its proposed new features, such as Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN), optical communications, and User Initiated Services (UIS).

Integrating and Visualizing Tropical Cyclone Data Using the Real Time Mission Monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodman, H. Michael; Blakeslee, Richard; Conover, Helen; Hall, John; He, Yubin; Regner, Kathryn

2009-01-01

The Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) is a visualization and information system that fuses multiple Earth science data sources, to enable real time decision-making for airborne and ground validation experiments. Developed at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, RTMM is a situational awareness, decision-support system that integrates satellite imagery, radar, surface and airborne instrument data sets, model output parameters, lightning location observations, aircraft navigation data, soundings, and other applicable Earth science data sets. The integration and delivery of this information is made possible using data acquisition systems, network communication links, network server resources, and visualizations through the Google Earth virtual globe application. RTMM is extremely valuable for optimizing individual Earth science airborne field experiments. Flight planners, scientists, and managers appreciate the contributions that RTMM makes to their flight projects. A broad spectrum of interdisciplinary scientists used RTMM during field campaigns including the hurricane-focused 2006 NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA), 2007 NOAA-NASA Aerosonde Hurricane Noel flight, 2007 Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling (TC4), plus a soil moisture (SMAP-VEX) and two arctic research experiments (ARCTAS) in 2008. Improving and evolving RTMM is a continuous process. RTMM recently integrated the Waypoint Planning Tool, a Java-based application that enables aircraft mission scientists to easily develop a pre-mission flight plan through an interactive point-and-click interface. Individual flight legs are automatically calculated "on the fly". The resultant flight plan is then immediately posted to the Google Earth-based RTMM for interested scientists to view the planned flight track and subsequently compare it to the actual real time flight progress. We are planning additional capabilities to RTMM including collaborations with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the joint development of a Tropical Cyclone Integrated Data Exchange and Analysis System (TC IDEAS) which will serve as a web portal for access to tropical cyclone data, visualizations and model output.

Benefits of Delay Tolerant Networking for Earth Science Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Faith; Marquart, Jane; Menke, Greg

2012-01-01

To date there has been much discussion about the value of Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) for space missions. Claims of various benefits, based on paper analysis, are good; however a benefits statement with empirical evidence to support is even better. This paper presents potential and actual advantages of using DTN for Earth science missions based on results from multiple demonstrations, conducted by the Communications, Standards, and Technology Laboratory (CSTL) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Demonstrations included two flight demonstrations using the Earth Observing Mission 1 (EO-1) and the Near Earth Network (NEN), a ground based demonstration over satellite links to the Internet Router in Space (IRIS) payload on Intelsat-14, and others using the NASA Tracking Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Real and potential findings include increased flexibility and efficiency in science campaigns, reduced latency in a collaborative science scenario, and improved scientist-instrument communication and control.

Determining Usability Versus Cost and Yields of a Regional Transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gvozdenovic, Slobodan

1999-01-01

Regional transports are designed to operate on air networks having the basic characteristics of short trip distances and low density passengers/cargo, i.e. small numbers of passengers per flight. Regional transports passenger capacity is from 10 to 100 seats and operate on routes from 350 to 1000 nautical miles (nm). In order to meet passenger requirements providing low fares and high or required number of frequencies, airlines must constantly monitor operational costs and keep them low. It is obvious that costs of operating aircraft must be lower than yield obtained by transporting passengers and cargo. The requirement to achieve favorable yield/cost ratio must provide the answer to the question of which aircraft will best meet a specific air network (Simpson, 1972). An air network is defined by the number of services, the trip distance of each service, and the number of flights (frequencies) per day and week.

Enhancements and Evolution of the Real Time Mission Monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodman, Michael; Blakeslee, Richard; Hardin, Danny; Hall, John; He, Yubin; Regner, Kathryn

2008-01-01

The Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) is a visualization and information system that fuses multiple Earth science data sources, to enable real time decision-making for airborne and ground validation experiments. Developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center, RTMM is a situational awareness, decision-support system that integrates satellite imagery, radar, surface and airborne instrument data sets, model output parameters, lightning location observations, aircraft navigation data, soundings, and other applicable Earth science data sets. The integration and delivery of this information is made possible using data acquisition systems, network communication links, network server resources, and visualizations through the Google Earth virtual globe application. RTMM has proven extremely valuable for optimizing individual Earth science airborne field experiments. Flight planners, mission scientists, instrument scientists and program managers alike appreciate the contributions that RTMM makes to their flight projects. We have received numerous plaudits from a wide variety of scientists who used RTMM during recent field campaigns including the 2006 NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA), 2007 Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling (TC4), 2008 Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) missions, the 2007-2008 NOAA-NASA Aerosonde Hurricane flights and the 2008 Soil Moisture Active-Passive Validation Experiment (SMAP-VEX). Improving and evolving RTMM is a continuous process. RTMM recently integrated the Waypoint Planning Tool, a Java-based application that enables aircraft mission scientists to easily develop a pre-mission flight plan through an interactive point-and-click interface. Individual flight legs are automatically calculated for altitude, latitude, longitude, flight leg distance, cumulative distance, flight leg time, cumulative time, and satellite overpass intersections. The resultant flight plan is then generated in KML and quickly posted to the Google Earth-based RTMM for interested scientists to view the planned flight track and then compare it to the actual real time flight progress. A description of the system architecture, components, and applications along with reviews and animations of RTMM during the field campaigns, plus planned enhancements and future opportunities will be presented.

Minority University-Space Interdisciplinary Network Conference Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Users' Conference

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrington, James L., Jr.; Brown, Robin L.; Shukla, Pooja

1998-01-01

Seventh annual conference proceedings of the Minority University-SPace Interdisciplinary Network (MU-SPIN) conference. MU-SPIN is cosponsored by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Science Foundation, and is a comprehensive educational initiative for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and minority universities. MU-SPIN focuses on the transfer of advanced computer networking technologies to these institutions and their use for supporting multidisciplinary research.

Sampling for Global Epidemic Models and the Topology of an International Airport Network

PubMed Central

Bobashev, Georgiy; Morris, Robert J.; Goedecke, D. Michael

2008-01-01

Mathematical models that describe the global spread of infectious diseases such as influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and tuberculosis (TB) often consider a sample of international airports as a network supporting disease spread. However, there is no consensus on how many cities should be selected or on how to select those cities. Using airport flight data that commercial airlines reported to the Official Airline Guide (OAG) in 2000, we have examined the network characteristics of network samples obtained under different selection rules. In addition, we have examined different size samples based on largest flight volume and largest metropolitan populations. We have shown that although the bias in network characteristics increases with the reduction of the sample size, a relatively small number of areas that includes the largest airports, the largest cities, the most-connected cities, and the most central cities is enough to describe the dynamics of the global spread of influenza. The analysis suggests that a relatively small number of cities (around 200 or 300 out of almost 3000) can capture enough network information to adequately describe the global spread of a disease such as influenza. Weak traffic flows between small airports can contribute to noise and mask other means of spread such as the ground transportation. PMID:18776932

77 FR 33808 - Agency Information Collection; Activity Under OMB Review: Airline Service Quality Performance...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-07

... Administration uses Part 234 data to pinpoint and analyze air traffic delays. Wheels-up and wheels-down times are... elapsed flight time, wheels-down minus wheels- up time, is compared to scheduled elapsed flight time to... the air network, which enables the FAA to study the ripple effects of delays at hub airports. The data...

Compensation of significant parametric uncertainties using sliding mode online learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schnetter, Philipp; Kruger, Thomas

An augmented nonlinear inverse dynamics (NID) flight control strategy using sliding mode online learning for a small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) is presented. Because parameter identification for this class of aircraft often is not valid throughout the complete flight envelope, aerodynamic parameters used for model based control strategies may show significant deviations. For the concept of feedback linearization this leads to inversion errors that in combination with the distinctive susceptibility of small UAS towards atmospheric turbulence pose a demanding control task for these systems. In this work an adaptive flight control strategy using feedforward neural networks for counteracting such nonlinear effects is augmented with the concept of sliding mode control (SMC). SMC-learning is derived from variable structure theory. It considers a neural network and its training as a control problem. It is shown that by the dynamic calculation of the learning rates, stability can be guaranteed and thus increase the robustness against external disturbances and system failures. With the resulting higher speed of convergence a wide range of simultaneously occurring disturbances can be compensated. The SMC-based flight controller is tested and compared to the standard gradient descent (GD) backpropagation algorithm under the influence of significant model uncertainties and system failures.

Design, Development and Pre-Flight Testing of the Communications, Navigation, and Networking Reconfigurable Testbed (Connect) to Investigate Software Defined Radio Architecture on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Over, Ann P.; Barrett, Michael J.; Reinhart, Richard C.; Free, James M.; Cikanek, Harry A., III

2011-01-01

The Communication Navigation and Networking Reconfigurable Testbed (CoNNeCT) is a NASA-sponsored mission, which will investigate the usage of Software Defined Radios (SDRs) as a multi-function communication system for space missions. A softwaredefined radio system is a communication system in which typical components of the system (e.g., modulators) are incorporated into software. The software-defined capability allows flexibility and experimentation in different modulation, coding and other parameters to understand their effects on performance. This flexibility builds inherent redundancy and flexibility into the system for improved operational efficiency, real-time changes to space missions and enhanced reliability/redundancy. The CoNNeCT Project is a collaboration between industrial radio providers and NASA. The industrial radio providers are providing the SDRs and NASA is designing, building and testing the entire flight system. The flight system will be integrated on the Express Logistics Carrier (ELC) on the International Space Station (ISS) after launch on the H-IIB Transfer Vehicle in 2012. This paper provides an overview of the technology research objectives, payload description, design challenges and pre-flight testing results.

STS-78 Flight Day 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

On this fourth day of the STS-78 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Terence T. Henricks, Pilot Kevin R. Kregel, Payload Cmdr. Susan J. Helms, Mission Specialists Richard M. Linnehan, Charles E. Brady, Jr., and Payload Specialists Jean-Jacques Favier, Ph.D. and Robert B. Thirsk, M.D., discuss the flight during an interview with the Cable News Network (CNN). The crew then continues research concentrated on the Torque Velocity Dynamometer measurements of leg and arm muscle power, the Astronaut Lung Function Experiment, and effects of microgravity exercise with the bicycle ergometer and its associated instruments.

Distributing flight dynamics products via the World Wide Web

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Mark; Matusow, David

1996-01-01

The NASA Flight Dynamics Products Center (FDPC), which make available selected operations products via the World Wide Web, is reported on. The FDPC can be accessed from any host machine connected to the Internet. It is a multi-mission service which provides Internet users with unrestricted access to the following standard products: antenna contact predictions; ground tracks; orbit ephemerides; mean and osculating orbital elements; earth sensor sun and moon interference predictions; space flight tracking data network summaries; and Shuttle transport system predictions. Several scientific data bases are available through the service.

PILOT: An intelligent distributed operations support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rasmussen, Arthur N.

1993-01-01

The Real-Time Data System (RTDS) project is exploring the application of advanced technologies to the real-time flight operations environment of the Mission Control Centers at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The system, based on a network of engineering workstations, provides services such as delivery of real time telemetry data to flight control applications. To automate the operation of this complex distributed environment, a facility called PILOT (Process Integrity Level and Operation Tracker) is being developed. PILOT comprises a set of distributed agents cooperating with a rule-based expert system; together they monitor process operation and data flows throughout the RTDS network. The goal of PILOT is to provide unattended management and automated operation under user control.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President: Fiscal Year 1996 Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Topics considered include: (1) Space launch activities: space shuttle missions; expendable launch vehicles. (2) Space science: astronomy and space physics; solar system exploration. (3) Space flight and technology: life and microgravity sciences; space shuttle technology; reuseable launch vehicles; international space station; energy; safety and mission assurance; commercial development and regulation of space; surveillance. (4) Space communications: communications satellites; space network; ground networks; mission control and data systems. (5) Aeronautical activities: technology developments; air traffic control and navigation; weather-related aeronautical activities; flight safety and security; aviation medicine and human factors. (6) Studies of the planet earth: terrestrial studies and applications: atmospheric studies: oceanographic studies; international aeronautical and space activities; and appendices.

In-flight Fault Detection and Isolation in Aircraft Flight Control Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Azam, Mohammad; Pattipati, Krishna; Allanach, Jeffrey; Poll, Scott; Patterson-Hine, Ann

2005-01-01

In this paper we consider the problem of test design for real-time fault detection and isolation (FDI) in the flight control system of fixed-wing aircraft. We focus on the faults that are manifested in the control surface elements (e.g., aileron, elevator, rudder and stabilizer) of an aircraft. For demonstration purposes, we restrict our focus on the faults belonging to nine basic fault classes. The diagnostic tests are performed on the features extracted from fifty monitored system parameters. The proposed tests are able to uniquely isolate each of the faults at almost all severity levels. A neural network-based flight control simulator, FLTZ(Registered TradeMark), is used for the simulation of various faults in fixed-wing aircraft flight control systems for the purpose of FDI.

International outbreak investigation of Salmonella Heidelberg associated with in-flight catering.

PubMed

Rebolledo, J; Garvey, P; Ryan, A; O'Donnell, J; Cormican, M; Jackson, S; Cloak, F; Cullen, L; Swaan, C M; Schimmer, B; Appels, R W; Nygard, K; Finley, R; Sreenivasan, N; Lenglet, A; Gossner, C; McKeown, P

2014-04-01

Rapid and wide dispersal of passengers after flights makes investigation of flight-related outbreaks challenging. An outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg was identified in a group of Irish travellers returning from Tanzania. Additional international cases sharing the same flight were identified. Our aim was to determine the source and potential vehicles of infection. Case-finding utilized information exchange using experts' communication networks and national surveillance systems. Demographic, clinical and food history information was collected. Twenty-five additional cases were identified from Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, USA and Canada. We conducted a case-control study which indicated a significant association between illness and consumption of milk tart (OR 10.2) and an egg dish (OR 6) served on-board the flight. No food consumed before the flight was associated with illness. Cases from countries other than Ireland provided supplementary information that facilitated the identification of likely vehicles of infection. Timely, committed international collaboration is vital in such investigations.

In-flight detection and identification and accommodation of aircraft icing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caliskan, Fikret; Hajiyev, Chingiz

2012-11-01

The recent improvements and research on aviation have focused on the subject of aircraft safe flight even in the severe weather conditions. As one type of such weather conditions, aircraft icing considerably has negative effects on the aircraft flight performance. The risks of the iced aerodynamic surfaces of the flying aircraft have been known since the beginning of the first flights. Until recent years, as a solution for this event, the icing conditions ahead flight route are estimated from radars or other environmental sensors, hence flight paths are changed, or, if it exists, anti-icing/de-icing systems are used. This work aims at the detection and identification of airframe icing based on statistical properties of aircraft dynamics and reconfigurable control protecting aircraft from hazardous icing conditions. In this paper, aircraft icing identification based on neural networks is investigated. Following icing identification, reconfigurable control is applied for protecting the aircraft from hazardous icing conditions.

Investigation of air transportation technology at Princeton University, 1991-1992

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stengel, Robert F.

1993-01-01

The Air Transportation Research Program at Princeton University proceeded along six avenues during the past year: (1) intelligent flight control; (2) computer-aided control system design; (3) neural networks for flight control; (4) stochastic robustness of flight control systems; (5) microburst hazards to aircraft; and (6) fundamental dynamics of atmospheric flight. This research has resulted in a number of publications, including archival papers and conference papers. An annotated bibliography of publications that appeared between June 1991 and June 1992 appears at the end of this report. The research that these papers describe was supported in whole or in part by the Joint University Program, including work that was completed prior to the reporting period.

The Application of Integrated Knowledge-based Systems for the Biomedical Risk Assessment Intelligent Network (BRAIN)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loftin, Karin C.; Ly, Bebe; Webster, Laurie; Verlander, James; Taylor, Gerald R.; Riley, Gary; Culbert, Chris; Holden, Tina; Rudisill, Marianne

1993-01-01

One of NASA's goals for long duration space flight is to maintain acceptable levels of crew health, safety, and performance. One way of meeting this goal is through the Biomedical Risk Assessment Intelligent Network (BRAIN), an integrated network of both human and computer elements. The BRAIN will function as an advisor to flight surgeons by assessing the risk of in-flight biomedical problems and recommending appropriate countermeasures. This paper describes the joint effort among various NASA elements to develop BRAIN and an Infectious Disease Risk Assessment (IDRA) prototype. The implementation of this effort addresses the technological aspects of the following: (1) knowledge acquisition; (2) integration of IDRA components; (3) use of expert systems to automate the biomedical prediction process; (4) development of a user-friendly interface; and (5) integration of the IDRA prototype and Exercise Countermeasures Intelligent System (ExerCISys). Because the C Language, CLIPS (the C Language Integrated Production System), and the X-Window System were portable and easily integrated, they were chosen as the tools for the initial IDRA prototype. The feasibility was tested by developing an IDRA prototype that predicts the individual risk of influenza. The application of knowledge-based systems to risk assessment is of great market value to the medical technology industry.

Prediction of Aerodynamic Coefficient using Genetic Algorithm Optimized Neural Network for Sparse Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajkumar, T.; Bardina, Jorge; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Wind tunnels use scale models to characterize aerodynamic coefficients, Wind tunnel testing can be slow and costly due to high personnel overhead and intensive power utilization. Although manual curve fitting can be done, it is highly efficient to use a neural network to define the complex relationship between variables. Numerical simulation of complex vehicles on the wide range of conditions required for flight simulation requires static and dynamic data. Static data at low Mach numbers and angles of attack may be obtained with simpler Euler codes. Static data of stalled vehicles where zones of flow separation are usually present at higher angles of attack require Navier-Stokes simulations which are costly due to the large processing time required to attain convergence. Preliminary dynamic data may be obtained with simpler methods based on correlations and vortex methods; however, accurate prediction of the dynamic coefficients requires complex and costly numerical simulations. A reliable and fast method of predicting complex aerodynamic coefficients for flight simulation I'S presented using a neural network. The training data for the neural network are derived from numerical simulations and wind-tunnel experiments. The aerodynamic coefficients are modeled as functions of the flow characteristics and the control surfaces of the vehicle. The basic coefficients of lift, drag and pitching moment are expressed as functions of angles of attack and Mach number. The modeled and training aerodynamic coefficients show good agreement. This method shows excellent potential for rapid development of aerodynamic models for flight simulation. Genetic Algorithms (GA) are used to optimize a previously built Artificial Neural Network (ANN) that reliably predicts aerodynamic coefficients. Results indicate that the GA provided an efficient method of optimizing the ANN model to predict aerodynamic coefficients. The reliability of the ANN using the GA includes prediction of aerodynamic coefficients to an accuracy of 110% . In our problem, we would like to get an optimized neural network architecture and minimum data set. This has been accomplished within 500 training cycles of a neural network. After removing training pairs (outliers), the GA has produced much better results. The neural network constructed is a feed forward neural network with a back propagation learning mechanism. The main goal has been to free the network design process from constraints of human biases, and to discover better forms of neural network architectures. The automation of the network architecture search by genetic algorithms seems to have been the best way to achieve this goal.

A New Definition for Ground Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

LandForm(R) VisualFlight(R) blends the power of a geographic information system with the speed of a flight simulator to transform a user's desktop computer into a "virtual cockpit." The software product, which is fully compatible with all Microsoft(R) Windows(R) operating systems, provides distributed, real-time three-dimensional flight visualization over a host of networks. From a desktop, a user can immediately obtain a cockpit view, a chase-plane view, or an airborne tracker view. A customizable display also allows the user to overlay various flight parameters, including latitude, longitude, altitude, pitch, roll, and heading information. Rapid Imaging Software sought assistance from NASA, and the VisualFlight technology came to fruition under a Phase II SBIR contract with Johnson Space Center in 1998. Three years later, on December 13, 2001, Ken Ham successfully flew NASA's X-38 spacecraft from a remote, ground-based cockpit using LandForm VisualFlight as part of his primary situation awareness display in a flight test at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

State of the art survey of network operating systems development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

The results of the State-of-the-Art Survey of Network Operating Systems (NOS) performed for Goddard Space Flight Center are presented. NOS functional characteristics are presented in terms of user communication data migration, job migration, network control, and common functional categories. Products (current or future) as well as research and prototyping efforts are summarized. The NOS products which are revelant to the space station and its activities are evaluated.

Enhancements and Evolution of the Real Time Mission Monitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodman, M.; Blakeslee, R.; Hardin, D.; Hall, J.; He, Y.; Regner, K.

2008-12-01

The Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) is a visualization and information system that fuses multiple Earth science data sources, to enable real time decision-making for airborne and ground validation experiments. Developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center, RTMM is a situational awareness, decision-support system that integrates satellite imagery, radar, surface and airborne instrument data sets, model output parameters, lightning location observations, aircraft navigation data, soundings, and other applicable Earth science data sets. The integration and delivery of this information is made possible using data acquisition systems, network communication links, network server resources, and visualizations through the Google Earth virtual earth application. RTMM has proven extremely valuable for optimizing individual Earth science airborne field experiments. Flight planners, mission scientists, instrument scientists and program managers alike appreciate the contributions that RTMM makes to their flight projects. RTMM has received numerous plaudits from a wide variety of scientists who used RTMM during recent field campaigns including the 2006 NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA), 2007 Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling (TC4), 2008 Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) missions, the 2007-2008 NOAA-NASA Aerosonde Hurricane flights and the 2008 Soil Moisture Active-Passive Validation Experiment (SMAP-VEX). Improving and evolving RTMM is a continuous process. RTMM recently integrated the Waypoint Planning Tool, a Java-based application that enables aircraft mission scientists to easily develop a pre-mission flight plan through an interactive point-and-click interface. Individual flight legs are automatically calculated for altitude, latitude, longitude, flight leg distance, cumulative distance, flight leg time, cumulative time, and satellite overpass intersections. The resultant flight plan is then generated in KML and quickly posted to the Google Earth-based RTMM for planning discussions, as well as comparisons to real time flight tracks in progress. A description of the system architecture, components, and applications along with reviews and animations of RTMM during the field campaigns, plus planned enhancements and future opportunities will be presented.

Advances in the Remote Monitoring of Balloon Flights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breeding, S.

At the National Scientific Balloon Facility (NSBF), we must staff the Long Duration Balloon (LDB) control center 24 hours a day during LDB flights. This requires three daily shifts of two operators (balloon control and tdrss scheduling). In addition to this we also have one engineer on-call as LDB Lead to resolve technical issues and one manager on-call for flight management. These on-call periods are typically 48 to 72 hours in length. In the past the on-call staff had to travel to the LDB control center in order to monitor the status of a flight in any detail. This becomes problematic as flight durations push out beyond 20 to 30 day lengths, as these staff members are not available for business travel during these periods. This paper describes recent advances which allow for the remote monitoring of scientific balloon flight ground station computer displays. This allows balloon flight managers and lead engineers to check flight status and performance from any location with a network or telephone connection. This capability frees key personnel from the NSBF base during flights. It also allows other interested parties to check on the flight status at their convenience.

Contributions au probleme d'affectation des types d'avion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belanger, Nicolas

In this thesis, we approach the problem of assigning aircraft types to flights (what is called aircraft fleet assignment) in a strategic planning context. The literature mentions many studies considering this problem on a daily flight schedule basis, but the proposed models do no allow to consider many elements that are either necessary to assure the practical feasibility of the solutions, or relevant to get more beneficial solutions. After describing the practical context of the problem (Chapter 1) and presenting the literature on the subject (Chapter 2), we propose new models and solution approaches to improve the quality of' the solutions obtained. The general scheme of the thesis is presented in Chapter 3. We summarize here the models and solution approaches that we propose; and present the main elements of our conclusions. First, in Chapter 4, we consider the problem of aircraft fleet Assignment over a weekly flight schedule, integrating into the objective an homogeneity factor for driving the choice of the aircraft types for the flights with the same flight number over the week. We present an integer linear model based on a time-space multicommodity network. This model includes, among others, decision variables relative to the aircraft type assigned to each flight and to the dominant aircraft type assigned to each flight number. We present in Chapter 5 the results of a research project made in collaboration with Air Canada within a consulting contract. The project aimed at analyzing the relevance for the planners of using an optimization software to help them to first identify non profitable flight legs in the network, and second to efficiently establish the aircraft fleet assignment. In this chapter, we propose an iterative approach to take into account the fact that the passenger demand is not known on a leg basis, but rather on an origin-destination and departure time basis. Finally, in Chapter 6, we propose a model and a solution approach that aim at solving the fleet assignment problem over a periodic schedule in the case where there is a flexibility on the flight departure times and the fleet size must be minimized. Moreover, the objective of this model includes the impact on the passenger demand for each flight of the variation of the flight departure times and the closing of the departure times of consecutive flights connecting the same pairs of stations. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Social Networks in Crisis Response: Trust is Vital

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

response community as a whole. iv  2014 search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370)  2012 South Sudan WASH crisis  2004 Indian...Meteorological and Oceanographic MH370 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 MOT Malaysia Ministry of Transportation xiv MSF Doctors Without Borders...States Navy WASH Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene WCO World Health Organization country offices WFP World Food Program WHO World Health Organization

System security in the space flight operations center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wagner, David A.

1988-01-01

The Space Flight Operations Center is a networked system of workstation-class computers that will provide ground support for NASA's next generation of deep-space missions. The author recounts the development of the SFOC system security policy and discusses the various management and technology issues involved. Particular attention is given to risk assessment, security plan development, security implications of design requirements, automatic safeguards, and procedural safeguards.

Robotic Lunar Landers for Science and Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, B. A.; Hill, L. A.; Bassler, J. A.; Chavers, D. G.; Hammond, M. S.; Harris, D. W.; Kirby, K. W.; Morse, B. J.; Mulac, B. D.; Reed, C. L. B.

2010-01-01

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory has been conducting mission studies and performing risk reduction activities for NASA s robotic lunar lander flight projects. In 2005, the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program Mission #2 (RLEP-2) was selected as a Exploration Systems Mission Directorate precursor robotic lunar lander mission to demonstrate precision landing and definitively determine if there was water ice at the lunar poles; however, this project was canceled. Since 2008, the team has been supporting NASA s Science Mission Directorate designing small lunar robotic landers for diverse science missions. The primary emphasis has been to establish anchor nodes of the International Lunar Network (ILN), a network of lunar science stations envisioned to be emplaced by multiple nations. This network would consist of multiple landers carrying instruments to address the geophysical characteristics and evolution of the moon. Additional mission studies have been conducted to support other objectives of the lunar science community and extensive risk reduction design and testing has been performed to advance the design of the lander system and reduce development risk for flight projects. This paper describes the current status of the robotic lunar mission studies that have been conducted by the MSFC/APL Robotic Lunar Lander Development team, including the ILN Anchor Nodes mission. In addition, the results to date of the lunar lander development risk reduction efforts including high pressure propulsion system testing, structure and mechanism development and testing, long cycle time battery testing and combined GN&C and avionics testing will be addressed. The most visible elements of the risk reduction program are two autonomous lander test articles: a compressed air system with limited flight durations and a second version using hydrogen peroxide propellant to achieve significantly longer flight times and the ability to more fully exercise flight sensors and algorithms. Robotic Lunar Lander design and development will have significant feed-forward to other missions to the Moon and, indeed, to other airless bodies such as Mercury, asteroids, and Europa, to which similar science and exploration objectives are applicable.

Airline flight planning - The weather connection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steinberg, R.

1981-01-01

The history of airline flight planning is briefly reviewed. Over half a century ago, when scheduled airline services began, weather data were almost nonexistent. By the early 1950's a reliable synoptic network provided upper air reports. The next 15 years saw a rapid growth in commercial aviation, and airlines introduced computer techniques to flight planning. The 1970's saw the development of weather satellites. The current state of flight planning activities is analyzed. It is found that accurate flight planning will require meteorological information on a finer scale than can be provided by a synoptic forecast. Opportunities for a new approach are examined, giving attention to the available options, a mesoscale numerical weather prediction model, limited area fine mesh models, man-computer interactive display systems, the use of interactive techniques with the present upper air data base, and the implementation of interactive techniques.

The Telecommunications and Data Acquisition Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Posner, E. C. (Editor)

1986-01-01

This publication, one of a series formerly titled The Deep Space Network (DSN) Progress Report, documents DSN progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations. In addition, developments in Earth-based radio technology as applied to geodynamics, astrophysics, and the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence are reported.

The Telecommunications and Data Acquisition Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Posner, E. C. (Editor)

1988-01-01

This publication, one of a series formerly titled The Deep Space Network Progress Report, documents DSN progress in flight project support, tracking and data acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations. In addition, developments in earth-based radio technology as applied to geodynamics, astrophysics, and the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence are reported.

Adaptive integral dynamic surface control of a hypersonic flight vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aslam Butt, Waseem; Yan, Lin; Amezquita S., Kendrick

2015-07-01

In this article, non-linear adaptive dynamic surface air speed and flight path angle control designs are presented for the longitudinal dynamics of a flexible hypersonic flight vehicle. The tracking performance of the control design is enhanced by introducing a novel integral term that caters to avoiding a large initial control signal. To ensure feasibility, the design scheme incorporates magnitude and rate constraints on the actuator commands. The uncertain non-linear functions are approximated by an efficient use of the neural networks to reduce the computational load. A detailed stability analysis shows that all closed-loop signals are uniformly ultimately bounded and the ? tracking performance is guaranteed. The robustness of the design scheme is verified through numerical simulations of the flexible flight vehicle model.

Statewide real-time in-flight trauma patient vital signs collection system.

PubMed

Hu, Peter F; Mackenzie, Colin; Dutton, Richard; Sen, Ayan; Xiao, Yan; Handley, Christopher; Ho, Danny; Scalea, Thomas

2008-11-06

Continuous recorded in-flight vital signs monitoring and life-saving interventions linked to outcomes may provide better understanding of pre-hospital triage, care management and patient responses during the 'golden hour' of trauma care. Evaluation of 157 patients' vital signs data collected from our statewide network has identified episodes of physiological decompensation which holds promise for creation of new triage algorithms and enhanced trauma center preparedness.

Evolving the NASA Near Earth Network for the Next Generation of Human Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, Christopher J.; Carter, David L.; Hudiburg, John J.; Tye, Robert N.; Celeste, Peter B.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present the planned development and evolution of the NASA Near Earth Network (NEN) launch communications services in support of the next generation of human space flight programs. Following the final space shuttle mission in 2011, the two NEN launch communications stations were decommissioned. Today, NASA is developing the next generation of human space flight systems focused on exploration missions beyond low-earth orbit, and supporting the emerging market for commercial crew and cargo human space flight services. The NEN is leading a major initiative to develop a modern high data rate launch communications ground architecture with support from the Kennedy Space Center Ground Systems Development and Operations Program and in partnership with the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Eastern Range. This initiative, the NEN Launch Communications Stations (LCS) development project, successfully completed its System Requirements Review in November 2013. This paper provides an overview of the LCS project and a summary of its progress. The LCS ground architecture, concept of operations, and driving requirements to support the new heavy-lift Space Launch System and Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle for Exploration Mission-1 are presented. Finally, potential future extensions to the ground architecture beyond EM-1 are discussed.

The Rondonia Lightning Detection Network: Network Description, Science Objectives, Data Processing Archival/Methodology, and Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blakeslee, R. J.; Bailey, J. C.; Pinto, O.; Athayde, A.; Renno, N.; Weidman, C. D.

2003-01-01

A four station Advanced Lightning Direction Finder (ALDF) network was established in the state of Rondonia in western Brazil in 1999 through a collaboration of U.S. and Brazilian participants from NASA, INPE, INMET, and various universities. The network utilizes ALDF IMPACT (Improved Accuracy from Combined Technology) sensors to provide cloud-to-ground lightning observations (i.e., stroke/flash locations, signal amplitude, and polarity) using both time-of- arrival and magnetic direction finding techniques. The observations are collected, processed and archived at a central site in Brasilia and at the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Initial, non-quality assured quick-look results are made available in near real-time over the Internet. The network, which is still operational, was deployed to provide ground truth data for the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite that was launched in November 1997. The measurements are also being used to investigate the relationship between the electrical, microphysical and kinematic properties of tropical convection. In addition, the long-time series observations produced by this network will help establish a regional lightning climatological database, supplementing other databases in Brazil that already exist or may soon be implemented. Analytic inversion algorithms developed at the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center have been applied to the Rondonian ALDF lightning observations to obtain site error corrections and improved location retrievals. The data will also be corrected for the network detection efficiency. The processing methodology and the results from the analysis of four years of network operations will be presented.

Using Web 2.0 Techniques in NASA's Ares Engineering Operations Network (AEON) Environment - First Impressions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, David W.

2010-01-01

The Mission Operations Laboratory (MOL) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is responsible for Engineering Support capability for NASA s Ares rocket development and operations. In pursuit of this, MOL is building the Ares Engineering and Operations Network (AEON), a web-based portal to support and simplify two critical activities: Access and analyze Ares manufacturing, test, and flight performance data, with access to Shuttle data for comparison Establish and maintain collaborative communities within the Ares teams/subteams and with other projects, e.g., Space Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS). AEON seeks to provide a seamless interface to a) locally developed engineering applications and b) a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) collaborative environment that includes Web 2.0 capabilities, e.g., blogging, wikis, and social networking. This paper discusses how Web 2.0 might be applied to the typically conservative engineering support arena, based on feedback from Integration, Verification, and Validation (IV&V) testing and on searching for their use in similar environments.

Developmental plasticity and stability in the tracheal networks supplying Drosophila flight muscle in response to rearing oxygen level.

PubMed

Harrison, Jon F; Waters, James S; Biddulph, Taylor A; Kovacevic, Aleksandra; Klok, C Jaco; Socha, John J

2018-04-01

While it is clear that the insect tracheal system can respond in a compensatory manner to both hypoxia and hyperoxia, there is substantial variation in how different parts of the system respond. However, the response of tracheal structures, from the tracheoles to the largest tracheal trunks, have not been studied within one species. In this study, we examined the effect of larval/pupal rearing in hypoxia, normoxia, and hyperoxia (10, 21 or 40kPa oxygen) on body size and the tracheal supply to the flight muscles of Drosophila melanogaster, using synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography (SR-µCT) to assess flight muscle volumes and the major tracheal trunks, and confocal microscopy to assess the tracheoles. Hypoxic rearing decreased thorax length whereas hyperoxic-rearing decreased flight muscle volumes, suggestive of negative effects of both extremes. Tomography at the broad organismal scale revealed no evidence for enlargement of the major tracheae in response to lower rearing oxygen levels, although tracheal size scaled with muscle volume. However, using confocal imaging, we found a strong inverse relationship between tracheole density within the flight muscles and rearing oxygen level, and shorter tracheolar branch lengths in hypoxic-reared animals. Although prior studies of larger tracheae in other insects indicate that axial diffusing capacity should be constant with sequential generations of branching, this pattern was not found in the fine tracheolar networks, perhaps due to the increasing importance of radial diffusion in this regime. Overall, D. melanogaster responded to rearing oxygen level with compensatory morphological changes in the small tracheae and tracheoles, but retained stability in most of the other structural components of the tracheal supply to the flight muscles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intelligent Control for the BEES Flyer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishnakumar, K.; Gundy-Burlet, Karen; Aftosmis, Mike; Nemec, Marian; Limes, Greg; Berry, Misty; Logan, Michael

2004-01-01

This paper describes the effort to provide a preliminary capability analysis and a neural network based adaptive flight control system for the JPL-led BEES aircraft project. The BEES flyer was envisioned to be a small, autonomous platform with sensing and control systems mimicking those of biological systems for the purpose of scientific exploration on the surface of Mars. The platform is physically tightly constrained by the necessity of efficient packing within rockets for the trip to Mars. Given the physical constraints, the system is not an ideal configuration for aerodynamics or stability and control. The objectives of this effort are to evaluate the aerodynamics characteristics of the existing design, to make recommendaaons as to potential improvements and to provide a control system that stabilizes the existing aircraft for nominal flight and damaged conditions. Towards this several questions are raised and analyses are presented to arrive at answers to some of the questions raised. CART3D, a high-fidelity inviscid analysis package for conceptual and preliminary aerodynamic design, was used to compute a parametric set of solutions over the expected flight domain. Stability and control derivatives were extracted from the database and integrated with the neural flight control system. The Integrated Vehicle Modeling Environment (IVME) was also used for estimating aircraft geometric, inertial, and aerodynamic characteristics. A generic neural flight control system is used to provide adaptive control without the requirement for extensive gain scheduling or explicit system identification. The neural flight control system uses reference models to specify desired handling qualities in the roll, pitch, and yaw axes, and incorporates both pre-trained and on-line learning neural networks in the inverse model portion of the controller. Results are presented for the BEES aircraft in the subsonic regime for terrestrial and Martian environments.

Analysis of Operational Hazards and Safety Requirements for Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koczo, Stefan, Jr.

2013-01-01

Safety analyses of the Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) application are provided to establish its Failure Effects Classification which affects certification and operational approval requirements. TASAR was developed by NASA Langley Research Center to offer flight path improvement opportunities to the pilot during flight for operational benefits (e.g., reduced fuel, flight time). TASAR, using own-ship and network-enabled information concerning the flight and its environment, including weather and Air Traffic Control (ATC) system constraints, provides recommended improvements to the flight trajectory that the pilot can choose to request via Change Requests to ATC for revised clearance. This study reviews the Change Request process of requesting updates to the current clearance, examines the intended function of TASAR, and utilizes two safety assessment methods to establish the Failure Effects Classification of TASAR. Considerable attention has been given in this report to the identification of operational hazards potentially associated with TASAR.

Solar Hot Air Balloons: A Low Cost, Multi-hour Flight System for Lightweight Scientific Instrumentation Packages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, D. C.; Albert, S.; Dexheimer, D.; Murphy, S.; Mullen, M.

2017-12-01

Existing scientific ballooning solutions for multi hour flights in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere are expensive and/or technically challenging. In contrast, solar hot air balloons are inexpensive and simple to construct. These balloons, which rely solely on sunlight striking a darkened envelope, can deliver payloads to 22 km altitude and maintain level flight until sunset. We describe an experimental campaign in which five solar hot air balloons launched in 45 minutes created a free flying infrasound (low frequency sound) microphone network that remained in the air for over 12 hours. We discuss the balloons' trajectory, maximum altitude, and stability as well as present results from the infrasound observations. We assess the performance and limitations of this design for lightweight atmospheric instrumentation deployments that require multi-hour flight times. Finally, we address the possibilities of multi day flights during the polar summer and on other planets.

A Framework for Managing Inter-Site Storage Area Networks using Grid Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kobler, Ben; McCall, Fritz; Smorul, Mike

2006-01-01

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies are studying mechanisms for installing and managing Storage Area Networks (SANs) that span multiple independent collaborating institutions using Storage Area Network Routers (SAN Routers). We present a framework for managing inter-site distributed SANs that uses Grid Technologies to balance the competing needs to control local resources, share information, delegate administrative access, and manage the complex trust relationships between the participating sites.

Arrest is a regulator of fiber-specific alternative splicing in the indirect flight muscles of Drosophila

PubMed Central

Oas, Sandy T.

2014-01-01

Drosophila melanogaster flight muscles are distinct from other skeletal muscles, such as jump muscles, and express several uniquely spliced muscle-associated transcripts. We sought to identify factors mediating splicing differences between the flight and jump muscle fiber types. We found that the ribonucleic acid–binding protein Arrest (Aret) is expressed in flight muscles: in founder cells, Aret accumulates in a novel intranuclear compartment that we termed the Bruno body, and after the onset of muscle differentiation, Aret disperses in the nucleus. Down-regulation of the aret gene led to ultrastructural changes and functional impairment of flight muscles, and transcripts of structural genes expressed in the flight muscles became spliced in a manner characteristic of jump muscles. Aret also potently promoted flight muscle splicing patterns when ectopically expressed in jump muscles or tissue culture cells. Genetically, aret is located downstream of exd (extradenticle), hth (homothorax), and salm (spalt major), transcription factors that control fiber identity. Our observations provide insight into a transcriptional and splicing regulatory network for muscle fiber specification. PMID:25246617

Neural Networks Based Approach to Enhance Space Hardware Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zebulum, Ricardo S.; Thakoor, Anilkumar; Lu, Thomas; Franco, Lauro; Lin, Tsung Han; McClure, S. S.

2011-01-01

This paper demonstrates the use of Neural Networks as a device modeling tool to increase the reliability analysis accuracy of circuits targeted for space applications. The paper tackles a number of case studies of relevance to the design of Flight hardware. The results show that the proposed technique generates more accurate models than the ones regularly used to model circuits.

Internet Protocol Over Telemetry Testing for Earth Science Capability Demo Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Franz, Russ; Pestana, Mark; Bessent, Shedrick; Hang, Richard; Ng, Howard

2006-01-01

The development and flight tests described here focused on utilizing existing pulse code modulation (PCM) telemetry equipment to enable on-vehicle networks of instruments and computers to be a simple extension of the ground station network. This capability is envisioned as a necessary component of a global range that supports test and development of manned and unmanned airborne vehicles.

A network pharmacology-integrated metabolomics strategy for clarifying the difference between effective compounds of raw and processed Farfarae flos by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Ding, Mingya; Li, Zhen; Yu, Xie-An; Zhang, Dong; Li, Jin; Wang, Hui; He, Jun; Gao, Xiu-Mei; Chang, Yan-Xu

2018-07-15

This study aimed to clarify the difference between the effective compounds of raw and processed Farfarae flos using a network pharmacology-integrated metabolomics strategy. First, metabolomics data were obtained by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS). Then, metabolomics analysis was developed to screen for the influential compounds that were different between raw and processed Farfarae flos. Finally, a network pharmacology approach was applied to verify the activity of the screened compounds. As a result, 4 compounds (chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, rutin and isoquercitrin) were successfully screened, identified, quantified and verified as the most influential effective compounds. They may synergistically inhibit the p38, JNK and ERK-mediated pathways, which would induce the inhibition of the expression of the IFA virus. The results revealed that the proposed network pharmacology-integrated metabolomics strategy was a powerful tool for discovering the effective compounds that were responsible for the difference between raw and processed Chinese herbs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Space Station Crew Members Discuss Life in Space with Media

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-11-03

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineers Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei of NASA discussed life and research on the orbital laboratory during in-flight interviews Nov. 3 with KARE-TV in Minneapolis and the “Fox and Friends” morning talk program on the Fox Network. The astronauts are in various stages of their respective five-and-a-half-month missions on the orbital outpost.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, the media record workers on the job preparing the orbiter Atlantis for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were invited to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-09-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, the media record workers on the job preparing the orbiter Atlantis for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were invited to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

Comprehensive Software Eases Air Traffic Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

To help air traffic control centers improve the safety and the efficiency of the National Airspace System, Ames Research Center developed the Future Air Traffic Management Concepts Evaluation Tool (FACET) software, which won NASA's 2006 "Software of the Year" competition. In 2005, Ames licensed FACET to Flight Explorer Inc., for integration into its Flight Explorer (version 6.0) software. The primary FACET features incorporated in the Flight Explorer software system alert airspace users to forecasted demand and capacity imbalances. Advance access to this information helps dispatchers anticipate congested sectors (airspace) and delays at airports, and decide if they need to reroute flights. FACET is now a fully integrated feature in the Flight Explorer Professional Edition (version 7.0). Flight Explorer Professional offers end-users other benefits, including ease of operation; automatic alerts to inform users of important events such as weather conditions and potential airport delays; and international, real-time flight coverage over Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and sections of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Flight Explorer Inc. recently broadened coverage by partnering with Honeywell International Inc.'s Global Data Center, Blue Sky Network, Sky Connect LLC, SITA, ARINC Incorporated, Latitude Technologies Corporation, and Wingspeed Corporation, to track their aircraft anywhere in the world.

Feasibility of a Networked Air Traffic Infrastructure Validation Environment for Advanced NextGen Concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCormack, Michael J.; Gibson, Alec K.; Dennis, Noah E.; Underwood, Matthew C.; Miller,Lana B.; Ballin, Mark G.

2013-01-01

Abstract-Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) applications reliant upon aircraft data links such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) offer a sweeping modernization of the National Airspace System (NAS), but the aviation stakeholder community has not yet established a positive business case for equipage and message content standards remain in flux. It is necessary to transition promising Air Traffic Management (ATM) Concepts of Operations (ConOps) from simulation environments to full-scale flight tests in order to validate user benefits and solidify message standards. However, flight tests are prohibitively expensive and message standards for Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) systems cannot support many advanced ConOps. It is therefore proposed to simulate future aircraft surveillance and communications equipage and employ an existing commercial data link to exchange data during dedicated flight tests. This capability, referred to as the Networked Air Traffic Infrastructure Validation Environment (NATIVE), would emulate aircraft data links such as ADS-B using in-flight Internet and easily-installed test equipment. By utilizing low-cost equipment that is easy to install and certify for testing, advanced ATM ConOps can be validated, message content standards can be solidified, and new standards can be established through full-scale flight trials without necessary or expensive equipage or extensive flight test preparation. This paper presents results of a feasibility study of the NATIVE concept. To determine requirements, six NATIVE design configurations were developed for two NASA ConOps that rely on ADS-B. The performance characteristics of three existing in-flight Internet services were investigated to determine whether performance is adequate to support the concept. Next, a study of requisite hardware and software was conducted to examine whether and how the NATIVE concept might be realized. Finally, to determine a business case, economic factors were evaluated and a preliminary cost-benefit analysis was performed.

An automated calibration laboratory for flight research instrumentation: Requirements and a proposed design approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oneill-Rood, Nora; Glover, Richard D.

1990-01-01

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility (Ames-Dryden), operates a diverse fleet of research aircraft which are heavily instrumented to provide both real time data for in-flight monitoring and recorded data for postflight analysis. Ames-Dryden's existing automated calibration (AUTOCAL) laboratory is a computerized facility which tests aircraft sensors to certify accuracy for anticipated harsh flight environments. Recently, a major AUTOCAL lab upgrade was initiated; the goal of this modernization is to enhance productivity and improve configuration management for both software and test data. The new system will have multiple testing stations employing distributed processing linked by a local area network to a centralized database. The baseline requirements for the new AUTOCAL lab and the design approach being taken for its mechanization are described.

Adaptive Flight Control Research at NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Motter, Mark A.

2008-01-01

A broad overview of current adaptive flight control research efforts at NASA is presented, as well as some more detailed discussion of selected specific approaches. The stated objective of the Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control Project, one of NASA s Aviation Safety programs, is to advance the state-of-the-art of adaptive controls as a design option to provide enhanced stability and maneuverability margins for safe landing in the presence of adverse conditions such as actuator or sensor failures. Under this project, a number of adaptive control approaches are being pursued, including neural networks and multiple models. Validation of all the adaptive control approaches will use not only traditional methods such as simulation, wind tunnel testing and manned flight tests, but will be augmented with recently developed capabilities in unmanned flight testing.

Cascading Delay Risk of Airline Workforce Deployments with Crew Pairing and Schedule Optimization.

PubMed

Chung, Sai Ho; Ma, Hoi Lam; Chan, Hing Kai

2017-08-01

This article concerns the assignment of buffer time between two connected flights and the number of reserve crews in crew pairing to mitigate flight disruption due to flight arrival delay. Insufficient crew members for a flight will lead to flight disruptions such as delays or cancellations. In reality, most of these disruption cases are due to arrival delays of the previous flights. To tackle this problem, many research studies have examined the assignment method based on the historical flight arrival delay data of the concerned flights. However, flight arrival delays can be triggered by numerous factors. Accordingly, this article proposes a new forecasting approach using a cascade neural network, which considers a massive amount of historical flight arrival and departure data. The approach also incorporates learning ability so that unknown relationships behind the data can be revealed. Based on the expected flight arrival delay, the buffer time can be determined and a new dynamic reserve crew strategy can then be used to determine the required number of reserve crews. Numerical experiments are carried out based on one year of flight data obtained from 112 airports around the world. The results demonstrate that by predicting the flight departure delay as the input for the prediction of the flight arrival delay, the prediction accuracy can be increased. Moreover, by using the new dynamic reserve crew strategy, the total crew cost can be reduced. This significantly benefits airlines in flight schedule stability and cost saving in the current big data era. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

The Rondonia Lightning Detection Network: Network Description, Science Objectives, Data Processing/Archival Methodology, and First Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blakeslee, Rich; Bailey, Jeff; Koshak, Bill

1999-01-01

A four station Advanced Lightning Direction Finder (ALDF) network was recently established in the state of Rondonia in western Brazil through a collaboration of U.S. and Brazilian participants from NASA, INPE, INMET, and various universities. The network utilizes ALDF IMPACT (Improved Accuracy from Combined Technology) sensors to provide cloud-to-ground lightning observations (i.e., stroke/flash locations, signal amplitude, and polarity) using both time-of-arrival and magnetic direction finding techniques. The observations are collected, processed and archived at a central site in Brasilia and at the NASA/ Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama. Initial, non-quality assured quick-look results are made available in near real-time over the internet. The network will remain deployed for several years to provide ground truth data for the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite which was launched in November 1997. The measurements will also be used to investigate the relationship between the electrical, microphysical and kinematic properties of tropical convection. In addition, the long-term observations from this network will contribute in establishing a regional lightning climatological data base, supplementing other data bases in Brazil that already exist or may soon be implemented. Analytic inversion algorithms developed at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are now being applied to the Rondonian ALDF lightning observations to obtain site error corrections and improved location retrievals. The processing methodology and the initial results from an analysis of the first 6 months of network operations will be presented.

Protecting Neural Structures and Cognitive Function During Prolonged Space Flight by Targeting the Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Molecular Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, M. A.; Goodwin, T. J.

2014-01-01

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is the main activity-dependent neurotrophin in the human nervous system. BDNF is implicated in production of new neurons from dentate gyrus stem cells (hippocampal neurogenesis), synapse formation, sprouting of new axons, growth of new axons, sprouting of new dendrites, and neuron survival. Alterations in the amount or activity of BDNF can produce significant detrimental changes to cortical function and synaptic transmission in the human brain. This can result in glial and neuronal dysfunction, which may contribute to a range of clinical conditions, spanning a number of learning, behavioral, and neurological disorders. There is an extensive body of work surrounding the BDNF molecular network, including BDNF gene polymorphisms, methylated BDNF gene promoters, multiple gene transcripts, varied BDNF functional proteins, and different BDNF receptors (whose activation differentially drive the neuron to neurogenesis or apoptosis). BDNF is also closely linked to mitochondrial biogenesis through PGC-1alpha, which can influence brain and muscle metabolic efficiency. BDNF AS A HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT COUNTERMEASURE TARGET Earth-based studies reveal that BDNF is negatively impacted by many of the conditions encountered in the space environment, including oxidative stress, radiation, psychological stressors, sleep deprivation, and many others. A growing body of work suggests that the BDNF network is responsive to a range of diet, nutrition, exercise, drug, and other types of influences. This section explores the BDNF network in the context of 1) protecting the brain and nervous system in the space environment, 2) optimizing neurobehavioral performance in space, and 3) reducing the residual effects of space flight on the nervous system on return to Earth

Experimental Verification of Electric Drive Technologies Based on Artificial Intelligence Tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rubaai, Ahmed; Ricketts, Daniel; Kotaru, Raj; Thomas, Robert; Noga, Donald F. (Technical Monitor); Kankam, Mark D. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

In this report, a fully integrated prototype of a flight servo control system is successfully developed and implemented using brushless dc motors. The control system is developed by the fuzzy logic theory, and implemented with a multilayer neural network. First, a neural network-based architecture is introduced for fuzzy logic control. The characteristic rules and their membership functions of fuzzy systems are represented as the processing nodes in the neural network structure. The network structure and the parameter learning are performed simultaneously and online in the fuzzy-neural network system. The structure learning is based on the partition of input space. The parameter learning is based on the supervised gradient decent method, using a delta adaptation law. Using experimental setup, the performance of the proposed control system is evaluated under various operating conditions. Test results are presented and discussed in the report. The proposed learning control system has several advantages, namely, simple structure and learning capability, robustness and high tracking performance and few nodes at hidden layers. In comparison with the PI controller, the proposed fuzzy-neural network system can yield a better dynamic performance with shorter settling time, and without overshoot. Experimental results have shown that the proposed control system is adaptive and robust in responding to a wide range of operating conditions. In summary, the goal of this study is to design and implement-advanced servosystems to actuate control surfaces for flight vehicles, namely, aircraft and helicopters, missiles and interceptors, and mini- and micro-air vehicles.

Adaptive Optimization of Aircraft Engine Performance Using Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simon, Donald L.; Long, Theresa W.

1995-01-01

Preliminary results are presented on the development of an adaptive neural network based control algorithm to enhance aircraft engine performance. This work builds upon a previous National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) effort known as Performance Seeking Control (PSC). PSC is an adaptive control algorithm which contains a model of the aircraft's propulsion system which is updated on-line to match the operation of the aircraft's actual propulsion system. Information from the on-line model is used to adapt the control system during flight to allow optimal operation of the aircraft's propulsion system (inlet, engine, and nozzle) to improve aircraft engine performance without compromising reliability or operability. Performance Seeking Control has been shown to yield reductions in fuel flow, increases in thrust, and reductions in engine fan turbine inlet temperature. The neural network based adaptive control, like PSC, will contain a model of the propulsion system which will be used to calculate optimal control commands on-line. Hopes are that it will be able to provide some additional benefits above and beyond those of PSC. The PSC algorithm is computationally intensive, it is valid only at near steady-state flight conditions, and it has no way to adapt or learn on-line. These issues are being addressed in the development of the optimal neural controller. Specialized neural network processing hardware is being developed to run the software, the algorithm will be valid at steady-state and transient conditions, and will take advantage of the on-line learning capability of neural networks. Future plans include testing the neural network software and hardware prototype against an aircraft engine simulation. In this paper, the proposed neural network software and hardware is described and preliminary neural network training results are presented.

Demonstration of Self-Training Autonomous Neural Networks in Space Vehicle Docking Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patrick, M. Clinton; Thaler, Stephen L.; Stevenson-Chavis, Katherine

2006-01-01

Neural Networks have been under examination for decades in many areas of research, with varying degrees of success and acceptance. Key goals of computer learning, rapid problem solution, and automatic adaptation have been elusive at best. This paper summarizes efforts at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center harnessing such technology to autonomous space vehicle docking for the purpose of evaluating applicability to future missions.

Flight Test of an Adaptive Controller and Simulated Failure/Damage on the NASA NF-15B

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buschbacher, Mark; Maliska, Heather

2006-01-01

The method of flight-testing the Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) Second Generation (Gen-2) project on the NASA NF-15B is herein described. The Gen-2 project objective includes flight-testing a dynamic inversion controller augmented by a direct adaptive neural network to demonstrate performance improvements in the presence of simulated failure/damage. The Gen-2 objectives as implemented on the NASA NF-15B created challenges for software design, structural loading limitations, and flight test operations. Simulated failure/damage is introduced by modifying control surface commands, therefore requiring structural loads measurements. Flight-testing began with the validation of a structural loads model. Flight-testing of the Gen-2 controller continued, using test maneuvers designed in a sequenced approach. Success would clear the new controller with respect to dynamic response, simulated failure/damage, and with adaptation on and off. A handling qualities evaluation was conducted on the capability of the Gen-2 controller to restore aircraft response in the presence of a simulated failure/damage. Control room monitoring of loads sensors, flight dynamics, and controller adaptation, in addition to postflight data comparison to the simulation, ensured a safe methodology of buildup testing. Flight-testing continued without major incident to accomplish the project objectives, successfully uncovering strengths and weaknesses of the Gen-2 control approach in flight.

Fault tolerant architectures for integrated aircraft electronics systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levitt, K. N.; Melliar-Smith, P. M.; Schwartz, R. L.

1983-01-01

Work into possible architectures for future flight control computer systems is described. Ada for Fault-Tolerant Systems, the NETS Network Error-Tolerant System architecture, and voting in asynchronous systems are covered.

The deep space network, volume 8

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

Progress is reported on DSN supporting research and technology, advanced development and engineering, implementation, and operations which pertain to mission-independent or multiple-mission development as well as to support of flight projects.

Madrid space station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fahnestock, R. J.; Renzetti, N. A.

1975-01-01

The Madrid space station, operated under bilateral agreements between the governments of the United States and Spain, is described in both Spanish and English. The space station utilizes two tracking and data acquisition networks: the Deep Space Network (DSN) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) operated under the direction of the Goddard Space Flight Center. The station, which is staffed by Spanish employees, comprises four facilities: Robledo 1, Cebreros, and Fresnedillas-Navalagamella, all with 26-meter-diameter antennas, and Robledo 2, with a 64-meter antenna.

Position estimation of transceivers in communication networks

DOEpatents

Kent, Claudia A [Pleasanton, CA; Dowla, Farid [Castro Valley, CA

2008-06-03

This invention provides a system and method using wireless communication interfaces coupled with statistical processing of time-of-flight data to locate by position estimation unknown wireless receivers. Such an invention can be applied in sensor network applications, such as environmental monitoring of water in the soil or chemicals in the air where the position of the network nodes is deemed critical. Moreover, the present invention can be arranged to operate in areas where a Global Positioning System (GPS) is not available, such as inside buildings, caves, and tunnels.

78 FR 77661 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-24

... Aviation Networks and Mission Planning (SFAE-AV-AS-ANMP) ATTN: George C. Goodman Jr. Sparkman Center...; Multiple Forms; and OMB Number: Centralized Aviation Flight Records (CAFRS); DA Form 2408-12; OMB Control... 77662

Data Mining Methods Applied to Flight Operations Quality Assurance Data: A Comparison to Standard Statistical Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stolzer, Alan J.; Halford, Carl

2007-01-01

In a previous study, multiple regression techniques were applied to Flight Operations Quality Assurance-derived data to develop parsimonious model(s) for fuel consumption on the Boeing 757 airplane. The present study examined several data mining algorithms, including neural networks, on the fuel consumption problem and compared them to the multiple regression results obtained earlier. Using regression methods, parsimonious models were obtained that explained approximately 85% of the variation in fuel flow. In general data mining methods were more effective in predicting fuel consumption. Classification and Regression Tree methods reported correlation coefficients of .91 to .92, and General Linear Models and Multilayer Perceptron neural networks reported correlation coefficients of about .99. These data mining models show great promise for use in further examining large FOQA databases for operational and safety improvements.

ORATOS: ESA's future flight dynamics operations system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dreger, Frank; Fertig, Juergen; Muench, Rolf

The Orbit and Attitude Operations System (ORATOS -- the European Space Agency's future orbit and attitude operations system -- will be in use from the mid-nineties until well beyond the year 2000. The ORATOS design is based on the experience from flight dynamics support to all past ESA missions. The ORATOS computer hardware consists of a network of powerful UNIX workstations. ORATOS resides on several hardware platforms, each comprising one or more fileservers, several client workstations and the associated communications interface hardware. The ORATOS software is structured into three layers. The flight dynamics applications layer, the support layer and the operating system layer. This architectural design separates the flight dynamics application software from the support tools and operating system facilities. It allows upgrading and replacement of operating system facilities with a minimum (or no) effect on the application layer.

The Real Time Mission Monitor: A Situational Awareness Tool For Managing Experiment Assets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blakeslee, Richard; Hall, John; Goodman, Michael; Parker, Philip; Freudinger, Larry; He, Matt

2007-01-01

The NASA Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) is a situational awareness tool that integrates satellite, airborne and surface data sets; weather information; model and forecast outputs; and vehicle state data (e.g., aircraft navigation, satellite tracks and instrument field-of-views) for field experiment management RTMM optimizes science and logistic decision-making during field experiments by presenting timely data and graphics to the users to improve real time situational awareness of the experiment's assets. The RTMM is proven in the field as it supported program managers, scientists, and aircraft personnel during the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses experiment during summer 2006 in Cape Verde, Africa. The integration and delivery of this information is made possible through data acquisition systems, network communication links and network server resources built and managed by collaborators at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) and Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). RTMM is evolving towards a more flexible and dynamic combination of sensor ingest, network computing, and decision-making activities through the use of a service oriented architecture based on community standards and protocols.

Towards Validation of an Adaptive Flight Control Simulation Using Statistical Emulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

He, Yuning; Lee, Herbert K. H.; Davies, Misty D.

2012-01-01

Traditional validation of flight control systems is based primarily upon empirical testing. Empirical testing is sufficient for simple systems in which a.) the behavior is approximately linear and b.) humans are in-the-loop and responsible for off-nominal flight regimes. A different possible concept of operation is to use adaptive flight control systems with online learning neural networks (OLNNs) in combination with a human pilot for off-nominal flight behavior (such as when a plane has been damaged). Validating these systems is difficult because the controller is changing during the flight in a nonlinear way, and because the pilot and the control system have the potential to co-adapt in adverse ways traditional empirical methods are unlikely to provide any guarantees in this case. Additionally, the time it takes to find unsafe regions within the flight envelope using empirical testing means that the time between adaptive controller design iterations is large. This paper describes a new concept for validating adaptive control systems using methods based on Bayesian statistics. This validation framework allows the analyst to build nonlinear models with modal behavior, and to have an uncertainty estimate for the difference between the behaviors of the model and system under test.

Airport Flight Departure Delay Model on Improved BN Structure Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Weidong; Fang, Xiangnong

An high score prior genetic simulated annealing Bayesian network structure learning algorithm (HSPGSA) by combining genetic algorithm(GA) with simulated annealing algorithm(SAA) is developed. The new algorithm provides not only with strong global search capability of GA, but also with strong local hill climb search capability of SAA. The structure with the highest score is prior selected. In the mean time, structures with lower score are also could be choice. It can avoid efficiently prematurity problem by higher score individual wrong direct growing population. Algorithm is applied to flight departure delays analysis in a large hub airport. Based on the flight data a BN model is created. Experiments show that parameters learning can reflect departure delay.

Arrow 227: Air transport system design simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bontempi, Michael; Bose, Dave; Brophy, Georgeann; Cashin, Timothy; Kanarios, Michael; Ryan, Steve; Peterson, Timothy

1992-01-01

The Arrow 227 is a student-designed commercial transport for use in a overnight package delivery network. The major goal of the concept was to provide the delivery service with the greatest potential return on investment. The design objectives of the Arrow 227 were based on three parameters; production cost, payload weight, and aerodynamic efficiency. Low production cost helps to reduce initial investment. Increased payload weight allows for a decrease in flight cycles and, therefore, less fuel consumption than an aircraft carrying less payload weight and requiring more flight cycles. In addition, fewer flight cycles will allow a fleet to last longer. Finally, increased aerodynamic efficiency in the form of high L/D will decrease fuel consumption.

Read You Loud and Clear! The Story of NASA's Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsiao, Sunny

2008-01-01

A historical account is provided of NASA's Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN), starting with its formation in the late 1950s to what it is today in the first decade of the 21st century. It traces the roots of the tracking network from its beginnings at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System space-based constellation of today. The story spans the early days of satellite tracking using the Minitrack Network, through the expansion of the Satellite Tracking and Data Acquisition Network and the Manned Space Flight Network, and finally, to the Space and Ground networks of today. These accounts tell how international goodwill and foreign cooperation were crucial to the operation of the network and why the space agency chose to build the STDN as it did.

Mission Operations and Data Systems Directorate's operational/development network (MODNET) at Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

A brief, informal narrative is provided that summarizes the results of all work accomplished during the period of the contract; June 1, 1987 through September 30, 1988; in support of Mission Operations and Data Systems Directorate's Operational Development Network (MODNET). It includes descriptions of work performed in each functional area and recommendations and conclusions based on the experience and results obtained.

Dynamic Routing for Delay-Tolerant Networking in Space Flight Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burleigh, Scott

2008-01-01

Computational self-sufficiency - the making of communication decisions on the basis of locally available information that is already in place, rather than on the basis of information residing at other entities - is a fundamental principle of Delay-Tolerant Networking. Contact Graph Routing is an attempt to apply this principle to the problem of dynamic routing in an interplanetary DTN. Testing continues, but preliminary results are promising.

Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Westley, Deborah; Martinez, Andres; Petro, Andrew

2015-01-01

The goal of NASA's Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks (EDSN) mission is to demonstrate interactive satellite swarms capable of collecting, exchanging and transmitting multi-point scientific measurements. Satellite swarms enable a wide array of scientific, commercial and academic research not achievable with a single satellite. The EDSN satellites are scheduled to be launched into space as secondary payloads on the first flight of the Super Strypi launch vehicle no earlier than Oct. 29, 2015.

Neural Networks for Flight Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jorgensen, Charles C.

1996-01-01

Neural networks are being developed at NASA Ames Research Center to permit real-time adaptive control of time varying nonlinear systems, enhance the fault-tolerance of mission hardware, and permit online system reconfiguration. In general, the problem of controlling time varying nonlinear systems with unknown structures has not been solved. Adaptive neural control techniques show considerable promise and are being applied to technical challenges including automated docking of spacecraft, dynamic balancing of the space station centrifuge, online reconfiguration of damaged aircraft, and reducing cost of new air and spacecraft designs. Our experiences have shown that neural network algorithms solved certain problems that conventional control methods have been unable to effectively address. These include damage mitigation in nonlinear reconfiguration flight control, early performance estimation of new aircraft designs, compensation for damaged planetary mission hardware by using redundant manipulator capability, and space sensor platform stabilization. This presentation explored these developments in the context of neural network control theory. The discussion began with an overview of why neural control has proven attractive for NASA application domains. The more important issues in control system development were then discussed with references to significant technical advances in the literature. Examples of how these methods have been applied were given, followed by projections of emerging application needs and directions.

Determining Usability Versus Cost and Yields of a Regional Transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gvozdenovic, Slobodan

1999-01-01

Regional transports are designed to operate on air networks having the basic characteristics of short trip distances and low density passengers/cargo, i.e. small numbers of passengers per flight. Regional transports passenger capacity is from 10 to 100 seats and operate on routes from 350 to 1000 nautical miles (nm). An air network operated by regional transports has the following characteristics: (1) connecting regional centers; (2) operating on low density passengers/cargo flow services with minimum two frequencies per day; (3) operating on high density passengers/cargo flow with more than two frequencies per day; and (4) operating supplemental services whenever market demands in order to help bigger capacity aircraft already operating the same routes. In order to meet passenger requirements providing low fares and high or required number of frequencies, airlines must constantly monitor operational costs and keep them low. It is obvious that costs of operating aircraft must be lower than yield obtained by transporting passengers and cargo. The requirement to achieve favorable yield/cost ratio must provide the answer to the question of which aircraft will best meet a specific air network. An air network is defined by the number of services, the trip distance of each service, and the number of flights (frequencies) per day and week.

High-Speed Civil Transport Forecast: Simulated Airlines Scenarios for Mach 1.6, Mach 2.0, and Mach 2.4 Configurations for Year 2015

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Metwally, Munir

1996-01-01

The report describes the development of a database of fuel burn and emissions from projected High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) fleets that reflect actual airlines' networks, operational requirement, and traffic flow as operated by simulated world wide airlines for Mach 1.6, 2.0, and 2.4 HSCT configurations. For the year 2015, McDonnell Douglas Corporation created two supersonic commercial air traffic networks consisting of origin-destination city pair routes and associated traffic levels. The first scenario represented a manufacturing upper limit producible HSCT fleet availability by year 2015. The fleet projection of the Mach 2.4 configuration for this scenario was 1059 units with a traffic capture of 70 percent. The second scenario focused on the number of units that can minimally be produced by the year 2015. Using realistic production rates, the HSCT fleet projection amounts to 565 units. The traffic capture associated with this fleet was estimated at 40 percent. The airlines network was extracted from the actual networks of 21 major world airlines. All the routes were screened for suitability for HSCT operations. The route selection criteria included great circle distance, difference between flight path distance and great circle distance to avoid overland operations, and potential flight frequency.

FLASH fly-by-light flight control demonstration results overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halski, Don J.

1996-10-01

The Fly-By-Light Advanced Systems Hardware (FLASH) program developed Fly-By-Light (FBL) and Power-By-Wire (PBW) technologies for military and commercial aircraft. FLASH consists of three tasks. Task 1 developed the fiber optic cable, connectors, testers and installation and maintenance procedures. Task 3 developed advanced smart, rotary thin wing and electro-hydrostatic (EHA) actuators. Task 2, which is the subject of this paper,l focused on integration of fiber optic sensors and data buses with cable plant components from Task 1 and actuators from Task 3 into centralized and distributed flight control systems. Both open loop and piloted hardware-in-the-loop demonstrations were conducted with centralized and distributed flight control architectures incorporating the AS-1773A optical bus, active hand controllers, optical sensors, optimal flight control laws in high speed 32-bit processors, and neural networks for EHA monitoring and fault diagnosis. This paper overviews the systems level testing conducted under the FLASH Flight Control task. Preliminary results are summarized. Companion papers provide additional information.

Creating a rocket-building institution - The history of the Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Michael D.

1990-01-01

This paper will examine the early history of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center to identify major changes in the Center during the period that it was responsible for developing the Saturn family of launch vehicles. The principal conclusion is that the unique change experienced by Marshall during the Saturn era was its shift from an in-house, self-sustaining organization to an institution responsible for managing the Saturn-related performance of a nationwide network of aerospace contractors.

International Symposium on Spacecraft Ground Control and Flight Dynamics, SCD1, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, Feb. 7-11, 1994

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rozenfeld, Pawel; Kuga, Helio Koiti; Orlando, Valcir

An international symposium on spacecraft flight dynamics and ground control systems produced 85 papers in the areas of attitude determination and control, orbit control, satellite constellation strategies, stationkeeping, spacecraft maneuvering, orbit determination, astrodynamics, ground command and control systems, and mission operations. Several papers included discussions on the application of artificial intelligence, neural networks, expert systems, and ion propulsion. For individual titles, see A95-89098 through A95-89182.

IUS/TUG orbital operations and mission support study. Volume 4: Project planning data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Planning data are presented for the development phases of interim upper stage (IUS) and tug systems. Major project planning requirements, major event schedules, milestones, system development and operations process networks, and relevant support research and technology requirements are included. Topics discussed include: IUS flight software; tug flight software; IUS/tug ground control center facilities, personnel, data systems, software, and equipment; IUS mission events; tug mission events; tug/spacecraft rendezvous and docking; tug/orbiter operations interface, and IUS/orbiter operations interface.

Electromagnetic Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schafer, Charles

2000-01-01

The design and development of an Electromagnetic Propulsion is discussed. Specific Electromagnetic Propulsion Topics discussed include: (1) Technology for Pulse Inductive Thruster (PIT), to design, develop, and test of a multirepetition rate pulsed inductive thruster, Solid-State Switch Technology, and Pulse Driver Network and Architecture; (2) Flight Weight Magnet Survey, to determine/develop light weight high performance magnetic materials for potential application Advanced Space Flight Systems as these systems develop; and (3) Magnetic Flux Compression, to enable rapid/robust/reliable omni-planetary space transportation within realistic development and operational costs constraints.

Feasibility of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) networking in university hospitals in Brussels.

PubMed

Martiny, D; Cremagnani, P; Gaillard, A; Miendje Deyi, V Y; Mascart, G; Ebraert, A; Attalibi, S; Dediste, A; Vandenberg, O

2014-05-01

The mutualisation of analytical platforms might be used to address rising healthcare costs. Our study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of networking a unique matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) system for common use in several university hospitals in Brussels, Belgium. During a one-month period, 1,055 successive bacterial isolates from the Brugmann University Hospital were identified on-site using conventional techniques; these same isolates were also identified using a MALDI-TOF MS system at the Porte de Hal Laboratory by sending target plates and identification projects via transportation and the INFECTIO_MALDI software (Infopartner, Nancy, France), respectively. The occurrence of transmission problems (<2 %) and human errors (<1 %) suggested that the system was sufficiently robust to be implemented in a network. With a median time-to-identification of 5 h and 11 min (78 min, min-max: 154-547), MALDI-TOF MS networking always provided a faster identification result than conventional techniques, except when chromogenic culture media and oxidase tests were used (p < 0.0001). However, the limited clinical benefits of the chromogenic culture media do not support their extra cost. Our financial analysis also suggested that MALDI-TOF MS networking could lead to substantial annual cost savings. MALDI-TOF MS networking presents many advantages, and few conventional techniques (optochin and oxidase tests) are required to ensure the same quality in patient care from the distant laboratory. Nevertheless, such networking should not be considered unless there is a reorganisation of workflow, efficient communication between teams, qualified technologists and a reliable IT department and helpdesk to manage potential connectivity problems.

Random walks with long-range steps generated by functions of Laplacian matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riascos, A. P.; Michelitsch, T. M.; Collet, B. A.; Nowakowski, A. F.; Nicolleau, F. C. G. A.

2018-04-01

In this paper, we explore different Markovian random walk strategies on networks with transition probabilities between nodes defined in terms of functions of the Laplacian matrix. We generalize random walk strategies with local information in the Laplacian matrix, that describes the connections of a network, to a dynamic determined by functions of this matrix. The resulting processes are non-local allowing transitions of the random walker from one node to nodes beyond its nearest neighbors. We find that only two types of Laplacian functions are admissible with distinct behaviors for long-range steps in the infinite network limit: type (i) functions generate Brownian motions, type (ii) functions Lévy flights. For this asymptotic long-range step behavior only the lowest non-vanishing order of the Laplacian function is relevant, namely first order for type (i), and fractional order for type (ii) functions. In the first part, we discuss spectral properties of the Laplacian matrix and a series of relations that are maintained by a particular type of functions that allow to define random walks on any type of undirected connected networks. Once described general properties, we explore characteristics of random walk strategies that emerge from particular cases with functions defined in terms of exponentials, logarithms and powers of the Laplacian as well as relations of these dynamics with non-local strategies like Lévy flights and fractional transport. Finally, we analyze the global capacity of these random walk strategies to explore networks like lattices and trees and different types of random and complex networks.

Interface Supports Lightweight Subsystem Routing for Flight Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lux, James P.; Block, Gary L.; Ahmad, Mohammad; Whitaker, William D.; Dillon, James W.

2010-01-01

A wireless avionics interface exploits the constrained nature of data networks in flight systems to use a lightweight routing method. This simplified routing means that a processor is not required, and the logic can be implemented as an intellectual property (IP) core in a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The FPGA can be shared with the flight subsystem application. In addition, the router is aware of redundant subsystems, and can be configured to provide hot standby support as part of the interface. This simplifies implementation of flight applications requiring hot stand - by support. When a valid inbound packet is received from the network, the destination node address is inspected to determine whether the packet is to be processed by this node. Each node has routing tables for the next neighbor node to guide the packet to the destination node. If it is to be processed, the final packet destination is inspected to determine whether the packet is to be forwarded to another node, or routed locally. If the packet is local, it is sent to an Applications Data Interface (ADI), which is attached to a local flight application. Under this scheme, an interface can support many applications in a subsystem supporting a high level of subsystem integration. If the packet is to be forwarded to another node, it is sent to the outbound packet router. The outbound packet router receives packets from an ADI or a packet to be forwarded. It then uses a lookup table to determine the next destination for the packet. Upon detecting a remote subsystem failure, the routing table can be updated to autonomously bypass the failed subsystem.

Dynamics and Adaptive Control for Stability Recovery of Damaged Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Nhan; Krishnakumar, Kalmanje; Kaneshige, John; Nespeca, Pascal

2006-01-01

This paper presents a recent study of a damaged generic transport model as part of a NASA research project to investigate adaptive control methods for stability recovery of damaged aircraft operating in off-nominal flight conditions under damage and or failures. Aerodynamic modeling of damage effects is performed using an aerodynamic code to assess changes in the stability and control derivatives of a generic transport aircraft. Certain types of damage such as damage to one of the wings or horizontal stabilizers can cause the aircraft to become asymmetric, thus resulting in a coupling between the longitudinal and lateral motions. Flight dynamics for a general asymmetric aircraft is derived to account for changes in the center of gravity that can compromise the stability of the damaged aircraft. An iterative trim analysis for the translational motion is developed to refine the trim procedure by accounting for the effects of the control surface deflection. A hybrid direct-indirect neural network, adaptive flight control is proposed as an adaptive law for stabilizing the rotational motion of the damaged aircraft. The indirect adaptation is designed to estimate the plant dynamics of the damaged aircraft in conjunction with the direct adaptation that computes the control augmentation. Two approaches are presented 1) an adaptive law derived from the Lyapunov stability theory to ensure that the signals are bounded, and 2) a recursive least-square method for parameter identification. A hardware-in-the-loop simulation is conducted and demonstrates the effectiveness of the direct neural network adaptive flight control in the stability recovery of the damaged aircraft. A preliminary simulation of the hybrid adaptive flight control has been performed and initial data have shown the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid approach. Future work will include further investigations and high-fidelity simulations of the proposed hybrid adaptive Bight control approach.

Neural Flight Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gundy-Burlet, Karen

2003-01-01

The Neural Flight Control System (NFCS) was developed to address the need for control systems that can be produced and tested at lower cost, easily adapted to prototype vehicles and for flight systems that can accommodate damaged control surfaces or changes to aircraft stability and control characteristics resulting from failures or accidents. NFCS utilizes on a neural network-based flight control algorithm which automatically compensates for a broad spectrum of unanticipated damage or failures of an aircraft in flight. Pilot stick and rudder pedal inputs are fed into a reference model which produces pitch, roll and yaw rate commands. The reference model frequencies and gains can be set to provide handling quality characteristics suitable for the aircraft of interest. The rate commands are used in conjunction with estimates of the aircraft s stability and control (S&C) derivatives by a simplified Dynamic Inverse controller to produce virtual elevator, aileron and rudder commands. These virtual surface deflection commands are optimally distributed across the aircraft s available control surfaces using linear programming theory. Sensor data is compared with the reference model rate commands to produce an error signal. A Proportional/Integral (PI) error controller "winds up" on the error signal and adds an augmented command to the reference model output with the effect of zeroing the error signal. In order to provide more consistent handling qualities for the pilot, neural networks learn the behavior of the error controller and add in the augmented command before the integrator winds up. In the case of damage sufficient to affect the handling qualities of the aircraft, an Adaptive Critic is utilized to reduce the reference model frequencies and gains to stay within a flyable envelope of the aircraft.

Evaluation of balloon trajectory forecast routines for GAINS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collander, R.; Girz, C.

The Global Air-ocean IN-situ System (GAINS) is a global observing system designed to augment current environmental observing and monitoring networks. GAINS is a network of long-duration, stratospheric platforms that carry onboard sensors and hundreds of dropsondes to acquire meteorological, air chemistry, and climate data over oceans and in remote land regions of the globe. Although GAINS platforms will include balloons and Remotely Operated Aircraft (ROA), the scope of this paper is limited to balloon-based platforms. A primary goal of GAINS balloon test flights is post-flight recovery of the balloon shell and payload, which requires information on the expected flight path and landing site prior to launch. Software has been developed for the prediction of the balloon trajectory and landing site, with separate versions written to generate predictions based upon rawinsonde data and model output. Balloon positions are calculated in 1-min increments based on wind data from the closest rawinsonde site or model grid point, given a known launch point, ascent and descent rate and flight duration. For short flights (< 6h), rawinsonde winds interpolated to 10-mb levels are used for trajectory calculations. Predictions for flight durations of 6 to 48h are based upon the initialization and 3 h forecast wind fields from NOAA's global aviation- (AVN) and Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) models. Given a limited number of actual balloon launches, trajectories computed from a chronological series of hourly RUC initializations are used as the baseline for comparison purposes. These baseline trajectories are compared to trajectory predictions from the rawinsonde and model-based versions on a monthly and seasonal basis over a 1-year period (January 1 - December 31, 2001) for flight durations of 3h, 6h and 48h. Predicted trajectories diverge from the baseline path, with the divergence increasing with increasing time. We examine the zonal, meridional and net magnitudes of these deviations, and attempt to determine directional biases in the predictions. This paper gives an overview of the software, including methods employed, physical considerations and limitations, and discusses results of this evaluation.

Cooperative remote sensing and actuation using networked unmanned vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chao, Haiyang

This dissertation focuses on how to design and employ networked unmanned vehicles for remote sensing and distributed control purposes in the current information-rich world. The target scenarios are environmental or agricultural applications such as river/reservoir surveillance, wind profiling measurement, and monitoring/control of chemical leaks, etc. AggieAir, a small and low-cost unmanned aircraft system, is designed based on the remote sensing requirements from environmental monitoring missions. The state estimation problem and the advanced lateral flight controller design problem are further attacked focusing on the small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform. Then the UAV-based remote sensing problem is focused with further flight test results. Given the measurements from unmanned vehicles, the actuation algorithms are needed for missions like the diffusion control. A consensus-based central Voronoi tessellation (CVT) algorithm is proposed for better control of the diffusion process. Finally, the dissertation conclusion and some new research suggestions are presented.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston talks to the media in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-09-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston talks to the media in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

Surrogate Modeling of High-Fidelity Fracture Simulations for Real-Time Residual Strength Predictions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spear, Ashley D.; Priest, Amanda R.; Veilleux, Michael G.; Ingraffea, Anthony R.; Hochhalter, Jacob D.

2011-01-01

A surrogate model methodology is described for predicting in real time the residual strength of flight structures with discrete-source damage. Starting with design of experiment, an artificial neural network is developed that takes as input discrete-source damage parameters and outputs a prediction of the structural residual strength. Target residual strength values used to train the artificial neural network are derived from 3D finite element-based fracture simulations. A residual strength test of a metallic, integrally-stiffened panel is simulated to show that crack growth and residual strength are determined more accurately in discrete-source damage cases by using an elastic-plastic fracture framework rather than a linear-elastic fracture mechanics-based method. Improving accuracy of the residual strength training data would, in turn, improve accuracy of the surrogate model. When combined, the surrogate model methodology and high-fidelity fracture simulation framework provide useful tools for adaptive flight technology.

Suborbital Science Program: Dryden Flight Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DelFrate, John

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the suborbital science program at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The Program Objectives are given in various areas: (1) Satellite Calibration and Validation (Cal/val)--Provide methods to perform the cal/val requirements for Earth Observing System satellites; (2) New Sensor Development -- Provide methods to reduce risk for new sensor concepts and algorithm development prior to committing sensors to operations; (3) Process Studies -- Facilitate the acquisition of high spatial/temporal resolution focused measurements that are required to understand small atmospheric and surface structures which generate powerful Earth system effects; and (4) Airborne Networking -- Develop disruption-tolerant networking to enable integrated multiple scale measurements of critical environmental features. Dryden supports the NASA Airborne Science Program and the nation in several elements: ER-2, G-3, DC-8, Ikhana (Predator B) & Global Hawk and Reveal. These are reviewed in detail in the presentation.

Surrogate Modeling of High-Fidelity Fracture Simulations for Real-Time Residual Strength Predictions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spear, Ashley D.; Priest, Amanda R.; Veilleux, Michael G.; Ingraffea, Anthony R.; Hochhalter, Jacob D.

2011-01-01

A surrogate model methodology is described for predicting, during flight, the residual strength of aircraft structures that sustain discrete-source damage. Starting with design of experiment, an artificial neural network is developed that takes as input discrete-source damage parameters and outputs a prediction of the structural residual strength. Target residual strength values used to train the artificial neural network are derived from 3D finite element-based fracture simulations. Two ductile fracture simulations are presented to show that crack growth and residual strength are determined more accurately in discrete-source damage cases by using an elastic-plastic fracture framework rather than a linear-elastic fracture mechanics-based method. Improving accuracy of the residual strength training data does, in turn, improve accuracy of the surrogate model. When combined, the surrogate model methodology and high fidelity fracture simulation framework provide useful tools for adaptive flight technology.

A Future Vision for Remotely Piloted Aircraft: Leveraging Interoperability and Networked Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-21

over the next 25 years  Balances the effects envisioned in the USAF UAS Flight Plan with the reality of constrained resources and ambitious...theater-level unmanned systems must detect, avoid, or counter threats – operating from permissive to highly contested access in all weather...Rapid Reaction Group II/III SUAS Unit  Light Footprint, Low Cost ISR Option  Networked Autonomous C2 System  Air-Launched SUAS  Common

Real-time simulation clock

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bennington, Donald R. (Inventor); Crawford, Daniel J. (Inventor)

1990-01-01

The invention is a clock for synchronizing operations within a high-speed, distributed data processing network. The clock is actually a distributed system comprising a central clock and multiple site clock interface units (SCIUs) which are connected by means of a fiber optic star network and which operate under control of separate clock software. The presently preferred embodiment is a part of the flight simulation system now in current use at the NASA Langley Research Center.

Low-altitude photographic transects of the Arctic network of national park units and Selawik National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, July 2013

Treesearch

Bruce G. Marcot; M. Torre Jorgenson; Anthony R. DeGange

2014-01-01

During July 16–18, 2013, low-level photography flights were conducted (with a Cessna 185 with floats and a Cessna 206 with tundra tires) over the five administrative units of the National Park Service Arctic Network (Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park, and...

Correlation Of Terrestrial gamma flashes, Electric fields, and Lightning strikes (COTEL) in thunderstorms using networked balloon payloads developed by university and community college students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landry, B. J.; Blair, D.; Causey, J.; Collins, J.; Davis, A.; Fernandez-Kim, V.; Kennedy, J.; Pate, N.; Kearney, C.; Schayer, C.; Turk, E.; Cherry, M. L.; Fava, C.; Granger, D.; Stewart, M.; Guzik, T. G.

2017-12-01

High energy gamma ray flashes from terrestrial sources have been observed by satellites for decades, but the actual mechanism, assumed to be thunderstorm lightning, has yet to be fully characterized. The goal of COTEL, funded by NASA through the University Student Instrument Project (USIP) program, is to correlate in time TGF events, lightning strikes, and electric fields inside of thunderstorms. This will be accomplished using a small network of balloon-borne payloads suspended in and around thunderstorm environments. The payloads will detect and timestamp gamma radiation bursts, lightning strikes, and the intensity of localized electric fields. While in flight, data collected by the payloads will be transmitted to a ground station in real-time and will be analyzed post-flight to investigate potential correlations between lightning, TGFs, and electric fields. The COTEL student team is in its second year of effort having spent the first year developing the basic balloon payloads and ground tracking system. Currently the team is focusing on prototype electric field and gamma radiation detectors. Testing and development of these systems will continue into 2018, and flight operations will take place during the spring 2018 Louisiana thunderstorm season. The presentation, led by undergraduate Physics student Brad Landry, will cover the student team effort in developing the COTEL system, an overview of the system architecture, balloon flight tests conducted to date, preliminary results from prototype detectors, lessons learned for student-led science projects, and future plans.

Demonstrating a Realistic IP Mission Prototype

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rash, James; Ferrer, Arturo B.; Goodman, Nancy; Ghazi-Tehrani, Samira; Polk, Joe; Johnson, Lorin; Menke, Greg; Miller, Bill; Criscuolo, Ed; Hogie, Keith

2003-01-01

Flight software and hardware and realistic space communications environments were elements of recent demonstrations of the Internet Protocol (IP) mission concept in the lab. The Operating Missions as Nodes on the Internet (OMNI) Project and the Flight Software Branch at NASA/GSFC collaborated to build the prototype of a representative space mission that employed unmodified off-the-shelf Internet protocols and technologies for end-to-end communications between the spacecraft/instruments and the ground system/users. The realistic elements used in the prototype included an RF communications link simulator and components of the TRIANA mission flight software and ground support system. A web-enabled camera connected to the spacecraft computer via an Ethernet LAN represented an on-board instrument creating image data. In addition to the protocols at the link layer (HDLC), transport layer (UDP, TCP), and network (IP) layer, a reliable file delivery protocol (MDP) at the application layer enabled reliable data delivery both to and from the spacecraft. The standard Network Time Protocol (NTP) performed on-board clock synchronization with a ground time standard. The demonstrations of the prototype mission illustrated some of the advantages of using Internet standards and technologies for space missions, but also helped identify issues that must be addressed. These issues include applicability to embedded real-time systems on flight-qualified hardware, range of applicability of TCP, and liability for and maintenance of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products. The NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) funded the collaboration to build and demonstrate the prototype IP mission.

An automated calibration laboratory - Requirements and design approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Neil-Rood, Nora; Glover, Richard D.

1990-01-01

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility (Ames-Dryden), operates a diverse fleet of research aircraft which are heavily instrumented to provide both real time data for in-flight monitoring and recorded data for postflight analysis. Ames-Dryden's existing automated calibration (AUTOCAL) laboratory is a computerized facility which tests aircraft sensors to certify accuracy for anticipated harsh flight environments. Recently, a major AUTOCAL lab upgrade was initiated; the goal of this modernization is to enhance productivity and improve configuration management for both software and test data. The new system will have multiple testing stations employing distributed processing linked by a local area network to a centralized database. The baseline requirements for the new AUTOCAL lab and the design approach being taken for its mechanization are described.

Remote sensing of hydrologic variables in boreal areas, phase 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peck, Eugene L.; Carroll, Thomas R.

1994-01-01

The major effort by HYD-6 members has been to develop a network of flight lines to provide the maximum amount of information on the temporal and spatial variation in soil moisture for the Boreal Ecosystem Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) study areas. Field visits to the southern study area (SSA) were conducted during May 1993 to obtain first hand information on the flight lines that had been previously selected for BOREAS snow studies. In September 1993 airborne gamma radiation surveys were conducted over the SSA, the northern study area (NSA), and for five flight lines along the transect between the two study areas. In situ measurements of soil moisture and water content of the moss/humus layer were obtained for calibration of selected gamma radiation flights lines in the SSA and for two of the transit lines. The flight lines for which soil moisture will be measured during the three IFC's during the summer of 1994 is a subset of the total flight lines that have been flown for the snow surveys. During the WFC in February 1994, airborne gamma radiation surveys were flown over all of the flight lines. Members of HYD-4 collected in-situ measurements (soil moisture, water content of the moss/humus layer, and water equivalent of the snow cover).

Dynamic Routing for Delay-Tolerant Networking in Space Flight Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burleigh, Scott C.

2008-01-01

Contact Graph Routing (CGR) is a dynamic routing system that computes routes through a time-varying topology composed of scheduled, bounded communication contacts in a network built on the Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN) architecture. It is designed to support operations in a space network based on DTN, but it also could be used in terrestrial applications where operation according to a predefined schedule is preferable to opportunistic communication, as in a low-power sensor network. This paper will describe the operation of the CGR system and explain how it can enable data delivery over scheduled transmission opportunities, fully utilizing the available transmission capacity, without knowing the current state of any bundle protocol node (other than the local node itself) and without exhausting processing resources at any bundle router.

Artificial neural network prediction of aircraft aeroelastic behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pesonen, Urpo Juhani

An Artificial Neural Network that predicts aeroelastic behavior of aircraft is presented. The neural net was designed to predict the shape of a flexible wing in static flight conditions using results from a structural analysis and an aerodynamic analysis performed with traditional computational tools. To generate reliable training and testing data for the network, an aeroelastic analysis code using these tools as components was designed and validated. To demonstrate the advantages and reliability of Artificial Neural Networks, a network was also designed and trained to predict airfoil maximum lift at low Reynolds numbers where wind tunnel data was used for the training. Finally, a neural net was designed and trained to predict the static aeroelastic behavior of a wing without the need to iterate between the structural and aerodynamic solvers.

Knowledge-Based Aircraft Automation: Managers Guide on the use of Artificial Intelligence for Aircraft Automation and Verification and Validation Approach for a Neural-Based Flight Controller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Broderick, Ron

1997-01-01

The ultimate goal of this report was to integrate the powerful tools of artificial intelligence into the traditional process of software development. To maintain the US aerospace competitive advantage, traditional aerospace and software engineers need to more easily incorporate the technology of artificial intelligence into the advanced aerospace systems being designed today. The future goal was to transition artificial intelligence from an emerging technology to a standard technology that is considered early in the life cycle process to develop state-of-the-art aircraft automation systems. This report addressed the future goal in two ways. First, it provided a matrix that identified typical aircraft automation applications conducive to various artificial intelligence methods. The purpose of this matrix was to provide top-level guidance to managers contemplating the possible use of artificial intelligence in the development of aircraft automation. Second, the report provided a methodology to formally evaluate neural networks as part of the traditional process of software development. The matrix was developed by organizing the discipline of artificial intelligence into the following six methods: logical, object representation-based, distributed, uncertainty management, temporal and neurocomputing. Next, a study of existing aircraft automation applications that have been conducive to artificial intelligence implementation resulted in the following five categories: pilot-vehicle interface, system status and diagnosis, situation assessment, automatic flight planning, and aircraft flight control. The resulting matrix provided management guidance to understand artificial intelligence as it applied to aircraft automation. The approach taken to develop a methodology to formally evaluate neural networks as part of the software engineering life cycle was to start with the existing software quality assurance standards and to change these standards to include neural network development. The changes were to include evaluation tools that can be applied to neural networks at each phase of the software engineering life cycle. The result was a formal evaluation approach to increase the product quality of systems that use neural networks for their implementation.

TOLNet Data and Information

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2016-06-22

... a network of ground sites which are located at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (38.992°N, 76.839°W), Jet Propulsion Laboratory ... and to support airborne field studies and satellite missions. TOLNet also develops recommendations for more robust, cost effective ...

A neural network-based estimator for the mixture ratio of the Space Shuttle Main Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, T. H.; Musgrave, J.

1992-11-01

In order to properly utilize the available fuel and oxidizer of a liquid propellant rocket engine, the mixture ratio is closed loop controlled during main stage (65 percent - 109 percent power) operation. However, because of the lack of flight-capable instrumentation for measuring mixture ratio, the value of mixture ratio in the control loop is estimated using available sensor measurements such as the combustion chamber pressure and the volumetric flow, and the temperature and pressure at the exit duct on the low pressure fuel pump. This estimation scheme has two limitations. First, the estimation formula is based on an empirical curve fitting which is accurate only within a narrow operating range. Second, the mixture ratio estimate relies on a few sensor measurements and loss of any of these measurements will make the estimate invalid. In this paper, we propose a neural network-based estimator for the mixture ratio of the Space Shuttle Main Engine. The estimator is an extension of a previously developed neural network based sensor failure detection and recovery algorithm (sensor validation). This neural network uses an auto associative structure which utilizes the redundant information of dissimilar sensors to detect inconsistent measurements. Two approaches have been identified for synthesizing mixture ratio from measurement data using a neural network. The first approach uses an auto associative neural network for sensor validation which is modified to include the mixture ratio as an additional output. The second uses a new network for the mixture ratio estimation in addition to the sensor validation network. Although mixture ratio is not directly measured in flight, it is generally available in simulation and in test bed firing data from facility measurements of fuel and oxidizer volumetric flows. The pros and cons of these two approaches will be discussed in terms of robustness to sensor failures and accuracy of the estimate during typical transients using simulation data.

A neural network-based estimator for the mixture ratio of the Space Shuttle Main Engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guo, T. H.; Musgrave, J.

1992-01-01

In order to properly utilize the available fuel and oxidizer of a liquid propellant rocket engine, the mixture ratio is closed loop controlled during main stage (65 percent - 109 percent power) operation. However, because of the lack of flight-capable instrumentation for measuring mixture ratio, the value of mixture ratio in the control loop is estimated using available sensor measurements such as the combustion chamber pressure and the volumetric flow, and the temperature and pressure at the exit duct on the low pressure fuel pump. This estimation scheme has two limitations. First, the estimation formula is based on an empirical curve fitting which is accurate only within a narrow operating range. Second, the mixture ratio estimate relies on a few sensor measurements and loss of any of these measurements will make the estimate invalid. In this paper, we propose a neural network-based estimator for the mixture ratio of the Space Shuttle Main Engine. The estimator is an extension of a previously developed neural network based sensor failure detection and recovery algorithm (sensor validation). This neural network uses an auto associative structure which utilizes the redundant information of dissimilar sensors to detect inconsistent measurements. Two approaches have been identified for synthesizing mixture ratio from measurement data using a neural network. The first approach uses an auto associative neural network for sensor validation which is modified to include the mixture ratio as an additional output. The second uses a new network for the mixture ratio estimation in addition to the sensor validation network. Although mixture ratio is not directly measured in flight, it is generally available in simulation and in test bed firing data from facility measurements of fuel and oxidizer volumetric flows. The pros and cons of these two approaches will be discussed in terms of robustness to sensor failures and accuracy of the estimate during typical transients using simulation data.

Research & Technology Report Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soffen, Gerald A. (Editor); Truszkowski, Walter (Editor); Ottenstein, Howard (Editor); Frost, Kenneth (Editor); Maran, Stephen (Editor); Walter, Lou (Editor); Brown, Mitch (Editor)

1995-01-01

The main theme of this edition of the annual Research and Technology Report is Mission Operations and Data Systems. Shifting from centralized to distributed mission operations, and from human interactive operations to highly automated operations is reported. The following aspects are addressed: Mission planning and operations; TDRSS, Positioning Systems, and orbit determination; hardware and software associated with Ground System and Networks; data processing and analysis; and World Wide Web. Flight projects are described along with the achievements in space sciences and earth sciences. Spacecraft subsystems, cryogenic developments, and new tools and capabilities are also discussed.

Space Station Crew Members Discuss Life in Space with Military Media

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-11-22

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba of NASA discussed life and research aboard the orbital outpost during a pair of in-flight interviews Nov. 22 with the Soldiers TV Network and Marines Media organization. Bresnik, who is a retired Marine Colonel, is in the final weeks of his five-and-a-half-month mission on the station, while Vande Hei, a former Army Colonel, and Acaba, a former Marine reservist, will remain aboard the complex until late February.

E55_Inflight_IndyStar_Off_Track_2018_0517_1330_654170

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-21

SPACE STATION CREW DISCUSSES AUTO RACING FROM ORBIT------- Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 55 NASA Flight Engineers Drew Feustel and Scott Tingle discussed their thoughts on the upcoming Indianapolis “500” auto race during in-flight interviews May 17 with the USA Today Network and the “Off Track with Hinch and Rossi” podcast. Feustel, in particular, is an enormous auto racing aficionado. The crew plans to have the televised May 27 race uplinked to them on orbit during an off-duty day.

Two bright fireballs over Great Britain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koukal, Jakub; Káčerek, Richard

2018-02-01

On November 24, 2017 shortly before midnight and on November 25, 2017 shortly before sunrise, two very bright fireballs lit up the sky over the United Kingdom. The UKMON (United Kingdom Meteor Observation Network) cameras and onboard cameras in the automobiles recorded their flight. The fireballs paths in the Earth's atmosphere were calculated, as well as the orbits of bodies in the Solar System. The flight of both bodies, the absolute magnitude of which approached the brightness of the full Moon, was also observed by numerous random observers from the public in Great Britain, Ireland and France.

The Temporal Resolution of Flight Attitude Control in Dragonflies and Locusts: Lessons for the Design of Flapping-Wing MAVs

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-12-04

central nevous system , consisting of a self- excited neuronal network. Even in the absence of any sensory inputs this network will 4 produce, in two...is not necessary in smaller systems . Introduction Conventional aircraft can be designed such that steady-state aerodynamics apply. Thus, it is...active damping by visual inputs, whereas the same is not necessary in smaller systems . 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17

An Airway Network Flow Assignment Approach Based on an Efficient Multiobjective Optimization Framework

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xuejun; Lei, Jiaxing

2015-01-01

Considering reducing the airspace congestion and the flight delay simultaneously, this paper formulates the airway network flow assignment (ANFA) problem as a multiobjective optimization model and presents a new multiobjective optimization framework to solve it. Firstly, an effective multi-island parallel evolution algorithm with multiple evolution populations is employed to improve the optimization capability. Secondly, the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II is applied for each population. In addition, a cooperative coevolution algorithm is adapted to divide the ANFA problem into several low-dimensional biobjective optimization problems which are easier to deal with. Finally, in order to maintain the diversity of solutions and to avoid prematurity, a dynamic adjustment operator based on solution congestion degree is specifically designed for the ANFA problem. Simulation results using the real traffic data from China air route network and daily flight plans demonstrate that the proposed approach can improve the solution quality effectively, showing superiority to the existing approaches such as the multiobjective genetic algorithm, the well-known multiobjective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition, and a cooperative coevolution multiobjective algorithm as well as other parallel evolution algorithms with different migration topology. PMID:26180840

Behaviors, movements, and transmission of droplet-mediated respiratory diseases during transcontinental airline flights

PubMed Central

Weiss, Howard; Elon, Lisa; Si, Wenpei; Norris, Sharon L.

2018-01-01

With over 3 billion airline passengers annually, the inflight transmission of infectious diseases is an important global health concern. Over a dozen cases of inflight transmission of serious infections have been documented, and air travel can serve as a conduit for the rapid spread of newly emerging infections and pandemics. Despite sensational media stories and anecdotes, the risks of transmission of respiratory viruses in an airplane cabin are unknown. Movements of passengers and crew may facilitate disease transmission. On 10 transcontinental US flights, we chronicled behaviors and movements of individuals in the economy cabin on single-aisle aircraft. We simulated transmission during flight based on these data. Our results indicate there is low probability of direct transmission to passengers not seated in close proximity to an infectious passenger. This data-driven, dynamic network transmission model of droplet-mediated respiratory disease is unique. To measure the true pathogen burden, our team collected 229 environmental samples during the flights. Although eight flights were during Influenza season, all qPCR assays for 18 common respiratory viruses were negative. PMID:29555754

Cognitive and perceptual principles of window-based computer dialogues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pavel, M.; Card, S.

1986-01-01

The information-space flyer concept is similar to a flight simulator where one traverses over information topology (such as a sematic network) rather than a geographical terrain. Research and software engineering are discussed. Also included is a user manual.

Suppressing epidemics with a limited amount of immunization units.

PubMed

Schneider, Christian M; Mihaljev, Tamara; Havlin, Shlomo; Herrmann, Hans J

2011-12-01

The way diseases spread through schools, epidemics through countries, and viruses through the internet is crucial in determining their risk. Although each of these threats has its own characteristics, its underlying network determines the spreading. To restrain the spreading, a widely used approach is the fragmentation of these networks through immunization, so that epidemics cannot spread. Here we develop an immunization approach based on optimizing the susceptible size, which outperforms the best known strategy based on immunizing the highest-betweenness links or nodes. We find that the network's vulnerability can be significantly reduced, demonstrating this on three different real networks: the global flight network, a school friendship network, and the internet. In all cases, we find that not only is the average infection probability significantly suppressed, but also for the most relevant case of a small and limited number of immunization units the infection probability can be reduced by up to 55%.

Optimization of wireless sensor networks based on chicken swarm optimization algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qingxi; Zhu, Lihua

2017-05-01

In order to reduce the energy consumption of wireless sensor network and improve the survival time of network, the clustering routing protocol of wireless sensor networks based on chicken swarm optimization algorithm was proposed. On the basis of LEACH agreement, it was improved and perfected that the points on the cluster and the selection of cluster head using the chicken group optimization algorithm, and update the location of chicken which fall into the local optimum by Levy flight, enhance population diversity, ensure the global search capability of the algorithm. The new protocol avoided the die of partial node of intensive using by making balanced use of the network nodes, improved the survival time of wireless sensor network. The simulation experiments proved that the protocol is better than LEACH protocol on energy consumption, also is better than that of clustering routing protocol based on particle swarm optimization algorithm.

A Programmable SDN+NFV Architecture for UAV Telemetry Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, Kyle J. S.; Pezaros, Dimitrios P.; Denney, Ewen; Knudson, Matt D.

2017-01-01

With the explosive growth in UAV numbers forecast worldwide, a core concern is how to manage the ad-hoc network configuration required for mobility management. As UAVs migrate among ground control stations, associated network services, routing and operational control must also rapidly migrate to ensure a seamless transition. In this paper, we present a novel, lightweight and modular architecture which supports high mobility, resilience and flexibility through the application of SDN and NFV principles on top of the UAV infrastructure. By combining SDN programmability and Network Function Virtualization we can achieve resilient infrastructure migration of network services, such as network monitoring and anomaly detection, coupled with migrating UAVs to enable high mobility management. Our container-based monitoring and anomaly detection Network Functions (NFs) can be tuned to specific UAV models providing operators better insight during live, high-mobility deployments. We evaluate our architecture against telemetry from over 80flights from a scientific research UAV infrastructure.

An Approach to V&V of Embedded Adaptive Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Yan; Yerramalla, Sampath; Fuller, Edgar; Cukic, Bojan; Gururajan, Srikaruth

2004-01-01

Rigorous Verification and Validation (V&V) techniques are essential for high assurance systems. Lately, the performance of some of these systems is enhanced by embedded adaptive components in order to cope with environmental changes. Although the ability of adapting is appealing, it actually poses a problem in terms of V&V. Since uncertainties induced by environmental changes have a significant impact on system behavior, the applicability of conventional V&V techniques is limited. In safety-critical applications such as flight control system, the mechanisms of change must be observed, diagnosed, accommodated and well understood prior to deployment. In this paper, we propose a non-conventional V&V approach suitable for online adaptive systems. We apply our approach to an intelligent flight control system that employs a particular type of Neural Networks (NN) as the adaptive learning paradigm. Presented methodology consists of a novelty detection technique and online stability monitoring tools. The novelty detection technique is based on Support Vector Data Description that detects novel (abnormal) data patterns. The Online Stability Monitoring tools based on Lyapunov's Stability Theory detect unstable learning behavior in neural networks. Cases studies based on a high fidelity simulator of NASA's Intelligent Flight Control System demonstrate a successful application of the presented V&V methodology. ,

GPM High Gain Antenna System Testing

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-02-20

File: 03/26/2012 The GPM High Gain Antenna System (HGAS) in integration and testing at Goddard Space Flight Center. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The Core Observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space. The GPM mission is the first coordinated international satellite network to provide near real-time observations of rain and snow every three hours anywhere on the globe. The GPM Core Observatory anchors this network by providing observations on all types of precipitation. The observatory's data acts as the measuring stick by which partner observations can be combined into a unified data set. The data will be used by scientists to study climate change, freshwater resources, floods and droughts, and hurricane formation and tracking. Credit: Craig E. Huber, Chief Engineer SGT Inc, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Planning assistance for the NASA 30/20 GHz program. Network control architecture study.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Inukai, T.; Bonnelycke, B.; Strickland, S.

1982-01-01

Network Control Architecture for a 30/20 GHz flight experiment system operating in the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) was studied. Architecture development, identification of processing functions, and performance requirements for the Master Control Station (MCS), diversity trunking stations, and Customer Premises Service (CPS) stations are covered. Preliminary hardware and software processing requirements as well as budgetary cost estimates for the network control system are given. For the trunking system control, areas covered include on board SS-TDMA switch organization, frame structure, acquisition and synchronization, channel assignment, fade detection and adaptive power control, on board oscillator control, and terrestrial network timing. For the CPS control, they include on board processing and adaptive forward error correction control.

Predicting body temperature and activity of adult Polyommatus icarus using neural network models under current and projected climate scenarios.

PubMed

Howe, P D; Bryant, S R; Shreeve, T G

2007-10-01

We use field observations in two geographic regions within the British Isles and regression and neural network models to examine the relationship between microhabitat use, thoracic temperatures and activity in a widespread lycaenid butterfly, Polyommatus icarus. We also make predictions for future activity under climate change scenarios. Individuals from a univoltine northern population initiated flight with significantly lower thoracic temperatures than individuals from a bivoltine southern population. Activity is dependent on body temperature and neural network models of body temperature are better at predicting body temperature than generalized linear models. Neural network models of activity with a sole input of predicted body temperature (using weather and microclimate variables) are good predictors of observed activity and were better predictors than generalized linear models. By modelling activity under climate change scenarios for 2080 we predict differences in activity in relation to both regional differences of climate change and differing body temperature requirements for activity in different populations. Under average conditions for low-emission scenarios there will be little change in the activity of individuals from central-southern Britain and a reduction in northwest Scotland from 2003 activity levels. Under high-emission scenarios, flight-dependent activity in northwest Scotland will increase the greatest, despite smaller predicted increases in temperature and decreases in cloud cover. We suggest that neural network models are an effective way of predicting future activity in changing climates for microhabitat-specialist butterflies and that regional differences in the thermoregulatory response of populations will have profound effects on how they respond to climate change.

Flight dynamics software in a distributed network environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeletic, J.; Weidow, D.; Boland, D.

1995-01-01

As with all NASA facilities, the announcement of reduced budgets, reduced staffing, and the desire to implement smaller/quicker/cheaper missions has required the Agency's organizations to become more efficient in what they do. To accomplish these objectives, the FDD has initiated the development of the Flight Dynamics Distributed System (FDDS). The underlying philosophy of FDDS is to build an integrated system that breaks down the traditional barriers of attitude, mission planning, and navigation support software to provide a uniform approach to flight dynamics applications. Through the application of open systems concepts and state-of-the-art technologies, including object-oriented specification concepts, object-oriented software, and common user interface, communications, data management, and executive services, the FDD will reengineer most of its six million lines of code.

Automated extraction of metadata from remotely sensed satellite imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cromp, Robert F.

1991-01-01

The paper discusses research in the Intelligent Data Management project at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, with emphasis on recent improvements in low-level feature detection algorithms for performing real-time characterization of images. Images, including MSS and TM data, are characterized using neural networks and the interpretation of the neural network output by an expert system for subsequent archiving in an object-oriented data base. The data show the applicability of this approach to different arrangements of low-level remote sensing channels. The technique works well when the neural network is trained on data similar to the data used for testing.

Camp Blanding Lightning Mapping Array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blakeslee,Richard; Christian, Hugh; Bailey, Jeffrey; Hall, John; Uman, Martin; Jordan, Doug; Krehbiel, Paul; Rison, William; Edens, Harald

2011-01-01

A seven station, short base-line Lightning Mapping Array was installed at the Camp Blanding International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) during April 2011. This network will support science investigations of Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs) and lightning initiation using rocket triggered lightning at the ICLRT. The network operations and data processing will be carried out through a close collaboration between several organizations, including the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, University of Alabama in Huntsville, University of Florida, and New Mexico Tech. The deployment was sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The network does not have real-time data dissemination. Description, status and plans will be discussed.

Estimation of Stability and Control Derivatives of an F-15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Mark; Moes, Tim

2006-01-01

A technique for real-time estimation of stability and control derivatives (derivatives of moment coefficients with respect to control-surface deflection angles) was used to support a flight demonstration of a concept of an indirect-adaptive intelligent flight control system (IFCS). Traditionally, parameter identification, including estimation of stability and control derivatives, is done post-flight. However, for the indirect-adaptive IFCS concept, parameter identification is required during flight so that the system can modify control laws for a damaged aircraft. The flight demonstration was carried out on a highly modified F-15 airplane (see Figure 1). The main objective was to estimate the stability and control derivatives of the airplane in nearly real time. A secondary goal was to develop a system to automatically assess the quality of the results, so as to be able to tell a learning neural network which data to use. Parameter estimation was performed by use of Fourier-transform regression (FTR) a technique developed at NASA Langley Research Center. FTR is an equation- error technique that operates in the frequency domain. Data are put into the frequency domain by use of a recursive Fourier transform for a discrete frequency set. This calculation simplifies many subsequent calculations, removes biases, and automatically filters out data beyond the chosen frequency range. FTR as applied here was tailored to work with pilot inputs, which produce correlated surface positions that prevent accurate parameter estimates, by replacing half the derivatives with predicted values. FTR was also set up to work only on a recent window of data, to accommodate changes in flight condition. A system of confidence measures was developed to identify quality-parameter estimates that a learning neural network could use. This system judged the estimates primarily on the basis of their estimated variances and of the level of aircraft response. The resulting FTR system was implemented in the Simulink software system and auto-coded in the C programming language for use on the Airborne Research Test System (ARTS II) computer installed in the F-15 airplane. The Simulink model was also used in a control room that utilizes the Ring Buffered Network Bus hardware and software, making it possible to evaluate test points during flights. In-flight parameter estimation was done for piloted and automated maneuvers, primarily at three test conditions. Figure 2 shows results for pitching moment due to symmetric stabilator actuations for a series of three pitch doublet maneuvers (in a doublet maneuver, a command to change attitude in a given direction by a given amount is followed immediately by a command to change attitude in the opposite direction by the same amount). A time window of 5 seconds was used. The portions of the curves shown in red are those that passed the confidence tests. The technique showed good convergence for most derivatives for both kinds of maneuvers - typically within a few seconds. The confidence tests were marginally successful, and it would be necessary to refine them for use in an IFCS.

The Laser Communications Relay and the Path to the Next Generation Near Earth Relay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Israel, David J.

2015-01-01

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is currently developing the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) as a Path to the Next Generation Near Earth Space Communication Network. The current NASA Space Network or Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System is comprised of a constellation of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) in geosynchronous orbit and associated ground stations and operation centers. NASA is currently targeting a next generation of relay capability on orbit in the 2025 timeframe.

The Aerospace Energy Systems Laboratory: A BITBUS networking application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glover, Richard D.; Oneill-Rood, Nora

1989-01-01

The NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility developed a computerized aircraft battery servicing facility called the Aerospace Energy Systems Laboratory (AESL). This system employs distributed processing with communications provided by a 2.4-megabit BITBUS local area network. Customized handlers provide real time status, remote command, and file transfer protocols between a central system running the iRMX-II operating system and ten slave stations running the iRMX-I operating system. The hardware configuration and software components required to implement this BITBUS application are required.

Wearable Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, Amanda

2013-01-01

Wearable technology projects, to be useful, in the future, must be seamlessly integrated with the Flight Deck of the Future (F.F). The lab contains mockups of space vehicle cockpits, habitat living quarters, and workstations equipped with novel user interfaces. The Flight Deck of the Future is one element of the Integrated Power, Avionics, and Software (IPAS) facility, which, to a large extent, manages the F.F network and data systems. To date, integration with the Flight Deck of the Future has been limited by a lack of tools and understanding of the Flight Deck of the Future data handling systems. To remedy this problem it will be necessary to learn how data is managed in the Flight Deck of the Future and to develop tools or interfaces that enable easy integration of WEAR Lab and EV3 products into the Flight Deck of the Future mockups. This capability is critical to future prototype integration, evaluation, and demonstration. This will provide the ability for WEAR Lab products, EV3 human interface prototypes, and technologies from other JSC organizations to be evaluated and tested while in the Flight Deck of the Future. All WEAR Lab products must be integrated with the interface that will connect them to the Flight Deck of the Future. The WEAR Lab products will primarily be programmed in Arduino. Arduino will be used for the development of wearable controls and a tactile communication garment. Arduino will also be used in creating wearable methane detection and warning system.

Preliminary report on AED deployment on the entire Air France commercial fleet: a joint venture with Paris XII University Training Programme.

PubMed

Bertrand, C; Rodriguez Redington, P; Lecarpentier, E; Bellaiche, G; Michel, D; Teiger, E; Morris, W; Le Bourgeois, J P; Barthout, M

2004-11-01

The positive effect of early defibrillation on survival from cardiac arrest has been demonstrated. We describe the use of AEDs over 1 year following the training of flight attendants. Air France and the University of Paris XII together designed a 1 year training programme for 14000 flight attendants. The university emergency departments (SAMU) provided 250 instructors. AEDs training and certification was conducted for crew members between November 2001 and November 2002. By January 2003, all aircraft were fully equipped with AEDs. All cases of cardiac arrest that occurred during the study were reviewed comprehensively. Comments from the crew were collected. Twelve cardiac arrests were reported between November 2002 and November 2003 out of 4194 cases of emergency care delivered to passengers. Shock treatment was advised initially in 5/12 cases. The survival rate after in-flight cardiac arrest was 3/12. The survival rate at discharge from hospital following in flight shock was 2/5. No complications arose from the use of AEDs. Training by professionals gave the flight attendants confidence and allowed for the survival of two young passengers. Our study highlights the ability of flight attendants to give better onboard care for the future. The next step is to consolidate the network between in-flight care and the medical dispatch centre in Paris.

Calibration and Data Efforts of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Airborne Observation Platform during its Engineering Development Phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adler, J.; Goulden, T.; Kampe, T. U.; Leisso, N.; Musinsky, J.

2014-12-01

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) has collected airborne photographic, lidar, and imaging spectrometer data in 5 of 20 unique ecological climate regions (domains) within the United States. As part of its mission to detect and forecast ecological change at continental scales over multiple decades, NEON Airborne Observation Platform (AOP) will aerially survey the entire network of 60 core and re-locatable terrestrial sites annually, each of which are a minimum of 10km-by-10km in extent. The current effort encompasses three years of AOP engineering test flights; in 2017 NEON will transition to full operational status in all 20 domains. To date the total airborne data collected spans 34 Terabytes, and three of the five sampled domain's L1 data are publically available upon request. The large volume of current data, and the expected data collection over the remaining 15 domains, is challenging NEON's data distribution plans, backup capability, and data discovery processes. To provide the public with the highest quality data, calibration and validation efforts of the camera, lidar, and spectrometer L0 data are implemented to produce L1 datasets. Where available, the collected airborne measurements are validated against ground reference points and surfaces and adjusted for instrumentation and atmospheric effects. The imaging spectrometer data is spectrally and radiometrically corrected using NIST-traceable procedures. This presentation highlights three years of flight operation experiences including:1) Lessons learned on payload re-configuration, data extraction, data distribution, permitting requirements, flight planning, and operational procedures2) Lidar validation through control data comparisons collected at the Boulder Municipal Airport (KBDU), the site of NEON's new hangar facility3) Spectrometer calibration efforts, to include both the laboratory and ground observations

Congestion transition in air traffic networks.

PubMed

Monechi, Bernardo; Servedio, Vito D P; Loreto, Vittorio

2015-01-01

Air Transportation represents a very interesting example of a complex techno-social system whose importance has considerably grown in time and whose management requires a careful understanding of the subtle interplay between technological infrastructure and human behavior. Despite the competition with other transportation systems, a growth of air traffic is still foreseen in Europe for the next years. The increase of traffic load could bring the current Air Traffic Network above its capacity limits so that safety standards and performances might not be guaranteed anymore. Lacking the possibility of a direct investigation of this scenario, we resort to computer simulations in order to quantify the disruptive potential of an increase in traffic load. To this end we model the Air Transportation system as a complex dynamical network of flights controlled by humans who have to solve potentially dangerous conflicts by redirecting aircraft trajectories. The model is driven and validated through historical data of flight schedules in a European national airspace. While correctly reproducing actual statistics of the Air Transportation system, e.g., the distribution of delays, the model allows for theoretical predictions. Upon an increase of the traffic load injected in the system, the model predicts a transition from a phase in which all conflicts can be successfully resolved, to a phase in which many conflicts cannot be resolved anymore. We highlight how the current flight density of the Air Transportation system is well below the transition, provided that controllers make use of a special re-routing procedure. While the congestion transition displays a universal scaling behavior, its threshold depends on the conflict solving strategy adopted. Finally, the generality of the modeling scheme introduced makes it a flexible general tool to simulate and control Air Transportation systems in realistic and synthetic scenarios.

Design and Benchmarking of a Network-In-the-Loop Simulation for Use in a Hardware-In-the-Loop System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aretskin-Hariton, Eliot; Thomas, George; Culley, Dennis; Kratz, Jonathan

2017-01-01

Distributed engine control (DEC) systems alter aircraft engine design constraints because of fundamental differences in the input and output communication between DEC and centralized control architectures. The change in the way communication is implemented may create new optimum engine-aircraft configurations. This paper continues the exploration of digital network communication by demonstrating a Network-In-the-Loop simulation at the NASA Glenn Research Center. This simulation incorporates a real-time network protocol, the Engine Area Distributed Interconnect Network Lite (EADIN Lite), with the Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation 40k (C-MAPSS40k) software. The objective of this study is to assess digital control network impact to the control system. Performance is evaluated relative to a truth model for large transient maneuvers and a typical flight profile for commercial aircraft. Results show that a decrease in network bandwidth from 250 Kbps (sampling all sensors every time step) to 40 Kbps, resulted in very small differences in control system performance.

Design and Benchmarking of a Network-In-the-Loop Simulation for Use in a Hardware-In-the-Loop System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aretskin-Hariton, Eliot D.; Thomas, George Lindsey; Culley, Dennis E.; Kratz, Jonathan L.

2017-01-01

Distributed engine control (DEC) systems alter aircraft engine design constraints be- cause of fundamental differences in the input and output communication between DEC and centralized control architectures. The change in the way communication is implemented may create new optimum engine-aircraft configurations. This paper continues the exploration of digital network communication by demonstrating a Network-In-the-Loop simulation at the NASA Glenn Research Center. This simulation incorporates a real-time network protocol, the Engine Area Distributed Interconnect Network Lite (EADIN Lite), with the Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation 40k (C-MAPSS40k) software. The objective of this study is to assess digital control network impact to the control system. Performance is evaluated relative to a truth model for large transient maneuvers and a typical flight profile for commercial aircraft. Results show that a decrease in network bandwidth from 250 Kbps (sampling all sensors every time step) to 40 Kbps, resulted in very small differences in control system performance.

Bandwidth Enabled Flight Operations: Examining the Possibilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pisanich, Greg; Renema, Fritz; Clancy, Dan (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Bandwidth Enabled Flight Operations project is a research effort at the NASA Ames Research Center to investigate the use of satellite communications to improve aviation safety and capacity. This project is a follow on to the AeroSAPIENT Project, which demonstrated methods for transmitting high bandwidth data in various configurations. For this research, we set a goal to nominally use only 10 percent of the available bandwidth demonstrated by AeroSAPIENT or projected by near-term technology advances. This paper describes the results of our research, including available satellite bandwidth, commercial and research efforts to provide these services, and some of the limiting factors inherent with this communications medium. It also describes our investigation into the needs of the stakeholders (Airlines, Pilots, Cabin Crews, ATC, Maintenance, etc). The paper also describes our development of low-cost networked flight deck and airline operations center simulations that were used to demonstrate two application areas: Providing real time weather information to the commercial flight deck, and enhanced crew monitoring and control for airline operations centers.

Effects of burstiness on the air transportation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ito, Hidetaka; Nishinari, Katsuhiro

2017-01-01

The effects of burstiness in complex networks have received considerable attention. In particular, the effects on temporal distance and delays in the air transportation system are significant owing to their huge impact on our society. Therefore, in this paper, the temporal distance of empirical U.S. flight schedule data is compared with that of regularized data without burstiness to analyze the effects of burstiness. The temporal distance is calculated by a graph analysis method considering flight delays, missed connections, flight cancellations, and congestion. In addition, we propose two temporal distance indexes based on passengers' behavior to quantify the effects. As a result, we find that burstiness reduces both the scheduled and the actual temporal distances for business travelers, while delays caused by missed connections and congestion are increased. We also find that the decrease of the scheduled temporal distance by burstiness is offset by an increase of the delays for leisure passengers. Moreover, we discover that the positive effect of burstiness is lost when flight schedules are overcrowded.

Evangelical Church polity and the nuances of white flight: a case study from the Roseland and Englewood neighborhoods in Chicago.

PubMed

Mulder, Mark T

2012-01-01

Present patterns of residential segregation have been proven to have antecedents in the so-called white flight of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Close scrutiny of this social phenomenon has yielded results that indicate complicated impetuses and call into question sweeping assumptions about white flight. A case study of seven congregations from a denomination called the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC) who left the Englewood and Roseland neighborhoods of Chicago during the juncture in question further reveals the dubious role of religious practices and arrangements in the out-migration of white evangelical Christians. By utilizing church histories, council minutes, and field interviews, it became readily apparent that the departure of the members of these congregations found sanction within the hierarchical apparatus (or lack thereof) of the church. The response of these CRC congregations exemplified how the political structures (congregational polity) and social networks of a particular denomination could allow for an almost seamless process of white flight.

Effects of burstiness on the air transportation system.

PubMed

Ito, Hidetaka; Nishinari, Katsuhiro

2017-01-01

The effects of burstiness in complex networks have received considerable attention. In particular, the effects on temporal distance and delays in the air transportation system are significant owing to their huge impact on our society. Therefore, in this paper, the temporal distance of empirical U.S. flight schedule data is compared with that of regularized data without burstiness to analyze the effects of burstiness. The temporal distance is calculated by a graph analysis method considering flight delays, missed connections, flight cancellations, and congestion. In addition, we propose two temporal distance indexes based on passengers' behavior to quantify the effects. As a result, we find that burstiness reduces both the scheduled and the actual temporal distances for business travelers, while delays caused by missed connections and congestion are increased. We also find that the decrease of the scheduled temporal distance by burstiness is offset by an increase of the delays for leisure passengers. Moreover, we discover that the positive effect of burstiness is lost when flight schedules are overcrowded.

High End Computer Network Testbedding at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gary, James Patrick

1998-01-01

The Earth & Space Data Computing (ESDC) Division, at the Goddard Space Flight Center, is involved in development and demonstrating various high end computer networking capabilities. The ESDC has several high end super computers. These are used to run: (1) computer simulation of the climate systems; (2) to support the Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) project; (3) to support the Grand Challenge (GC) Science, which is aimed at understanding the turbulent convection and dynamos in stars. GC research occurs in many sites throughout the country, and this research is enabled by, in part, the multiple high performance network interconnections. The application drivers for High End Computer Networking use distributed supercomputing to support virtual reality applications, such as TerraVision, (i.e., three dimensional browser of remotely accessed data), and Cave Automatic Virtual Environments (CAVE). Workstations can access and display data from multiple CAVE's with video servers, which allows for group/project collaborations using a combination of video, data, voice and shared white boarding. The ESDC is also developing and demonstrating the high degree of interoperability between satellite and terrestrial-based networks. To this end, the ESDC is conducting research and evaluations of new computer networking protocols and related technologies which improve the interoperability of satellite and terrestrial networks. The ESDC is also involved in the Security Proof of Concept Keystone (SPOCK) program sponsored by National Security Agency (NSA). The SPOCK activity provides a forum for government users and security technology providers to share information on security requirements, emerging technologies and new product developments. Also, the ESDC is involved in the Trans-Pacific Digital Library Experiment, which aims to demonstrate and evaluate the use of high performance satellite communications and advanced data communications protocols to enable interactive digital library data access between the U. S. Library of Congress, the National Library of Japan and other digital library sites at 155 MegaBytes Per Second. The ESDC participation in this program is the Trans-Pacific access to GLOBE visualizations in real time. ESDC is participating in the Department of Defense's ATDNet with Multiwavelength Optical Network (MONET) a fully switched Wavelength Division Networking testbed. This presentation is in viewgraph format.

Analysis of Return and Forward Links from STARS' Flight Demonstration 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gering, James A.

2003-01-01

Space-based Telemetry And Range Safety (STARS) is a Kennedy Space Center (KSC) led proof-of-concept demonstration, which utilizes NASA's space network of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) as a pathway for launch and mission related information streams. Flight Demonstration 1 concluded on July 15,2003 with the seventh flight of a Low Power Transmitter (LPT) a Command and Data Handler (C&DH), a twelve channel GPS receiver and associated power supplies and amplifiers. The equipment flew on NASA's F-I5 aircraft at the Dryden Flight Research Center located at Edwards Air Force Base in California. During this NASA-ASEE Faculty Fellowship, the author participated in the collection and analysis of data from the seven flights comprising Flight Demonstration 1. Specifically, the author examined the forward and return links bit energy E(sub B) (in Watt-seconds) divided by the ambient radio frequency noise N(sub 0) (in Watts / Hertz). E(sub b)/N(sub 0) is commonly thought of as a signal-to-noise parameter, which characterizes a particular received radio frequency (RF) link. Outputs from the data analysis include the construction of time lines for all flights, production of graphs of range safety values for all seven flights, histograms of range safety E(sub b)/N(sub 0) values in five dB increments, calculation of associated averages and standard deviations, production of graphs of range user E(sub b)/N(sub 0) values for the all flights, production of graphs of AGC's and E(sub b)/N(sub 0) estimates for flight 1, recorded onboard, transmitted directly to the launch head and transmitted through TDRS. The data and graphs are being used to draw conclusions related to a lower than expected signal strength seen in the range safety return link.

Tiltrotor noise reduction through flight trajectory management and aircraft configuration control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gervais, Marc

A tiltrotor can hover, takeoff and land vertically as well as cruise at high speeds and fly long distances. Because of these unique capabilities, tiltrotors are envisioned as an aircraft that could provide a solution to the issue of airport gridlock by operating on stub runways, helipads, or from smaller regional airports. However, during an approach-to-land a tiltrotor is susceptible to radiating strong impulsive noise, in particular, Blade-Vortex Interaction noise (BVI), a phenomenon highly dependent on the vehicle's performance-state. A mathematical model was developed to predict the quasi-static performance characteristics of a tiltrotor during a converting approach in the longitudinal plane. Additionally, a neural network was designed to model the acoustic results from a flight test of the XV-15 tiltrotor as a function of the aircraft's performance parameters. The performance model was linked to the neural network to yield a combined performance/acoustic model that is capable of predicting tiltrotor noise emitted during a decelerating approach. The model was then used to study noise trends associated with different combinations of airspeed, nacelle tilt, and flight path angle. It showed that BVI noise is the dominant noise source during a descent and that its strength increases with steeper descent angles. Strong BVI noise was observed at very steep flight path angles, suggesting that the tiltrotor's high downwash prevents the wake from being pushed above the rotor, even at such steep descent angles. The model was used to study the effects of various aircraft configuration and flight trajectory parameters on the rotor inflow, which adequately captured the measured BVI noise trends. Flight path management effectively constrained the rotor inflow during a converting approach and thus limited the strength of BVI noise. The maximum deceleration was also constrained by controlling the nacelle tilt-rate during conversion. By applying these constraints, low BVI noise approaches that take into account the first-order effects of deceleration on the acoustics were systematically designed and compared to a baseline approach profile. The low-noise approaches yielded substantial noise reduction benefits on a hemisphere surrounding the aircraft and on a ground plane below the aircraft's trajectory.

Development and Evaluation of Fault-Tolerant Flight Control Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Song, Yong D.; Gupta, Kajal (Technical Monitor)

2004-01-01

The research is concerned with developing a new approach to enhancing fault tolerance of flight control systems. The original motivation for fault-tolerant control comes from the need for safe operation of control elements (e.g. actuators) in the event of hardware failures in high reliability systems. One such example is modem space vehicle subjected to actuator/sensor impairments. A major task in flight control is to revise the control policy to balance impairment detectability and to achieve sufficient robustness. This involves careful selection of types and parameters of the controllers and the impairment detecting filters used. It also involves a decision, upon the identification of some failures, on whether and how a control reconfiguration should take place in order to maintain a certain system performance level. In this project new flight dynamic model under uncertain flight conditions is considered, in which the effects of both ramp and jump faults are reflected. Stabilization algorithms based on neural network and adaptive method are derived. The control algorithms are shown to be effective in dealing with uncertain dynamics due to external disturbances and unpredictable faults. The overall strategy is easy to set up and the computation involved is much less as compared with other strategies. Computer simulation software is developed. A serious of simulation studies have been conducted with varying flight conditions.

Lidar measurements at Lauder, NZ

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGee, Thomas J.; Gross, Michael; Singh, Upendra; Kimvilakani, Patrick

1995-01-01

In March of 1994, the GSFC Stratospheric Ozone Lidar was deployed to the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC) site at Lauder, NZ. This was in conjunction with a series of NASA ER-2 flights from Christchurch, NZ south to the Antarctic Circle. These flights were organized to study the chemistry of the stratosphere before, during and after the formation of the well-known 'ozone hole'. Lidar measurements were made at four different time periods corresponding to the times of the ER-2 flights. Lauder is situated nearly along the flight path as the aircraft flew south and so the lidar measurements provide a checkpoint for the ozone, aerosol and temperature instruments onboard the aircraft. Whenever the weather permitted, lidar measurements were made as near to dawn, prior to the flight, and as near to sunset, after the flight. This provided data as close to the aircraft transit time as possible. More than 70 individual lidar measurements were made, each consisting of a vertical profile of ozone, temperature, and aerosol. These were made over three different seasons and show seasonal variation. Of particular interest in the lidar data base is the wintertime stratospheric - mesospheric temperature profiles, which show large variations at the stratopause and also some significant wave activity.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (hands extended) talks to the media in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-09-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (hands extended) talks to the media in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (facing camera) talks to the media in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-09-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (facing camera) talks to the media in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (left) talks to a phalanx of media in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-09-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (left) talks to a phalanx of media in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (right) talks to the media in the Orbiter Processing Facility . The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-09-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (right) talks to the media in the Orbiter Processing Facility . The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The media gather around NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (white shirt, right) who talks about some of the work being done on the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight in the Orbiter Processing Facility. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-09-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The media gather around NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (white shirt, right) who talks about some of the work being done on the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight in the Orbiter Processing Facility. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

Robotic Lunar Landers For Science And Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, B. A.; Bassler, J. A.; Morse, B. J.; Reed, C. L. B.

2010-01-01

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory have been conducting mission studies and performing risk reduction activities for NASA s robotic lunar lander flight projects. In 2005, the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program Mission #2 (RLEP-2) was selected as an ESMD precursor robotic lander mission to demonstrate precision landing and determine if there was water ice at the lunar poles; however, this project was canceled. Since 2008, the team has been supporting SMD designing small lunar robotic landers for science missions, primarily to establish anchor nodes of the International Lunar Network (ILN), a network of lunar geophysical nodes. Additional mission studies have been conducted to support other objectives of the lunar science community. This paper describes the current status of the MSFC/APL robotic lunar mission studies and risk reduction efforts including high pressure propulsion system testing, structure and mechanism development and testing, long cycle time battery testing, combined GN&C and avionics testing, and two autonomous lander test articles.

Task network models in the prediction of workload imposed by extravehicular activities during the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diaz, Manuel F.; Takamoto, Neal; Woolford, Barbara

1994-01-01

In a joint effort with Brooks AFB, Texas, the Flight Crew Support Division at JSC has begun a computer simulation and performance modeling program directed at establishing the predictive validity of software tools for modeling human performance during spaceflight. This paper addresses the utility of task network modeling for predicting the workload that astronauts are likely to encounter in extravehicular activities (EVA) during the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) repair mission. The intent of the study was to determine whether two EVA crewmembers and one intravehicular activity (IVA) crewmember could reasonably be expected to complete HST Wide Field/Planetary Camera (WFPC) replacement in the allotted time. Ultimately, examination of the points during HST servicing that may result in excessive workload will lead to recommendations to the HST Flight Systems and Servicing Project concerning (1) expectation of degraded performance, (2) the need to change task allocation across crewmembers, (3) the need to expand the timeline, and (4) the need to increase the number of EVA's.

Decameter-wave radio observations of Jupiter during the 1977 apparition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, J. K.; Kaiser, M. L.; Thieman, J. R.; Vaughan, S. S.

1978-01-01

A catalog of observations of Jupiter's sporadic decameter wavelength radio emissions obtained with the Goddard Space Flight Center Jupiter Monitor Network between June 1977 and May 1978 is presented. Data were collected using the Goddard Space Flight Center station in Greenbelt, MD. and at facilities installed at Orroral Valley (Canberra), Australia and the Nancay Radio Observatory in France. Observations were obtained daily at frequencies of 16.7 and 22.2 MHz using five-element Yagi antennas at each end of a two-element interferometer. Plots of the two dimensional emission occurrence probability distribution are given.

The Airspace Concepts Evaluation System Architecture and System Plant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Windhorst, Robert; Meyn, Larry; Manikonda, Vikram; Carlos, Patrick; Capozzi, Brian

2006-01-01

The Airspace Concepts Evaluation System is a simulation of the National Airspace System. It includes models of flights, airports, airspaces, air traffic controls, traffic flow managements, and airline operation centers operating throughout the United States. It is used to predict system delays in response to future capacity and demand scenarios and perform benefits assessments of current and future airspace technologies and operational concepts. Facilitation of these studies requires that the simulation architecture supports plug and play of different air traffic control, traffic flow management, and airline operation center models and multi-fidelity modeling of flights, airports, and airspaces. The simulation is divided into two parts that are named, borrowing from classical control theory terminology, control and plant. The control consists of air traffic control, traffic flow management, and airline operation center models, and the plant consists of flight, airport, and airspace models. The plant can run open loop, in the absence of the control. However, undesired affects, such as conflicts and over congestions in the airspaces and airports, can occur. Different controls are applied, "plug and played", to the plant. A particular control is evaluated by analyzing how well it managed conflicts and congestions. Furthermore, the terminal area plants consist of models of airports and terminal airspaces. Each model consists of a set of nodes and links which are connected by the user to form a network. Nodes model runways, fixes, taxi intersections, gates, and/or other points of interest, and links model taxiways, departure paths, and arrival paths. Metering, flow distribution, and sequencing functions can be applied at nodes. Different fidelity model of how a flight transits are can be used by links. The fidelity of the model can be adjusted by the user by either changing the complexity of the node/link network-or the way that the link models how the flights transit from one node to the other.

Mars MetNet Mission - Martian Atmospheric Observational Post Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haukka, Harri; Harri, Ari-Matti; Aleksashkin, Sergey; Arruego, Ignacio; Schmidt, Walter; Genzer, Maria; Vazquez, Luis; Siikonen, Timo; Palin, Matti

2016-10-01

A new kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars is under development in collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Lavochkin Association (LA), Space Research Institute (IKI) and Institutio Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial (INTA). The Mars MetNet mission is based on a new semi-hard landing vehicle called MetNet Lander (MNL).The scientific payload of the Mars MetNet Precursor mission is divided into three categories: Atmospheric instruments, Optical devices and Composition and structure devices. Each of the payload instruments will provide significant insights in to the Martian atmospheric behavior.The key technologies of the MetNet Lander have been qualified and the electrical qualification model (EQM) of the payload bay has been built and successfully tested.Full Qualification Model (QM) of the MetNet landing unit with the Precursor Mission payload is currently under functional tests. In the near future the QM unit will be exposed to environmental tests with qualification levels including vibrations, thermal balance, thermal cycling and mechanical impact shock. One complete flight unit of the entry, descent and landing systems (EDLS) has been manufactured and tested with acceptance levels. Another flight-like EDLS has been exposed to most of the qualification tests, and hence it may be used for flight after refurbishments. Accordingly two flight-capable EDLS systems exist. The eventual goal is to create a network of atmospheric observational posts around the Martian surface. The next step in the MetNet Precursor Mission is the demonstration of the technical robustness and scientific capabilities of the MetNet type of landing vehicle. Definition of the Precursor Mission and discussions on launch opportunities are currently under way. The baseline program development funding exists for the next five years. Flight unit manufacture of the payload bay takes about 18 months, and it will be commenced after the Precursor Mission has been defined.

Hyper-Spectral Communications, Networking and ATM as Foundation for Safe and Efficient Future Flight: Transcending Aviation Operational Limitations with Diverse and Secure Multi-Band, Multi-Mode, and mmWave Wireless Links: Project Overview, Aviation Communications and New Signaling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matolak, David W.

2017-01-01

NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) has recently solicited proposals and awarded funds for research and development to achieve and exceed the goals envisioned in the ARMD Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP). The Hyper-Spectral Communications and Networking for Air Traffic Management (ATM) (HSCNA) project is the only University Leadership Initiative (ULI) program to address communications and networking (and to a degree, navigation and surveillance). This paper will provide an overview of the HSCNA project, and specifically describe two of the project's technical challenges: comprehensive aviation communications and networking assessment, and proposed multi-band and multimode communications and networking. The primary goals will be described, as will be research and development aimed to achieve and exceed these goals. Some example initial results are also provided.

STS-70 Discovery launch before tower clear (fish eye view)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

The fourth Space Shuttle flight of 1995 is off to an all-but- perfect start, as the Shuttle Discovery surges skyward from Launch Pad 39B at 9:41:55.078 a.m. EDT, July 13, 1995. On board for Discovery's 21st spaceflight are a crew of five: Commander Terence 'Tom' Henricks; Pilot Kevin R. Kregel; and Mission Specialists Nancy Jane Currie, Donald A. Thomas and Mary Ellen Weber. Primary objective of Mission STS-70 is to assure the continued readiness of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) communications network which links Earth-orbiting spacecraft -- including the Shuttle -- with the ground. The 70th Shuttle flight overall also marks the maiden flight of the new Block I Space Shuttle Main Engine configuration designed to increase engine performance as well as safety and reliability.

A hypersonic vehicle approach to planetary exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murbach, Marcus S.

1993-01-01

An enhanced Mars network class mission using a lifting hypersonic entry vehicle is proposed. The basic vehicle, derived from a mature hypersonic flight system called SWERVE, offers several advantages over more conventional low L/D or ballistic entry systems. The proposed vehicle has greatly improved lateral and cross range capability (e.g., it is capable of reaching the polar regions during less than optimal mission opportunities), is not limited to surface target areas of low elevation, and is less susceptible to problems caused by Martian dust storms. Further, the integrated vehicle has attractive deployment features and allows for a much improved evolutionary path to larger vehicles with greater science capability. Analysis of the vehicle is aided by the development of a Mars Hypersonic Flight Simulator from which flight trajectories are obtained. Atmospheric entry performance of the baseline vehicle is improved by a deceleration skirt and transpiration cooling system which significantly reduce TPS (Thermal Protection System) and flight battery mass. The use of the vehicle is also attractive in that the maturity of the flight systems make it cost-competitive with the development of a conventional low L/D entry system. Finally, the potential application of similar vehicles to other planetary missions is discussed.

Classification of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry spectra from complex Cu-Fe sulphides by principal component analysis and artificial neural networks.

PubMed

Kalegowda, Yogesh; Harmer, Sarah L

2013-01-08

Artificial neural network (ANN) and a hybrid principal component analysis-artificial neural network (PCA-ANN) classifiers have been successfully implemented for classification of static time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) mass spectra collected from complex Cu-Fe sulphides (chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite and pyrite) at different flotation conditions. ANNs are very good pattern classifiers because of: their ability to learn and generalise patterns that are not linearly separable; their fault and noise tolerance capability; and high parallelism. In the first approach, fragments from the whole ToF-SIMS spectrum were used as input to the ANN, the model yielded high overall correct classification rates of 100% for feed samples, 88% for conditioned feed samples and 91% for Eh modified samples. In the second approach, the hybrid pattern classifier PCA-ANN was integrated. PCA is a very effective multivariate data analysis tool applied to enhance species features and reduce data dimensionality. Principal component (PC) scores which accounted for 95% of the raw spectral data variance, were used as input to the ANN, the model yielded high overall correct classification rates of 88% for conditioned feed samples and 95% for Eh modified samples. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ending Year in Space: NASA Goddard Network Maintains Communications from Space to Ground

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-01

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will monitor the landing of NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko from their #YearInSpace Mission. Goddard's Networks Integration Center, pictured above, leads all coordination for space-to-ground communications support for the International Space Station and provides contingency support for the Soyuz TMA-18M 44S spacecraft, ensuring complete communications coverage through NASA's Space Network. The Soyuz 44S spacecraft will undock at 8:02 p.m. EST this evening from the International Space Station. It will land approximately three and a half hours later, at 11:25 p.m. EST in Kazakhstan. Both Kelly and Kornienko have spent 340 days aboard the International Space Station, preparing humanity for long duration missions and exploration into deep space. Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/ending-year-in-space-na... Credit: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Ending Year in Space: NASA Goddard Network Maintains Communications from Space to Ground

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will monitor the landing of NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko from their #YearInSpace Mission. Goddard's Networks Integration Center, pictured above, leads all coordination for space-to-ground communications support for the International Space Station and provides contingency support for the Soyuz TMA-18M 44S spacecraft, ensuring complete communications coverage through NASA's Space Network. The Soyuz 44S spacecraft will undock at 8:02 p.m. EST this evening from the International Space Station. It will land approximately three and a half hours later, at 11:25 p.m. EST in Kazakhstan. Both Kelly and Kornienko have spent 340 days aboard the International Space Station, preparing humanity for long duration missions and exploration into deep space. Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/ending-year-in-space-na... Credit: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Satellite situation report, volume 30, no. 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

Space objects are listed as well as those which decayed during this reporting period. Data provided include international designation and catalog number, nation of source, launch date, inclination, apogee, and perigee. Transmitting frequencies for satellites being monitored by NASA's space flight tracking and data network are given.

Delivering Alert Messages to Members of a Work Force

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loftis, Julia; Nickens, Stephanie; Pell, Melissa; Pell, Vince

2008-01-01

Global Alert Resolution Network (GARNET) is a software system for delivering emergency alerts as well as less-urgent messages to members of the Goddard Space Flight Center work force via an intranet or the Internet, and can be adapted to similar use in other large organizations.

Mesh Network Architecture for Enabling Inter-Spacecraft Communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, Christopher; Merrill, Garrick

2017-01-01

To enable communication between spacecraft operating in a formation or small constellation, a mesh network architecture was developed and tested using a time division multiple access (TDMA) communication scheme. The network is designed to allow for the exchange of telemetry and other data between spacecraft to enable collaboration between small spacecraft. The system uses a peer-to-peer topology with no central router, so that it does not have a single point of failure. The mesh network is dynamically configurable to allow for addition and subtraction of new spacecraft into the communication network. Flight testing was performed using an unmanned aerial system (UAS) formation acting as a spacecraft analogue and providing a stressing environment to prove mesh network performance. The mesh network was primarily devised to provide low latency, high frequency communication but is flexible and can also be configured to provide higher bandwidth for applications desiring high data throughput. The network includes a relay functionality that extends the maximum range between spacecraft in the network by relaying data from node to node. The mesh network control is implemented completely in software making it hardware agnostic, thereby allowing it to function with a wide variety of existing radios and computing platforms..

Program Support Communications Network (PSCN) facsimile system directory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

This directory provides a system description, a station listing, and operating procedures for the Program Support Communications Network (PSCN) NASA Facsimile System. The NASA Facsimile System is a convenient and efficient means of spanning the distance, time, and cost of transmitting documents from one person to another. In the spectrum of communication techniques, facsimile bridges the gap between mail and data transmission. Facsimile can transmit in a matter of minutes or seconds what would take a day or more by mail delivery. The NASA Facsimile System is composed of several makes and models of facsimile machines. The system also supports the 3M FaxXchange network controllers located at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).

Psychophysiological Sensing and State Classification for Attention Management in Commercial Aviation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrivel, Angela R.; Liles, Charles; Stephens, Chad L.; Ellis, Kyle K.; Prinzel, Lawrence J.; Pope, Alan T.

2016-01-01

Attention-related human performance limiting states (AHPLS) can cause pilots to lose airplane state awareness (ASA), and their detection is important to improving commercial aviation safety. The Commercial Aviation Safety Team found that the majority of recent international commercial aviation accidents attributable to loss of control inflight involved flight crew loss of airplane state awareness, and that distraction of various forms was involved in all of them. Research on AHPLS, including channelized attention, diverted attention, startle / surprise, and confirmation bias, has been recommended in a Safety Enhancement (SE) entitled "Training for Attention Management." To accomplish the detection of such cognitive and psychophysiological states, a broad suite of sensors has been implemented to simultaneously measure their physiological markers during high fidelity flight simulation human subject studies. Pilot participants were asked to perform benchmark tasks and experimental flight scenarios designed to induce AHPLS. Pattern classification was employed to distinguish the AHPLS induced by the benchmark tasks. Unimodal classification using pre-processed electroencephalography (EEG) signals as input features to extreme gradient boosting, random forest and deep neural network multiclass classifiers was implemented. Multi-modal classification using galvanic skin response (GSR) in addition to the same EEG signals and using the same types of classifiers produced increased accuracy with respect to the unimodal case (90 percent vs. 86 percent), although only via the deep neural network classifier. These initial results are a first step toward the goal of demonstrating simultaneous real time classification of multiple states using multiple sensing modalities in high-fidelity flight simulators. This detection is intended to support and inform training methods under development to mitigate the loss of ASA and thus reduce accidents and incidents.

Weapon system simulation in flight (WaSiF)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartoldus, Klaus H.

2005-05-01

The research and technology demonstration program was co-funded by the Ministries of Defence of five European countries under the framework of the "EUropean Cooperation for the Long term in Defence" (EUCLID) MoU to include Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal and Turkey with considerable financial contribution from the industrial entities. EADS Military Aircraft Munich has led a team of seven industries and research centers, including Aermacchi of Italy, DutchSpace and NLR of The Netherlands, OGMA and INETI of Portugal and Marmara Research Center of Turkey. The purpose of the project was the design, realization and demonstration of an embedded real time simulation system allowing the combat training of operational aircrew in a virtual air defence scenario and threat environment against computer generated forces in the air and on the ground while flying on a real aircraft. The simulated scenario is focused on air-to-air beyond visual range engagements of fighter aircraft. WaSiF represents one of the first demonstrations of an advanced embedded real time training system onboard a fighter/training aircraft. The system is integrated onboard the MB339CX aircraft. The overall flight test activity covered a wide variety of test conditions for a total of 21 test flights; the operational airborne time of the WaSiF amounted to nearly 18 hours. The demonstration and evaluation were quite positive; the five-nation aircrew was very fond of their first encounter with the virtual world in the military flight training. A common view and approach towards Network Centric Warfare is but emerging. WaSiF in a future networked configuration holds lots of promise to serve the needs of Integrated Air Defence: Common training in a virtual environment.

Self-organizing radial basis function networks for adaptive flight control and aircraft engine state estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shankar, Praveen

The performance of nonlinear control algorithms such as feedback linearization and dynamic inversion is heavily dependent on the fidelity of the dynamic model being inverted. Incomplete or incorrect knowledge of the dynamics results in reduced performance and may lead to instability. Augmenting the baseline controller with approximators which utilize a parametrization structure that is adapted online reduces the effect of this error between the design model and actual dynamics. However, currently existing parameterizations employ a fixed set of basis functions that do not guarantee arbitrary tracking error performance. To address this problem, we develop a self-organizing parametrization structure that is proven to be stable and can guarantee arbitrary tracking error performance. The training algorithm to grow the network and adapt the parameters is derived from Lyapunov theory. In addition to growing the network of basis functions, a pruning strategy is incorporated to keep the size of the network as small as possible. This algorithm is implemented on a high performance flight vehicle such as F-15 military aircraft. The baseline dynamic inversion controller is augmented with a Self-Organizing Radial Basis Function Network (SORBFN) to minimize the effect of the inversion error which may occur due to imperfect modeling, approximate inversion or sudden changes in aircraft dynamics. The dynamic inversion controller is simulated for different situations including control surface failures, modeling errors and external disturbances with and without the adaptive network. A performance measure of maximum tracking error is specified for both the controllers a priori. Excellent tracking error minimization to a pre-specified level using the adaptive approximation based controller was achieved while the baseline dynamic inversion controller failed to meet this performance specification. The performance of the SORBFN based controller is also compared to a fixed RBF network based adaptive controller. While the fixed RBF network based controller which is tuned to compensate for control surface failures fails to achieve the same performance under modeling uncertainty and disturbances, the SORBFN is able to achieve good tracking convergence under all error conditions.

Case Study: Test Results of a Tool and Method for In-Flight, Adaptive Control System Verification on a NASA F-15 Flight Research Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacklin, Stephen A.; Schumann, Johann; Guenther, Kurt; Bosworth, John

2006-01-01

Adaptive control technologies that incorporate learning algorithms have been proposed to enable autonomous flight control and to maintain vehicle performance in the face of unknown, changing, or poorly defined operating environments [1-2]. At the present time, however, it is unknown how adaptive algorithms can be routinely verified, validated, and certified for use in safety-critical applications. Rigorous methods for adaptive software verification end validation must be developed to ensure that. the control software functions as required and is highly safe and reliable. A large gap appears to exist between the point at which control system designers feel the verification process is complete, and when FAA certification officials agree it is complete. Certification of adaptive flight control software verification is complicated by the use of learning algorithms (e.g., neural networks) and degrees of system non-determinism. Of course, analytical efforts must be made in the verification process to place guarantees on learning algorithm stability, rate of convergence, and convergence accuracy. However, to satisfy FAA certification requirements, it must be demonstrated that the adaptive flight control system is also able to fail and still allow the aircraft to be flown safely or to land, while at the same time providing a means of crew notification of the (impending) failure. It was for this purpose that the NASA Ames Confidence Tool was developed [3]. This paper presents the Confidence Tool as a means of providing in-flight software assurance monitoring of an adaptive flight control system. The paper will present the data obtained from flight testing the tool on a specially modified F-15 aircraft designed to simulate loss of flight control faces.

Emerging Needs for Pervasive Passive Wireless Sensor Networks on Aerospace Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, William C.; Juarez, Peter D.

2014-01-01

NASA is investigating passive wireless sensor technology to reduce instrumentation mass and volume in ground testing, air flight, and space exploration applications. Vehicle health monitoring systems (VHMS) are desired on all aerospace programs to ensure the safety of the crew and the vehicles. Pervasive passive wireless sensor networks facilitate VHMS on aerospace vehicles. Future wireless sensor networks on board aerospace vehicles will be heterogeneous and will require active and passive network systems. Since much has been published on active wireless sensor networks, this work will focus on the need for passive wireless sensor networks on aerospace vehicles. Several passive wireless technologies such as microelectromechanical systems MEMS, SAW, backscatter, and chipless RFID techniques, have all shown potential to meet the pervasive sensing needs for aerospace VHMS applications. A SAW VHMS application will be presented. In addition, application areas including ground testing, hypersonic aircraft and spacecraft will be explored along with some of the harsh environments found in aerospace applications.

Business is Beaming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

Terabeam has developed a Fiberless Optical(TM) Network that transmits broadband data from office buildings to the nation's wide-area networks (WANs), without digging up the streets. A key component of Terabeam's Fiberless Network is Large Aperture Holographic Optic technology, developed by Ralcon Development Lab, of Paradise, Utah. Ralcon developed the Holographic Optical Element (HOE) technology with assistance from a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Terabeam further developed the HOE technology and incorporated it into its Fiberless Optical Network-sending an immeasurable amount of information soaring overhead. Terabeam developed its Fiberless Optical Network using a proprietary HOE to transmit data. The unit is mounted near an office window and has the ability to beam safe, low-power, invisible data through the air at gigabits-per-second speeds to anywhere in the service area. Gigabits-per-second speeds are thousands of times faster than the speeds of current broadband transmissions. This allows businesses to connect to local-area networks (LANs) as well as WANs, in a quick and affordable manner.

A fault-tolerant control architecture for unmanned aerial vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drozeski, Graham R.

Research has presented several approaches to achieve varying degrees of fault-tolerance in unmanned aircraft. Approaches in reconfigurable flight control are generally divided into two categories: those which incorporate multiple non-adaptive controllers and switch between them based on the output of a fault detection and identification element, and those that employ a single adaptive controller capable of compensating for a variety of fault modes. Regardless of the approach for reconfigurable flight control, certain fault modes dictate system restructuring in order to prevent a catastrophic failure. System restructuring enables active control of actuation not employed by the nominal system to recover controllability of the aircraft. After system restructuring, continued operation requires the generation of flight paths that adhere to an altered flight envelope. The control architecture developed in this research employs a multi-tiered hierarchy to allow unmanned aircraft to generate and track safe flight paths despite the occurrence of potentially catastrophic faults. The hierarchical architecture increases the level of autonomy of the system by integrating five functionalities with the baseline system: fault detection and identification, active system restructuring, reconfigurable flight control; reconfigurable path planning, and mission adaptation. Fault detection and identification algorithms continually monitor aircraft performance and issue fault declarations. When the severity of a fault exceeds the capability of the baseline flight controller, active system restructuring expands the controllability of the aircraft using unconventional control strategies not exploited by the baseline controller. Each of the reconfigurable flight controllers and the baseline controller employ a proven adaptive neural network control strategy. A reconfigurable path planner employs an adaptive model of the vehicle to re-shape the desired flight path. Generation of the revised flight path is posed as a linear program constrained by the response of the degraded system. Finally, a mission adaptation component estimates limitations on the closed-loop performance of the aircraft and adjusts the aircraft mission accordingly. A combination of simulation and flight test results using two unmanned helicopters validates the utility of the hierarchical architecture.

Development of Autonomous Aerobraking - Phase 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murri, Daniel G.

2013-01-01

Phase 1 of the Development of Autonomous Aerobraking (AA) Assessment investigated the technical capability of transferring the processes of aerobraking maneuver (ABM) decision-making (currently performed on the ground by an extensive workforce and communicated to the spacecraft via the deep space network) to an efficient flight software algorithm onboard the spacecraft. This document describes Phase 2 of this study, which was a 12-month effort to improve and rigorously test the AA Development Software developed in Phase 1. Aerobraking maneuver; Autonomous Aerobraking; Autonomous Aerobraking Development Software; Deep Space Network; NASA Engineering and Safety Center

SSC Tenant Meeting: NASA Near Earth Network (NEN) Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carter, David; Larsen, David; Baldwin, Philip; Wilson, Cristy; Ruley, LaMont

2018-01-01

The Near Earth Network (NEN) consists of globally distributed tracking stations that are strategically located throughout the world which provide Telemetry, Tracking, and Commanding (TTC) services support to a variety of orbital and suborbital flight missions, including Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO), highly elliptical, and lunar orbits. Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), which is one of the NEN Commercial Service Provider, has provided the NEN with TTC services support from its Alaska, Hawaii, Chile and Sweden. The presentation will give an overview of the NEN and its support from SSC.

Tracking and data system support for the Pioneer project. Volume 2: Pioneer 11 prelaunch planning through second trajectory correction, to 1 May 1973

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barton, W. R.; Miller, R. B.

1975-01-01

The tracking and data system support of the planning, testing, launch, near-earth, and deep space phases of the Pioneer 11 Jupiter Mission are described, including critical phases of spacecraft flight and guidance. Scientific instruments aboard the spacecraft registered information relative to interplanetary particles and fields. Knowledge of the celestial mechanics of the solar system was improved through radiometric data gathering. Network performance, details of network support activity, and special support activities are discussed.

Telemetry Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

In 1990, Avtec Systems, Inc. developed its first telemetry boards for Goddard Space Flight Center. Avtec products now include PC/AT, PCI and VME-based high speed I/O boards and turn-key systems. The most recent and most successful technology transfer from NASA to Avtec is the Programmable Telemetry Processor (PTP), a personal computer- based, multi-channel telemetry front-end processing system originally developed to support the NASA communication (NASCOM) network. The PTP performs data acquisition, real-time network transfer, and store and forward operations. There are over 100 PTP systems located in NASA facilities and throughout the world.

Satellite situation report, volume 17, no. 5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

Space objects in orbit are listed as well as those which decayed during this reporting period. Data provided include international designation and catalog number, nation of source, launch data, inclination, apogee and perigee. Transmitting frequencies for satellites being monitored by NASA space flight tracking and data network are given.

Satellite situation report, volume 17, no. 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

Space objects in orbit are listed as well as those which decayed during this reporting period. Data provided include international designation and catalog number, nation of source, launch date, inclination, apogee and perigee. Transmitting frequencies for satellites being monitored by NASA space flight tracking and data network are given.

Satellite situation report, volume 17, no. 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

Space objects in orbit are listed as well as those which decayed during the reporting period. Data provided include international designation and catalog number, nation of source, launch date, and inclination, apogee and perigee. Transmitting frequencies for satellites being monitored by NASA space flight tracking and data network are given.

75 FR 21597 - Business Development Trade Mission to Baghdad, Iraq

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-26

... total in Iraq), it is the largest city in Iraq and the second largest in the region. Iraq's gross... by participating in Embassy briefings, and explore additional opportunities at networking receptions...--Participants arrive in pre-arranged departure city and assemble on the preferred flight. Day 2--Security...

Management Qua Communication in Rocket Research and Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tompkins, Phillip K.

1977-01-01

Reviews a diagnostic study conducted by a communication consultant within the George C Marshall Space Flight Center during the research and development of the Saturn V or "Moon Rocket". Participant observation and in-depth interview methodology yields information on organizational communication and systematic problems within a complex network. (MH)

Application of an Adaptive Clustering Network to Flight Control of a Fighter Aircraft. Phase 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-19

whether the underlying neurodynamics are appropriate to the dynamics of the controlled element as well as the broad objectives of the control process...Dept. of Brain & Cognitive Sciences ........................ 1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA 02139 Attn: Dr. M. Jordan Dept. of

Satellite situation report, volume 17, no. 6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

Space objects in orbit are listed as well as those which decayed during this reporting period. Data provided include international designation and catalog number, nation of source, launch data, inclination, and apogee and perigee. Transmitting frequencies for satellites being monitored by NASA space flight tracking and data network are given.

Mission and Assets Database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baldwin, John; Zendejas, Silvino; Gutheinz, Sandy; Borden, Chester; Wang, Yeou-Fang

2009-01-01

Mission and Assets Database (MADB) Version 1.0 is an SQL database system with a Web user interface to centralize information. The database stores flight project support resource requirements, view periods, antenna information, schedule, and forecast results for use in mid-range and long-term planning of Deep Space Network (DSN) assets.

BOREAS AFM-5 Level-1 Upper Air Network Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barr, Alan; Hrynkiw, Charmaine; Newcomer, Jeffrey A. (Editor); Hall, Forrest G. (Editor); Smith, David E. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) Airborne Fluxes and Meteorology (AFM)-5 team collected and processed data from the numerous radiosonde flights during the project. The goals of the AFM-05 team were to provide large-scale definition of the atmosphere by supplementing the existing Atmospheric Environment Service (AES) aerological network, both temporally and spatially. This data set includes basic upper-air parameters collected from the network of upper-air stations during the 1993, 1994, and 1996 field campaigns over the entire study region. The data are contained in tabular ASCII files. The level-1 upper-air network data are available from the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The data files also are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884).

Visualization of multiple influences on ocellar flight control in giant honeybees with the data-mining tool Viscovery SOMine.

PubMed

Kastberger, G; Kranner, G

2000-02-01

Viscovery SOMine is a software tool for advanced analysis and monitoring of numerical data sets. It was developed for professional use in business, industry, and science and to support dependency analysis, deviation detection, unsupervised clustering, nonlinear regression, data association, pattern recognition, and animated monitoring. Based on the concept of self-organizing maps (SOMs), it employs a robust variant of unsupervised neural networks--namely, Kohonen's Batch-SOM, which is further enhanced with a new scaling technique for speeding up the learning process. This tool provides a powerful means by which to analyze complex data sets without prior statistical knowledge. The data representation contained in the trained SOM is systematically converted to be used in a spectrum of visualization techniques, such as evaluating dependencies between components, investigating geometric properties of the data distribution, searching for clusters, or monitoring new data. We have used this software tool to analyze and visualize multiple influences of the ocellar system on free-flight behavior in giant honeybees. Occlusion of ocelli will affect orienting reactivities in relation to flight target, level of disturbance, and position of the bee in the flight chamber; it will induce phototaxis and make orienting imprecise and dependent on motivational settings. Ocelli permit the adjustment of orienting strategies to environmental demands by enforcing abilities such as centering or flight kinetics and by providing independent control of posture and flight course.

Control and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) Prototype Radio - Generation 2 Security Flight Test Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iannicca, Dennis C.; Ishac, Joseph A.; Shalkhauser, Kurt A.

2015-01-01

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), in cooperation with Rockwell Collins, is working to develop a prototype Control and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) radio platform as part of NASA Integrated Systems Research Program's (ISRP) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) project. A primary focus of the project is to work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and industry standards bodies to build and demonstrate a safe, secure, and efficient CNPC architecture that can be used by industry to evaluate the feasibility of deploying a system using these technologies in an operational capacity. GRC has been working in conjunction with these groups to assess threats, identify security requirements, and to develop a system of standards-based security controls that can be applied to the GRC prototype CNPC architecture as a demonstration platform. The proposed security controls were integrated into the GRC flight test system aboard our S-3B Viking surrogate aircraft and several network tests were conducted during a flight on November 15th, 2014 to determine whether the controls were working properly within the flight environment. The flight test was also the first to integrate Robust Header Compression (ROHC) as a means of reducing the additional overhead introduced by the security controls and Mobile IPv6. The effort demonstrated the complete end-to-end secure CNPC link in a relevant flight environment.

A TDMA Broadcast Satellite/Ground Architecture for the Aeronautical Telecommunications Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shamma, Mohammed A.; Raghavan, Rajesh S.

2003-01-01

An initial evaluation of a TDMA satellite broadcast architecture with an integrated ground network is proposed in this study as one option for the Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (ATN). The architecture proposed consists of a ground based network that is dedicated to the reception and transmissions of Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) messages from Mode-S or UAT type systems, along with tracks from primary and secondary surveillance radars. Additionally, the ground network could contain VHF Digital Link Mode 2, 3 or 4 transceivers for the reception and transmissions of Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) messages and for voice. The second part of the ATN network consists of a broadcast satellite based system that is mainly dedicated for the transmission of surveillance data as well as En-route Flight Information Service Broadcast (FIS-B) to all aircraft. The system proposed integrates those two network to provide a nation wide comprehensive service utilizing near term or existing technologies and hence keeping the economic factor in prospective. The next few sections include a background introduction, the ground subnetwork, the satellite subnetwork, modeling and simulations, and conclusion and recommendations.

Digital Avionics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koelbl, Terry G.; Ponchak, Denise; Lamarche, Teresa

2003-01-01

Digital Avionics activities played an important role in the advancements made in civil aviation, military systems, and space applications. This document profiles advances made in each of these areas by the aerospace industry, NASA centers, and the U.S. military. Emerging communication technologies covered in this document include Internet connectivity onboard aircraft, wireless broadband communication for aircraft, and a mobile router for aircraft to communicate in multiple communication networks over the course of a flight. Military technologies covered in this document include avionics for unmanned combat air vehicles and microsatellites, and head-up displays. Other technologies covered in this document include an electronic flight bag for the Boeing 777, and surveillance systems for managing airport operations.

Near-space flight of a correlated photon system

PubMed Central

Tang, Zhongkan; Chandrasekara, Rakhitha; Sean, Yau Yong; Cheng, Cliff; Wildfeuer, Christoph; Ling, Alexander

2014-01-01

We report the successful test flight of a device for generating and monitoring correlated photon pairs under near-space conditions up to 35.5 km altitude. Data from ground based qualification tests and the high altitude experiment demonstrate that the device continues to operate even under harsh environmental conditions. The design of the rugged, compact and power-efficient photon pair system is presented. This design enables autonomous photon pair systems to be deployed on low-resource platforms such as nanosatellites hosting remote nodes of a quantum key distribution network. These results pave the way for tests of entangled photon technology in low earth orbit. PMID:25219935

Fire Island National Seashore

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brock, John C.; Wright, C. Wayne; Patterson, Matt; Nayagandhi, Amar; Patterson, Judd

2007-01-01

These lidar-derived topographic maps were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program, the National Park Service (NPS), Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, Inventory and Monitoring Program, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Wallops Flight Facility. The aims of the partnership that created this product are to develop advanced survey techniques for mapping barrier island geomorphology and habitats, and to enable the monitoring of ecological and geological change within National Seashores. This product is based on data from an innovative airborne lidar instrument under development at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL).

Criteria for Evaluating Alternative Network and Link Layer Protocols for the NASA Constellation Program Communication Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benbenek, Daniel; Soloff, Jason; Lieb, Erica

2010-01-01

Selecting a communications and network architecture for future manned space flight requires an evaluation of the varying goals and objectives of the program, development of communications and network architecture evaluation criteria, and assessment of critical architecture trades. This paper uses Cx Program proposed exploration activities as a guideline; lunar sortie, outpost, Mars, and flexible path options are described. A set of proposed communications network architecture criteria are proposed and described. They include: interoperability, security, reliability, and ease of automating topology changes. Finally a key set of architecture options are traded including (1) multiplexing data at a common network layer vs. at the data link layer, (2) implementing multiple network layers vs. a single network layer, and (3) the use of a particular network layer protocol, primarily IPv6 vs. Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN). In summary, the protocol options are evaluated against the proposed exploration activities and their relative performance with respect to the criteria are assessed. An architectural approach which includes (a) the capability of multiplexing at both the network layer and the data link layer and (b) a single network layer for operations at each program phase, as these solutions are best suited to respond to the widest array of program needs and meet each of the evaluation criteria.

Cyclic bouts of extreme bradycardia counteract the high metabolism of frugivorous bats

PubMed Central

Wikelski, Martin; Voigt, Christian C; Ter Maat, Andries; Pollock, Henry S; Burness, Gary; Desantis, Lanna M; Dechmann, Dina KN

2017-01-01

Active flight requires the ability to efficiently fuel bursts of costly locomotion while maximizing energy conservation during non-flying times. We took a multi-faceted approach to estimate how fruit-eating bats (Uroderma bilobatum) manage a high-energy lifestyle fueled primarily by fig juice. Miniaturized heart rate telemetry shows that they use a novel, cyclic, bradycardic state that reduces daily energetic expenditure by 10% and counteracts heart rates as high as 900 bpm during flight. Uroderma bilobatum support flight with some of the fastest metabolic incorporation rates and dynamic circulating cortisol in vertebrates. These bats will exchange fat reserves within 24 hr, meaning that they must survive on the food of the day and are at daily risk of starvation. Energetic flexibly in U. bilobatum highlights the fundamental role of ecological pressures on integrative energetic networks and the still poorly understood energetic strategies of animals in the tropics. PMID:28923167

System Analysis for the Huntsville Operation Support Center, Distributed Computer System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ingels, F. M.; Massey, D.

1985-01-01

HOSC as a distributed computing system, is responsible for data acquisition and analysis during Space Shuttle operations. HOSC also provides computing services for Marshall Space Flight Center's nonmission activities. As mission and nonmission activities change, so do the support functions of HOSC change, demonstrating the need for some method of simulating activity at HOSC in various configurations. The simulation developed in this work primarily models the HYPERchannel network. The model simulates the activity of a steady state network, reporting statistics such as, transmitted bits, collision statistics, frame sequences transmitted, and average message delay. These statistics are used to evaluate such performance indicators as throughout, utilization, and delay. Thus the overall performance of the network is evaluated, as well as predicting possible overload conditions.

Report on Computing and Networking in the Space Science Laboratory by the SSL Computer Committee

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallagher, D. L. (Editor)

1993-01-01

The Space Science Laboratory (SSL) at Marshall Space Flight Center is a multiprogram facility. Scientific research is conducted in four discipline areas: earth science and applications, solar-terrestrial physics, astrophysics, and microgravity science and applications. Representatives from each of these discipline areas participate in a Laboratory computer requirements committee, which developed this document. The purpose is to establish and discuss Laboratory objectives for computing and networking in support of science. The purpose is also to lay the foundation for a collective, multiprogram approach to providing these services. Special recognition is given to the importance of the national and international efforts of our research communities toward the development of interoperable, network-based computer applications.

A Tool for Verification and Validation of Neural Network Based Adaptive Controllers for High Assurance Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gupta, Pramod; Schumann, Johann

2004-01-01

High reliability of mission- and safety-critical software systems has been identified by NASA as a high-priority technology challenge. We present an approach for the performance analysis of a neural network (NN) in an advanced adaptive control system. This problem is important in the context of safety-critical applications that require certification, such as flight software in aircraft. We have developed a tool to measure the performance of the NN during operation by calculating a confidence interval (error bar) around the NN's output. Our tool can be used during pre-deployment verification as well as monitoring the network performance during operation. The tool has been implemented in Simulink and simulation results on a F-15 aircraft are presented.

BOREAS AFM-5 Level-2 Upper Air Network Standard Pressure Level Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barr, Alan; Hrynkiw, Charmaine; Hall, Forrest G. (Editor); Newcomer, Jeffrey A. (Editor); Smith, David E. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The BOREAS AFM-5 team collected and processed data from the numerous radiosonde flights during the project. The goals of the AFM-05 team were to provide large-scale definition of the atmosphere by supplementing the existing AES aerological network, both temporally and spatially. This data set includes basic upper-air parameters interpolated at 0.5 kiloPascal increments of atmospheric pressure from data collected from the network of upper-air stations during the 1993, 1994, and 1996 field campaigns over the entire study region. The data are contained in tabular ASCII files. The data files are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884) or from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

Design Sensitivity for a Subsonic Aircraft Predicted by Neural Network and Regression Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hopkins, Dale A.; Patnaik, Surya N.

2005-01-01

A preliminary methodology was obtained for the design optimization of a subsonic aircraft by coupling NASA Langley Research Center s Flight Optimization System (FLOPS) with NASA Glenn Research Center s design optimization testbed (COMETBOARDS with regression and neural network analysis approximators). The aircraft modeled can carry 200 passengers at a cruise speed of Mach 0.85 over a range of 2500 n mi and can operate on standard 6000-ft takeoff and landing runways. The design simulation was extended to evaluate the optimal airframe and engine parameters for the subsonic aircraft to operate on nonstandard runways. Regression and neural network approximators were used to examine aircraft operation on runways ranging in length from 4500 to 7500 ft.

NASA's International Lunar Network Anchor Nodes and Robotic Lunar Lander Project Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morse, Brian J.; Reed, Cheryl L. B.; Kirby, Karen W.; Cohen, Barbara A.; Bassler, Julie A.; Harris, Danny W.; Chavers, D. Gregory

2010-01-01

In early 2008, NASA established the Lunar Quest Program, a new lunar science research program within NASA s Science Mission Directorate. The program included the establishment of the anchor nodes of the International Lunar Network (ILN), a network of lunar science stations envisioned to be emplaced by multiple nations. This paper describes the current status of the ILN Anchor Nodes mission development and the lander risk-reduction design and test activities implemented jointly by NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The lunar lander concepts developed by this team are applicable to multiple science missions, and this paper will describe a mission combining the functionality of an ILN node with an investigation of lunar polar volatiles.

Centennial of Flight Educational Outreach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCarthy, Marianne (Technical Monitor); Miller, Susan (Technical Monitor); Vanderpool, Celia

2003-01-01

The Centennial of Flight Education Outreach project worked with community partners to disseminate NASA Education materials and the Centennial of Flight CD-ROM as a vehicle to increase national awareness of NASA's Aerospace Education products, services and programs. The Azimuth Education Foundation and the Ninety Nines, an International Women Pilots Association, Inc. were chartered to conduct education outreach to the formal and informal educational community. The Dryden Education Office supported the development of a training and information distribution program that established a national group of prepared Centennial of Flight Ambassadors, with a mission of community education outreach. These Ambassadors are members of the Ninety Nines and through the Azimuth Foundation, they assisted the AECC on the national level to promote and disseminate Centennial of Flight and other educational products. Our objectives were to explore partnership outreach growth opportunities with consortium efforts between organizations. This project directly responded to the highlights of NASA s Implementation Plan for Education. It was structured to network, involve the community, and provide a solid link to active educators and current students with NASA education information. Licensed female pilots who live and work in local communities across the nation carried the link. This partnership has been extremely gratifying to all of those Ninety-Nines involved, and they eagerly look forward to further work opportunities.

Reduced flight-to-light behaviour of moth populations exposed to long-term urban light pollution

PubMed Central

Ebert, Dieter

2016-01-01

The globally increasing light pollution is a well-recognized threat to ecosystems, with negative effects on human, animal and plant wellbeing. The most well-known and widely documented consequence of light pollution is the generally fatal attraction of nocturnal insects to artificial light sources. However, the evolutionary consequences are unknown. Here we report that moth populations from urban areas with high, globally relevant levels of light pollution over several decades show a significantly reduced flight-to-light behaviour compared with populations of the same species from pristine dark-sky habitats. Using a common garden setting, we reared moths from 10 different populations from early-instar larvae and experimentally compared their flight-to-light behaviour under standardized conditions. Moths from urban populations had a significant reduction in the flight-to-light behaviour compared with pristine populations. The reduced attraction to light sources of ‘city moths' may directly increase these individuals' survival and reproduction. We anticipate that it comes with a reduced mobility, which negatively affects foraging as well as colonization ability. As nocturnal insects are of eminent significance as pollinators and the primary food source of many vertebrates, an evolutionary change of the flight-to-light behaviour thereby potentially cascades across species interaction networks. PMID:27072407

Reduced flight-to-light behaviour of moth populations exposed to long-term urban light pollution.

PubMed

Altermatt, Florian; Ebert, Dieter

2016-04-01

The globally increasing light pollution is a well-recognized threat to ecosystems, with negative effects on human, animal and plant wellbeing. The most well-known and widely documented consequence of light pollution is the generally fatal attraction of nocturnal insects to artificial light sources. However, the evolutionary consequences are unknown. Here we report that moth populations from urban areas with high, globally relevant levels of light pollution over several decades show a significantly reduced flight-to-light behaviour compared with populations of the same species from pristine dark-sky habitats. Using a common garden setting, we reared moths from 10 different populations from early-instar larvae and experimentally compared their flight-to-light behaviour under standardized conditions. Moths from urban populations had a significant reduction in the flight-to-light behaviour compared with pristine populations. The reduced attraction to light sources of 'city moths' may directly increase these individuals' survival and reproduction. We anticipate that it comes with a reduced mobility, which negatively affects foraging as well as colonization ability. As nocturnal insects are of eminent significance as pollinators and the primary food source of many vertebrates, an evolutionary change of the flight-to-light behaviour thereby potentially cascades across species interaction networks. © 2016 The Author(s).

CNN Newsroom Classroom Guides. November 1999.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cable News Network, Atlanta, GA.

These guides, designed to accompany the daily Cable News Network (CNN) Newsroom broadcasts for November 1-30, 1999, provide program rundowns, suggestions for class activities and discussion, links to relevant World Wide Web sites, and a list of related news terms. Top stories include: EgyptAir Flight 990 crash, Oslo summit, India cyclone,…

Thermal Interface Comparisons Under Flight Like Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriquez-Ruiz, Juan

2008-01-01

Thermal interface materials are used in bolted interfaces to promote good thermal conduction between the two. The mounting surface can include panels, heat pipes, electronics boxes, etc.. . On Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) project the results are directly applicable: a) Several high power avionics boxes b) Several interfaces from RWA to radiator through heat pipe network

Macular Bioaccelerometers on Earth and in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, M. D.; Cutler, L.; Meyer, G.; Vazin, P.; Lam, T.

1991-01-01

Space flight offers the opportunity to study linear bioaccelerometers (vestibular maculas) in the virtual absence of a primary stimulus, gravitational acceleration. Macular research in space is particularly important to NASA because the bioaccelerometers are proving to be weighted neural networks in which information is distributed for parallel processing. Neural networks are plastic and highly adaptive to new environments. Combined morphological-physiological studies of maculas fixed in space and following flight should reveal macular adaptive responses to microgravity, and their time-course. Ground-based research, already begun, using computer-assisted, 3-dimensional reconstruction of macular terminal fields will lead to development of computer models of functioning maculas. This research should continue in conjunction with physiological studies, including work with multichannel electrodes. The results of such a combined effort could usher in a new era in understanding vestibular function on Earth and in space. They can also provide a rational basis for counter-measures to space motion sickness, which may prove troublesome as space voyager encounter new gravitational fields on planets, or must re-adapt to 1 g upon return to earth.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (right) talks to the media in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System. will be available to discuss the work and answer questions.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-09-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston (right) talks to the media in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System. will be available to discuss the work and answer questions.

EAARL topography: Gulf Islands National Seashore: Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brock, John C.; Wright, C. Wayne; Nayegandhi, Amar; Patterson, Matt; Wilson, Iris; Travers, Laurinda J.

2007-01-01

This Web site contains 33 lidar-derived bare earth topography maps and GIS files for the Gulf Islands National Seashore-Florida. These lidar-derived topography maps were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program, FISC St. Petersburg, Florida, the National Park Service (NPS), Gulf Coast Network, Network Inventory and Monitoring Program, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Wallops Flight Facility. One objective of this research is to create techniques to survey coral reefs and barrier islands for the purposes of geomorphic change studies, habitat mapping, ecological monitoring, change detection, and event assessment. As part of this project, data from an innovative instrument under development at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the NASA Experimental Airborne Advanced Research Lidar (EAARL) are being used. This sensor has the potential to make significant contributions in this realm for measuring subaerial and submarine topography wthin cross-environment surveys. High spectral resolution, water-column correction, and low costs were found to be key factors in providing accurate and affordable imagery to costal resource managers.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Local Central Florida television reporters Phil Robertson (left), with WFTV, and Dan Billow (right), with WESH, tape commentaries after a media tour of the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-09-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Local Central Florida television reporters Phil Robertson (left), with WFTV, and Dan Billow (right), with WESH, tape commentaries after a media tour of the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter’s wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

Global network centrality of university rankings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Weisi; Del Vecchio, Marco; Pogrebna, Ganna

2017-10-01

Universities and higher education institutions form an integral part of the national infrastructure and prestige. As academic research benefits increasingly from international exchange and cooperation, many universities have increased investment in improving and enabling their global connectivity. Yet, the relationship of university performance and its global physical connectedness has not been explored in detail. We conduct, to our knowledge, the first large-scale data-driven analysis into whether there is a correlation between university relative ranking performance and its global connectivity via the air transport network. The results show that local access to global hubs (as measured by air transport network betweenness) strongly and positively correlates with the ranking growth (statistical significance in different models ranges between 5% and 1% level). We also found that the local airport's aggregate flight paths (degree) and capacity (weighted degree) has no effect on university ranking, further showing that global connectivity distance is more important than the capacity of flight connections. We also examined the effect of local city economic development as a confounding variable and no effect was observed suggesting that access to global transportation hubs outweighs economic performance as a determinant of university ranking. The impact of this research is that we have determined the importance of the centrality of global connectivity and, hence, established initial evidence for further exploring potential connections between university ranking and regional investment policies on improving global connectivity.

Global network centrality of university rankings

PubMed Central

Del Vecchio, Marco; Pogrebna, Ganna

2017-01-01

Universities and higher education institutions form an integral part of the national infrastructure and prestige. As academic research benefits increasingly from international exchange and cooperation, many universities have increased investment in improving and enabling their global connectivity. Yet, the relationship of university performance and its global physical connectedness has not been explored in detail. We conduct, to our knowledge, the first large-scale data-driven analysis into whether there is a correlation between university relative ranking performance and its global connectivity via the air transport network. The results show that local access to global hubs (as measured by air transport network betweenness) strongly and positively correlates with the ranking growth (statistical significance in different models ranges between 5% and 1% level). We also found that the local airport’s aggregate flight paths (degree) and capacity (weighted degree) has no effect on university ranking, further showing that global connectivity distance is more important than the capacity of flight connections. We also examined the effect of local city economic development as a confounding variable and no effect was observed suggesting that access to global transportation hubs outweighs economic performance as a determinant of university ranking. The impact of this research is that we have determined the importance of the centrality of global connectivity and, hence, established initial evidence for further exploring potential connections between university ranking and regional investment policies on improving global connectivity. PMID:29134105

Space Flight Middleware: Remote AMS over DTN for Delay-Tolerant Messaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burleigh, Scott

2011-01-01

This paper describes a technique for implementing scalable, reliable, multi-source multipoint data distribution in space flight communications -- Delay-Tolerant Reliable Multicast (DTRM) -- that is fully supported by the "Remote AMS" (RAMS) protocol of the Asynchronous Message Service (AMS) proposed for standardization within the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). The DTRM architecture enables applications to easily "publish" messages that will be reliably and efficiently delivered to an arbitrary number of "subscribing" applications residing anywhere in the space network, whether in the same subnet or in a subnet on a remote planet or vehicle separated by many light minutes of interplanetary space. The architecture comprises multiple levels of protocol, each included for a specific purpose and allocated specific responsibilities: "application AMS" traffic performs end-system data introduction and delivery subject to access control; underlying "remote AMS" directs this application traffic to populations of recipients at remote locations in a multicast distribution tree, enabling the architecture to scale up to large networks; further underlying Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN) Bundle Protocol (BP) advances RAMS protocol data units through the distribution tree using delay-tolerant storeand- forward methods; and further underlying reliable "convergence-layer" protocols ensure successful data transfer over each segment of the end-to-end route. The result is scalable, reliable, delay-tolerant multi-source multicast that is largely self-configuring.

Impact of a Ground Network of Miniaturized Laser Heterodyne Radiometers (mini-LHRs) on Global Carbon Flux Estimates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DiGregorio, A.; Wilson, E. L.; Palmer, P. I.; Mao, J.; Feng, L.

2017-12-01

We present the simulated impact of a small (50 instrument) ground network of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's miniaturized laser heterodyne radiometer (mini-LHR), a small, low cost ( 50k), portable, and high precision CH4 and CO2 measuring instrument. Partnered with AERONET as a non-intrusive accessory, the mini-LHR is able to leverage the 500+ instrument AERONET network for rapid network deployment and testing, and simultaneously retrieve co-located aerosol data, an important input for sattelite measurements. This observing systems simulation experiment (OSSE) uses the 3-D GEOS-Chem chemistry transport model and 50 strategically selected sites to model flux estimate uncertainty reduction of both TCCON and mini-LHR instruments. We found that 50 mini-LHR sites are capable of improving global uncertainty by up to 70%, with local improvements in the Southern Hemisphere reaching to 90%. Our studies show that addition of the mini-LHR to current ground networks will play a major role in reduction of global carbon flux uncertainty.

Design and flight test results of high speed optical bidirectional link between stratospheric platforms for aerospace applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briatore, S.; Akhtyamov, R.; Golkar, A.

2017-08-01

As small and nanosatellites become increasingly relevant in the aerospace industry1, 2, the need of efficient, lightweight and cost-effective networking solutions drives the need for the development of lightweight and low cost networking and communication terminals. In this paper we propose the design and prototype results of a hybrid optical and radio communication architecture developed to fit the coarse pointing capabilities of nanosatellites, tested through a proxy flight experiment on stratospheric balloons. This system takes advantage of the higher data-rate offered by optical communication channels while relying on the more mature and stable technology of conventional radio systems for link negotiation and low-speed data exchange. Such architecture allows the user to overcome the licensing requirements and scarce availability of high data-rate radio frequency channels in the commonly used bands. Outlined are the architecture, development and test of the mentioned terminal, with focus on the communication part and supporting technologies, including the navigation algorithm, the developed fail-safe approach, and the evolution of the pointing system continuing previous work done in 3. The system has been built with commercial-off-the-shelf components and demonstrated on a stratospheric balloon launch campaign. The paper outlines the results of an in-flight demonstration, where the two platforms successfully established an optical link at stratospheric altitudes. The results are then analyzed and contextualized in plans of future work for nanosatellite implementations.

GPM Launch Day at NASA Goddard (Feb. 27, 2014)

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-02-27

One of the control rooms at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., prepares for the GPM mission’s Core Observatory on Feb. 27, 2014. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Debbie McCallum GPM's Core Observatory is poised for launch from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center, scheduled for the afternoon of Feb. 27, 2014 (EST). GPM is a joint venture between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The GPM Core Observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space. The GPM mission is the first coordinated international satellite network to provide near real-time observations of rain and snow every three hours anywhere on the globe. The GPM Core Observatory anchors this network by providing observations on all types of precipitation. The observatory's data acts as the measuring stick by which partner observations can be combined into a unified data set. The data will be used by scientists to study climate change, freshwater resources, floods and droughts, and hurricane formation and tracking. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

GPM Launch Day at NASA Goddard (Feb. 27, 2014)

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-02-27

Children at the visitor center at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., receive a rainfall demonstration as part of activities tied to the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement mission's Core Observatory on Feb. 27, 2014. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Debbie McCallum GPM's Core Observatory is poised for launch from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center, scheduled for the afternoon of Feb. 27, 2014 (EST). GPM is a joint venture between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The GPM Core Observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space. The GPM mission is the first coordinated international satellite network to provide near real-time observations of rain and snow every three hours anywhere on the globe. The GPM Core Observatory anchors this network by providing observations on all types of precipitation. The observatory's data acts as the measuring stick by which partner observations can be combined into a unified data set. The data will be used by scientists to study climate change, freshwater resources, floods and droughts, and hurricane formation and tracking. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Evaluation of innovative concepts for semi-active and active rotorcraft control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Weddingen, Yannick

2011-12-01

Lead-lag dampers are present in most rotor systems to provide the desired level of damping for all flight conditions. These dampers are critical components of the rotor system, and the performance of semi-active Coulomb friction-based lead-lag dampers is examined for the UH-60 aircraft. The concept of adaptive damping, or "damping on demand," is discussed for both ground resonance and forward flight. The concept of selective damping is also assessed, and shown to face many challenges. In rotorcraft flight dynamics, optimized warping twist change is a potentially enabling technology to improve overall rotorcraft performance. Research efforts in recent years have led to the application of active materials for rotorcraft blade actuation. An innovative concept is proposed wherein the typically closed section blade is cut open to create a torsionally compliant structure that acts as its own amplification device; deformation of the blade is dynamically controlled by out-of-plane warping. Full-blade warping is shown to have the potential for great design flexibility. Recent advances in rotorcraft blade design have also focused on variable-camber airfoils, particularly concepts involving "truss-core" configurations. One promising concept is the use of hexagonal chiral lattice structures in continuously deformable helicopter blades. The static behavior of passive and active chiral networks using piezoelectric actuation strategies is investigated, including under typical aerodynamic load levels. The analysis is then extended to the dynamic response of active chiral networks in unsteady aerodynamic environments.

Results of APL rain gauge network measurements in mid-Atlantic coast region and comparisons of distributions with CCIR models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldhirsh, Julius; Gebo, Norman; Rowland, John

1988-01-01

In this effort are described cumulative rain rate distributions for a network of nine tipping bucket rain gauge systems located in the mid-Atlantic coast region in the vicinity of the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia. The rain gauges are situated within a gridded region of dimensions of 47 km east-west by 70 km north-south. Distributions are presented for the individual site measurements and the network average for the year period June 1, 1986 through May 31, 1987. A previous six year average distribution derived from measurements at one of the site locations is also presented. Comparisons are given of the network average, the CCIR (International Radio Consultative Committee) climatic zone, and the CCIR functional model distributions, the latter of which approximates a log normal at the lower rain rate and a gamma function at the higher rates.

IsoWAN: A NASA Science and Engineering Information and Services Framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Korsmeyer, David J.; Chow, Edward T.; Conroy, Michael P.; Swanson, Keith (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

We believe that the next evolutionary step in supporting wide-area application and services delivery to customers is a network framework that provides for collocation of applications and services at distinct sites in the network, an interconnection between these sites that is performance optimized for these applications, and value-added services for applications. We use the term IsoWAN to describe an advanced, isolated network interconnect services framework that will enable applications to be more secure, and able to access and be in use in both local and remote environments. The main functions of an IsoWAN are virtual localization of application services, an application service interface, coordinated delivery of applications and associated data to the customer, and supporting collaborative application development for customers. An initial pilot network between three NASA Centers: Ames Research Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Marshall Space Flight Center, has been built and its properties will be discussed.

A Novel Biobjective Risk-Based Model for Stochastic Air Traffic Network Flow Optimization Problem.

PubMed

Cai, Kaiquan; Jia, Yaoguang; Zhu, Yanbo; Xiao, Mingming

2015-01-01

Network-wide air traffic flow management (ATFM) is an effective way to alleviate demand-capacity imbalances globally and thereafter reduce airspace congestion and flight delays. The conventional ATFM models assume the capacities of airports or airspace sectors are all predetermined. However, the capacity uncertainties due to the dynamics of convective weather may make the deterministic ATFM measures impractical. This paper investigates the stochastic air traffic network flow optimization (SATNFO) problem, which is formulated as a weighted biobjective 0-1 integer programming model. In order to evaluate the effect of capacity uncertainties on ATFM, the operational risk is modeled via probabilistic risk assessment and introduced as an extra objective in SATNFO problem. Computation experiments using real-world air traffic network data associated with simulated weather data show that presented model has far less constraints compared to stochastic model with nonanticipative constraints, which means our proposed model reduces the computation complexity.

Systemic delay propagation in the US airport network

PubMed Central

Fleurquin, Pablo; Ramasco, José J.; Eguiluz, Victor M.

2013-01-01

Technologically driven transport systems are characterized by a networked structure connecting operation centers and by a dynamics ruled by pre-established schedules. Schedules impose serious constraints on the timing of the operations, condition the allocation of resources and define a baseline to assess system performance. Here we study the performance of an air transportation system in terms of delays. Technical, operational or meteorological issues affecting some flights give rise to primary delays. When operations continue, such delays can propagate, magnify and eventually involve a significant part of the network. We define metrics able to quantify the level of network congestion and introduce a model that reproduces the delay propagation patterns observed in the U.S. performance data. Our results indicate that there is a non-negligible risk of systemic instability even under normal operating conditions. We also identify passenger and crew connectivity as the most relevant internal factor contributing to delay spreading. PMID:23362459

Current Status of the International Lunar Network (ILN) Anchor Nodes Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Barbara; Bassler, J.; Harris, D.; Morse, B.; Reed, C.; Kirby, K.; Eng, D.

2009-09-01

NASA's Science Mission Directorate's (SMD) International Lunar Network Anchor Nodes Mission continues its concept development and is scheduled to complete the first formal milestone gate of a Mission Concept Review (MCR) in late 2009. The mission will establish two-four nodes of the International Lunar Network (ILN), a network of lunar geophysical stations envisioned to be emplaced by the many nations collaborating on this joint endeavor. This mission will operate over six years or more and make significant progress in satisfying many of the National Research Council's lunar science objectives, while strategically contributing to the U.S. Vision for Space Exploration Policy's objective for a robust robotic lunar program. This paper will provide a status report on the ILN Anchor Nodes mission and overview of the concept to date, which is being implemented jointly by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Small heat shock proteins mediate cell-autonomous and -nonautonomous protection in a Drosophila model for environmental-stress-induced degeneration.

PubMed

Kawasaki, Fumiko; Koonce, Noelle L; Guo, Linda; Fatima, Shahroz; Qiu, Catherine; Moon, Mackenzie T; Zheng, Yunzhen; Ordway, Richard W

2016-09-01

Cell and tissue degeneration, and the development of degenerative diseases, are influenced by genetic and environmental factors that affect protein misfolding and proteotoxicity. To better understand the role of the environment in degeneration, we developed a genetic model for heat shock (HS)-stress-induced degeneration in Drosophila This model exhibits a unique combination of features that enhance genetic analysis of degeneration and protection mechanisms involving environmental stress. These include cell-type-specific failure of proteostasis and degeneration in response to global stress, cell-nonautonomous interactions within a simple and accessible network of susceptible cell types, and precise temporal control over the induction of degeneration. In wild-type flies, HS stress causes selective loss of the flight ability and degeneration of three susceptible cell types comprising the flight motor: muscle, motor neurons and associated glia. Other motor behaviors persist and, accordingly, the corresponding cell types controlling leg motor function are resistant to degeneration. Flight motor degeneration was preceded by a failure of muscle proteostasis characterized by diffuse ubiquitinated protein aggregates. Moreover, muscle-specific overexpression of a small heat shock protein (HSP), HSP23, promoted proteostasis and protected muscle from HS stress. Notably, neurons and glia were protected as well, indicating that a small HSP can mediate cell-nonautonomous protection. Cell-autonomous protection of muscle was characterized by a distinct distribution of ubiquitinated proteins, including perinuclear localization and clearance of protein aggregates associated with the perinuclear microtubule network. This network was severely disrupted in wild-type preparations prior to degeneration, suggesting that it serves an important role in muscle proteostasis and protection. Finally, studies of resistant leg muscles revealed that they sustain proteostasis and the microtubule cytoskeleton after HS stress. These findings establish a model for genetic analysis of degeneration and protection mechanisms involving contributions of environmental factors, and advance our understanding of the protective functions and therapeutic potential of small HSPs. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Ikhana: A NASA UAS Supporting Long Duration Earth Science Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cobleigh, Brent R.

2006-01-01

NASA's Ikhana unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a General Atomics MQ-9 Predator-B modified to support the conduct of Earth science missions for the NASA Science Mission Directorate through partnerships, other government agencies and universities. Ikhana, a Native American word meaning 'intelligence', can carry over 2000 lbs of atmospheric and remote sensing instruments in the payload bay and external pods. The aircraft is capable of mission durations in excess of 24 hours at altitudes above 40,000 ft. Redundant flight control, avionics, power, and network systems increase the system reliability and allow easier access to public airspace. The aircraft is remotely piloted from a mobile ground control station (GCS) using both C-band line-of-sight and Ku-band over-the-horizon satellite datalinks. NASA's GCS has been modified to support on-site science monitoring, or the downlink data can be networked to remote sites. All ground support systems are designed to be deployable to support global Eart science investigations. On-board support capabilities include an instrumentation system and an Airborne Research Test System (ARTS). The ARTS can host research algorithms that will autonomously command and control on-board sensors, perform sensor health monitoring, conduct data analysis, and request changes to the flight plan to maximize data collection. The ARTS also has the ability to host algorithms that will autonomously control the aircraft trajectory based on sensor needs, (e.g. precision trajectory for repeat pass interferometry) or to optimize mission objectives (e.g. search for specific atmospheric conditions). Standard on-board networks will collect science data for recording and for inclusion in the aircraft's high bandwidth downlink. The Ikhana project will complete GCS development, science support systems integration, external pod integration and flight clearance, and operations crew training in early 2007. A large-area remote sensing mission is currently scheduled for the Summer 2007.

Diagnostic of Gravitropism-like Stabilizer of Inspection Drone Using Neural Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruglova, Tatyana; Sayfeddine, Daher; Bulgakov, Alexey

2018-03-01

This paper discusses the enhancement of flight stability of using an inspection drone to scan the condition of buildings on low and high altitude. Due to aerial perturbations and wakes, the drone starts to shake and may be damaged. One of the mechanical optimization methods it so add a built-in stabilizing mechanism. However, the performance of this supporting device becomes critical on certain flying heights, thus to avoid losing the drone. The paper is divided in two parts: the description of the gravitropism-like stabilizer and the diagnostic of its status using wavelet transformation and neural network classification.

Application of GPS tracking techniques to orbit determination for TDRS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haines, B. J.; Lichten, S. M.; Malla, R. P.; Wu, S. C.

1993-01-01

In this paper, we evaluate two fundamentally different approaches to TDRS orbit determination utilizing Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and GPS-related techniques. In the first, a GPS flight receiver is deployed on the TDRSS spacecraft. The TDRS ephemerides are determined using direct ranging to the GPS spacecraft, and no ground network is required. In the second approach, the TDRSS spacecraft broadcast a suitable beacon signal, permitting the simultaneous tracking of GPS and TDRSS satellites from a small ground network. Both strategies can be designed to meet future operational requirements for TDRS-2 orbit determination.

Intelligent adaptive nonlinear flight control for a high performance aircraft with neural networks.

PubMed

Savran, Aydogan; Tasaltin, Ramazan; Becerikli, Yasar

2006-04-01

This paper describes the development of a neural network (NN) based adaptive flight control system for a high performance aircraft. The main contribution of this work is that the proposed control system is able to compensate the system uncertainties, adapt to the changes in flight conditions, and accommodate the system failures. The underlying study can be considered in two phases. The objective of the first phase is to model the dynamic behavior of a nonlinear F-16 model using NNs. Therefore a NN-based adaptive identification model is developed for three angular rates of the aircraft. An on-line training procedure is developed to adapt the changes in the system dynamics and improve the identification accuracy. In this procedure, a first-in first-out stack is used to store a certain history of the input-output data. The training is performed over the whole data in the stack at every stage. To speed up the convergence rate and enhance the accuracy for achieving the on-line learning, the Levenberg-Marquardt optimization method with a trust region approach is adapted to train the NNs. The objective of the second phase is to develop intelligent flight controllers. A NN-based adaptive PID control scheme that is composed of an emulator NN, an estimator NN, and a discrete time PID controller is developed. The emulator NN is used to calculate the system Jacobian required to train the estimator NN. The estimator NN, which is trained on-line by propagating the output error through the emulator, is used to adjust the PID gains. The NN-based adaptive PID control system is applied to control three angular rates of the nonlinear F-16 model. The body-axis pitch, roll, and yaw rates are fed back via the PID controllers to the elevator, aileron, and rudder actuators, respectively. The resulting control system has learning, adaptation, and fault-tolerant abilities. It avoids the storage and interpolation requirements for the too many controller parameters of a typical flight control system. Performance of the control system is successfully tested by performing several six-degrees-of-freedom nonlinear simulations.

NASA Near Earth Network (NEN), Deep Space Network (DSN) and Space Network (SN) Support of CubeSat Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaire, Scott H.; Altunc, Serhat; Bussey, George; Shaw, Harry; Horne, Bill; Schier, Jim

2015-01-01

There has been a historical trend to increase capability and drive down the Size, Weight and Power (SWAP) of satellites and that trend continues today. Small satellites, including systems conforming to the CubeSat specification, because of their low launch and development costs, are enabling new concepts and capabilities for science investigations across multiple fields of interest to NASA. NASA scientists and engineers across many of NASAs Mission Directorates and Centers are developing exciting CubeSat concepts and welcome potential partnerships for CubeSat endeavors. From a communications and tracking point of view, small satellites including CubeSats are a challenge to coordinate because of existing small spacecraft constraints, such as limited SWAP and attitude control, low power, and the potential for high numbers of operational spacecraft. The NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Programs Near Earth Network (NEN), Deep Space Network (DSN) and the Space Network (SN) are customer driven organizations that provide comprehensive communications services for space assets including data transport between a missions orbiting satellite and its Mission Operations Center (MOC). The NASA NEN consists of multiple ground antennas. The SN consists of a constellation of geosynchronous (Earth orbiting) relay satellites, named the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The DSN currently makes available 13 antennas at its three tracking stations located around the world for interplanetary communication. The presentation will analyze how well these space communication networks are positioned to support the emerging small satellite and CubeSat market. Recognizing the potential support, the presentation will review the basic capabilities of the NEN, DSN and SN in the context of small satellites and will present information about NEN, DSN and SN-compatible flight radios and antenna development activities at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and across industry. The presentation will review concepts on how the SN multiple access capability could help locate CubeSats and provide a low-latency early warning system. The presentation will also present how the DSN is evolving to maximize use of its assets for interplanetary CubeSats. The critical spectrum-related topics of available and appropriate frequency bands, licensing, and coordination will be reviewed. Other key considerations, such as standardization of radio frequency interfaces and flight and ground communications hardware systems, will be addressed as such standardization may reduce the amount of time and cost required to obtain frequency authorization and perform compatibility and end-to-end testing. Examples of standardization that exist today are the NASA NEN, DSN and SN systems which have published users guides and defined frequency bands for high data rate communication, as well as conformance to CCSDS standards. The workshop session will also seek input from the workshop participants to better understand the needs of small satellite systems and to identify key development activities and operational approaches necessary to enhance communication and navigation support using NASA's NEN, DSN and SN.

Emergence of encounter networks due to human mobility.

PubMed

Riascos, A P; Mateos, José L

2017-01-01

There is a burst of work on human mobility and encounter networks. However, the connection between these two important fields just begun recently. It is clear that both are closely related: Mobility generates encounters, and these encounters might give rise to contagion phenomena or even friendship. We model a set of random walkers that visit locations in space following a strategy akin to Lévy flights. We measure the encounters in space and time and establish a link between walkers after they coincide several times. This generates a temporal network that is characterized by global quantities. We compare this dynamics with real data for two cities: New York City and Tokyo. We use data from the location-based social network Foursquare and obtain the emergent temporal encounter network, for these two cities, that we compare with our model. We found long-range (Lévy-like) distributions for traveled distances and time intervals that characterize the emergent social network due to human mobility. Studying this connection is important for several fields like epidemics, social influence, voting, contagion models, behavioral adoption and diffusion of ideas.

A Service Portal for the Integrated SCaN Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marx, Sarah R.

2012-01-01

The Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program office owns the assets and services provided by the Deep Space Network (DSN), Near Earth Network (NEN), and Space Network (SN). At present, these individual networks are operated by different NASA centers--JPL for DSN--and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for NEN and SN--with separate commitments offices for each center. In the near future, SCaN's program office would like to deploy an integrated service portal which would merge the two commitments offices with the goal of easing the task of user planning for space missions requiring services of two or more of these networks. Following interviews with subject matter experts in this field, use cases were created to include the services and functionality mission users would like to see in this new integrated service portal. These use cases provide a guideline for a mock-up of the design of the user interface for the portal. The benefit of this work will ease the time required and streamline/standardize the process for planning and scheduling SCAN's services for future space missions.

Architectural Options for a Future Deep Space Optical Communications Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, B. L.; Benjamin, T.; Scozzafava, J.; Khatri, F.; Sharma, J.; Parvin, B.; Liebrecht, P. E.; Fitzgerald, R. J.

2004-01-01

This paper provides an overview of different options at Earth to provide Deep Space optical communication services. It is based mainly on work done for the Mars Laser Communications Demonstration (MLCD) Project, a joint project between NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (JPL), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (MIT/LL). It also reports preliminary conclusions from the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System Continuation Study at GSFC. A lasercom flight terminal will be flown on the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO) to be launched by NASA in 2009, and will be the first high rate deep space demonstration of this revolutionary technology.

A stochastic global identification framework for aerospace structures operating under varying flight states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopsaftopoulos, Fotis; Nardari, Raphael; Li, Yu-Hung; Chang, Fu-Kuo

2018-01-01

In this work, a novel data-based stochastic "global" identification framework is introduced for aerospace structures operating under varying flight states and uncertainty. In this context, the term "global" refers to the identification of a model that is capable of representing the structure under any admissible flight state based on data recorded from a sample of these states. The proposed framework is based on stochastic time-series models for representing the structural dynamics and aeroelastic response under multiple flight states, with each state characterized by several variables, such as the airspeed, angle of attack, altitude and temperature, forming a flight state vector. The method's cornerstone lies in the new class of Vector-dependent Functionally Pooled (VFP) models which allow the explicit analytical inclusion of the flight state vector into the model parameters and, hence, system dynamics. This is achieved via the use of functional data pooling techniques for optimally treating - as a single entity - the data records corresponding to the various flight states. In this proof-of-concept study the flight state vector is defined by two variables, namely the airspeed and angle of attack of the vehicle. The experimental evaluation and assessment is based on a prototype bio-inspired self-sensing composite wing that is subjected to a series of wind tunnel experiments under multiple flight states. Distributed micro-sensors in the form of stretchable sensor networks are embedded in the composite layup of the wing in order to provide the sensing capabilities. Experimental data collected from piezoelectric sensors are employed for the identification of a stochastic global VFP model via appropriate parameter estimation and model structure selection methods. The estimated VFP model parameters constitute two-dimensional functions of the flight state vector defined by the airspeed and angle of attack. The identified model is able to successfully represent the wing's aeroelastic response under the admissible flight states via a minimum number of estimated parameters compared to standard identification approaches. The obtained results demonstrate the high accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed global identification framework, thus constituting a first step towards the next generation of "fly-by-feel" aerospace vehicles with state awareness capabilities.

Scale-free Graphs for General Aviation Flight Schedules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexandov, Natalia M. (Technical Monitor); Kincaid, Rex K.

2003-01-01

In the late 1990s a number of researchers noticed that networks in biology, sociology, and telecommunications exhibited similar characteristics unlike standard random networks. In particular, they found that the cummulative degree distributions of these graphs followed a power law rather than a binomial distribution and that their clustering coefficients tended to a nonzero constant as the number of nodes, n, became large rather than O(1/n). Moreover, these networks shared an important property with traditional random graphs as n becomes large the average shortest path length scales with log n. This latter property has been coined the small-world property. When taken together these three properties small-world, power law, and constant clustering coefficient describe what are now most commonly referred to as scale-free networks. Since 1997 at least six books and over 400 articles have been written about scale-free networks. In this manuscript an overview of the salient characteristics of scale-free networks. Computational experience will be provided for two mechanisms that grow (dynamic) scale-free graphs. Additional computational experience will be given for constructing (static) scale-free graphs via a tabu search optimization approach. Finally, a discussion of potential applications to general aviation networks is given.

Computer network access to scientific information systems for minority universities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Valerie L.; Wakim, Nagi T.

1993-08-01

The evolution of computer networking technology has lead to the establishment of a massive networking infrastructure which interconnects various types of computing resources at many government, academic, and corporate institutions. A large segment of this infrastructure has been developed to facilitate information exchange and resource sharing within the scientific community. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) supports both the development and the application of computer networks which provide its community with access to many valuable multi-disciplinary scientific information systems and on-line databases. Recognizing the need to extend the benefits of this advanced networking technology to the under-represented community, the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) in the Space Data and Computing Division at the Goddard Space Flight Center has developed the Minority University-Space Interdisciplinary Network (MU-SPIN) Program: a major networking and education initiative for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Universities (MUs). In this paper, we will briefly explain the various components of the MU-SPIN Program while highlighting how, by providing access to scientific information systems and on-line data, it promotes a higher level of collaboration among faculty and students and NASA scientists.

A Network Architecture for Data-Driven Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-07-01

ELABORATION. ..... ..... 26 Real - Time Operating System . ....... ......... 26 Secondary Memory Utilization. ........ ....... 26 Data Flow Graphical...discussions followed by a flight simulator exam~ple. REAL - TIME OPERATING SYSTEM An operating system needs to be designed exclusively for real-time...Assessment. (SDWA) module. The SDWA module is tightly coupled to the real - time operating system . This module must determine the sensitivity to

Beyond Discourse? Using Deleuze and Guattari's Schizoanalysis to Explore Affective Assemblages, Heterosexually Striated Space, and Lines of Flight Online and at School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ringrose, Jessica

2011-01-01

This paper explores how Deleuze and Guattari's philosophical concepts extend and elaborate discursive and psychoanalytic interpretations of qualitative research findings. Analyzing data from a UK research project exploring young people's engagements with Social Networking Sites (SNSs), Deleuze and Guattari's schizoanalytic method is drawn upon to…

NOAA News Online (Story 2393)

Science.gov Websites

flights, said Russell C. Schnell, the director of observatory and global network operations at the NOAA NOAA Magazine || NOAA Home Page Commerce Dept. SCIENTISTS BRAVE BRUTAL ELEMENTS ON TOP OF THE WORLD TO STUDY OZONE LAYER Image of the Greenland Environmental Observatory at Summit in the Arctic

Customer requirements process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, Yvonne; Falsetti, Christine M.

1991-01-01

Customer requirements are presented through three viewgraphs. One graph presents the range of services, which include requirements management, network engineering, operations, and applications support. Another viewgraph presents the project planning process. The third viewgraph presents the programs and/or projects actively supported including life sciences, earth science and applications, solar system exploration, shuttle flight engineering, microgravity science, space physics, and astrophysics.

Identifying and Managing Acquisition and Sustainment Supply Chain Risks

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

production, cited by 40 percent • natural disasters, including earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions , cited by... volcanic eruption in Iceland, which are peripherally connected to the global supply network, can also create disruptions that require management...reduced Volcanic eruptions Flight cancellations Floods Capacities of high-tech and automotive industries reduced Labor unrest Chinese factory riots

Hopkins installs wire harnesses

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-11-24

ISS038-E-008291 (24 Nov. 2013) --- NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, Expedition 38 flight engineer, installs wire harnesses in the International Space Station?s Harmony node to support the installation of Ethernet video cables for the station?s local area network. These new cables will provide Ethernet connectivity to the visiting vehicles that dock to Harmony?s Earth-facing port.

Distrubtion Tolerant Network Technology Flight Validation Report: DINET

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Ross M.

2009-01-01

In October and November of 2008, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory installed and tested essential elements of Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) technology on the Deep Impact spacecraft. This experiment, called Deep Impact Network Experiment (DINET), was performed in close cooperation with the EPOXI project which has responsibility for the spacecraft. During DINET some 300 images were transmitted from the JPL nodes to the spacecraft. Then, they were automatically forwarded from the spacecraft back to the JPL nodes, exercising DTN's bundle origination, transmission, acquisition, dynamic route computation, congestion control, prioritization, custody transfer, and automatic retransmission procedures, both on the spacecraft and on the ground, over a period of 27 days. All transmitted bundles were successfully received, without corruption. The DINET experiment demonstrated DTN readiness for operational use in space missions.

Distribution Tolerant Network Technology Flight Validation Report: DINET

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Ross M.

2009-01-01

In October and November of 2008, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory installed and tested essential elements of Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) technology on the Deep Impact spacecraft. This experiment, called Deep Impact Network Experiment (DINET), was performed in close cooperation with the EPOXI project which has responsibility for the spacecraft. During DINET some 300 images were transmitted from the JPL nodes to the spacecraft. Then, they were automatically forwarded from the spacecraft back to the JPL nodes, exercising DTN's bundle origination, transmission, acquisition, dynamic route computation, congestion control, prioritization, custody transfer, and automatic retransmission procedures, both on the spacecraft and on the ground, over a period of 27 days. All transmitted bundles were successfully received, without corruption. The DINET experiment demonstrated DTN readiness for operational use in space missions.

Interplanetary Overlay Network Bundle Protocol Implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burleigh, Scott C.

2011-01-01

The Interplanetary Overlay Network (ION) system's BP package, an implementation of the Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN) Bundle Protocol (BP) and supporting services, has been specifically designed to be suitable for use on deep-space robotic vehicles. Although the ION BP implementation is unique in its use of zero-copy objects for high performance, and in its use of resource-sensitive rate control, it is fully interoperable with other implementations of the BP specification (Internet RFC 5050). The ION BP implementation is built using the same software infrastructure that underlies the implementation of the CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems) File Delivery Protocol (CFDP) built into the flight software of Deep Impact. It is designed to minimize resource consumption, while maximizing operational robustness. For example, no dynamic allocation of system memory is required. Like all the other ION packages, ION's BP implementation is designed to port readily between Linux and Solaris (for easy development and for ground system operations) and VxWorks (for flight systems operations). The exact same source code is exercised in both environments. Initially included in the ION BP implementations are the following: libraries of functions used in constructing bundle forwarders and convergence-layer (CL) input and output adapters; a simple prototype bundle forwarder and associated CL adapters designed to run over an IPbased local area network; administrative tools for managing a simple DTN infrastructure built from these components; a background daemon process that silently destroys bundles whose time-to-live intervals have expired; a library of functions exposed to applications, enabling them to issue and receive data encapsulated in DTN bundles; and some simple applications that can be used for system checkout and benchmarking.

Intraformation positioning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheldon, Stuart; Zadzora, Timothy

1996-05-01

The IntraFormation Positioning System is a networked relative navigation system currently being developed for rendezvous, join-up, and formation flight of Air Force helicopters and fixed wing aircraft in instrument meteorological conditions. The system is designed to be integrated into existing aircraft and will display relative positions of all aircraft within a formation, as well as the relative positions of other formations participating in coordinated missions. The system uses a Global Positioning System receiver integrated with the aircraft Inertial Navigation System to generate accurate aircraft position and velocity data. These data are transmitted over a data link to all participating aircraft and displayed as graphic symbols at the relative range and bearing to own aircraft on a situational awareness display format similar to a radar plan position indicator. Flight guidance computation is based on the difference between a desired formation slot position and current aircraft position relative to the formation lead aircraft. This information is presented on the flight director display allowing the pilot to null out position errors. The system is being developed for the Air Force Special Operations Command; however, it is applicable to all aircraft desiring improved formation situational awareness and formation flight coordination.

Analysis of human microcirculation in weightlessness: Study protocol and pre-study experiments.

PubMed

Bimpong-Buta, Nana-Yaw; Jirak, Peter; Wernly, Bernhard; Lichtenauer, Michael; Masyuk, Maryna; Muessig, Johanna Maria; Braun, Kristina; Kaya, Sema; Kelm, Malte; Jung, Christian

2018-04-14

In weightlessness, alterations in organ systems have been reported. The microcirculation consists of a network of blood vessels with diameters of a few μm. It is considered the largest part of the circulatory system of the human body and essential for exchange of gas, nutrients and waste products. An investigation of the microcirculation in weightlessness seems warranted but has not yet been performed. In this paper, we outline a study in which we will investigate the possible interrelations between weightlessness and microcirculation. We will induce weightlessness in the course of parabolic flight maneuvers, which will be conducted during a parabolic flight campaign. In this study protocol also an evaluation of a possible influence of parabolic flight premedication on microcirculation will be described. The microcirculation will be investigated by sublingual intravital measurements applying sidestream darkfield microscopy. Parameters of macrocirculation such as heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygenation will also be investigated. In our pre-study experiments, neither dimenhydrinate nor scopolamine altered microcirculation. As the application of motion sickness therapy did not alter microcirculation, it will be applied during the parabolic flight maneuvers of the campaign. Our results might deepen the understanding of microcirculation on space missions and on earth.

Mapping Wintering Waterfowl Distributions Using Weather Surveillance Radar

PubMed Central

Buler, Jeffrey J.; Randall, Lori A.; Fleskes, Joseph P.; Barrow, Wylie C.; Bogart, Tianna; Kluver, Daria

2012-01-01

The current network of weather surveillance radars within the United States readily detects flying birds and has proven to be a useful remote-sensing tool for ornithological study. Radar reflectivity measures serve as an index to bird density and have been used to quantitatively map landbird distributions during migratory stopover by sampling birds aloft at the onset of nocturnal migratory flights. Our objective was to further develop and validate a similar approach for mapping wintering waterfowl distributions using weather surveillance radar observations at the onset of evening flights. We evaluated data from the Sacramento, CA radar (KDAX) during winters 1998–1999 and 1999–2000. We determined an optimal sampling time by evaluating the accuracy and precision of radar observations at different times during the onset of evening flight relative to observed diurnal distributions of radio-marked birds on the ground. The mean time of evening flight initiation occurred 23 min after sunset with the strongest correlations between reflectivity and waterfowl density on the ground occurring almost immediately after flight initiation. Radar measures became more spatially homogeneous as evening flight progressed because birds dispersed from their departure locations. Radars effectively detected birds to a mean maximum range of 83 km during the first 20 min of evening flight. Using a sun elevation angle of −5° (28 min after sunset) as our optimal sampling time, we validated our approach using KDAX data and additional data from the Beale Air Force Base, CA (KBBX) radar during winter 1998–1999. Bias-adjusted radar reflectivity of waterfowl aloft was positively related to the observed diurnal density of radio-marked waterfowl locations on the ground. Thus, weather radars provide accurate measures of relative wintering waterfowl density that can be used to comprehensively map their distributions over large spatial extents. PMID:22911816

Mapping wintering waterfowl distributions using weather surveillance radar.

PubMed

Buler, Jeffrey J; Randall, Lori A; Fleskes, Joseph P; Barrow, Wylie C; Bogart, Tianna; Kluver, Daria

2012-01-01

The current network of weather surveillance radars within the United States readily detects flying birds and has proven to be a useful remote-sensing tool for ornithological study. Radar reflectivity measures serve as an index to bird density and have been used to quantitatively map landbird distributions during migratory stopover by sampling birds aloft at the onset of nocturnal migratory flights. Our objective was to further develop and validate a similar approach for mapping wintering waterfowl distributions using weather surveillance radar observations at the onset of evening flights. We evaluated data from the Sacramento, CA radar (KDAX) during winters 1998-1999 and 1999-2000. We determined an optimal sampling time by evaluating the accuracy and precision of radar observations at different times during the onset of evening flight relative to observed diurnal distributions of radio-marked birds on the ground. The mean time of evening flight initiation occurred 23 min after sunset with the strongest correlations between reflectivity and waterfowl density on the ground occurring almost immediately after flight initiation. Radar measures became more spatially homogeneous as evening flight progressed because birds dispersed from their departure locations. Radars effectively detected birds to a mean maximum range of 83 km during the first 20 min of evening flight. Using a sun elevation angle of -5° (28 min after sunset) as our optimal sampling time, we validated our approach using KDAX data and additional data from the Beale Air Force Base, CA (KBBX) radar during winter 1998-1999. Bias-adjusted radar reflectivity of waterfowl aloft was positively related to the observed diurnal density of radio-marked waterfowl locations on the ground. Thus, weather radars provide accurate measures of relative wintering waterfowl density that can be used to comprehensively map their distributions over large spatial extents.

Air System Information Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Filman, Robert E.

2004-01-01

I flew to Washington last week, a trip rich in distributed information management. Buying tickets, at the gate, in flight, landing and at the baggage claim, myriad messages about my reservation, the weather, our flight plans, gates, bags and so forth flew among a variety of travel agency, airline and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) computers and personnel. By and large, each kind of information ran on a particular application, often specialized to own data formats and communications network. I went to Washington to attend an FAA meeting on System-Wide Information Management (SWIM) for the National Airspace System (NAS) (http://www.nasarchitecture.faa.gov/Tutorials/NAS101.cfm). NAS (and its information infrastructure, SWIM) is an attempt to bring greater regularity, efficiency and uniformity to the collection of stovepipe applications now used to manage air traffic. Current systems hold information about flight plans, flight trajectories, weather, air turbulence, current and forecast weather, radar summaries, hazardous condition warnings, airport and airspace capacity constraints, temporary flight restrictions, and so forth. Information moving among these stovepipe systems is usually mediated by people (for example, air traffic controllers) or single-purpose applications. People, whose intelligence is critical for difficult tasks and unusual circumstances, are not as efficient as computers for tasks that can be automated. Better information sharing can lead to higher system capacity, more efficient utilization and safer operations. Better information sharing through greater automation is possible though not necessarily easy.

Proof-of-Concept Demonstrations of a Flight Adjustment Logging and Communication Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Underwood, Matthew C.; Merlino, Daniel K.; Carboneau, Lindsey M.; Wilson, C. Logan; Wilder, Andrew J.

2016-01-01

The National Airspace System is a highly complex system of systems within which a number of participants with widely varying business and operating models exist. From the airspace user's perspective, a means by which to operate flights in a more flexible and efficient manner is highly desired to meet their business objectives. From the air navigation service provider's viewpoint, there is a need for increasing the capacity of the airspace, while maintaining or increasing the levels of efficiency and safety that currently exist in order to meet the charter under which they operate. Enhancing the communication between airspace operators and users is essential in order to meet these demands. In the spring of 2015, a prototype system that implemented an airborne tool to optimize en-route flight paths for fuel and time savings was designed and tested. The system utilized in-flight Internet as a high-bandwidth data link to facilitate collaborative decision making between the flight deck and an airline dispatcher. The system was tested and demonstrated in a laboratory environment, as well as in-situ. Initial results from these tests indicate that this system is not only feasible, but could also serve as a growth path and testbed for future air traffic management concepts that rely on shared situational awareness through data exchange and electronic negotiation between multiple entities operating within the National Airspace System.

Graph theoretical analysis of complex networks in the brain

PubMed Central

Stam, Cornelis J; Reijneveld, Jaap C

2007-01-01

Since the discovery of small-world and scale-free networks the study of complex systems from a network perspective has taken an enormous flight. In recent years many important properties of complex networks have been delineated. In particular, significant progress has been made in understanding the relationship between the structural properties of networks and the nature of dynamics taking place on these networks. For instance, the 'synchronizability' of complex networks of coupled oscillators can be determined by graph spectral analysis. These developments in the theory of complex networks have inspired new applications in the field of neuroscience. Graph analysis has been used in the study of models of neural networks, anatomical connectivity, and functional connectivity based upon fMRI, EEG and MEG. These studies suggest that the human brain can be modelled as a complex network, and may have a small-world structure both at the level of anatomical as well as functional connectivity. This small-world structure is hypothesized to reflect an optimal situation associated with rapid synchronization and information transfer, minimal wiring costs, as well as a balance between local processing and global integration. The topological structure of functional networks is probably restrained by genetic and anatomical factors, but can be modified during tasks. There is also increasing evidence that various types of brain disease such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, brain tumours and epilepsy may be associated with deviations of the functional network topology from the optimal small-world pattern. PMID:17908336

High-speed civil transport - Advanced flight deck challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swink, Jay R.; Goins, Richard T.

1992-01-01

This paper presents the results of a nine month study of the HSCT flight deck challenges and assessment of its benefits. Operational requirements are discussed and the most significant findings for specified advanced concepts are highlighted. These concepts are a no nose-droop configuration, a far forward cockpit location and advanced crew monitoring and control of complex systems. Results indicate that the no nose-droop configuration is critically dependent on the design and development of a safe, reliable and certifiable synthetic vision system (SVS). This configuration would cause significant weight, performance and cost penalties. A far forward cockpit configuration with a tandem seating arrangement allows either an increase in additional payload or potential downsizing of the vehicle leading to increased performance efficiency and reductions in emissions. The technologies enabling such capabilities, which provide for Category III all-weather opreations on every flight represent a benefit multiplier in a 20005 ATM network in terms of enhanced economic viability and environmental acceptability.

Hybrid Decompositional Verification for Discovering Failures in Adaptive Flight Control Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Sarah; Davies, Misty D.; Gundy-Burlet, Karen

2010-01-01

Adaptive flight control systems hold tremendous promise for maintaining the safety of a damaged aircraft and its passengers. However, most currently proposed adaptive control methodologies rely on online learning neural networks (OLNNs), which necessarily have the property that the controller is changing during the flight. These changes tend to be highly nonlinear, and difficult or impossible to analyze using standard techniques. In this paper, we approach the problem with a variant of compositional verification. The overall system is broken into components. Undesirable behavior is fed backwards through the system. Components which can be solved using formal methods techniques explicitly for the ranges of safe and unsafe input bounds are treated as white box components. The remaining black box components are analyzed with heuristic techniques that try to predict a range of component inputs that may lead to unsafe behavior. The composition of these component inputs throughout the system leads to overall system test vectors that may elucidate the undesirable behavior

Internal Social Media at Marshall Space Flight Center - An Engineer's Snapshot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, David W.

2013-01-01

In the brief span of about six years (2004-2010), social media radically enhanced people's ways of maintaining recreational friendships. Social media's impact on public affairs (PAO) and community engagement is equally striking: NASA has involved millions of non-NASA viewers in its activities via outward-facing social media, often in a very two-way street fashion. Use of social media as an internal working tool by NASA's tens of thousands of civil servants, onsite contractor employees, and external stakeholders is evolving more slowly. This paper examines, from an engineer's perspective, Marshall Space Flight Center s (MSFC) efforts to bring the power of social media to the daily working environment. Primary emphasis is on an internal Social Networking Service called Explornet that could be scaled Agency-wide. Other topics include MSFC use of other social media day-to-day for non-PAO purposes, some specialized uses of social techniques in space flight control operations, and how to help a community open up so it can discover and adopt what works well.

Flight State Identification of a Self-Sensing Wing via an Improved Feature Selection Method and Machine Learning Approaches.

PubMed

Chen, Xi; Kopsaftopoulos, Fotis; Wu, Qi; Ren, He; Chang, Fu-Kuo

2018-04-29

In this work, a data-driven approach for identifying the flight state of a self-sensing wing structure with an embedded multi-functional sensing network is proposed. The flight state is characterized by the structural vibration signals recorded from a series of wind tunnel experiments under varying angles of attack and airspeeds. A large feature pool is created by extracting potential features from the signals covering the time domain, the frequency domain as well as the information domain. Special emphasis is given to feature selection in which a novel filter method is developed based on the combination of a modified distance evaluation algorithm and a variance inflation factor. Machine learning algorithms are then employed to establish the mapping relationship from the feature space to the practical state space. Results from two case studies demonstrate the high identification accuracy and the effectiveness of the model complexity reduction via the proposed method, thus providing new perspectives of self-awareness towards the next generation of intelligent air vehicles.

First Deminsys (high speed FBG interrogator) flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Els, Thomas J.

2009-03-01

Deminsys is the world's fastest multi sensor / multi channel FBG interrogator, identifies one till four channels with typically 8 sensors per channel. The system is especially developed for the interrogation of signals up to 19,3 kHz for each sensor and the sample frequency is independent of the number of sensors. By having multiple sensors per fibre you can create a very compact network of sensors. Due to its revolutionary (light weight, compact and solid state) design, Deminsys seems to fit perfectly into (research) programs for aerospace, medic & life science, maritime, industrial, crash test and all other fast detection applications. Technobis Fibre Technologies (TFT) and NLR made a first test flight with the Deminsys optical fibre measurement system using the NLR test aircraft on October 24th 2008. This flight was a first step in the further development of the current system in order to make it suitable for operation on-board an aircraft and bring it from TRL3 towards TRL5, a functional model for aerospace applications.

NEON Airborne Remote Sensing of Terrestrial Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kampe, T. U.; Leisso, N.; Krause, K.; Karpowicz, B. M.

2012-12-01

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is the continental-scale research platform that will collect information on ecosystems across the United States to advance our understanding and ability to forecast environmental change at the continental scale. One of NEON's observing systems, the Airborne Observation Platform (AOP), will fly an instrument suite consisting of a high-fidelity visible-to-shortwave infrared imaging spectrometer, a full waveform small footprint LiDAR, and a high-resolution digital camera on a low-altitude aircraft platform. NEON AOP is focused on acquiring data on several terrestrial Essential Climate Variables including bioclimate, biodiversity, biogeochemistry, and land use products. These variables are collected throughout a network of 60 sites across the Continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico via ground-based and airborne measurements. Airborne remote sensing plays a critical role by providing measurements at the scale of individual shrubs and larger plants over hundreds of square kilometers. The NEON AOP plays the role of bridging the spatial scales from that of individual organisms and stands to the scale of satellite-based remote sensing. NEON is building 3 airborne systems to facilitate the routine coverage of NEON sites and provide the capacity to respond to investigator requests for specific projects. The first NEON imaging spectrometer, a next-generation VSWIR instrument, was recently delivered to NEON by JPL. This instrument has been integrated with a small-footprint waveform LiDAR on the first NEON airborne platform (AOP-1). A series of AOP-1 test flights were conducted during the first year of NEON's construction phase. The goal of these flights was to test out instrument functionality and performance, exercise remote sensing collection protocols, and provide provisional data for algorithm and data product validation. These test flights focused the following questions: What is the optimal remote sensing data collection protocol to meet NEON science requirements? How do aircraft altitude, spatial sampling, spatial resolution, and LiDAR instrument configuration affect data retrievals? What are appropriate algorithms to derive ECVs from AOP data? What methodology should be followed to validate AOP remote sensing products and how should ground truth data be collected? Early test flights were focused on radiometric and geometric calibration as well as processing from raw data to Level-1 products. Subsequent flights were conducted focusing on collecting vegetation chemistry and structure measurements. These test flights that were conducted during 2012 have proved to be extremely valuable for verifying instrument functionality and performance, exercising remote sensing collection protocols, and providing data for algorithm and science product validation. Results from these early flights are presented, including the radiometric and geometric calibration of the AOP instruments. These 2012 flight campaigns are just the first of a series of test flights that will take place over the next several years as part of the NEON observatory construction. Lessons learned from these early campaigns will inform both airborne and ground data collection methodologies for future campaigns as well as guide the AOP sampling strategy before NEON enters full science operations.

The NASA Real Time Mission Monitor - A Situational Awareness Tool for Conducting Tropical Cyclone Field Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodman, Michael; Blakeslee, Richard; Hall, John; Parker, Philip; He, Yubin

2008-01-01

The NASA Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) is a situational awareness tool that integrates satellite, aircraft state information, airborne and surface instruments, and weather state data in to a single visualization package for real time field experiment management. RTMM optimizes science and logistic decision-making during field experiments by presenting timely data and graphics to the users to improve real time situational awareness of the experiment's assets. The RTMM is proven in the field as it supported program managers, scientists, and aircraft personnel during the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (investigated African easterly waves and Tropical Storm Debby and Helene) during August-September 2006 in Cape Verde, the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling experiment during July-August 2007 in Costa Rica, and the Hurricane Aerosonde mission into Hurricane Noel in 2-3 November 2007. The integration and delivery of this information is made possible through data acquisition systems, network communication links, and network server resources built and managed by collaborators at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC). RTMM is evolving towards a more flexible and dynamic combination of sensor ingest, network computing, and decision-making activities through the use of a service oriented architecture based on community standards and protocols. Each field experiment presents unique challenges and opportunities for advancing the functionality of RTMM. A description of RTMM, the missions it has supported, and its new features that are under development will be presented.

Overview of MPLNET Version 3 Cloud Detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Jasper R.; Campbell, James; Welton, Ellsworth J.; Stewart, Sebastian A.; Haftings, Phillip

2016-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Micro Pulse Lidar Network, version 3, cloud detection algorithm is described and differences relative to the previous version are highlighted. Clouds are identified from normalized level 1 signal profiles using two complementary methods. The first method considers vertical signal derivatives for detecting low-level clouds. The second method, which detects high-level clouds like cirrus, is based on signal uncertainties necessitated by the relatively low signal-to-noise ratio exhibited in the upper troposphere by eye-safe network instruments, especially during daytime. Furthermore, a multitemporal averaging scheme is used to improve cloud detection under conditions of a weak signal-to-noise ratio. Diurnal and seasonal cycles of cloud occurrence frequency based on one year of measurements at the Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, Maryland) site are compared for the new and previous versions. The largest differences, and perceived improvement, in detection occurs for high clouds (above 5 km, above MSL), which increase in occurrence by over 5%. There is also an increase in the detection of multilayered cloud profiles from 9% to 19%. Macrophysical properties and estimates of cloud optical depth are presented for a transparent cirrus dataset. However, the limit to which the cirrus cloud optical depth could be reliably estimated occurs between 0.5 and 0.8. A comparison using collocated CALIPSO measurements at the Goddard Space Flight Center and Singapore Micro Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) sites indicates improvements in cloud occurrence frequencies and layer heights.

BOREAS AFM-04 Twin Otter Aircraft Flux Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

MacPherson, J. Ian; Hall, Forrest G. (Editor); Knapp, David E. (Editor); Desjardins, Raymond L.; Smith, David E. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The BOREAS AFM-5 team collected and processed data from the numerous radiosonde flights during the project. The goals of the AFM-05 team were to provide large-scale definition of the atmosphere by supplementing the existing AES aerological network, both temporally and spatially. This data set includes basic upper-air parameters collected from the network of upper-air stations during the 1993, 1994, and 1996 field campaigns over the entire study region. The data are contained in tabular ASCII files. The data files are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884) or from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

Estimating Blade Section Airloads from Blade Leading-Edge Pressure Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

vanAken, Johannes M.

2003-01-01

The Tilt-Rotor Aeroacoustic Model (TRAM) test in the Duitse-Nederlandse Wind (DNW) Tunnel acquired blade pressure data for forward flight test conditions of a tiltrotor in helicopter mode. Chordwise pressure data at seven radial locations were integrated to obtain the blade section normal force. The present investigation evaluates the use of linear regression analysis and of neural networks in estimating the blade section normal force coefficient from a limited number of blade leading-edge pressure measurements and representative operating conditions. These network models are subsequently used to estimate the airloads at intermediate radial locations where only blade pressure measurements at the 3.5% chordwise stations are available.

System identification of an unmanned quadcopter system using MRAN neural

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pairan, M. F.; Shamsudin, S. S.

2017-12-01

This project presents the performance analysis of the radial basis function neural network (RBF) trained with Minimal Resource Allocating Network (MRAN) algorithm for real-time identification of quadcopter. MRAN’s performance is compared with the RBF with Constant Trace algorithm for 2500 input-output pair data sampling. MRAN utilizes adding and pruning hidden neuron strategy to obtain optimum RBF structure, increase prediction accuracy and reduce training time. The results indicate that MRAN algorithm produces fast training time and more accurate prediction compared with standard RBF. The model proposed in this paper is capable of identifying and modelling a nonlinear representation of the quadcopter flight dynamics.

Disruption in neural phase synchrony is related to identification of inattentional deafness in real-world setting.

PubMed

Callan, Daniel E; Gateau, Thibault; Durantin, Gautier; Gonthier, Nicolas; Dehais, Frédéric

2018-06-01

Individuals often have reduced ability to hear alarms in real world situations (e.g., anesthesia monitoring, flying airplanes) when attention is focused on another task, sometimes with devastating consequences. This phenomenon is called inattentional deafness and usually occurs under critical high workload conditions. It is difficult to simulate the critical nature of these tasks in the laboratory. In this study, dry electroencephalography is used to investigate inattentional deafness in real flight while piloting an airplane. The pilots participating in the experiment responded to audio alarms while experiencing critical high workload situations. It was found that missed relative to detected alarms were marked by reduced stimulus evoked phase synchrony in theta and alpha frequencies (6-14 Hz) from 120 to 230 ms poststimulus onset. Correlation of alarm detection performance with intertrial coherence measures of neural phase synchrony showed different frequency and time ranges for detected and missed alarms. These results are consistent with selective attentional processes actively disrupting oscillatory coherence in sensory networks not involved with the primary task (piloting in this case) under critical high load conditions. This hypothesis is corroborated by analyses of flight parameters showing greater maneuvering associated with difficult phases of flight occurring during missed alarms. Our results suggest modulation of neural oscillation is a general mechanism of attention utilizing enhancement of phase synchrony to sharpen alarm perception during successful divided attention, and disruption of phase synchrony in brain networks when attentional demands of the primary task are great, such as in the case of inattentional deafness. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Software systems for operation, control, and monitoring of the EBEX instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milligan, Michael; Ade, Peter; Aubin, François; Baccigalupi, Carlo; Bao, Chaoyun; Borrill, Julian; Cantalupo, Christopher; Chapman, Daniel; Didier, Joy; Dobbs, Matt; Grainger, Will; Hanany, Shaul; Hillbrand, Seth; Hubmayr, Johannes; Hyland, Peter; Jaffe, Andrew; Johnson, Bradley; Kisner, Theodore; Klein, Jeff; Korotkov, Andrei; Leach, Sam; Lee, Adrian; Levinson, Lorne; Limon, Michele; MacDermid, Kevin; Matsumura, Tomotake; Miller, Amber; Pascale, Enzo; Polsgrove, Daniel; Ponthieu, Nicolas; Raach, Kate; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Britt; Sagiv, Ilan; Tran, Huan; Tucker, Gregory S.; Vinokurov, Yury; Yadav, Amit; Zaldarriaga, Matias; Zilic, Kyle

2010-07-01

We present the hardware and software systems implementing autonomous operation, distributed real-time monitoring, and control for the EBEX instrument. EBEX is a NASA-funded balloon-borne microwave polarimeter designed for a 14 day Antarctic flight that circumnavigates the pole. To meet its science goals the EBEX instrument autonomously executes several tasks in parallel: it collects attitude data and maintains pointing control in order to adhere to an observing schedule; tunes and operates up to 1920 TES bolometers and 120 SQUID amplifiers controlled by as many as 30 embedded computers; coordinates and dispatches jobs across an onboard computer network to manage this detector readout system; logs over 3 GiB/hour of science and housekeeping data to an onboard disk storage array; responds to a variety of commands and exogenous events; and downlinks multiple heterogeneous data streams representing a selected subset of the total logged data. Most of the systems implementing these functions have been tested during a recent engineering flight of the payload, and have proven to meet the target requirements. The EBEX ground segment couples uplink and downlink hardware to a client-server software stack, enabling real-time monitoring and command responsibility to be distributed across the public internet or other standard computer networks. Using the emerging dirfile standard as a uniform intermediate data format, a variety of front end programs provide access to different components and views of the downlinked data products. This distributed architecture was demonstrated operating across multiple widely dispersed sites prior to and during the EBEX engineering flight.

Proof-of-Concept of a Networked Validation Environment for Distributed Air/Ground NextGen Concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grisham, James; Larson, Natalie; Nelson, Justin; Reed, Joshua; Suggs, Marvin; Underwood, Matthew; Papelis, Yiannis; Ballin, Mark G.

2013-01-01

The National Airspace System (NAS) must be improved to increase capacity, reduce flight delays, and minimize environmental impacts of air travel. NASA has been tasked with aiding the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in NAS modernization. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) is an enabling technology that is fundamental to realization of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Despite the 2020 FAA mandate requiring ADS-B Out equipage, airspace users are lacking incentives to equip with the requisite ADS-B avionics. A need exists to validate in flight tests advanced concepts of operation (ConOps) that rely on ADS-B and other data links without requiring costly equipage. A potential solution is presented in this paper. It is possible to emulate future data link capabilities using the existing in-flight Internet and reduced-cost test equipment. To establish proof-of-concept, a high-fidelity traffic operations simulation was modified to include a module that simulated Internet transmission of ADS-B messages. An advanced NASA ConOp, Flight Deck Interval Management (FIM), was used to evaluate technical feasibility. A preliminary assessment of the effects of latency and dropout rate on FIM was performed. Flight hardware that would be used by proposed test environment was connected to the simulation so that data transfer from aircraft systems to test equipment could be verified. The results indicate that the FIM ConOp, and therefore, many other advanced ConOps with equal or lesser response characteristics and data requirements, can be evaluated in flight using the proposed concept.

2007 Beyond SBIR Phase II: Bringing Technology Edge to the Warfighter

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-08-23

Systems Trade-Off Analysis and Optimization Verification and Validation On-Board Diagnostics and Self - healing Security and Anti-Tampering Rapid...verification; Safety and reliability analysis of flight and mission critical systems On-Board Diagnostics and Self - Healing Model-based monitoring and... self - healing On-board diagnostics and self - healing ; Autonomic computing; Network intrusion detection and prevention Anti-Tampering and Trust

Applications of High Speed Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

plished in order to achieve a dpgree of parallelism by constructing a distributed switch. The type of switch, self -routing, processes the packet...control more than a dozen missiles in flight, and the four Mark 99 target illuminators direct missiles in the terminal phase. The self -contained Phalanx...military installations, weapon system respose and expected missile performance against a threat. Projects are already underway transposing of

First ozone profiles measured with electrochemical and chemiluminescent sondes, developed in Russia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zuyaguintsev, Anatoly M.; Perov, Stanislav P.; Ryabov, Youry A.

1994-01-01

Results obtained with experimental balloon electrochemical and chemiluminescent ozonesondes are summarized and estimated as quite satisfactory. The average normalization factor for the electrochemical ozonesonde obtained in 1991 at four Soviet balloon routine network stations is 1.069+.073 (in 17 flights). Some ozone profiles obtained in summer 1991 at Volgograd are discussed together with corresponding meteorological data.

Open Source Initiative Powers Real-Time Data Streams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2014-01-01

Under an SBIR contract with Dryden Flight Research Center, Creare Inc. developed a data collection tool called the Ring Buffered Network Bus. The technology has now been released under an open source license and is hosted by the Open Source DataTurbine Initiative. DataTurbine allows anyone to stream live data from sensors, labs, cameras, ocean buoys, cell phones, and more.

Leveraging Simulation Against the F-16 Flying Training Gap

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-11-01

must leverage emerging simulation technology into combined flight training to counter mission employment complexity created by technology itself...two or more of these stand-alone simulators creates a mission training center (MTC), which when further networked create distributed mission...operations (DMO). Ultimately, the grand operational vision of DMO is to interconnect non-collocated users creating a “virtual” joint training environment

Damage Diagnosis in Semiconductive Materials Using Electrical Impedance Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Richard W.; Hinton, Yolanda L.

2008-01-01

Recent aerospace industry trends have resulted in an increased demand for real-time, effective techniques for in-flight structural health monitoring. A promising technique for damage diagnosis uses electrical impedance measurements of semiconductive materials. By applying a small electrical current into a material specimen and measuring the corresponding voltages at various locations on the specimen, changes in the electrical characteristics due to the presence of damage can be assessed. An artificial neural network uses these changes in electrical properties to provide an inverse solution that estimates the location and magnitude of the damage. The advantage of the electrical impedance method over other damage diagnosis techniques is that it uses the material as the sensor. Simple voltage measurements can be used instead of discrete sensors, resulting in a reduction in weight and system complexity. This research effort extends previous work by employing finite element method models to improve accuracy of complex models with anisotropic conductivities and by enhancing the computational efficiency of the inverse techniques. The paper demonstrates a proof of concept of a damage diagnosis approach using electrical impedance methods and a neural network as an effective tool for in-flight diagnosis of structural damage to aircraft components.

Onset of anomalous diffusion from local motion rules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Nigris, Sarah; Carletti, Timoteo; Lambiotte, Renaud

2017-02-01

Anomalous diffusion processes, in particular superdiffusive ones, are known to be efficient strategies for searching and navigation in animals and also in human mobility. One way to create such regimes are Lévy flights, where the walkers are allowed to perform jumps, the "flights," that can eventually be very long as their length distribution is asymptotically power-law distributed. In our work, we present a model in which walkers are allowed to perform, on a one-dimensional lattice, "cascades" of n unitary steps instead of one jump of a randomly generated length, as in the Lévy case, where n is drawn from a cascade distribution pn. We show that this local mechanism may give rise to superdiffusion or normal diffusion when pn is distributed as a power law. We also introduce waiting times that are power-law distributed as well and therefore the probability distribution scaling is steered by the two local distributions power-law exponents. As a perspective, our approach may engender a possible generalization of anomalous diffusion in context where distances are difficult to define, as in the case of complex networks, and also provide an interesting model for diffusion in temporal networks.

Enabling a Science Support Structure for NASAs Global Hawk UASs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sullivan, Donald V.

2014-01-01

In this paper we describe the information technologies developed by NASA for the Winter/Spring 2013/2014, and Fall 2014, NASA Earth Venture Campaigns, Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) and Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment (ATTREX). These campaigns utilized Global Hawk UAS vehicles equipped at the NASA Armstrong (previously Dryden) Flight Research Facility (AFRC), Edwards Air Force Base, California, and operated from there, the NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), Virginia, and Anderson Air Force Base (AAFB), Guam. Part of this enabling infrastructure utilized a layer 2 encrypted terrestrial Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) that, at times, spanned greater than ten thousand miles (AAFB <-> AFRC <-> WFF) and was routed over geosynchronous Ku band communication Satellites directly to the aircraft sensor network. This infrastructure enabled seamless hand off between Satellites, and Satellite ground stations in Guam, California and Virginia, so allowing simultaneous Aircraft Command and Control and Science operations from remote locations. Additionally, we will describe the other elements of this infrastructure, from on-board geo-enabled databases, to real time communications directly from the instruments (in some cases, more than twelve were carried, and simultaneously operated, on one aircraft) to the researchers and other interested parties, world wide.

An AFDX Network for Spacecraft Data Handling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deredempt, Marie-Helene; Kollias, Vangelis; Sun, Zhili; Canamares, Ernest; Ricco, Philippe

2014-08-01

In aeronautical domain, ARINC-664 Part 7 specification (AFDX) [4] provides the enabling technology for interfacing equipment in Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) architectures. The complementary part of AFDX for a complete interoperability - Time and Space Partitioning (ARINC 653) concepts [1]- was already studied as part of space domain ESA roadmap (i.e. IMA4Space project)Standardized IMA based architecture is already considered in aeronautical domain as more flexible, reliable and secure. Integration and validation become simple, using a common set of tools and data base and could be done by part on different means with the same definition (hardware and software test benches, flight control or alarm test benches, simulator and flight test installation).In some area, requirements in terms of data processing are quite similar in space domain and the concept could be applicable to take benefit of the technology itself and of the panel of hardware and software solutions and tools available on the market. The Mission project (Methodology and assessment for the applicability of ARINC-664 (AFDX) in Satellite/Spacecraft on-board communicatION networks), as an FP7 initiative for bringing terrestrial SME research into the space domain started to evaluate the applicability of the standard in space domain.

Utilization of Virtual Server Technology in Mission Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Felton, Larry; Lankford, Kimberly; Pitts, R. Lee; Pruitt, Robert W.

2010-01-01

Virtualization provides the opportunity to continue to do "more with less"---more computing power with fewer physical boxes, thus reducing the overall hardware footprint, power and cooling requirements, software licenses, and their associated costs. This paper explores the tremendous advantages and any disadvantages of virtualization in all of the environments associated with software and systems development to operations flow. It includes the use and benefits of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification, and identifies lessons learned concerning hardware and network configurations. Using the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center as an example, we demonstrate that deploying virtualized servers as a means of managing computing resources is applicable and beneficial to many areas of application, up to and including flight operations.

RICA: a reliable and image configurable arena for cyborg bumblebee based on CAN bus.

PubMed

Gong, Fan; Zheng, Nenggan; Xue, Lei; Xu, Kedi; Zheng, Xiaoxiang

2014-01-01

In this paper, we designed a reliable and image configurable flight arena, RICA, for developing cyborg bumblebees. To meet the spatial and temporal requirements of bumblebees, the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus is adopted to interconnect the LED display modules to ensure the reliability and real-time performance of the arena system. Easily-configurable interfaces on a desktop computer implemented by python scripts are provided to transmit the visual patterns to the LED distributor online and configure RICA dynamically. The new arena system will be a power tool to investigate the quantitative relationship between the visual inputs and induced flight behaviors and also will be helpful to the visual-motor research in other related fields.

Virtualization in the Operations Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pitts, Lee; Lankford, Kim; Felton, Larry; Pruitt, Robert

2010-01-01

Virtualization provides the opportunity to continue to do "more with less"---more computing power with fewer physical boxes, thus reducing the overall hardware footprint, power and cooling requirements, software licenses, and their associated costs. This paper explores the tremendous advantages and any disadvantages of virtualization in all of the environments associated with software and systems development to operations flow. It includes the use and benefits of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification, and identifies lessons learned concerning hardware and network configurations. Using the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center as an example, we demonstrate that deploying virtualized servers as a means of managing computing resources is applicable and beneficial to many areas of application, up to and including flight operations.

High resolution telescope and spectrograph observations of solar fine structure in the 1600 A region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, J. W.; Brueckner, G. E.; Bartoe, J.-D. F.

1983-01-01

High spatial resolution spectroheliograms of the 1600 A region obtained during the HRTS rocket flight of 1978 February 13 are presented. The morphology, fine structure, and temporal behavior of emission bright points (BPs) in active and quiet regions are illustrated. In quiet regions, network elements persist as morphological units, although individual BPs may vary in intensity while usually lasting the flight duration. In cell centers, the BPs are highly variable on a 1 minute time scale. BPs in plages remain more constant in brightness over the observing sequence. BPs cover less than 4 percent of the quiet surface. The lifetime and degree of packing of BPs vary with the local strength of the magnetic field.

New computing systems, future computing environment, and their implications on structural analysis and design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, Ahmed K.; Housner, Jerrold M.

1993-01-01

Recent advances in computer technology that are likely to impact structural analysis and design of flight vehicles are reviewed. A brief summary is given of the advances in microelectronics, networking technologies, and in the user-interface hardware and software. The major features of new and projected computing systems, including high performance computers, parallel processing machines, and small systems, are described. Advances in programming environments, numerical algorithms, and computational strategies for new computing systems are reviewed. The impact of the advances in computer technology on structural analysis and the design of flight vehicles is described. A scenario for future computing paradigms is presented, and the near-term needs in the computational structures area are outlined.

NASA Near Earth Network (NEN) and Space Network (SN) CubeSat Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaire, Scott H.; Shaw, Harry; Altunc, Serhat; Bussey, George; Celeste, Peter; Kegege, Obadiah; Wong, Yen; Zhang, Yuwen; Patel, Chitra; Raphael, David;

In-Space Networking On NASA's SCaN Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooks, David; Eddy, Wesley M.; Clark, Gilbert J., III; Johnson, Sandra K.

2016-01-01

The NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed, an external payload onboard the International Space Station, is equipped with three software defined radios (SDRs) and a programmable flight computer. The purpose of the Testbed is to conduct inspace research in the areas of communication, navigation, and networking in support of NASA missions and communication infrastructure. Multiple reprogrammable elements in the end to end system, along with several communication paths and a semi-operational environment, provides a unique opportunity to explore networking concepts and protocols envisioned for the future Solar System Internet (SSI). This paper will provide a general description of the system's design and the networking protocols implemented and characterized on the testbed, including Encapsulation, IP over CCSDS, and Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN). Due to the research nature of the implementation, flexibility and robustness are considered in the design to enable expansion for future adaptive and cognitive techniques. Following a detailed design discussion, lessons learned and suggestions for future missions and communication infrastructure elements will be provided. Plans for the evolving research on SCaN Testbed as it moves towards a more adaptive, autonomous system will be discussed.

Contact Graph Routing Enhancements Developed in ION for DTN

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Segui, John S.; Burleigh, Scott

2013-01-01

The Interplanetary Overlay Network (ION) software suite is an open-source, flight-ready implementation of networking protocols including the Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) Bundle Protocol (BP), the CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems) File Delivery Protocol (CFDP), and many others including the Contact Graph Routing (CGR) DTN routing system. While DTN offers the capability to tolerate disruption and long signal propagation delays in transmission, without an appropriate routing protocol, no data can be delivered. CGR was built for space exploration networks with scheduled communication opportunities (typically based on trajectories and orbits), represented as a contact graph. Since CGR uses knowledge of future connectivity, the contact graph can grow rather large, and so efficient processing is desired. These enhancements allow CGR to scale to predicted NASA space network complexities and beyond. This software improves upon CGR by adopting an earliest-arrival-time cost metric and using the Dijkstra path selection algorithm. Moving to Dijkstra path selection also enables construction of an earliest- arrival-time tree for multicast routing. The enhancements have been rolled into ION 3.0 available on sourceforge.net.

NASA Near Earth Network (NEN) and Space Network (SN) Support of CubeSat Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaire, Scott H.; Shaw, Harry C.; Altunc, Serhat; Bussey, George; Celeste, Peter; Kegege, Obadiah; Wong, Yen; Zhang, Yuwen; Patel, Chitra; Raphael, David;

Bayesian Safety Risk Modeling of Human-Flightdeck Automation Interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ancel, Ersin; Shih, Ann T.

2015-01-01

Usage of automatic systems in airliners has increased fuel efficiency, added extra capabilities, enhanced safety and reliability, as well as provide improved passenger comfort since its introduction in the late 80's. However, original automation benefits, including reduced flight crew workload, human errors or training requirements, were not achieved as originally expected. Instead, automation introduced new failure modes, redistributed, and sometimes increased workload, brought in new cognitive and attention demands, and increased training requirements. Modern airliners have numerous flight modes, providing more flexibility (and inherently more complexity) to the flight crew. However, the price to pay for the increased flexibility is the need for increased mode awareness, as well as the need to supervise, understand, and predict automated system behavior. Also, over-reliance on automation is linked to manual flight skill degradation and complacency in commercial pilots. As a result, recent accidents involving human errors are often caused by the interactions between humans and the automated systems (e.g., the breakdown in man-machine coordination), deteriorated manual flying skills, and/or loss of situational awareness due to heavy dependence on automated systems. This paper describes the development of the increased complexity and reliance on automation baseline model, named FLAP for FLightdeck Automation Problems. The model development process starts with a comprehensive literature review followed by the construction of a framework comprised of high-level causal factors leading to an automation-related flight anomaly. The framework was then converted into a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) using the Hugin Software v7.8. The effects of automation on flight crew are incorporated into the model, including flight skill degradation, increased cognitive demand and training requirements along with their interactions. Besides flight crew deficiencies, automation system failures and anomalies of avionic systems are also incorporated. The resultant model helps simulate the emergence of automation-related issues in today's modern airliners from a top-down, generalized approach, which serves as a platform to evaluate NASA developed technologies

Hayabusa Re-Entry: Trajectory Analysis and Observation Mission Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cassell, Alan M.; Winter, Michael W.; Allen, Gary A.; Grinstead, Jay H.; Antimisiaris, Manny E.; Albers, James; Jenniskens, Peter

2011-01-01

On June 13th, 2010, the Hayabusa sample return capsule successfully re-entered Earth s atmosphere over the Woomera Prohibited Area in southern Australia in its quest to return fragments from the asteroid 1998 SF36 Itokawa . The sample return capsule entered at a super-orbital velocity of 12.04 km/sec (inertial), making it the second fastest human-made object to traverse the atmosphere. The NASA DC-8 airborne observatory was utilized as an instrument platform to record the luminous portion of the sample return capsule re-entry (60 sec) with a variety of on-board spectroscopic imaging instruments. The predicted sample return capsule s entry state information at 200 km altitude was propagated through the atmosphere to generate aerothermodynamic and trajectory data used for initial observation flight path design and planning. The DC- 8 flight path was designed by considering safety, optimal sample return capsule viewing geometry and aircraft capabilities in concert with key aerothermodynamic events along the predicted trajectory. Subsequent entry state vector updates provided by the Deep Space Network team at NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory were analyzed after the planned trajectory correction maneuvers to further refine the DC-8 observation flight path. Primary and alternate observation flight paths were generated during the mission planning phase which required coordination with Australian authorities for pre-mission approval. The final observation flight path was chosen based upon trade-offs between optimal viewing requirements, ground based observer locations (to facilitate post-flight trajectory reconstruction), predicted weather in the Woomera Prohibited Area and constraints imposed by flight path filing deadlines. To facilitate sample return capsule tracking by the instrument operators, a series of two racetrack flight path patterns were performed prior to the observation leg so the instruments could be pointed towards the region in the star background where the sample return capsule was expected to become visible. An overview of the design methodologies and trade-offs used in the Hayabusa re-entry observation campaign are presented.

CFDP for Interplanetary Overlay Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burleigh, Scott C.

2011-01-01

The CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems) File Delivery Protocol for Interplanetary Overlay Network (CFDP-ION) is an implementation of CFDP that uses IO' s DTN (delay tolerant networking) implementation as its UT (unit-data transfer) layer. Because the DTN protocols effect automatic, reliable transmission via multiple relays, CFDP-ION need only satisfy the requirements for Class 1 ("unacknowledged") CFDP. This keeps the implementation small, but without loss of capability. This innovation minimizes processing resources by using zero-copy objects for file data transmission. It runs without modification in VxWorks, Linux, Solaris, and OS/X. As such, this innovation can be used without modification in both flight and ground systems. Integration with DTN enables the CFDP implementation itself to be very simple; therefore, very small. Use of ION infrastructure minimizes consumption of storage and processing resources while maximizing safety.

Ethernet-based smart networked elements (sensors and actuators)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mata, Carlos T.; Perotti, José M.; Oostdyk, Rebecca L.; Lucena, Angel

2006-05-01

This paper outlines the present design approach for the Ethernet-Based Smart Networked Elements (SNE) being developed by NASA's Instrumentation Branch and the Advanced Electronics and Technology Development Laboratory of ASRC Aerospace Corporation at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The SNEs are being developed as part of the Integrated Intelligent Health Management System (IIHMS), jointly developed by Stennis Space Center (SSC), KSC, and Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). SNEs are sensors/actuators with embedded intelligence, capable of networking among themselves and with higher-level systems (external processors and controllers) to provide not only instrumentation data but also associated data validity qualifiers. NASA KSC has successfully developed and preliminarily demonstrated this new generation of SNEs. SNEs that collect pressure, strain, and temperature measurements (including cryogenic temperature ranges) have been developed and tested in the laboratory and are ready for demonstration in the field.

The high speed interconnect system architecture and operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Steven C.

The design and operation of a fiber-optic high-speed interconnect system (HSIS) being developed to meet the requirements of future avionics and flight-control hardware with distributed-system architectures are discussed. The HSIS is intended for 100-Mb/s operation of a local-area network with up to 256 stations. It comprises a bus transmission system (passive star couplers and linear media linked by active elements) and network interface units (NIUs). Each NIU is designed to perform the physical, data link, network, and transport functions defined by the ISO OSI Basic Reference Model (1982 and 1983) and incorporates a fiber-optic transceiver, a high-speed protocol based on the SAE AE-9B linear token-passing data bus (1986), and a specialized application interface unit. The operating modes and capabilities of HSIS are described in detail and illustrated with diagrams.

Architecture Study on Telemetry Coverage for Immediate Post-Separation Phase

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheung, Kar-Ming; Lee, Charles H.; Kellogg, Kent H.; Stocklin, Frank J.; Zillig, David J.; Fielhauer, Karl B.

2008-01-01

This paper presents the preliminary results of an architecture study that provides continuous telemetry coverage for NASA missions for immediate post-separation phase. This study is a collaboration effort between Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). After launch when the spacecraft separated from the upper stage, the spacecraft typically executes a number of mission-critical operations prior to the deployment of solar panels and the activation of the primary communication subsystem. JPL, GSFC, and APL have similar design principle statements that require continuous coverage of mission-critical telemetry during the immediate post-separation phase. To conform to these design principles, an architecture that consists of a separate spacecraft transmitter and a robust communication network capable of tracking the spacecraft signals is needed.This paper presents the preliminary results of an architecture study that provides continuous telemetry coverage for NASA missions for immediate post-separation phase. This study is a collaboration effort between Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). After launch when the spacecraft separated from the upper stage, the spacecraft typically executes a number of mission-critical operations prior to the deployment of solar panels and the activation of the primary communication subsystem. JPL, GSFC, and APL have similar design principle statements that require continuous coverage of mission-critical telemetry during the immediate post-separation phase. To conform to these design principles, an architecture that consists of a separate spacecraft transmitter and a robust communication network capable of tracking the spacecraft signals is needed. The main results of this study are as follows: 1) At low altitude (< 10000 km) when most post-separation critical operations are executed, Earth-based network (e.g. Deep Space Network (DSN)) can only provide limited coverage, whereas space-based network (e.g. Space Network (SN)) can provide continuous coverage. 2) Commercial-off-the-shelf SN compatible transmitters are available for small satellite applications. In this paper we present the detailed coverage analysis of Earth-based and Space-based networks. We identify the key functional and performance requirements of the architecture, and describe the proposed selection criteria of the spacecraft transmitter. We conclude the paper with a proposed forward plan.

Entropy of spatial network ensembles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coon, Justin P.; Dettmann, Carl P.; Georgiou, Orestis

2018-04-01

We analyze complexity in spatial network ensembles through the lens of graph entropy. Mathematically, we model a spatial network as a soft random geometric graph, i.e., a graph with two sources of randomness, namely nodes located randomly in space and links formed independently between pairs of nodes with probability given by a specified function (the "pair connection function") of their mutual distance. We consider the general case where randomness arises in node positions as well as pairwise connections (i.e., for a given pair distance, the corresponding edge state is a random variable). Classical random geometric graph and exponential graph models can be recovered in certain limits. We derive a simple bound for the entropy of a spatial network ensemble and calculate the conditional entropy of an ensemble given the node location distribution for hard and soft (probabilistic) pair connection functions. Under this formalism, we derive the connection function that yields maximum entropy under general constraints. Finally, we apply our analytical framework to study two practical examples: ad hoc wireless networks and the US flight network. Through the study of these examples, we illustrate that both exhibit properties that are indicative of nearly maximally entropic ensembles.

Estimating epidemic arrival times using linear spreading theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Lawrence M.; Holzer, Matt; Shapiro, Anne

2018-01-01

We study the dynamics of a spatially structured model of worldwide epidemics and formulate predictions for arrival times of the disease at any city in the network. The model is composed of a system of ordinary differential equations describing a meta-population susceptible-infected-recovered compartmental model defined on a network where each node represents a city and the edges represent the flight paths connecting cities. Making use of the linear determinacy of the system, we consider spreading speeds and arrival times in the system linearized about the unstable disease free state and compare these to arrival times in the nonlinear system. Two predictions are presented. The first is based upon expansion of the heat kernel for the linearized system. The second assumes that the dominant transmission pathway between any two cities can be approximated by a one dimensional lattice or a homogeneous tree and gives a uniform prediction for arrival times independent of the specific network features. We test these predictions on a real network describing worldwide airline traffic.

Object-Oriented Bayesian Networks (OOBN) for Aviation Accident Modeling and Technology Portfolio Impact Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shih, Ann T.; Ancel, Ersin; Jones, Sharon M.

2012-01-01

The concern for reducing aviation safety risk is rising as the National Airspace System in the United States transforms to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The NASA Aviation Safety Program is committed to developing an effective aviation safety technology portfolio to meet the challenges of this transformation and to mitigate relevant safety risks. The paper focuses on the reasoning of selecting Object-Oriented Bayesian Networks (OOBN) as the technique and commercial software for the accident modeling and portfolio assessment. To illustrate the benefits of OOBN in a large and complex aviation accident model, the in-flight Loss-of-Control Accident Framework (LOCAF) constructed as an influence diagram is presented. An OOBN approach not only simplifies construction and maintenance of complex causal networks for the modelers, but also offers a well-organized hierarchical network that is easier for decision makers to exploit the model examining the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies through technology insertions.

Software-Reconfigurable Processors for Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farrington, Allen; Gray, Andrew; Bell, Bryan; Stanton, Valerie; Chong, Yong; Peters, Kenneth; Lee, Clement; Srinivasan, Jeffrey

2005-01-01

A report presents an overview of an architecture for a software-reconfigurable network data processor for a spacecraft engaged in scientific exploration. When executed on suitable electronic hardware, the software performs the functions of a physical layer (in effect, acts as a software radio in that it performs modulation, demodulation, pulse-shaping, error correction, coding, and decoding), a data-link layer, a network layer, a transport layer, and application-layer processing of scientific data. The software-reconfigurable network processor is undergoing development to enable rapid prototyping and rapid implementation of communication, navigation, and scientific signal-processing functions; to provide a long-lived communication infrastructure; and to provide greatly improved scientific-instrumentation and scientific-data-processing functions by enabling science-driven in-flight reconfiguration of computing resources devoted to these functions. This development is an extension of terrestrial radio and network developments (e.g., in the cellular-telephone industry) implemented in software running on such hardware as field-programmable gate arrays, digital signal processors, traditional digital circuits, and mixed-signal application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

Improving the Capture and Re-Use of Data with Wearable Computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pfarr, Barbara; Fating, Curtis C.; Green, Daniel; Powers, Edward I. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

At the Goddard Space Flight Center, members of the Real-Time Software Engineering Branch are developing a wearable, wireless, voice-activated computer for use in a wide range of crosscutting space applications that would benefit from having instant Internet, network, and computer access with complete mobility and hands-free operations. These applications can be applied across many fields and disciplines including spacecraft fabrication, integration and testing (including environmental testing), and astronaut on-orbit control and monitoring of experiments with ground based experimenters. To satisfy the needs of NASA customers, this wearable computer needs to be connected to a wireless network, to transmit and receive real-time video over the network, and to receive updated documents via the Internet or NASA servers. The voice-activated computer, with a unique vocabulary, will allow the users to access documentation in a hands free environment and interact in real-time with remote users. We will discuss wearable computer development, hardware and software issues, wireless network limitations, video/audio solutions and difficulties in language development.

Hyper-Spectral Networking Concept of Operations and Future Air Traffic Management Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Paul; Boisvert, Benjamin

2017-01-01

The NASA sponsored Hyper-Spectral Communications and Networking for Air Traffic Management (ATM) (HSCNA) project is conducting research to improve the operational efficiency of the future National Airspace System (NAS) through diverse and secure multi-band, multi-mode, and millimeter-wave (mmWave) wireless links. Worldwide growth of air transportation and the coming of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will increase air traffic density and complexity. Safe coordination of aircraft will require more capable technologies for communications, navigation, and surveillance (CNS). The HSCNA project will provide a foundation for technology and operational concepts to accommodate a significantly greater number of networked aircraft. This paper describes two of the HSCNA projects technical challenges. The first technical challenge is to develop a multi-band networking concept of operations (ConOps) for use in multiple phases of flight and all communication link types. This ConOps will integrate the advanced technologies explored by the HSCNA project and future operational concepts into a harmonized vision of future NAS communications and networking. The second technical challenge discussed is to conduct simulations of future ATM operations using multi-bandmulti-mode networking and technologies. Large-scale simulations will assess the impact, compared to todays system, of the new and integrated networks and technologies under future air traffic demand.

Wireless Sensor Networks for Developmental and Flight Instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alena, Richard; Figueroa, Fernando; Becker, Jeffrey; Foster, Mark; Wang, Ray; Gamudevelli, Suman; Studor, George

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) based on the IEEE 802.15.4 Personal Area Network and ZigBee Pro 2007 standards are finding increasing use in home automation and smart energy markets providing a framework for interoperable software. The Wireless Connections in Space Project, funded by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, is developing technology, metrics and requirements for next-generation spacecraft avionics incorporating wireless data transport. The team from Stennis Space Center and Mobitrum Corporation, working under a NASA SBIR grant, has developed techniques for embedding plug-and-play software into ZigBee WSN prototypes implementing the IEEE 1451 Transducer Electronic Datasheet (TEDS) standard. The TEDS provides meta-information regarding sensors such as serial number, calibration curve and operational status. Incorporation of TEDS into wireless sensors leads directly to building application level software that can recognize sensors at run-time, dynamically instantiating sensors as they are added or removed. The Ames Research Center team has been experimenting with this technology building demonstration prototypes for on-board health monitoring. Innovations in technology, software and process can lead to dramatic improvements for managing sensor systems applied to Developmental and Flight Instrumentation (DFI) aboard aerospace vehicles. A brief overview of the plug-and-play ZigBee WSN technology is presented along with specific targets for application within the aerospace DFI market. The software architecture for the sensor nodes incorporating the TEDS information is described along with the functions of the Network Capable Gateway processor which bridges 802.15.4 PAN to the TCP/IP network. Client application software connects to the Gateway and is used to display TEDS information and real-time sensor data values updated every few seconds, incorporating error detection and logging to help measure performance and reliability in relevant target environments. Test results from our prototype WSN running the Mobitrum software system are summarized and the implications to the scalability and reliability for DFI applications are discussed. Our demonstration system, incorporating sensors for life support system and structural health monitoring is described along with test results obtained by running the demonstration prototype in relevant environments such as the Wireless Habitat Testbed at Johnson Space Center in Houston. An operations concept for improved sensor process flow from design to flight test is outlined specific to the areas of Environmental Control and Life Support System performance characterization and structural health monitoring of human-rated spacecraft. This operations concept will be used to highlight the areas where WSN technology, particularly plug-and-play software based on IEEE 1451, can improve the current process, resulting in significant reductions in the technical effort, overall cost and schedule for providing DFI capability for future spacecraft. RELEASED -

Methods for analysis of passenger trip performance in a complex networked transportation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Danyi

2007-12-01

The purpose of the Air Transportation System (ATS) is to provide safe and efficient transportation service of passengers and cargo. The on-time performance of a passenger's trip is a critical performance measurement of the Quality of Service (QOS) provided by any Air Transportation System. QOS has been correlated with airline profitability, productivity, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction (Heskett et al. 1994). Btatu and Barnhart have shown that official government and airline on-time performance metrics (i.e. flight-centric measures of air transportation) fail to accurately reflect the passenger experience (Btatu and Barnhart, 2005). Flight-based metrics do not include the trip delays accrued by passengers who were re-booked due to cancelled flights or missed connections. Also, flight-based metrics do not quantify the magnitude of the delay (only the likelihood) and thus fails to provide the consumer with a useful assessment of the impact of a delay. Passenger-centric metrics have not been developed because of the unavailability of airline proprietary data, which is also protected by anti-trust collusion concerns and civil liberty privacy restrictions. Moveover, the growth of the ATS is trending out of the historical range. The objectives of this research were to (1) estimate ATS-wide passenger trip delay using publicly accessible flight data, and (2) investigate passenger trip dynamics out of the range of historical data by building a passenger flow simulation model to predict impact on passenger trip time given anticipated changes in the future. The first objective enables researchers to conduct historical analysis on passenger on-time performance without proprietary itinerary data, and the second objective enables researchers to conduct experiments outside the range of historic data. The estimated passenger trip delay was for 1,030 routes between the 35 busiest airports in the United States in 2006. The major findings of this research are listed as follows: 1. High passenger trip delays are disproportionately generated by cancelled flights and missed connections. Passengers scheduled on cancelled flights or missed connections represent 3 percent of total enplanements, but generated 45 percent of total passenger trip delay. On average, passengers scheduled on cancelled flights experienced 607 minutes delay, and passengers who missed the connections experienced 341 minutes delay in 2006. The heavily skewed distribution of passenger trip delay reveals the fact that a small proportion of passengers experience heavy delays, which can not be reflected by flight-based performance metrics. 2. Trend analysis for passenger trip delays from 2000 to 2006 shows the increase in flight operations slowed down and leveled off in 2006, while enplanements kept increasing. This is due to the continuous increase in load factor. Load factor has increased from 69% in 2003 to 80% in 2006. Passenger performance is very sensitive to changes in flight operations: annual total passenger trip delay was increased by 17% and 7% from 2004 to 2005, and from 2005 to 2006, while flight operations barely increased (0.5% from 2004 to 2005, and no increase from 2005 to 2006) during the same time period. 3. Passenger trip delay is shown to have an asymmetric performance of passenger trip delay in terms of routes. Seventeen percent of the 1030 routes generated 50 percent of total passenger trip delays. An interesting observation is that routes between the New York metropolitan area and the Washington D.C. metropolitan area have the highest average passenger trip delays in the system. 4. In terms of airports, there is also an asymmetric performance of passenger trip delay. Nine of the 35 busiest airports generated 50 percent of total passenger trip delays. Some airports, especially major hubs, impact the passenger trip delays significantly more than others. Recognition of this asymmetric performance can help reduce the total passenger trip delay propagation in the air transportation network by making changes primarily in major airports, such as Atlanta, GA (ATL), Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and Newark (EWR) airports. 5. Congestion Flight Delay, Load Factor, Flight Cancellation Time, and Airline Cooperation Policy are the most significant factors affecting total passenger trip delay in the system.

Radioastron flight operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Altunin, V. I.; Sukhanov, K. G.; Altunin, K. R.

1993-01-01

Radioastron is a space-based very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) mission to be operational in the mid-90's. The spacecraft and space radio telescope (SRT) will be designed, manufactured, and launched by the Russians. The United States is constructing a DSN subnet to be used in conjunction with a Russian subnet for Radioastron SRT science data acquisition, phase link, and spacecraft and science payload health monitoring. Command and control will be performed from a Russian tracking facility. In addition to the flight element, the network of ground radio telescopes which will be performing co-observations with the space telescope are essential to the mission. Observatories in 39 locations around the world are expected to participate in the mission. Some aspects of the mission that have helped shaped the flight operations concept are: separate radio channels will be provided for spacecraft operations and for phase link and science data acquisition; 80-90 percent of the spacecraft operational time will be spent in an autonomous mode; and, mission scheduling must take into account not only spacecraft and science payload constraints, but tracking station and ground observatory availability as well. This paper will describe the flight operations system design for translating the Radioastron science program into spacecraft executed events. Planning for in-orbit checkout and contingency response will also be discussed.

Coaxial Cables for Martian Extreme Temperature Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni; Harvey, Wayne L.; Valas, Sam; Tsai, Michael C.

2011-01-01

Work was conducted to validate the use of the rover external flexible coaxial cabling for space under the extreme environments to be encountered during the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. The antennas must survive all ground operations plus the nominal 670-Martian-day mission that includes summer and winter seasons of the Mars environment. Successful development of processes established coaxial cable hardware fatigue limits, which were well beyond the expected in-flight exposures. In keeping with traditional qualification philosophy, this was accomplished by subjecting flight-representative coaxial cables to temperature cycling of the same depth as expected in-flight, but for three times the expected number of in-flight thermal cycles. Insertion loss and return loss tests were performed on the coaxial cables during the thermal chamber breaks. A vector network analyzer was calibrated and operated over the operational frequency range 7.145 to 8.450 GHz. Even though some of the exposed cables function only at UHF frequencies (approximately 400 MHz), the testing was more sensitive, and extending the test range down to 400 MHz would have cost frequency resolution. The Gore flexible coaxial cables, which were the subject of these tests, proved to be robust and displayed no sign of degradation due to the 3X exposure to the punishing Mars surface operations cycles.

Investigating Cooperative Behavior in Ecological Settings: An EEG Hyperscanning Study.

PubMed

Toppi, Jlenia; Borghini, Gianluca; Petti, Manuela; He, Eric J; De Giusti, Vittorio; He, Bin; Astolfi, Laura; Babiloni, Fabio

2016-01-01

The coordinated interactions between individuals are fundamental for the success of the activities in some professional categories. We reported on brain-to-brain cooperative interactions between civil pilots during a simulated flight. We demonstrated for the first time how the combination of neuroelectrical hyperscanning and intersubject connectivity could provide indicators sensitive to the humans' degree of synchronization under a highly demanding task performed in an ecological environment. Our results showed how intersubject connectivity was able to i) characterize the degree of cooperation between pilots in different phases of the flight, and ii) to highlight the role of specific brain macro areas in cooperative behavior. During the most cooperative flight phases pilots showed, in fact, dense patterns of interbrain connectivity, mainly linking frontal and parietal brain areas. On the contrary, the amount of interbrain connections went close to zero in the non-cooperative phase. The reliability of the interbrain connectivity patterns was verified by means of a baseline condition represented by formal couples, i.e. pilots paired offline for the connectivity analysis but not simultaneously recorded during the flight. Interbrain density was, in fact, significantly higher in real couples with respect to formal couples in the cooperative flight phases. All the achieved results demonstrated how the description of brain networks at the basis of cooperation could effectively benefit from a hyperscanning approach. Interbrain connectivity was, in fact, more informative in the investigation of cooperative behavior with respect to established EEG signal processing methodologies applied at a single subject level.

Investigating Cooperative Behavior in Ecological Settings: An EEG Hyperscanning Study

PubMed Central

Petti, Manuela; He, Eric J.; De Giusti, Vittorio; He, Bin; Astolfi, Laura; Babiloni, Fabio

2016-01-01

The coordinated interactions between individuals are fundamental for the success of the activities in some professional categories. We reported on brain-to-brain cooperative interactions between civil pilots during a simulated flight. We demonstrated for the first time how the combination of neuroelectrical hyperscanning and intersubject connectivity could provide indicators sensitive to the humans’ degree of synchronization under a highly demanding task performed in an ecological environment. Our results showed how intersubject connectivity was able to i) characterize the degree of cooperation between pilots in different phases of the flight, and ii) to highlight the role of specific brain macro areas in cooperative behavior. During the most cooperative flight phases pilots showed, in fact, dense patterns of interbrain connectivity, mainly linking frontal and parietal brain areas. On the contrary, the amount of interbrain connections went close to zero in the non-cooperative phase. The reliability of the interbrain connectivity patterns was verified by means of a baseline condition represented by formal couples, i.e. pilots paired offline for the connectivity analysis but not simultaneously recorded during the flight. Interbrain density was, in fact, significantly higher in real couples with respect to formal couples in the cooperative flight phases. All the achieved results demonstrated how the description of brain networks at the basis of cooperation could effectively benefit from a hyperscanning approach. Interbrain connectivity was, in fact, more informative in the investigation of cooperative behavior with respect to established EEG signal processing methodologies applied at a single subject level. PMID:27124558

Spaceflight Ground Support Equipment Reliability & System Safety Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fernandez, Rene; Riddlebaugh, Jeffrey; Brinkman, John; Wilkinson, Myron

2012-01-01

Presented were Reliability Analysis, consisting primarily of Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), and System Safety Analysis, consisting of Preliminary Hazards Analysis (PHA), performed to ensure that the CoNNeCT (Communications, Navigation, and Networking re- Configurable Testbed) Flight System was safely and reliably operated during its Assembly, Integration and Test (AI&T) phase. A tailored approach to the NASA Ground Support Equipment (GSE) standard, NASA-STD-5005C, involving the application of the appropriate Requirements, S&MA discipline expertise, and a Configuration Management system (to retain a record of the analysis and documentation) were presented. Presented were System Block Diagrams of selected GSE and the corresponding FMEA, as well as the PHAs. Also discussed are the specific examples of the FMEAs and PHAs being used during the AI&T phase to drive modifications to the GSE (via "redlining" of test procedures, and the placement of warning stickers to protect the flight hardware) before being interfaced to the Flight System. These modifications were necessary because failure modes and hazards were identified during the analysis that had not been properly mitigated. Strict Configuration Management was applied to changes (whether due to upgrades or expired calibrations) in the GSE by revisiting the FMEAs and PHAs to reflect the latest System Block Diagrams and Bill Of Material. The CoNNeCT flight system has been successfully assembled, integrated, tested, and shipped to the launch site without incident. This demonstrates that the steps taken to safeguard the flight system when it was interfaced to the various GSE were successful.

Flight Opportunities for Science Teacher EnRichment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch, D.; Devore, E.; Gillespie, C., Jr.; Hull, G.

1994-12-01

The Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) is NASA's unique stratospheric infrared observatory. Science on board the KAO involves many disciplines and technologies. NASA Astrophysics Division supports a pre-college teacher program to provide Flight Opportunities for Science Teacher EnRichment (FOSTER). To date, forty-five teachers are participating, and the program is designed to nation-wide to serve fifty teachers per year on board the KAO. FOSTER is a pilot program for K-12 educational outreach for NASA's future Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) which will directly involve more than one-hundred teachers each year in airborne astronomical research missions. FOSTER aims to enrich precollege teachers' experiences and understanding of science, mathematics and technology. Teachers meet at NASA Ames Research Center for summer workshops on astronomy and contemporary astrophysics, and to prepare for flights. Further, teachers receive Internet training and support to create a FOSTER teacher network across the country, and to sustain communication with the airborne astronomy community. Each research flight of the KAO is a microcosm of the scientific method. Flying teachers obtain first-hand, real-time experiences of the scientific process: its excitement, hardships, challenges, discoveries, teamwork, and educational value. The FOSTER experience gives teachers pride and a sense of special achievement. They bring the excitement and adventure of doing first-class science to their students and communities. Flight Opportunities for Science Teacher EnRichment is funded by a NASA's Astrophysics Division grant, NAGW 3291, and supported by the SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center.

The International Postal Network and Other Global Flows as Proxies for National Wellbeing.

PubMed

Hristova, Desislava; Rutherford, Alex; Anson, Jose; Luengo-Oroz, Miguel; Mascolo, Cecilia

2016-01-01

The digital exhaust left by flows of physical and digital commodities provides a rich measure of the nature, strength and significance of relationships between countries in the global network. With this work, we examine how these traces and the network structure can reveal the socioeconomic profile of different countries. We take into account multiple international networks of physical and digital flows, including the previously unexplored international postal network. By measuring the position of each country in the Trade, Postal, Migration, International Flights, IP and Digital Communications networks, we are able to build proxies for a number of crucial socioeconomic indicators such as GDP per capita and the Human Development Index ranking along with twelve other indicators used as benchmarks of national well-being by the United Nations and other international organisations. In this context, we have also proposed and evaluated a global connectivity degree measure applying multiplex theory across the six networks that accounts for the strength of relationships between countries. We conclude by showing how countries with shared community membership over multiple networks have similar socioeconomic profiles. Combining multiple flow data sources can help understand the forces which drive economic activity on a global level. Such an ability to infer proxy indicators in a context of incomplete information is extremely timely in light of recent discussions on measurement of indicators relevant to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Flight control with adaptive critic neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Dongchen

2001-10-01

In this dissertation, the adaptive critic neural network technique is applied to solve complex nonlinear system control problems. Based on dynamic programming, the adaptive critic neural network can embed the optimal solution into a neural network. Though trained off-line, the neural network forms a real-time feedback controller. Because of its general interpolation properties, the neurocontroller has inherit robustness. The problems solved here are an agile missile control for U.S. Air Force and a midcourse guidance law for U.S. Navy. In the first three papers, the neural network was used to control an air-to-air agile missile to implement a minimum-time heading-reverse in a vertical plane corresponding to following conditions: a system without constraint, a system with control inequality constraint, and a system with state inequality constraint. While the agile missile is a one-dimensional problem, the midcourse guidance law is the first test-bed for multiple-dimensional problem. In the fourth paper, the neurocontroller is synthesized to guide a surface-to-air missile to a fixed final condition, and to a flexible final condition from a variable initial condition. In order to evaluate the adaptive critic neural network approach, the numerical solutions for these cases are also obtained by solving two-point boundary value problem with a shooting method. All of the results showed that the adaptive critic neural network could solve complex nonlinear system control problems.

The International Postal Network and Other Global Flows as Proxies for National Wellbeing

PubMed Central

Rutherford, Alex; Anson, Jose; Luengo-Oroz, Miguel; Mascolo, Cecilia

2016-01-01

The digital exhaust left by flows of physical and digital commodities provides a rich measure of the nature, strength and significance of relationships between countries in the global network. With this work, we examine how these traces and the network structure can reveal the socioeconomic profile of different countries. We take into account multiple international networks of physical and digital flows, including the previously unexplored international postal network. By measuring the position of each country in the Trade, Postal, Migration, International Flights, IP and Digital Communications networks, we are able to build proxies for a number of crucial socioeconomic indicators such as GDP per capita and the Human Development Index ranking along with twelve other indicators used as benchmarks of national well-being by the United Nations and other international organisations. In this context, we have also proposed and evaluated a global connectivity degree measure applying multiplex theory across the six networks that accounts for the strength of relationships between countries. We conclude by showing how countries with shared community membership over multiple networks have similar socioeconomic profiles. Combining multiple flow data sources can help understand the forces which drive economic activity on a global level. Such an ability to infer proxy indicators in a context of incomplete information is extremely timely in light of recent discussions on measurement of indicators relevant to the Sustainable Development Goals. PMID:27248142

The conservation and management of migratory and resident birds and their habitats on Department of Defense lands

Treesearch

Joe Hautzenroder

2005-01-01

Managing over 25 million acres of land on hundreds of installations, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) plays a key role in Partners in Flight (PIF). Department of Defense lands represent a critical network of habitats for neotropical migratory birds, offering these birds migratory stopover areas for resting and feeding, and suitable sites for nesting and...

Identifying Cross-Disciplinary Interactions to Assess and Promote Functional Resilience in Flight Crews During Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shelhamer, M.; Mindock, J.; Lumpkins, S.

2015-01-01

NASA supports research to mitigate risks to health and performance on extended missions. Typically these risks are investigated independently. In reality, physiological systems are tightly coupled, and related to psychological and inter-individual factors (team cohesion, conflict). We draw on ideas from network theory to assess these interactions and better design a research framework to address them.

Distributed Mission Operations: Training Today’s Warfighters for Tomorrow’s Conflicts

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-01

systems or include dissimilar weapons systems to rehearse more complex mission sets. In addition to networking geographically separated simulators...over the past decade. Today, distributed mission operations can facilitate the rehearsal of theater wide operations, integrating all the anticipated...effective that many aviators earn their basic aircraft qualification before their first flight in the airplane.11 Computer memory was once a

Flight Software Implementation of the Beacon Monitor Expreiment On the NASA New Millennium Deep Space 1 (DS-1) Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, R.; Schlutsmeyer, A.

1997-01-01

A new technology that can lower the cost of mission operations on future spacecraft will be tested on the NASA New Millennium Deep Space 1 (DS-1) Mission. This technology, the Beacon Monitor Experiment (BMOX), can be used to reduce the Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking time and its associated costs on future missions.

A Multi-Center Space Data System Prototype Based on CCSDS Standards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rich, Thomas M.

2016-01-01

Deep space missions beyond earth orbit will require new methods of data communications in order to compensate for increasing Radio Frequency (RF) propagation delay. The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) standard protocols Spacecraft Monitor & Control (SM&C), Asynchronous Message Service (AMS), and Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) provide such a method. However, the maturity level of this protocol stack is insufficient for mission inclusion at this time. This Space Data System prototype is intended to provide experience which will raise the Technical Readiness Level (TRL) of this protocol set. In order to reduce costs, future missions can take advantage of these standard protocols, which will result in increased interoperability between control centers. This prototype demonstrates these capabilities by implementing a realistic space data system in which telemetry is published to control center applications at the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Reverse publishing paths for commanding from each control center are also implemented. The target vehicle consists of realistic flight computer hardware running Core Flight Software (CFS) in the integrated Power, Avionics, and Power (iPAS) Pathfinder Lab at JSC. This prototype demonstrates a potential upgrade path for future Deep Space Network (DSN) modification, in which the automatic error recovery and communication gap compensation capabilities of DTN would be exploited. In addition, SM&C provides architectural flexibility by allowing new service providers and consumers to be added efficiently anywhere in the network using the common interface provided by SM&C's Message Abstraction Layer (MAL). In FY 2015, this space data system was enhanced by adding telerobotic operations capability provided by the Robot API Delegate (RAPID) family of protocols developed at NASA. RAPID is one of several candidates for consideration and inclusion in a new international standard being developed by the CCSDS Telerobotic Operations Working Group. Software gateways for the purpose of interfacing RAPID messages with the existing SM&C based infrastructure were developed. Telerobotic monitor, control, and bridge applications were written in the RAPID framework, which were then tailored to the NAO telerobotic test article hardware, a product of Aldebaran Robotics.

Cortical activity and functional hyperconnectivity by simultaneous EEG recordings from interacting couples of professional pilots.

PubMed

Astolfi, L; Toppi, J; Borghini, G; Vecchiato, G; He, E J; Roy, A; Cincotti, F; Salinari, S; Mattia, D; He, B; Babiloni, F

2012-01-01

Controlling an aircraft during a flight is a compelling condition, which requires a strict and well coded interaction between the crew. The interaction level between the Captain and the First Officer changes during the flight, ranging from a maximum (during takeoff and landing, as well as in case of a failure of the instrumentation or other emergency situations) to a minimum during quiet mid-flight. In this study, our aim is to investigate the neural correlates of different kinds and levels of interaction between couples of professional crew members by means of the innovative technique called brain hyperscanning, i.e. the simultaneous recording of the hemodynamic or neuroelectrical activity of different human subjects involved in interaction tasks. This approach allows the observation and modeling of the neural signature specifically dependent on the interaction between subjects, and, even more interestingly, of the functional links existing between the brain activities of the subjects interacting together. In this EEG hyperscanning study, different phases of a flight were reproduced in a professional flight simulator, which allowed, on one side, to reproduce the ecological setting of a real flight, and, on the other, to keep under control the different levels of interaction induced in the crew by means of systematic and simulated failures of the aircraft instrumentation. Results of the procedure of linear inverse estimation, together with functional hyperconnectivity estimated by means of Partial Directed Coherence, showed a dense network of connections between the activity in the two brains in the takeoff and landing phases, when the cooperation between the crew is maximal, while conversely no significant links were shown during the phases in which the activity of the two pilots was independent.

The development of a closed-loop flight controller with panel method integration for gust alleviation using biomimetic feathers on aircraft wings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blower, Christopher J.; Lee, Woody; Wickenheiser, Adam M.

2012-04-01

This paper presents the development of a biomimetic closed-loop flight controller that integrates gust alleviation and flight control into a single distributed system. Modern flight controllers predominantly rely on and respond to perturbations in the global states, resulting in rotation or displacement of the entire aircraft prior to the response. This bio-inspired gust alleviation system (GAS) employs active deflection of electromechanical feathers that react to changes in the airflow, i.e. the local states. The GAS design is a skeletal wing structure with a network of featherlike panels installed on the wing's surfaces, creating the airfoil profile and replacing the trailing-edge flaps. In this study, a dynamic model of the GAS-integrated wing is simulated to compute gust-induced disturbances. The system implements continuous adjustment to flap orientation to perform corrective responses to inbound gusts. MATLAB simulations, using a closed-loop LQR integrated with a 2D adaptive panel method, allow analysis of the morphing structure's aerodynamic data. Non-linear and linear dynamic models of the GAS are compared to a traditional single control surface baseline wing. The feedback loops synthesized rely on inertial changes in the global states; however, variations in number and location of feather actuation are compared. The bio-inspired system's distributed control effort allows the flight controller to interchange between the single and dual trailing edge flap profiles, thereby offering an improved efficiency to gust response in comparison to the traditional wing configuration. The introduction of aero-braking during continuous gusting flows offers a 25% reduction in x-velocity deviation; other flight parameters can be reduced in magnitude and deviation through control weighting optimization. Consequently, the GAS demonstrates enhancements to maneuverability and stability in turbulent intensive environments.

Cognitive Assessment During Long-Duration Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seaton, Kimberly; Kane, R. L.; Sipes, Walter

2010-01-01

The Space Flight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) is a computer-based, self-administered battery of five cognitive assessment tests developed for medical operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. WinSCAT is a medical requirement for U.S. long-duration astronauts and has been implemented with U.S. astronauts from one NASA/Mir mission (NASA-7 mission) and all expeditions to date on the International Space Station (ISS). Its purpose is to provide ISS crew surgeons with an objective clinical tool after an unexpected traumatic event, a medical condition, or the cumulative effects of space flight that could negatively affect an astronaut's cognitive status and threaten mission success. WinSCAT was recently updated to add network capability to support a 6-person crew on the station support computers. Additionally, WinSCAT Version 2.0.28 has increased difficulty of items in Mathematics, increased number of items in Match-to-Sample, incorporates a moving rather than a fixed baseline, and implements stricter interpretation rules. ISS performance data were assessed to compare initial to modified interpretation rules for detecting potential changes in cognitive functioning during space flight. WinSCAT tests are routinely taken monthly during an ISS mission. Performance data from these ISS missions do not indicate significant cognitive decrements due to microgravity/space flight alone but have shown decrements. Applying the newly derived rules to ISS data results in a number of off-nominal performances at various times during and after flight.. Correlation to actual events is needed, but possible explanations for off-nominal performances could include actual physical factors such as toxic exposure, medication effects, or fatigue; emotional factors including stress from the mission or life events; or failure to exert adequate effort on the tests.

Comparison between artificial neural network and multilinear regression models in an evaluation of cognitive workload in a flight simulator.

PubMed

Hannula, Manne; Huttunen, Kerttu; Koskelo, Jukka; Laitinen, Tomi; Leino, Tuomo

2008-01-01

In this study, the performances of artificial neural network (ANN) analysis and multilinear regression (MLR) model-based estimation of heart rate were compared in an evaluation of individual cognitive workload. The data comprised electrocardiography (ECG) measurements and an evaluation of cognitive load that induces psychophysiological stress (PPS), collected from 14 interceptor fighter pilots during complex simulated F/A-18 Hornet air battles. In our data, the mean absolute error of the ANN estimate was 11.4 as a visual analog scale score, being 13-23% better than the mean absolute error of the MLR model in the estimation of cognitive workload.

Development of NASA's Space Communications and Navigation Test Bed Aboard ISS to Investigate SDR, On-Board Networking and Navigation Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhart, Richard C.; Kacpura, Thomas J.; Johnson, Sandra K.; Lux, James P.

2010-01-01

NASA is developing an experimental flight payload (referred to as the Space Communication and Navigation (SCAN) Test Bed) to investigate software defined radio (SDR), networking, and navigation technologies, operationally in the space environment. The payload consists of three software defined radios each compliant to NASA s Space Telecommunications Radio System Architecture, a common software interface description standard for software defined radios. The software defined radios are new technology developments underway by NASA and industry partners. Planned for launch in early 2012, the payload will be externally mounted to the International Space Station truss and conduct experiments representative of future mission capability.

Neural Network Based Modeling and Analysis of LP Control Surface Allocation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Langari, Reza; Krishnakumar, Kalmanje; Gundy-Burlet, Karen

2003-01-01

This paper presents an approach to interpretive modeling of LP based control allocation in intelligent flight control. The emphasis is placed on a nonlinear interpretation of the LP allocation process as a static map to support analytical study of the resulting closed loop system, albeit in approximate form. The approach makes use of a bi-layer neural network to capture the essential functioning of the LP allocation process. It is further shown via Lyapunov based analysis that under certain relatively mild conditions the resulting closed loop system is stable. Some preliminary conclusions from a study at Ames are stated and directions for further research are given at the conclusion of the paper.

Using Google Earth for Submarine Operations at Pavilion Lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deans, M. C.; Lees, D. S.; Fong, T.; Lim, D. S.

2009-12-01

During the July 2009 Pavilion Lake field test, we supported submarine "flight" operations using Google Earth. The Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames has experience with ground data systems for NASA missions, earth analog field tests, disaster response, and the Gigapan camera system. Leveraging this expertise and existing software, we put together a set of tools to support sub tracking and mapping, called the "Surface Data System." This system supports flight planning, real time flight operations, and post-flight analysis. For planning, we make overlays of the regional bedrock geology, sonar bathymetry, and sonar backscatter maps that show geology, depth, and structure of the bottom. Placemarks show the mooring locations for start and end points. Flight plans are shown as polylines with icons for waypoints. Flight tracks and imagery from previous field seasons are embedded in the map for planning follow-on activities. These data provide context for flight planning. During flights, sub position is updated every 5 seconds from the nav computer on the chase boat. We periodically update tracking KML files and refresh them with network links. A sub icon shows current location of the sub. A compass rose shows bearings to indicate heading to the next waypoint. A "Science Stenographer" listens on the voice loop and transcribes significant observations in real time. Observations called up to the surface immediately appear on the map as icons with date, time, position, and what was said. After each flight, the science back room immediately has the flight track and georeferenced notes from the pilots. We add additional information in post-processing. The submarines record video continuously, with "event" timestamps marked by the pilot. We cross-correlate the event timestamps with position logs to geolocate events and put a preview image and compressed video clip into the map. Animated flight tracks are also generated, showing timestamped position and providing timelapse playback of the flight. Neogeography tools are increasing in popularity and offer an excellent platform for geoinformatics. The scientists on the team are already familiar with Google Earth, eliminating up-front training on new tools. The flight maps and archived data are available immediately and in a usable format. Google Earth provides lots of measurement tools, annotation tools, and other built-in functions that we can use to create and analyze the map. All of this information is saved to a shared filesystem so that everyone on the team has access to all of the same map data. After the field season, the map data will be used by the team to analyse and correlate information from across the lake and across different flights to support their research, and to plan next year's activities.

Advanced information processing system: Authentication protocols for network communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harper, Richard E.; Adams, Stuart J.; Babikyan, Carol A.; Butler, Bryan P.; Clark, Anne L.; Lala, Jaynarayan H.

1994-01-01

In safety critical I/O and intercomputer communication networks, reliable message transmission is an important concern. Difficulties of communication and fault identification in networks arise primarily because the sender of a transmission cannot be identified with certainty, an intermediate node can corrupt a message without certainty of detection, and a babbling node cannot be identified and silenced without lengthy diagnosis and reconfiguration . Authentication protocols use digital signature techniques to verify the authenticity of messages with high probability. Such protocols appear to provide an efficient solution to many of these problems. The objective of this program is to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate intercomputer communication architectures which employ authentication. As a context for the evaluation, the authentication protocol-based communication concept was demonstrated under this program by hosting a real-time flight critical guidance, navigation and control algorithm on a distributed, heterogeneous, mixed redundancy system of workstations and embedded fault-tolerant computers.

Project management techniques for highly integrated programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stewart, J. F.; Bauer, C. A.

1983-01-01

The management and control of a representative, highly integrated high-technology project, in the X-29A aircraft flight test project is addressed. The X-29A research aircraft required the development and integration of eight distinct technologies in one aircraft. The project management system developed for the X-29A flight test program focuses on the dynamic interactions and the the intercommunication among components of the system. The insights gained from the new conceptual framework permitted subordination of departments to more functional units of decisionmaking, information processing, and communication networks. These processes were used to develop a project management system for the X-29A around the information flows that minimized the effects inherent in sampled-data systems and exploited the closed-loop multivariable nature of highly integrated projects.

Lessons learned from a decade of international space cooperation.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, R. J. H.

1971-01-01

A case history of the Alouette/ISIS series is presented, giving attention to aspects of U.S.-Canadian cooperation in this program. The project is only one example of a broad network of international cooperative relationships established by NASA over the past decade. Participation by other countries in important space science and applications projects is not limited to those providing flight hardware or conducting flight observations. Much valuable work is done on the ground, ranging from analysis in the laboratories of samples returned from the moon to correlated ground-based reception and analysis of radio beacon signals from satellites. It was found that cooperation is more likely to proceed smoothly and produce beneficial results if it is focused on projects that are clearly defined and agreed on in advance.

In-Flight Observation of Gamma Ray Glows by ILDAS.

PubMed

Kochkin, Pavlo; van Deursen, A P J; Marisaldi, M; Ursi, A; de Boer, A I; Bardet, M; Allasia, C; Boissin, J-F; Flourens, F; Østgaard, N

2017-12-16

An Airbus A340 aircraft flew over Northern Australia with the In-Flight Lightning Damage Assessment System (ILDAS) installed onboard. A long-duration gamma ray emission was detected. The most intense emission was observed at 12 km altitude and lasted for 20 s. Its intensity was 20 times the background counts, and it was abruptly terminated by a distant lightning flash. In this work we reconstruct the aircraft path and event timeline. The glow-terminating flash triggered a discharge from the aircraft wing that was recorded by a video camera operating onboard. Another count rate increase was observed 6 min later and lasted for 30 s. The lightning activity as reported by ground networks in this region was analyzed. The measured spectra characteristics of the emission were estimated.

In-Flight Observation of Gamma Ray Glows by ILDAS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kochkin, Pavlo; van Deursen, A. P. J.; Marisaldi, M.; Ursi, A.; de Boer, A. I.; Bardet, M.; Allasia, C.; Boissin, J.-F.; Flourens, F.; Østgaard, N.

2017-12-01

An Airbus A340 aircraft flew over Northern Australia with the In-Flight Lightning Damage Assessment System (ILDAS) installed onboard. A long-duration gamma ray emission was detected. The most intense emission was observed at 12 km altitude and lasted for 20 s. Its intensity was 20 times the background counts, and it was abruptly terminated by a distant lightning flash. In this work we reconstruct the aircraft path and event timeline. The glow-terminating flash triggered a discharge from the aircraft wing that was recorded by a video camera operating onboard. Another count rate increase was observed 6 min later and lasted for 30 s. The lightning activity as reported by ground networks in this region was analyzed. The measured spectra characteristics of the emission were estimated.

EAARL topography: Fire Island National Seashore

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brock, John C.; Wright, C. Wayne; Patterson, Matt; Nayagandhi, Amar; Patterson, Judd

2007-01-01

This Web site contains 31 LIDAR-derived first return topography maps and GIS files for Fire Island National Seashore. These lidar-derived topographic maps were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program, the National Park Service (NPS), Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, Inventory and Monitoring Program, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Wallops Flight Facility. The aims of the partnership that created this product are to develop advanced survey techniques for mapping barrier island geomorphology and habitats, and to enable the monitoring of ecological and geological change within National Seashores. This product is based on data from an innovative airborne lidar instrument under development at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL).

Development of a Deterministic Ethernet Building blocks for Space Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fidi, C.; Jakovljevic, Mirko

2015-09-01

The benefits of using commercially based networking standards and protocols have been widely discussed and are expected to include reduction in overall mission cost, shortened integration and test (I&T) schedules, increased operations flexibility, and hardware and software upgradeability/scalability with developments ongoing in the commercial world. The deterministic Ethernet technology TTEthernet [1] diploid on the NASA Orion spacecraft has demonstrated the use of the TTEthernet technology for a safety critical human space flight application during the Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1). The TTEthernet technology used within the NASA Orion program has been matured for the use within this mission but did not lead to a broader use in space applications or an international space standard. Therefore TTTech has developed a new version which allows to scale the technology for different applications not only the high end missions allowing to decrease the size of the building blocks leading to a reduction of size weight and power enabling the use in smaller applications. TTTech is currently developing a full space products offering for its TTEthernet technology to allow the use in different space applications not restricted to launchers and human spaceflight. A broad space market assessment and the current ESA TRP7594 lead to the development of a space grade TTEthernet controller ASIC based on the ESA qualified Atmel AT1C8RHA95 process [2]. In this paper we will describe our current TTEthernet controller development towards a space qualified network component allowing future spacecrafts to operate in significant radiation environments while using a single onboard network for reliable commanding and data transfer.

Flight motor networks modulate primary olfactory processing in the moth Manduca sexta.

PubMed

Chapman, Phillip D; Burkland, Rex; Bradley, Samual P; Houot, Benjamin; Bullman, Victoria; Dacks, Andrew M; Daly, Kevin C

2018-05-22

Nervous systems must distinguish sensory signals derived from an animal's own movements (reafference) from environmentally derived sources (exafference). To accomplish this, motor networks producing reafference transmit motor information, via a corollary discharge circuit (CDC), to affected sensory networks, modulating sensory function during behavior. While CDCs have been described in most sensory modalities, none have been observed projecting to an olfactory pathway. In moths, two mesothoracic to deutocerebral histaminergic neurons (MDHns) project from flight sensorimotor centers in the mesothoracic neuromere to the antennal lobe (AL), where they provide the sole source of histamine (HA), but whether they represent a CDC is unknown. We demonstrate that MDHn spiking activity is positively correlated with wing-motor output and increased before bouts of motor activity, suggesting that MDHns communicate global locomotor state, rather than providing a precisely timed motor copy. Within the AL, HA application sharpened entrainment of projection neuron responses to odor stimuli embedded within simulated wing-beat-induced flows, whereas MDHn axotomy or AL HA receptor (HA-r) blockade reduced entrainment. This finding is consistent with higher-order CDCs, as the MDHns enhanced rather than filtered entrainment of AL projection neurons. Finally, HA-r blockade increased odor detection and discrimination thresholds in behavior assays. These results establish MDHns as a CDC that modulates AL temporal resolution, enhancing odor-guided behavior. MDHns thus appear to represent a higher-order CDC to an insect olfactory pathway; this CDC's unique nature highlights the importance of motor-to-sensory signaling as a context-specific mechanism that fine-tunes sensory function. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Network Simulation Tool Development and Its Use Cases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, Esther; Borgen, Richard; Nguyen, Sam; Segui, John; Stoenescu, Tudor; Wang, Shin-Ywan; Woo, Simon; Barritt, Brian; Chevalier, Christine; Eddy, Wesley

2009-01-01

In this work, we focus on the development of a simulation tool to assist in analysis of current and future (proposed) network architectures for NASA. Specifically, the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Network is being architected as an integrated set of new assets and a federation of upgraded legacy systems. The SCaN architecture for the initial missions for returning humans to the moon and beyond will include the Space Network (SN) and the Near-Earth Network (NEN). In addition to SCaN, the initial mission scenario involves a Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), the International Space Station (ISS) and NASA Integrated Services Network (NISN). We call the tool being developed the SCaN Network Integration and Engineering (SCaN NI&E) Simulator. The intended uses of such a simulator are: (1) to characterize performance of particular protocols and configurations in mission planning phases; (2) to optimize system configurations by testing a larger parameter space than may be feasible in either production networks or an emulated environment; (3) to test solutions in order to find issues/risks before committing more significant resources needed to produce real hardware or flight software systems. We describe two use cases of the tool: (1) standalone simulation of CEV to ISS baseline scenario to determine network performance, (2) participation in Distributed Simulation Integration Laboratory (DSIL) tests to perform function testing and verify interface and interoperability of geographically dispersed simulations/emulations.

Air launch wireless sensor nodes (ALSN) for battle damage assessment (BDA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, Jason M.; Beck, Steven D.; Frank, Mark A.; Hoenes, Eric

2006-05-01

This paper summarizes the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) sponsored development and demonstration of an Air Launched Sensor Node (ALSN) system designed to fill DTRA's immediate need to support the Global Strike requirement of weapon-borne deliverable sensors for Battle Damage Assessment (BDA). Unattended ground sensors were integrated into a CBU-103 Tactical Munitions Dispenser (TMD), and flight test demonstrated with the 46 th Test Wing at Eglin AFB, FL. The objectives of the ALSN program were to repackage an existing multi-sensor node system to conform to the payload envelope and deployment configuration design; to integrate this payload into the CBU-103 TMD; and to conduct a combined payload flight test demonstration. The final sensor node included multiple sensors a microphone, a geophone, and multiple directional Passive Infrared (PIR) detectors with processing electronics, a low power wireless communications 802.15.4 mesh network, GPS (Global Positioning System), and power integrated into a form-fit BLU-97 munitions deployable package. This paper will present and discuss the flight test, results, and ALSN performance.

Using Web 2.0 (and Beyond?) in Space Flight Operations Control Centers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, David W.

2010-01-01

Word processing was one of the earliest uses for small workstations, but we quickly learned that desktop computers were far more than e-typewriters. Similarly, "Web 2.0" capabilities, particularly advanced search engines, chats, wikis, blogs, social networking, and the like, offer tools that could significantly improve our efficiency at managing the avalanche of information and decisions needed to operate space vehicles in realtime. However, could does not necessarily equal should. We must wield two-edged swords carefully to avoid stabbing ourselves. This paper examines some Web 2.0 tools, with an emphasis on social media, and suggests which ones might be useful or harmful in real-time space operations co rnotl environments, based on the author s experience as a Payload Crew Communicator (PAYCOM) at Marshall Space Flight Center s (MSFC) Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) for the International Space Station (ISS) and on discussions with other space flight operations control organizations and centers. There is also some discussion of an offering or two that may come from beyond the current cyber-horizon.

Flight State Identification of a Self-Sensing Wing via an Improved Feature Selection Method and Machine Learning Approaches

PubMed Central

Chen, Xi; Wu, Qi; Ren, He; Chang, Fu-Kuo

2018-01-01

In this work, a data-driven approach for identifying the flight state of a self-sensing wing structure with an embedded multi-functional sensing network is proposed. The flight state is characterized by the structural vibration signals recorded from a series of wind tunnel experiments under varying angles of attack and airspeeds. A large feature pool is created by extracting potential features from the signals covering the time domain, the frequency domain as well as the information domain. Special emphasis is given to feature selection in which a novel filter method is developed based on the combination of a modified distance evaluation algorithm and a variance inflation factor. Machine learning algorithms are then employed to establish the mapping relationship from the feature space to the practical state space. Results from two case studies demonstrate the high identification accuracy and the effectiveness of the model complexity reduction via the proposed method, thus providing new perspectives of self-awareness towards the next generation of intelligent air vehicles. PMID:29710832

Real-time sensor data validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bickmore, Timothy W.

1994-01-01

This report describes the status of an on-going effort to develop software capable of detecting sensor failures on rocket engines in real time. This software could be used in a rocket engine controller to prevent the erroneous shutdown of an engine due to sensor failures which would otherwise be interpreted as engine failures by the control software. The approach taken combines analytical redundancy with Bayesian belief networks to provide a solution which has well defined real-time characteristics and well-defined error rates. Analytical redundancy is a technique in which a sensor's value is predicted by using values from other sensors and known or empirically derived mathematical relations. A set of sensors and a set of relations among them form a network of cross-checks which can be used to periodically validate all of the sensors in the network. Bayesian belief networks provide a method of determining if each of the sensors in the network is valid, given the results of the cross-checks. This approach has been successfully demonstrated on the Technology Test Bed Engine at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Current efforts are focused on extending the system to provide a validation capability for 100 sensors on the Space Shuttle Main Engine.

An overview of the technical design of MSAT mobile satellite communications services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, N. George

The Canadian MSAT mobile satellite communications system is being implemented in cooperation with the American Mobile Satellite Consortium (AMSC). Two satellites are to be jointly acquired and each satellite is expected to backup the other. This paper describes the technical concepts of the services to be offered and the baseline planning of the infrastructure for the ground segment. MSAT service requirements are analyzed for mobile radio, telephone, data, and aeronautical services. The MSAT system will use nine beams in a narrow range of L-band frequencies with frequency reuse. Beams may be added to cover flight information areas in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The elements of the network architecture are: a network control centre, data hub stations, gateway stations, base stations, mobile terminals, and a signalling system to interconnect the elements of the system. The network control center will manage the network and allocate space segment capacity; data hub stations will support a switched packet mobile data service; the gateway stations will provide interconnection to the public telephone system and data networks; and the base stations will support private circuit switched voice and data services. Several alternative designs for the signalling system are described.

Proteome reference map and regulation network of neonatal rat cardiomyocyte

PubMed Central

Li, Zi-jian; Liu, Ning; Han, Qi-de; Zhang, You-yi

2011-01-01

Aim: To study and establish a proteome reference map and regulation network of neonatal rat cardiomyocyte. Methods: Cultured cardiomyocytes of neonatal rats were used. All proteins expressed in the cardiomyocytes were separated and identified by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Biological networks and pathways of the neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were analyzed using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) program (www.ingenuity.com). A 2-DE database was made accessible on-line by Make2ddb package on a web server. Results: More than 1000 proteins were separated on 2D gels, and 148 proteins were identified. The identified proteins were used for the construction of an extensible markup language-based database. Biological networks and pathways were constructed to analyze the functions associate with cardiomyocyte proteins in the database. The 2-DE database of rat cardiomyocyte proteins can be accessed at http://2d.bjmu.edu.cn. Conclusion: A proteome reference map and regulation network of the neonatal rat cardiomyocytes have been established, which may serve as an international platform for storage, analysis and visualization of cardiomyocyte proteomic data. PMID:21841810

Data Management Working Group report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Filardo, Edward J.; Smith, David B.

1986-01-01

The current flight qualification program lags technology insertion by 6 to 10 years. The objective is to develop an integrated software engineering and development environment assisted by an expert system technology. An operating system needs to be developed which is portable to the on-board computers of the year 2000. The use of ADA verses a High-Order Language; fault tolerance; fiber optics networks; communication protocols; and security are also examined and outlined.

Predictability in space launch vehicle anomaly detection using intelligent neuro-fuzzy systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gulati, Sandeep; Toomarian, Nikzad; Barhen, Jacob; Maccalla, Ayanna; Tawel, Raoul; Thakoor, Anil; Daud, Taher

1994-01-01

Included in this viewgraph presentation on intelligent neuroprocessors for launch vehicle health management systems (HMS) are the following: where the flight failures have been in launch vehicles; cumulative delay time; breakdown of operations hours; failure of Mars Probe; vehicle health management (VHM) cost optimizing curve; target HMS-STS auxiliary power unit location; APU monitoring and diagnosis; and integration of neural networks and fuzzy logic.

MPLNET V3 Cloud and Planetary Boundary Layer Detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Jasper R.; Welton, Ellsworth J.; Campbell, James R.; Haftings, Phillip C.

2016-01-01

The NASA Micropulse Lidar Network Version 3 algorithms for planetary boundary layer and cloud detection are described and differences relative to the previous Version 2 algorithms are highlighted. A year of data from the Goddard Space Flight Center site in Greenbelt, MD consisting of diurnal and seasonal trends is used to demonstrate the results. Both the planetary boundary layer and cloud algorithms show significant improvement of the previous version.

Effect of Clouds on Optical Imaging of the Space Shuttle During the Ascent Phase: A Statistical Analysis Based on a 3D Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Short, David A.; Lane, Robert E., Jr.; Winters, Katherine A.; Madura, John T.

2004-01-01

Clouds are highly effective in obscuring optical images of the Space Shuttle taken during its ascent by ground-based and airborne tracking cameras. Because the imagery is used for quick-look and post-flight engineering analysis, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) recommended the return-to-flight effort include an upgrade of the imaging system to enable it to obtain at least three useful views of the Shuttle from lift-off to at least solid rocket booster (SRB) separation (NASA 2003). The lifetimes of individual cloud elements capable of obscuring optical views of the Shuttle are typically 20 minutes or less. Therefore, accurately observing and forecasting cloud obscuration over an extended network of cameras poses an unprecedented challenge for the current state of observational and modeling techniques. In addition, even the best numerical simulations based on real observations will never reach "truth." In order to quantify the risk that clouds would obscure optical imagery of the Shuttle, a 3D model to calculate probabilistic risk was developed. The model was used to estimate the ability of a network of optical imaging cameras to obtain at least N simultaneous views of the Shuttle from lift-off to SRB separation in the presence of an idealized, randomized cloud field.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Astronaut Tim Kopra aids in Intravehicular Activity (IVA) constraints testing on the Italian-built Node 2, a future element of the International Space Station. The second of three Station connecting modules, the Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab and provides attach locations for several other elements. Kopra is currently assigned technical duties in the Space Station Branch of the Astronaut Office, where his primary focus involves the testing of crew interfaces for two future ISS modules as well as the implementation of support computers and operational Local Area Network on ISS. Node 2 is scheduled to launch on mission STS-120, Station assembly flight 10A.

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-02-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Astronaut Tim Kopra aids in Intravehicular Activity (IVA) constraints testing on the Italian-built Node 2, a future element of the International Space Station. The second of three Station connecting modules, the Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab and provides attach locations for several other elements. Kopra is currently assigned technical duties in the Space Station Branch of the Astronaut Office, where his primary focus involves the testing of crew interfaces for two future ISS modules as well as the implementation of support computers and operational Local Area Network on ISS. Node 2 is scheduled to launch on mission STS-120, Station assembly flight 10A.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers check over the Italian-built Node 2, a future element of the International Space Station. The second of three Station connecting modules, the Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab and provides attach locations for several other elements. Kopra is currently assigned technical duties in the Space Station Branch of the Astronaut Office, where his primary focus involves the testing of crew interfaces for two future ISS modules as well as the implementation of support computers and operational Local Area Network on ISS. Node 2 is scheduled to launch on mission STS-120, Station assembly flight 10A.

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-02-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers check over the Italian-built Node 2, a future element of the International Space Station. The second of three Station connecting modules, the Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab and provides attach locations for several other elements. Kopra is currently assigned technical duties in the Space Station Branch of the Astronaut Office, where his primary focus involves the testing of crew interfaces for two future ISS modules as well as the implementation of support computers and operational Local Area Network on ISS. Node 2 is scheduled to launch on mission STS-120, Station assembly flight 10A.

Infrasound from ground to space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, Daniel Charles

Acoustic detector networks are usually located on the Earth's surface. However, these networks suffer from shortcomings such as poor detection range and pervasive wind noise. An alternative is to deploy acoustic sensors on high altitude balloons. In theory, such platforms can resolve signals arriving from great distances, acquire others that never reach the surface at all, and avoid wind noise entirely. This dissertation focuses on scientific advances, instrumentation, and analytical techniques resulting from the development of such sensor arrays. Results from infrasound microphones deployed on balloon flights in the middle stratosphere are described, and acoustic sources such as the ocean microbarom and building ventilation systems are discussed. Electromagnetic noise originating from the balloon, flight system, and other payloads is shown to be a pervasive issue. An experiment investigating acoustic sensor calibration at low pressures is presented, and implications for high altitude recording are considered. Outstanding challenges and opportunities in sound measurement using sensors embedded in the free atmosphere are outlined. Acoustic signals from field scale explosions designed to emulate volcanic eruptions are described, and their generation mechanisms modeled. Wave forms recorded on sensors suspended from tethered helium balloons are compared with those detected on ground stations during the experiment. Finally, the Hilbert-Huang transform, a high time resolution spectral analysis method for nonstationary and nonlinear time series, is presented.

A sensor monitoring system for telemedicine, safety and security applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vlissidis, Nikolaos; Leonidas, Filippos; Giovanis, Christos; Marinos, Dimitrios; Aidinis, Konstantinos; Vassilopoulos, Christos; Pagiatakis, Gerasimos; Schmitt, Nikolaus; Pistner, Thomas; Klaue, Jirka

2017-02-01

A sensor system capable of medical, safety and security monitoring in avionic and other environments (e.g. homes) is examined. For application inside an aircraft cabin, the system relies on an optical cellular network that connects each seat to a server and uses a set of database applications to process data related to passengers' health, safety and security status. Health monitoring typically encompasses electrocardiogram, pulse oximetry and blood pressure, body temperature and respiration rate while safety and security monitoring is related to the standard flight attendance duties, such as cabin preparation for take-off, landing, flight in regions of turbulence, etc. In contrast to previous related works, this article focuses on the system's modules (medical and safety sensors and associated hardware), the database applications used for the overall control of the monitoring function and the potential use of the system for security applications. Further tests involving medical, safety and security sensing performed in an real A340 mock-up set-up are also described and reference is made to the possible use of the sensing system in alternative environments and applications, such as health monitoring within other means of transport (e.g. trains or small passenger sea vessels) as well as for remotely located home users, over a wired Ethernet network or the Internet.

Manned/Unmanned Common Architecture Program (MCAP) net centric flight tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Dale

2009-04-01

Properly architected avionics systems can reduce the costs of periodic functional improvements, maintenance, and obsolescence. With this in mind, the U.S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) initiated the Manned/Unmanned Common Architecture Program (MCAP) in 2003 to develop an affordable, high-performance embedded mission processing architecture for potential application to multiple aviation platforms. MCAP analyzed Army helicopter and unmanned air vehicle (UAV) missions, identified supporting subsystems, surveyed advanced hardware and software technologies, and defined computational infrastructure technical requirements. The project selected a set of modular open systems standards and market-driven commercial-off-theshelf (COTS) electronics and software, and, developed experimental mission processors, network architectures, and software infrastructures supporting the integration of new capabilities, interoperability, and life cycle cost reductions. MCAP integrated the new mission processing architecture into an AH-64D Apache Longbow and participated in Future Combat Systems (FCS) network-centric operations field experiments in 2006 and 2007 at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico and at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) in 2008. The MCAP Apache also participated in PM C4ISR On-the-Move (OTM) Capstone Experiments 2007 (E07) and 2008 (E08) at Ft. Dix, NJ and conducted Mesa, Arizona local area flight tests in December 2005, February 2006, and June 2008.

News Education: Physics Education Networks meeting has global scale Competition: Competition seeks the next Brian Cox Experiment: New measurement of neutrino time-of-flight consistent with the speed of light Event: A day for all those who teach physics Conference: Students attend first Anglo-Japanese international science conference Celebration: Will 2015 be the 'Year of Light'? Teachers: Challenging our intuition in spectacular fashion: the fascinating world of quantum physics awaits Research: Science sharpens up sport Learning: Kittinger and Baumgartner: on a mission to the edge of space International: London International Youth Science Forum calls for leading young scientists Competition: Physics paralympian challenge needs inquisitive, analytical, artistic and eloquent pupils Forthcoming events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-05-01

Education: Physics Education Networks meeting has global scale Competition: Competition seeks the next Brian Cox Experiment: New measurement of neutrino time-of-flight consistent with the speed of light Event: A day for all those who teach physics Conference: Students attend first Anglo-Japanese international science conference Celebration: Will 2015 be the 'Year of Light'? Teachers: Challenging our intuition in spectacular fashion: the fascinating world of quantum physics awaits Research: Science sharpens up sport Learning: Kittinger and Baumgartner: on a mission to the edge of space International: London International Youth Science Forum calls for leading young scientists Competition: Physics paralympian challenge needs inquisitive, analytical, artistic and eloquent pupils Forthcoming events

Deep Space Networking Experiments on the EPOXI Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Ross M.

2011-01-01

NASA's Space Communications & Navigation Program within the Space Operations Directorate is operating a program to develop and deploy Disruption Tolerant Networking [DTN] technology for a wide variety of mission types by the end of 2011. DTN is an enabling element of the Interplanetary Internet where terrestrial networking protocols are generally unsuitable because they rely on timely and continuous end-to-end delivery of data and acknowledgments. In fall of 2008 and 2009 and 2011 the Jet Propulsion Laboratory installed and tested essential elements of DTN technology on the Deep Impact spacecraft. These experiments, called Deep Impact Network Experiment (DINET 1) were performed in close cooperation with the EPOXI project which has responsibility for the spacecraft. The DINET 1 software was installed on the backup software partition on the backup flight computer for DINET 1. For DINET 1, the spacecraft was at a distance of about 15 million miles (24 million kilometers) from Earth. During DINET 1 300 images were transmitted from the JPL nodes to the spacecraft. Then, they were automatically forwarded from the spacecraft back to the JPL nodes, exercising DTN's bundle origination, transmission, acquisition, dynamic route computation, congestion control, prioritization, custody transfer, and automatic retransmission procedures, both on the spacecraft and on the ground, over a period of 27 days. The first DINET 1 experiment successfully validated many of the essential elements of the DTN protocols. DINET 2 demonstrated: 1) additional DTN functionality, 2) automated certain tasks which were manually implemented in DINET 1 and 3) installed the ION SW on nodes outside of JPL. DINET 3 plans to: 1) upgrade the LTP convergence-layer adapter to conform to the international LTP CL specification, 2) add convergence-layer "stewardship" procedures and 3) add the BSP security elements [PIB & PCB]. This paper describes the planning and execution of the flight experiment and the validation results.

SPADnet: a fully digital, scalable, and networked photonic component for time-of-flight PET applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruschini, Claudio; Charbon, Edoardo; Veerappan, Chockalingam; Braga, Leo H. C.; Massari, Nicola; Perenzoni, Matteo; Gasparini, Leonardo; Stoppa, David; Walker, Richard; Erdogan, Ahmet; Henderson, Robert K.; East, Steve; Grant, Lindsay; Játékos, Balázs; Ujhelyi, Ferenc; Erdei, Gábor; Lörincz, Emöke; André, Luc; Maingault, Laurent; Jacolin, David; Verger, L.; Gros d'Aillon, Eric; Major, Peter; Papp, Zoltan; Nemeth, Gabor

2014-05-01

The SPADnet FP7 European project is aimed at a new generation of fully digital, scalable and networked photonic components to enable large area image sensors, with primary target gamma-ray and coincidence detection in (Time-of- Flight) Positron Emission Tomography (PET). SPADnet relies on standard CMOS technology, therefore allowing for MRI compatibility. SPADnet innovates in several areas of PET systems, from optical coupling to single-photon sensor architectures, from intelligent ring networks to reconstruction algorithms. It is built around a natively digital, intelligent SPAD (Single-Photon Avalanche Diode)-based sensor device which comprises an array of 8×16 pixels, each composed of 4 mini-SiPMs with in situ time-to-digital conversion, a multi-ring network to filter, carry, and process data produced by the sensors at 2Gbps, and a 130nm CMOS process enabling mass-production of photonic modules that are optically interfaced to scintillator crystals. A few tens of sensor devices are tightly abutted on a single PCB to form a so-called sensor tile, thanks to TSV (Through Silicon Via) connections to their backside (replacing conventional wire bonding). The sensor tile is in turn interfaced to an FPGA-based PCB on its back. The resulting photonic module acts as an autonomous sensing and computing unit, individually detecting gamma photons as well as thermal and Compton events. It determines in real time basic information for each scintillation event, such as exact time of arrival, position and energy, and communicates it to its peers in the field of view. Coincidence detection does therefore occur directly in the ring itself, in a differed and distributed manner to ensure scalability. The selected true coincidence events are then collected by a snooper module, from which they are transferred to an external reconstruction computer using Gigabit Ethernet.

Neural network based adaptive output feedback control: Applications and improvements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kutay, Ali Turker

Application of recently developed neural network based adaptive output feedback controllers to a diverse range of problems both in simulations and experiments is investigated in this thesis. The purpose is to evaluate the theory behind the development of these controllers numerically and experimentally, identify the needs for further development in practical applications, and to conduct further research in directions that are identified to ultimately enhance applicability of adaptive controllers to real world problems. We mainly focus our attention on adaptive controllers that augment existing fixed gain controllers. A recently developed approach holds great potential for successful implementations on real world applications due to its applicability to systems with minimal information concerning the plant model and the existing controller. In this thesis the formulation is extended to the multi-input multi-output case for distributed control of interconnected systems and successfully tested on a formation flight wind tunnel experiment. The command hedging method is formulated for the approach to further broaden the class of systems it can address by including systems with input nonlinearities. Also a formulation is adopted that allows the approach to be applied to non-minimum phase systems for which non-minimum phase characteristics are modeled with sufficient accuracy and treated properly in the design of the existing controller. It is shown that the approach can also be applied to augment nonlinear controllers under certain conditions and an example is presented where the nonlinear guidance law of a spinning projectile is augmented. Simulation results on a high fidelity 6 degrees-of-freedom nonlinear simulation code are presented. The thesis also presents a preliminary adaptive controller design for closed loop flight control with active flow actuators. Behavior of such actuators in dynamic flight conditions is not known. To test the adaptive controller design in simulation, a fictitious actuator model is developed that fits experimentally observed characteristics of flow control actuators in static flight conditions as well as possible coupling effects between actuation, the dynamics of flow field, and the rigid body dynamics of the vehicle.